Partner’s Role in Labor
The more secure and relaxed a mother feels during labor; the better she’ll be able to cope with pain. Her partner is the natural person to give this loving support, since he’ll have been closely involved in the pregnancy, and eager to share his child’s birth. Otherwise, ask a friend who’s had children herself to be your birth coach. Most hospitals welcome fathers, friends, or relatives to support the mother.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR ROLE
It’s normal to feel nervous about being a birth partner, so the best thing to do is prepare yourself. Find out as much as you can so you’re able to help the mother meet the physical and emotional demands of labor. At prenatal classes there’ll be demonstrations to describe labor’s onset and the effect of contractions, and you’ll be taught techniques to help her relax.
Visit the birthing center or the hospital’s labor and delivery rooms and introduce yourself to the staff. Make sure you know the route to the hospital in case of an emergency, and find out all you’ll need to do; trust will create a calmer atmosphere.
HOW TO HELP DURING LABOR
You may have a very active role throughout the labor and birth, but sometimes your presence is all the mother needs. Make sure you’re very familiar with her birth plan and the alternative version and that you know all her wishes.
Use your intuition Judge the situation by observing your partner’s moods. She may want to stay quiet, going through contractions alone without being touched. Or she may needs lots of encouragement or distractions.
Provide emotional support Remain as close and intimate as you can, using loving words, and keep your movements slow, quiet, and steady. Be positive: praise her and don’t criticize. If she wants to hear your voice, constantly tell her how well she’s doing (how far dilated) and how she can relax herself. Tell her what the midwife is doing and what will soon happen. Also, help her to see how much she’s achieved already-it’s easy for her to be overwhelmed by how far she thinks she has to go. Massage and stroke her slowly, but if she just wants to hold your hand, you can encourage her by the expression on your face and lots of eye contact. Sometimes just the look of love in her partner’s eyes can help a woman bear the pain of contractions.
Combat tiredness Before labor, encourage her to rest as much as possible, particularly if she seems to want to rush around cleaning during the nesting period. If her labor is long and tiring, try to help her relax between contractions and save her energy for the second stage. If she’s not feeling nauseous, provide her with any drinks or nourishment she wants.
Help her cope with pain It’s hard to see someone you care about in pain, but try not to show your anxiety-it could make her feel more worried. On the other hand, don’t dismiss her suffering. Acknowledge it positively, telling her each contraction is bringing your baby’s birth closer, and make different suggestions for relief. Help her not to be embarrassed about saying what hurtsencourage her to be as uninhibited as possible. A woman in labor should never be ashamed of needing pain relief.
If she feels particularly anxious during a contraction, it might calm her fears to talk about how she felt before the next one starts. Don’t take it personally if she’s critical or aggressive toward you-this often happens when the pain is very intense.
Help with breathing You’ll probably have practiced your partner’s preferred method in prenatal classes, but let her follow her own rhythm. If she seems to lose control, stay nearby and slowly guide her through the pattern until she’s able to continue on her own. Be ready to adapt-very few people follow exactly what they practiced at prenatal classes.
Make her comfortable You can be a great help here. Suggest different positions and support her with pillows or blankets, or let her lean against you while you cuddle, and rock together. Look for signs of tension in her neck, shoulders, or forehead, and gently stroke these areas. Massage may give some relief from pain. If she’s using visualization techniques, gently talk her through them. She’ll probably find having her face and hands wiped very soothing, or you can offer her ice cubes to suck. If she feels cold, help her put on socks or leg warmers. As labor progresses, she may want to talk less, but you can keep in touch by touching or caressing, or by using eye contact.
Parenting Class
Today life is full of hustle and bustle and parents hardly have any time for their children. The problem arises when you are not able to interact with your child due to your lifestyle as you are juggling between your work and house.
To overcome this problem parents need to enroll themselves to parenting class as this is one such place where you meet regularly and share different tips and experiences as well as get advice from other parents which help you to put in practice these simple but practical advices in your house thus fostering a strong bond with your child.
One of the best things that this parenting class teaches you is that they have hundreds of option and you can find one that suits you and your way of raising your child. They teach you to display love and care lavishly on your child all through his growing up period so that this bond becomes stronger with the passing of years.
Parenting class also has a session on educating parents as it is crucial for parents to share information and concern over the raising issues of child behavior and other child raising patterns. This education session helps parents to understand the behavioral disorder in their child, handling such situation and overcoming them with the help of psychologist especially during the teenage growing period.
Parenting education teaches you how to handle a new born as this new born will need more of your time, affection, love and care. This helps you to develop more confidence so that you can take care of all your babies needs. These classes are helpful to all parents regardless of which age your child falls into as each child growing phase has its own set of problems and all these are learnt on trail and error bases.
Parenting class is held almost all through the year and is offered by hospitals, temples, churches, government organization and some charitable institutions. You can also find more about the parenting class in your local newspapers and community centers. Parenting class teaches you how to manage your time at your work place as well as at home so that you are able to interact and understand your child better. The parenting classes don’t charge you any fees but then there are some which have nominal charges, but then it has been found that these classes are worth as they have a huge source of knowledge and experience to share out with you.
Parenting class teach you to develop positive attitude when it comes to understanding your child and his or her need and that due to this positive thinking you will certainly have a closer relationship with your child and this bond will strengthen as the time goes by.
Enrolling into parenting class is the best way to learn to give your love to your child and understanding your child’s need better without becoming strict parents or overindulgent parents as both have its own set of draw backs.
Choosing Shoes
When you are buying your child shoes, always go to a reputable store where the staff has been trained to measure and fit children’s shoes. The salesperson should measure the length and the width of your child’s foot before trying any shoes. Once your child tries on a pair of shoes, the salesperson should press the joints of the foot to make sure that it is not restricted in any way, and that the fastenings hold the shoe firmly in place and don’t let your child’s foot slip around. Make sure your child stands up and walks around in the shoes to check that the toe doesn’t pinch and hurt when he’s walking and to double-check that there’s no slipping.
A sturdy, well-made pair of leather shoes is most suitable for general outdoor wear, especially once your child starts running and playing. You should, however, get a pair of rubber boots for wet or muddy conditions. Although leather shoes and sandals are solid and sensible and last well, there is nothing wrong with inexpensive canvas shoes or sneakers as long as you make sure that they fit properly. If your child suddenly becomes less steady on his feet it may be a sign that he is outgrowing his shoes. Well-fitting shoes are essential to ensure that your child has good feet in adult life. Don’t try to save money by buying second-hand shoes; they will have molded to the first owner’s feet.
Your Baby’s Health
It’s likely that even if you weren’t the sort of person who spent much time at the doctor’s office, you are there quite a lot now. If this is your first baby, and even if it’s your second or third, it’s easy to get worried about his health and to feel that you need a second opinion about anything that concerns you. Never worry about “bothering” your doctor or any other health professional about your baby’s health. Reassuring people is as much a doctor’s job as treating them, and any health worker would far rather put a parent’s mind at rest over a medical matter than see a sick child whose parents didn’t like to trouble them. Trust your instincts; if you’re worried about something, get it checked out.
Teething
After Sleeping, teething is the most notorious element of babyhood. Just like sleeping, everyone seems to assume that a child will have problems with cutting his first teeth. And just like sleeping, it’s true that while some babies do have problems, others don’t have any at all.
What is teething?
Teething, like colic, has become a catch-all word. Any bout of unexplained crying, any fretfulness or unsettled period, any sign of red cheeks or a slightly raised temperature, and “teething” is likely to be floated as a possible cause. Ask most parents, and they’ll swear that teething does go hand-in-hand with real physical discomfort and symptoms like these, but talk to a pediatrician, and you’ll hear that there’s no evidence to link the appearance of teeth with any ailment whatsoever.
Don’t be tempted to start using “teething gels” on your baby’s gums just because he seems unsettled. These contain drugs, and it may be that there’s no new tooth appearing at all.
When to expect the first tooth
Some babies are born with a “natal tooth,” which is usually removed because of the risk of choking. However, it is much more common for a baby’s first tooth to put in an appearance anywhere between 3 and 16 months.
Sometimes a tiny lump on your baby’s gum, which is occasionally bluish in color, heralds the appearance of a tooth – this is nothing to be concerned about.
Every baby is different
That’s a wide period of time within which your baby’s teeth may start to appear. Don’t listen to any old wives’ tales, such as that your baby’s intelligence is related to the age when his first tooth appears. Tooth growth is very individual – it can vary considerably between siblings, too. My eldest daughter was over a year old when her first tooth appeared, but her younger sisters both had their first teeth by the time they were 6 months of age. Interestingly, however, the pattern does seem to have had a bearing on second teeth: my eldest’s teeth have been very slow to come through.
Teething problems
Doctors are divided on whether any real pain accompanies the arrival of teeth in a baby’s mouth. Many concede that there may be some discomfort when a tooth is about to break through the gum, but most believe that the problem isn’t half as great as parents make out. If you think that your baby is experiencing discomfort because of an emerging tooth, rub his gums with a clean finger to help him to feel better.
If it’s not teething what is it?
The fact is that babies aren’t able to tell us what’s wrong, and because we’re usually so eager to find out what’s bothering them, we often make assumptions. That’s why we often think that our babies are having “teething problems.” But don’t forget that lots of things can make a baby of under 6 months feel out of sorts. The best way to deal with it, whatever the cause, is to give him lots of love.
Looking after milk teeth
You may be advised to brush your baby’s very first tooth and to go out immediately and buy a baby toothbrush and some “infant” toothpaste. If you want to, that’s fine – but brushing tiny teeth with your finger will be just as effective at keeping them clean. Creating the habit matters more at this stage than the actual process of cleaning them.
As your baby grows older, and likes to “help” brush his teeth himself – and coat his face in toothpaste at the same time, naturally – it can be a good idea to do his teeth in the bath.
What does matter, hugely, is what you’re giving your baby to eat. By this stage, your child will probably be able to make very clear to you that he likes (correction: loves) anything sweet. However happy he is to eat sugary desserts and chocolate candies, try to limit his intake of these sorts of foods. As well as getting him into bad habits, these sugary foods could be doing harm to his tiny emerging teeth. Even though these teeth will eventually come out and be replaced by “adult” teeth, they still have a lot of work to do before then!
From the age of 4 or 5 months a baby is able to start using a cup, instead of a bottle, for drinking. If you are giving him sugary drinks, such as diluted fruit juices, get him into the habit of using a cup. This is because research has shown that regular contact with a bottle nipple filled with juice can damage a baby’s teeth.
Don’t forget that, apart from milk, water is the best drink that you can give your baby.
What can my baby chew on?
Teething babies often like something to bite or chew on. Try a teething ring or a hard, unsweetened cracker. Teething toys that have been put into the freezer are not a good idea because they can harm the gum tissues and cause pain. If you want to cool one down a bit, put it into a mug of iced water for a few minutes before giving it to your baby.
Considering vaccinations
Vaccinations introduce a substance into the body that will trigger the production of antibodies and help the body fight a disease if its later contracted. Whether to have your baby vaccinated is one of the first and, in many ways, one of the hardest dilemmas you’ll face about your child’s welfare. Like every parent, you only want to do what’s best for your child – but there are so many claims as to the rights and wrongs of vaccinations that it can seem difficult to know who to believe.
Should we vaccinate our baby?
Vaccination does carry risks, as any doctor will tell you. Most doctors argue that these dangers are tiny, but they’re talking I about the risks that they believe or know to be there.
Leaving a child unvaccinated carries real dangers too; many argue that the risks that your child faces if she contracts the diseases concerned are far greater than any perceived danger from the vaccine is likely to be.
Do your research
Find out as much as you can about immunization. Read about it. Talk to your partner. Talk to other parents. Talk to your pediatrician and your obstetrician. Listen to what all of them have to say, and you’ll soon find yourself coming down on one side of the fence or the other.
Don’t let apathy or sheer worry about vaccinations prevent you from researching the subject and making an informed choice based on what you’ve found out.
Early vaccinations
Vaccination schedules change as new vaccines (or combinations of old vaccines) are developed, but most American pediatricians recommend that a baby should be vaccinated at 2 months of age against Hepatitis B, Hib, DTaP (diptheria, tetanus, and pertussis combined), IPV (polio), and prevnar (to protect against pneumococcus, a bacteria that can cause meningitis and blood infections). Some doctors may even give the first Hepatitis B vaccine in the first few days of a baby’s life. These vaccines are then repeated at 4 and 6 months old. Sometimes they are staggered so that the baby doesn’t get so many shots at one visit, and some immunizations may be given as two vaccines in one shot. Then, at 12 to 15 months, babies receive MMR and Varivax (chickenpox) vaccines. Babies are not routinely immunized against Meningitis C.
Using medicines
If your baby has a fever of course you are going to be worried and concerned, and you’ll want to do everything that you can to bring his temperature down. The temptation to give a baby medicine if he appears fretful or irritable is often great because, after all, he can’t tell you if something’s hurting – and you don’t want to think that he might be suffering. As a result, liquid acetaminophen (Tylenol) has become the children’s cure-all in many a family household.
It’s important not to become too reliant on the use of drugs in young children. Pain relievers may cover up the symptoms of something that your baby is suffering from, but they won’t eliminate the problem.
Children’s medicine
Don’t automatically go to the medicine cabinet. Liquid acetaminophen can be a great help in bringing down a temperature in a child with a fever – but if you’re using it just to treat a general feeling that there’s something a bit wrong with your baby, hold off.
Avoid giving medicine in the hope that it will “help him to sleep” because he’s been crying a lot during the afternoon, or because he’s pulling his legs up to his tummy and you’re a bit worried he might have a stomach ache. If he does have an upset tummy, acetaminophen may irritate his stomach further. Always remember that medicines are designed to treat specific ailments and they should be used sparingly.
All about antibiotics
Antibiotics have been much prescribed in the western world, but now concern surrounds their use. The problem is that if antibiotics are used too freely, bacteria can build up resistance to the drug and then these medicines lose their effectiveness.
This, in turn, means that if a person is re-infected with the bacteria, stronger antibiotics will have to be given, and, sometimes, these can be given only intravenously in a hospital. In a wider context, there’s also a fear that super-bacteria may be produced that will eventually withstand all antibiotics, putting potentially everyone at risk.
Seeking medical advice
It’s 2 o’ Clock in the morning, and your baby seems very unwell. You’re faced with a dilemma: should you, or should you not, call your doctor?
Calling a doctor
It’s a problem every parent faces at some point, and when you’re a new parent and this is your first child, the question seems all the more difficult. The more children you have, and the more contact you’ve had with young babies, the more experienced you are likely to be at a correct, instinctive diagnosis.
But equally, it’s vital never to ignore the voice in your head which says “my baby really is ill, and he does need medical help.” Never hesitate if you feel this way; any parent would rather feel a bit silly to be told it’s nothing than to regret not calling for medical help sooner.
Assessing your baby’s well-being
If your baby is unwell but is generally happy and behaving normally, for example, he is feeding and he is producing wet and sometimes dirty diapers, there is probably nothing too much to worry about. It’s when your baby’s behavior changes, however, that the alarm bells should start ringing.
The condition of a young baby can change incredibly quickly. That’s why doctors are always very cautious if they’ve got any cause for concern. Equally, and happily, a baby who seems very ill can seem much better within an hour or two.
All about cot death
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), is something that all parents fear, but instances of it are relatively rare. In fact, since a public-awareness campaign in the 1990s, the number of cases has fallen significantly. SIDS is not an illness. It cannot be diagnosed in a living baby, and there are numerous theories about what causes it. However, we do know that some babies are potentially at greater risk, including: premature babies; infants of mothers who have had apnoea or stopped-breathing incidents; infants of mothers who have had little or no antenatal care; infants of parents who smoke; and siblings of a previous SIDS baby. But even in these groups, the risk of SIDS is still as low as 1 per cent.
It’s also important to ensure that your baby sleeps on his back, unless a doctor instructs otherwise for medical reasons. However, a contrary medical opinion recommends that your baby should sleep on his side, so that there is no risk of choking on his own vomit. Either way, it is important that your baby does not sleep on his tummy. Keep pillows and large soft toys out of your baby’s cot, and don’t put your baby to sleep on soft surfaces, such as a sofa or cushion. Make sure that your baby doesn’t overheat in his crib.
Cesarean Section
If a normal vaginal delivery could be dangerous or even impossible for you, your baby will be delivered by cesarean section. Small horizontal incisions are made in your abdomen and uterus, and your baby is delivered through them.The vertical cut is no longer used because there’s a risk it may tear again if you have another child. The number of babies delivered by cesarean section has increased rapidly and is currently about one in four in the United States. One reason for this increase is that doctors are worried about being sued if a difficult birth causes complications that could have been avoided by a cesarean section. Another is that the operation is now so safe that it can be less risky than some other forms of delivery.
The need for a cesarean section may be apparent well before labor begins, so you, your partner, and your obstetrician have time to talk through what will happen-this is an elective cesarean. In emergencies, the need only becomes evident once labor is under way.
Elective Cesarean Section
The most common reasons for choosing to have a cesarean include failure to progress in labor or dystocia (abnormally slow progress of labor), your baby being in a breech position or lying across your pelvis; placenta previa; and certain medical conditions such as active herpes type II infection. A cesarean may also be necessary if you’ve had one for a previous baby-the worry used to be that the scar would open up again. Experience has shown that this does not happen with the horizontal or “bikini” cut, now generally used instead of the vertical cut, and so hospitals often allow a vaginal delivery to begin, and if there are no problems, labor goes on as normal- a “trial of labor.”
Elective cesareans are often carried out under a spinal anesthetic. This has several advantages over a general anesthetic: it’s safer for your baby; you have no postoperative nausea or vomiting; and because you are conscious, you can hold your baby as soon as he’s born. It’s usually possible for your partner to be with you during the operation, just as he can be at a vaginal delivery.
When you’ve had a cesarean, you may feel deeply disappointed that you didn’t have a vaginal delivery. It’s natural to feel this way, and the best thing you can do is talk to your partner about it. If he describes the birth to you in detail it may help you to visualize and accept it. Also, remember that the way your child comes into the world isn’t nearly as important as having a healthy baby.
It also helps, of course, to prepare yourself in advance for this type of birth. Go and see the obstetrician with your partner and find out what the operation involves, what procedures will be used, and whether your partner is allowed to be there. Ask if you can see a video so you’ll know what’s going to happen to you. If you can, talk to other women who’ve had cesarean sections. They’ll be able to give you useful advice and reassurance.
Emergency Cesarean Section
An emergency C-section may be needed when something goes wrong during labor, such as a prolapsed umbilical cord, placental hemorrhage, fetal distress, or serious failure to progress in labor. Emergency cesarean sections may be carried out under epidural and the hospital may not allow your partner to be present at the operation.
After a Cesarean Section
As is the case with any major surgery, it takes time to recover from a cesarean, but even so you’ll be encouraged to get up and walk around a few hours afterward to stimulate your circulation. You’ll be given painkillers if you need them, and the dressings will be removed after three or four days. Your internal stitches will be made with absorbable sutures, which will dissolve away naturally. Skin stitches may also be absorbable, but if staples are used they should be removed within about a week.
Baby’s First Hours
Once your baby is delivered, all the attention will be given to her, not to you, and rightly so. She may cry first when delivered and will be bawling robustly a few seconds after birth. She’ll probably be a bluish-white color at first and may be covered with vernix-a white, cheesy substance that protects her skin in the womb. She’ll have streaks of blood on her and, depending on your delivery, her head may look slightly pointed after her journey down the birth canal.
Her First Moments
If her breathing is normal, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t hold her immediately. If there’s a danger of her being cold, you can be covered with a towel or blanket. Your gentle stroking movements and the sound of your heartbeat and voice will reassure your baby. Her eyes will almost certainly fasten on your face and she may scrabble as if trying to swim toward you.
Cutting the cord The first procedure after the delivery is the clamping of the cord. At the appropriate time, two clamps are applied to the cord, one a short distance from the navel, the other about an inch away. These clamps prevent the cord from bleeding, the one closest to your baby being the most important. At this point, your partner may be invited to cut the cord between the clamps. Some practitioners prefer to wait, however, until the placenta is delivered or the cord has stopped pulsating before cutting the cord. The cord may also be clamped and cut during delivery if it is looped tightly around your baby’s neck.
Her general condition The doctor or labor nurse will check your baby’s general condition. She’ll remove any fluid remaining in your baby’s mouth, nose, or air passages by sucking it out with disposable plastic tubing or a bulb syringe. If your baby doesn’t start to breathe immediately, the doctor will take her and give her oxygen, and the neonatologists will be called to the room.
Welcoming Your Baby
Once the nursing and medical staff have checked that both you and your baby are well, by all means ask them to leave if you want to be left alone in the warmth of your birthing room with your partner and your baby.
If you’ve had an episiotomy, you may have to wait until after you’ve been stitched; your doctor will be able to make a much neater repair if you’re stitched as soon as possible after the birth before the tissues swell. Once this is done, you can relax after your hard work and enjoy this amazing new experience together. It’s a good idea to put your baby to your breast immediately because it stimulates delivery of the placenta, even if your baby isn’t hungry at first.
Spend these first few moments concentrating on your baby, getting to know her, learning to recognize her face and cooing at her so that she can hear the sound of your voice. Ideally, hold her about 8-10 inches (20-25 centimeters) away from your face-at this distance she can make out your face quite clearly. Smile and talk gently in a sing-song voice, because newborn babies are attuned to high vocal pitches.
Let your partner hold his baby for the first time within half an hour of the birth. Men can bond as deeply and as quickly with their newborn children as women do.
After this initial bonding process, you’ll be washed down and asked to pass urine to make sure that everything’s in working order. You can then change, and the nurses will check your baby more thoroughly.
A More Thorough Check
Shortly after birth the doctor or nurse will make some specific checks on your baby. The doctor will check that her facial features and her body proportions are normal. She’ll be turned over to make sure that her back is normal and there are no indications of spina bifida. Her anus is checked, as are her fingers and toes. The number of blood vessels in the umbilical cord is recorded-there are usually two arteries and one vein. Your baby will then be weighed and her head circumference and possibly her body length measured. All this takes only a few seconds in the hands of an experienced doctor or mildwife.
Hospital Birth
Even though more and more women are choosing to deliver their babies in birthing centers, most babies are born in a hospital. The majority of women opt to give birth in a hospital, either because they are encouraged to do so by their medical advisers or because it’s their preference. Most hospitals are now paying much more attention to the mother’s wishes, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy giving birth to your baby in a hospital setting.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The hospital surroundings will be unfamiliar, and this can make you feel anxious, but here are some tips to help you make yourself more comfortable. You’ll probably have been told to leave all valuables at home, but when you get to the hospital, you may be asked to remove any remaining personal items such as jewelry. If this worries you, ask if you can keep your personal belongings with you in a bag. If you wear contact lenses, ask about the hospital’s policy beforehand-they may prefer you to bring your glasses instead.
After admission, When you arrive at the hospital, you’ll need to go through brief hospital admission procedures. Your midwife or doctor will ask you about how your labor is going-how often you’re having contractions and whether your water has broken, for example. Then she will examine your abdomen to confirm the situation, feel your baby’s position, and check your baby’s heart. Your blood pressure and temperature will be taken, and you’ll be given an internal examination to see how far your cervix has dilated. They will probably ask you to wear a fetal monitor for about 20 minutes, but afterward you should be able to move around as much as you wish.
Giving birth
If you’ve decided that you prefer to manage without drugs for as long as you can during labor, the midwives will usually be more than happy to help you cope using other methods of pain relief. Bear in mind, though, that drug relief is available if you want it, and you can ask to start with smaller doses if you don’t feel you need the full measure.
Once your baby is descending, you may be helped into a semireclining position. If you’re in any danger of tearing, you may need to have an episiotomy when your baby’s head is crowning. If forceps have to be used, an episiotomy is more likely. Your baby will be delivered onto your abdomen, and while you take your first look at each other, you’ll be given an injection of Syntometrine into your thigh. This is to make sure that your uterus will contract firmly, reducing the chance of severe bleeding after the delivery of the placenta. Your baby will then be given the Apgar tests while you are cleaned up. If you need to have stitches, these are usually done at this point, either by the midwife or the doctor.
THE ADVANTAGES
For some mothers, a hospital birth gives the best chance of a successful and happy outcome. Having your baby in the hospital is the safest option if you suffer from a medical condition such as heart disease or diabetes, if you’re expecting twins, if your baby is known to be breech, or if, as a first-time mother, your obstetrical history just presents too many unknown factors.
Should anything go wrong during the labor and birth, emergency medical assistance is on hand right away, and there’s a wide range of pain-relief medication readily available should you want it. You may feel happier knowing that your baby can be given treatment in an intensive care unit if the need arises.
By staying in the hospital after the birth, you may get more rest than you would at home, especially if you have other children.
THE DISADVANTAGES
Once you’re in the hospital, it’s easy to feel overpowered by the atmosphere, although some are getting more relaxed about childbirth. Bear in mind that hospital staff have to follow rules and routines, and you’re going to have to fit in with them. But that doesn’t mean that you should have to do anything you aren’t happy about. Your partner may feel a bit awkward and separate from the birth of his child, so try to include him in whatever way you can. It helps to find out as much as you can about the hospital procedures and setup beforehand so that you’re more prepared once you go into labor.
Up to 40 weeks
It can be hard to calculate the exact date of conception, although most women have their fertile time about 14 days after the first day of their menstrual period. Because of this, doctors use an artificial but convenient time scale of 40 weeks, calculated from the date of your last menstrual period. A baby actually reaches “full term,” meaning it’s fully developed, after about 38 weeks.
Your Baby’ s Progress
During this month your baby will usually shed most of the lanugo (fine hair) from his body. There may be some small patches left in odd places and perhaps some in his body creases. His skin is smooth and soft, and there is still some vernix caseosa left on it (mostly on his back), which will help his passage down canal. He’ll be almost chubby before birth. His fingernails are long and may have scratched his face-they’ll need after birth. His eyes are blue, although they may change in the weeks after birth. When he’s awake, his eyes are open. In these last weeks, your baby produces increasing amounts of a hormone called cortisone from his adrenal glands. This helps his lungs to mature and prepare for his first breath.
Meconium Your baby’s intestines are filled with a dark green, almost black, substance called meconium. This is a mixture of the secretions from his alimentary glands together with the lanugo that’s been shed from his body, pigment, and cells from the wall of his bowel. It’ll be the first bowel motion he’ll pass after birth, but he may pass it during delivery.
Immune system His own system is still immature, so to make up for this he receives antibodies from you via the placenta. These protect him against anything that you have antibodies for, such as flu, mumps, and German measles. After he’s born, he’ll keep getting antibodies from you via your breast milk.
His Support System
The placenta now measures 8-10 inches (20-25 cm) in diameter and is just over an inch (3 cm) thick, thus creating a wide area for the exchange of nourishment and waste products between your system and your baby’s. There’s now more than a quart (liter) of water in the amniotic sac.
The hormones made by the placenta are stimulating your breasts to swell and fill with milk. This also causes swelling in your baby’s breasts, whether it is a boy or a girl. This will go down after birth. If your baby is a girl, the stopping of these same hormones following delivery may cause her to have a light bleeding from her vagina (like a period) a few days after her birth.
Up to 34 weeks
Thirty-four weeks after your last period, your baby is perfectly formed. All her proportions are exactly as you’d expect them to be at birth. She still has some maturing to do, though, and some more weight to gain before she’s ready to be born.
Your Baby’s Progress
Her organs are now almost fully mature, except for her lungs. These aren’t yet completely developed, although they’re making increasing quantities of surfactant, the fluid that will stop them from collapsing once she begins to breathe air. She makes strong movements that can be felt on the surface of your abdomen. Almost all babies born at this time survive.
Her skin, nails, and hair Her skin is now pink rather than red, because of the deposits of white fat underneath it. Fat deposits , build up under her skin to provide energy and regulate her body temperature after she’s born. The protective vernix caseosa that covers her skin is now very thick. Her fingernails now reach the ends of her fingers but her toenails are not yet fully grown. She may have quite a lot of hair on her head.
Her eyes Her irises can now dilate and contract. They’ll contract response to bright light, and also to allow her to focus, although she won’t need to develop this skill until after she’s born. She can close her eyelids, and she has begun to blink.
Her position Some babies take up the head-downward position about now, but there’s still plenty of time-most don’t engage until after 36 weeks. She may remain in the breech (bottomdown) position until birth, although most babies do turn on their own.
Her Support System
From this month the placenta layers may start to thin. To make estrogen, the placenta converts a testosterone-like hormone that’s made by your baby’s adrenal glands. By this month these glands are as big as those of an adolescent, and every day they produce 10 times as much hormone as an adult’s adrenal glands. They’ll shrink rapidly after birth.
The amniotic sac, or bag of waters, contains a large amount of fluid, most of which is the baby’s urine-she can produce as much as a pint (half a liter) of urine every day. Excess vernix caseosa, nutrients, and products necessary for the maturing of the her lungs are also in the amniotic sac. The umbilical cord is large, strong, and tough. A firm, gelatinous substance surrounds the blood vessels and prevents kinks or knots in the cord that could affect your baby’s blood supply.
Up to 30 weeks
Your baby’s now so big that when your or midwife examines you, they can check position and the way he’s lying. This is the month he can do a somersault.
Your Baby’s Progress
Great changes take place in your baby’s nervous system this month. His brain grows larger (to fit inside the skull it has to fold over and wrinkle up until it looks like a walnut), and his brain cells and nerve circuits are all fully linked and active.
Also, a protective fatty sheath begins to form around his nerve fibers, just as a similar sheath formed earlier around his spinal cord. This fatty sheath keeps developing until early adulthood. Thanks to this, nerve impulses can travel fasten and your baby is now able to cope with more complex type of learning and movement.
Your baby starts getting ready for birth. (If he were to be born prematurely at tlais stage, he’d have an excellent chance of survival. Even though he might have some breathing problems and difficulty in keeping himself warm, modern care facilities would help him thrive.) He’s beginning to gain some fat underneath his skin, which starts to smooth out, lose its wrinkles, and look more rounded. His coat of hairy lanugo may reduce to just a patch on his back and shoulders. The membranes that sealed and protected his eyes while they were growing will have fulfilled their function by the beginning of this month. His eyes are now fully formed and his eyelids have separated, allowing his eyes to open. He continues to develop the swallowing and sucking skills he’ll need as soon as he’s born.
His breathing – By now he’s developed his mature breathing rhythm, and the air sacs in his lungs start to get ready for the first breath he’ll take in the world outside your womb. The air sacs line themselves with a coating of special cells and a fluid (surfactant) that will prevent them from collapsing.
His movements – He’ll find he has less room to move around and may move less. He’ll wriggle uncomfortably if you’re in a position that doesn’t feel good to him.
Orientation – During his weeks of “gymnastics practice,” your baby has done more than increase his muscle tone-he’s developed the ability to position himself in space. He’ll probably continue to lie with his head upward during this month, although if he’s maturing fast he may turn upside down and settle into place for delivery (engage) earlier than usual. This is more common in first babies. Babies can continue turning up to 36 weeks.