Now is the time that you will become emotionally and physically prepared for pregnancy and birth. You'll want o look at your available options for healthcare providers and birthing environments, and start learning about routine newborn care.
Our Adverts: A new car comes with a manufacturer warranty, which usually covers the entire vehicle for a certain amount of time. This is referred to as a bumper-to-bumper auto warranty. In addition to this comprehensive automobile warranty, a drive train warranty is also offered on new vehicles.
What Do Doulas Do?
Birth Doulas
A Birth Doula understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labour. She assists the woman and her partner in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth. She provides continuity of care, emotional support, physical comfort measures, an objective viewpoint. She helps the woman and her partner obtain information they need to make good decisions. Women have complex needs during childbirth. In addition to the safety of modern obstetrical care, and the love and companionship provided by their partners, women need consistent, continuous reassurance, comfort, encouragement and respect. They need individualized care based on their circumstances and preferences. The role of the Doula encompasses the non-clinical aspects of care during childbirth. The comfort and reassurances offered by the Doula are beneficial regardless of whether or not the woman chooses pain medication.
Many pregnant women feel sick from time to time. It often happens in the first few months of pregnancy. It may be the changes in your hormone levels that cause you to feel sick.Try these ideas to help you feel better: 1) Eat several small meals each day rather than three large meals. Try not to skip meals, though. You will feel worse if your stomach is empty. 2) Try eating crackers, bread or dry cereal before getting out of bed in the morning. 3) Get out of bed slowly in the morning. 4) Have a snack before bedtime. 5) Drink fluids before or after meals, not with meals. 6) Stay away from coffee, fatty foods and foods with strong smells or tastes. 7) Talk to your health care professional if you cannot stop vomiting, or if you feel too sick to eat at all. Heartburn In the second half of pregnancy, many women get heartburn. Heartburn happens because of hormone changes and the pressure of the baby against your stomach. This can cause stomach acid to move up...
For most women, a healthy amount of weight to gain while pregnant is 11.5 to 16 kg (25 to 35 pounds). You must talk to your health care professional: 1) If you were underweight or overweight before you became pregnant. 2) If you are younger than 17. 3) If you are pregnant with twins or triplets. Your health care professional will suggest how much weight gain is healthy for you. Gaining a healthy amount of weight is important for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. The weight you gain helps your baby grow, helps you to feel well and gets your body ready for breastfeeding. 11.5 to 16 kg (25 to 35 pounds) seems like a lot of weight to gain. How will I ever lose it? You may be surprised that only 2 to 3.5 kg (5 to 8 pounds) of this weight gain is fat. The rest of the weight gain is for the baby, the placenta, blood and fluids. Your body stores fat to give you the extra energy you will need for pregnancy and breastfeeding. Eating well and being active can help you slowly return to...
The safest choice for you and your baby is not to drink any alcohol during your pregnancy. This article has recipes for delicious non-alcoholic drinks, also called Mocktails. Try some out. If you don't have some of the ingredients on hand, make up your own recipes. Share your favourites with family and friends. Pregnant women have additional reasons to think about what they eat and drink. Here are some tips for making healthy drinks for a healthy pregnancy: 1) No alcohol 2) Use no more than 4 oz. of juice per drink 3) Use 100% juices, fruit nectars, fruit cocktails or fruit drinks 4) Use frozen yogurt instead of ice cream 5) Use 2%, 1% or skim milk instead of cream 6) Use sparkling water (soda water) instead of pop 7) Add pieces of fruit or vegetables to garnish 8) Save drinks that are higher in fat, sugar or calories for special occasions Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause permanent birth defects and brain damage to your baby. There is no safe time to drink alcohol...
It is Murphy's law that just when you are able to get food into your body without having it come back up, that you suddenly find you cannot get the food out of your body. Nearly half of all the women who are pregnant suffer from constipation during pregnancy.
As with all symptoms of pregnancy there is a reason for constipation. When you are pregnant your body creates progesterone which in turns relaxes the muscles of the bowels and causes your digestive tracks to work much slower. Your digestive track works slower to make sure your body absorbs the nutrients from your food for your baby. This can create constipation, which if it not kept under control, can lead to hemorrhoids.
There are some ways you can help avoid constipation throughout your pregnancy. Make sure you included plenty of fiber in your diet. Fiber absorbs water and can help to soften your stools and speed their passage. Eat plenty of high fiber foods like whole grain cereal...
Here are some great childbirth tips which can help you have the best possible birth. I used these things to prepare for the birth of my 5th child. I implemented all of these ideas at the end of my pregnancy, and ended up having the best labor and delivery experience of all five of my births. Childbirth Tips Drink Raspberry Leaf Tea Go Swimming Sit Up - Don't Recline Crawl on your hands and knees Take Chlorophyll Get Chiropractic Adjustments Relax Visualize My 5th birth was the fastest and easiest of all. My cervix dilated from 4cm to 10 cm in an hour. I pushed my baby's head out in one contraction, and then the rest of her body out in the next. Fast and easy!
So how did these childbirth tips help me to have a very fast and easy birth?
Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. I drank 3 cups of Raspberry Leaf Tea a day. I was sure to get the Raspberry LEAF tea (NOT raspberry flavored tea). Raspberry Leaf Tea helps to strengthen and tone the uterus. This...
As human beings we are part of the animal kingdom, a part of nature. As females we have been given the opportunity to live in a body that knows how to conceive, grow, birth and nourish a baby. Through this process of creating, giving, and nourishing life we can experience a raw con¬nected relationship to nature and know our primal feminine power. Birth is not an experience that happens outside of us or to us, rather it is a natural life process that we are a part of. Birth, even though it is a natural life process, takes us into the unknown and thus, easily invokes our fear. As humans we want to possess knowledge and understanding. Modern medicine has played a significant role in women disconnecting from the natural process of birth and from the power of being connected to the process. We have handed our power over to science, put¬ting our complete trust in it. We count on ultrasound pictures to show us that our baby is grow¬ing inside of us. We want to know the gender of our baby...
Try, try again. Here's what to do when you can't help baby feel better.
As the saying goes, the best things in life don’t come easily—and we all know that parenting is one of them. In particular, curing common childhood discomforts and illnesses can be trickier than they first appear. When your primary remedies fall short, turn to these backup problem solvers to fix the afflictions.
Diaper rash
First try: Change baby’s diaper frequently to keep his bottom clean and dry. “The longer bottoms are exposed to stool and urine, the longer you’ll perpetuate diaper rash,” notes New York-based Alanna Levine, MD, FAAP, spokesperson for the American...
