Week 39
Thursday August 25th 2005, 6:00 am
Filed under:
Family 
Now that you know how to tell if you are really in labor,
let's talk about some of the ways your body prepares for labor. It is
really neat to examine all of the changes that take place in your body
as the pregnancy continues.
Your
baby will descend into your pelvis, sometimes called engagement or
lightening, usually before labor in first time moms and during labor in
subsequent births.
Your cervix, the mouth of your uterus, will begin to soften and possibly dilate. Some practitioners will do routine vaginal exams
towards the end of pregnancy. Contrary to popular belief, you can't
predict when labor will start by the details of your cervix. Some
practitioners will also strip the membranes in an attempt to “get things going.” If you feel strongly about this mention it to your practitioner before any physical exams.
In the
days before labor begins you may also experience the following,
although they are not always accurate predictors of when labor will
begin:
bloody show
loss of mucous plug
nesting instinct
loose stools
loss of weight
increase in appetite
Hang in there! You are almost done!
Baby:
Did you
know that the amniotic fluid is continually replaced, even in labor, at
the rate of every three hours? Pretty amazing stuff! We really don't
know where amniotic fluid comes from, although it is partially
comprised of urine, sweat and other fluids from the baby. Your baby has
been practicing breathing the amniotic fluid for many weeks in
preparation for the big event!
The
meconium in the baby's intestines will be shed as the first movement
that the bowels make after birth. Meconium is a black, thick, tarry
substance that is hard to get off of their rear ends! About 30% of the
time, the baby will actually pass this stool before birth. This can
cause problems if the baby swallows the meconium,
however, that is not likely if the proper suctioning is done at birth.
This can be done by a doctor or a midwife, even in a homebirth
situation. |
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Week 38
Thursday August 18th 2005, 6:00 am
Filed under:
Family
You may begin
to feel electrical buzzes down your legs and inside your vagina. This
is caused from the baby hitting nerves as s/he settles into your pelvis.
A lot
of time and effort has been spent educating mom about the process of
labor, we are going to talk about a common fear for men this week: BEING IN THE BIRTH ROOM!
I
highly encourage men to go in to watch the partners give birth. It is
one of the most amazing experiences you will ever be able to have. As a
doula, I am constantly in awe of birth, even though I see it on a
routine basis.
Be
assured that you will only have to watch or participate as much as you
feel comfortable with. For some men this will be little more than
holding your partners hand and gazing into her eyes. Let me assure you
that this is a great thing to do! If you wish to take a more active role this may include labor support (breathing, massage, heat and cold packs, etc.),
cutting to cord, helping to catch the baby. These are all fine, but
should be discussed with your practitioner ahead of time, so that they
know your preferences.
A note about cord cutting:
The umbilical cord contains no nerves, so neither the mother nor the
baby will feel the cut. The cord is also a tough, fatty substance (this
protects the cord from compression inutero) so expect to give it some
effort to cut it.
Children
should also be encouraged to participate as you and they feel
comfortable. Again, discuss this with your practitioner. There may be
special classes for them to take, or you may have to do the preparation
yourselves. It is very important that they are ready for whatever they
may see or how you may look/act. It is also usually encouraged that you
bring a separate support person for the child(ren) so that they may
come and go during labor and you won't be concerned.
Baby:
The baby
may be gaining as much as 1 ounce (about 28 grams) a day at this point!
However, your weight gain has slowed or stopped. Hang in there! If you
haven't written a letter to your baby, now would be a good time to do
so. |
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37 Weeks
Monday August 15th 2005, 3:38 pm
Filed under:
Family 
Jen @ 37 Weeks… the 25th is the big day!!!!!! (10 days more to
go, the ticker at the top of the page shows the DUE date, but since
were C-Section were doing it on the 25th)
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Week 37
Thursday August 11th 2005, 6:00 am
Filed under:
Family
The pregnancy
is considered a “term” pregnancy at this point and nothing will be done
to stop labor in most circumstances. You should plan to take a tour of
your birth facility if you have not previously. If you are having a
home birth try to invite everyone over for a quick run through of what
you expect. It will save hurt feelings in the end!
Many women wonder if they will really know when labor has begun. There are several ways to tell the difference between real labor and prelabor. Be sure that you talk to your practitioner about knowing the difference.
Hopefully you have given the breast/bottle debate some thought before now, but if you didn't here is some information:
Breastfeeding
A lot of people haven't heard all of the benefits of breastfeeding, nor do they know the professional organizations that back breastfeeding.
Benefits
of breastfeeding are numerous, including: fewer allergies, breast
cancer reduction for mom, fewer ear infections for baby, higher IQ for
baby, proper jaw alignment, reduced risk of SIDS, and many more.
For help, try these sites:
Answers to the Most Common Breastfeeding Questions
Answers to More Specific Questions
Working and Breastfeeding
Finding Local Breastfeeding Help
Formula Feeding
Some
people for medical or other reasons choose to formula feed their
babies. And not a lot of attention is paid on teaching people how to
feed their children with bottles, this can be dangerous. So make sure
you read the instructions before mixing formula.
For more information, look here:
Formula Guidelines from the FDA
Baby:
Your baby is practicing breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid. Sometimes the baby will even get hiccoughs!
Remember to feel these last few weeks of kicks, believe it or not you will miss them. |
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Week 36
Thursday August 04th 2005, 6:00 am
Filed under:
Family
You will probably start to see your practitioner every week until you give birth.
Most babies will be in a head down position at this point. However, about 4% of the babies will be breech. Do not panic! There are plenty of things that you can do to encourage the baby to turn, including special exercises.
If the exercises do not work, your practitioner may want to attempt an
external cephalic version (ECV). The ECV is a manual turning of the
baby.
Baby:
The baby
continues to grow and snuggle down into your pelvis. The benefit of
this is that you can breathe more easily, however, you also have to
urinate more often. Your practitioner will probably not stop your labor
if you were to start having regular contractions now.
Baby
weighs about five pounds two ounces (2.3 kilograms) and measures 45 cms
or 17.8 inches. Although here at the end there is a larger margin of
difference among babies. Ask your practitioner to palpate (feel through
your abdomen) to guesstimate the weight. Remember it is just a guess,
although some are better than others. |
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