Gentle birth Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing Babyman The Florida Medical Network The Pregnancy Channel How Pregnancy Tests work COCHRANE PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH GROUP abstracts OB PG Family Medicine Experts BORN IN THE U.S.A. - Childbirth in America
Recommended pregnancy books: Pregnancy Week by Week, Dr Jane Macdougall Parenting Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth, editors of Parenting magazine A Child is Born. The Developing Human by Keith L. Moore is good, but it is very graphic
These numbers are the levels of HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in the bloodstream. They should double about every 2 days for a healthy pregnancy. If they are higher, it usually means twins or triplets. If the levels go down, it is a sign of an impending miscarriage. If they rise very slowly, it may be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy.
Resource URL's:
Repro-Med site Advanced fertility's site FertilityPlus's site HCG Level's in Early Pregnancy Inciid's beta numbers siteYou can try this treatment for morning sickness. My understanding is that there are some bracelets you can get that help more than anything, are natural, and should not hurt either you or the baby. Also try having something to nibble on in the morning before you get out of bed (protein of some sort works good) and something to drink (no carbonation or caffeine) helps. Hard candy can work also. Just came across this link: US FDA Clears Wristband Device For Morning Sickness
The newest thing I've seen is the Preggie Pop. I'd love to hear from anyone who tries it out.
Gestational diabetes is developing or having diabetes in pregnancy. This is a problem because of a greater risk of getting PIH or pregnancy induced hypertension and having a baby who at birth has blood sugar problems. A condition called macrosomia, where your baby becomes very large, puts you at risk for having a longer labor, and more interventions in labor.
The test that you have to do - drinking a sugar cola type - is awful, but there are other ways to take it. If you have your doctor check out: Jelly beans as an alternative to a 50-gram glucose beverage for gestational diabetes screening, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol 181, Number 5, Part 1, Michael E. Lamar, et all, and Alternative methods of diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, November 1999 issue, Lorraine C. Atilano, et all, you might be able to use jelly beans. Using fasting plasma glucose concentrations is another way to screen for GD. You can get a more official overview at the British Medical Journal.
For the most part, diabetes in pregnancy is treated by diet and using insulin shots. The new regimens might go to twice daily versus four times daily.
I've heard a lot of jokes about this. I thought this was just folklore, then I found the following sources that say it is true:
Am J Obstet Gynecol 1998 Sep;179(3 Pt 1):731-7 (ISSN: 0002-9378); Keenan PA; Yaldoo DT; Stress ME; Fuerst DR; Ginsburg KA, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Wayne State U., School of Medicine/Detroit Medical Center, Michigan, USA; "Memory in pregnancy. II: Implicit, incidental, explicit, semantic, short-term, working and prospective memory in primigravid, multigravid and postpartum women."
J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 1999 Sep;20(3):158-64 (ISSN: 0167-482X); Casey P; Huntsdale C; Angus G; Janes C School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, (CSU), Wagga Wagga, Australia.
J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 1999 Jun;20(2):80-7 (ISSN: 0167-482X), Janes C; Casey P; Huntsdale C; Angus G; Centrelink, Mt Druitt, Australia.; Memory loss during pregnancy
[letter; comment], Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1994 Feb;101(2):177-8 (ISSN: 0306-5456); Silber M [Find other articles with this Author], Comment on: Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1993 Mar; 100(3):209-15.
Fact SheetMotherisk prelabor care in US Midwife FAQ Miwife USA FAQ Labor Among Primitive Peoples NACC FAQ's on Childbearing & Birthcenters The Place of Birth Book Reviews about prelabor care in US Bornfree! the ACNM BabyCenter Barefoot Doctoring BirthPartners.Com CAL Consultants Midwifery Childbirth.org's interactive birth plan Pregnancy, Birth, Childbirth What Midwives Do Garden Croft Healthymotherandbaby Obstetrician Job Profile Female Genital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications Midwifery Today! BirthPartners.Com Care in Normal BirthAll references had to be deleted as of March 26, 2002. I'm looking for more.
Doula's, which are birth attendants and helpers who are experienced in childbirth, have been found to be of positive benefit to both mother and baby. I also have seen some good things from Nurturing Arms Doula Services for Today's Modern Mothers
I found that there is a lot of difference between what is recommended and what isn't. I'm looking right now for some rules on when it should be offered. I know that there are some incisions that you don't want to have a vaginal birth with, because it raises your chance for the uterus to rupture. The lower cuts in the abdomen tend to be the best ones. The more C sections you have, the greater the chance for having another one. There are lots of controversies over C Section births. If you want your doctor to review the bibliography on it, have him/her look here because its from a doctors' point of view.
There are several ways to help relieve labor pains. Breathing exercises (Lamaze style), walking, warm water baths, massages, and using different positions rather than flat on your back. Actually the squatting position, kneeling, being on all fours, tends to use gravity and the body to help the baby come out easier. It also means less time in labor because the pelvic outlet is opened up wider than if you are flat on your back. If you choose a hospital style birth, you can have epidurals, which are like pain killers, and spinal blocks for starters. The newest type of epidurals are walking epidurals. You can get up and move around with these.
You can read Birth Story Diaries, Pain Relief in Childbirth and Bornfree! for more indepth information. In addition, an anti-epidural article was written by Dr. Muir, in regards to the problems with epidurals. BirthPsychology.com has some fascinating information regarding "birth rituals". It covers not just positions, but cleaning off of the vernix after birth and other esoteric items. Gentlebirth.org goes over epidurals, but also other drugs (like morphine) more indepth than any other site I know. Vicki Elson, a childbirth educator, listed a number of reported side effects of epidurals (such as an operative delivery). I also was given the following information on
Hypnosis for birth.
It sounds very interesting!!
An episiotomy is a surgical cut that an ob makes so that you don't rip or tear the perineum, which is the area from the vagina to the rectum. There is a whole lot of controversy over this. From my reading, it seems that what happens is that over time, surgical repair of the tear deteriorates with time. The BMJ has several articles, Midline Episiotomy and Midline episiotomy and anal incontinence about the damage caused by this. It seems that the problem could be fixed by massaging of the perineum and slower times to let the tissues open and stretch naturally. On the subject, there is Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities, and Episiotomy and Perineal Trauma. There is also an article not online entitled: "Episiotomy, operative vaginal delivery, and signficant perineal trauma in nulliparous women", American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol 181, Number 5, Part 1, Julian N. Robinson, et all. I do feel the need to bring this up: Maternal Mortality in the United States. A brand new article says that perineal massage does not prevent trauma, so its up to you to decide what you want to do.
Single Mom By Choice Birthright Parents Without Partners Single Mothers Single parents help Working Mother Jury Still Out on Safety of Underwater Birth Gentle birth The labor of love reasons to have a water birth Birth BalanceKay, a CNM, was kind enough to send me the following information on back support, and other types of support during pregnancy. See Girdles and abdominal supports during pregnancy and Belly bras, search on belly or back support pregnancy.