Diary Of A Pregnancy
A Mom's Pregnancy Experiences !
October 9th, 2011 | 
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The arrival of a new baby dramatically changes the dynamics within the family. In years gone by, families lived in close-knit communities and everyone helped everyone else. Grandparents often lived nearby and were available to help with childcare on the odd occasion that the parents were occupied elsewhere. Nowadays, of course, many women work in full-time employment, at least until the birth of their first baby, but they often live some distance away from other family members, and some new parents have very little readily available, local help.
Grandparents can be a help or a hindrance, depending on how far away you live from them, your relationship with them prior to and during your pregnancy and how much help they want to give and you wish to accept. If your mother or mother-in-law offers advice only when you ask for it, you will welcome her involvement, and older women have much to offer in the way of personal life experiences. Read the rest of this entry »
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There are huge hormone changes in the early post-natal period, starting when your placenta is expelled just after your baby’s birth. This causes a sudden drop in pregnancy hormones, especially oestrogen, which causes a corresponding release of the lactation hormone, prolactin, from the pituitary gland in your brain. Prolactin starts the process of milk production in the breast; milk being made from the fatty globules in your blood.
It is the action of putting your baby to your breast to suckle that triggers your ‘let down’ reflex in which oxytocin is released from your pituitary gland to stimulate special cells in the breast. These cells squeeze the milk-producing cells, causing milk to be forced towards the nipple. Suckling in turn stimulates more prolactin to produce more milk. Read the rest of this entry »
For many women using some of the self-help suggestions above may be sufficient to help them through the first stage of labor, but others sometimes need stronger pain relief to help them to cope. Remember – this is your experience, nobody else’s – and only you can say how you feel at the time. If you get to the stage in your labor where self-help suggestions are not enough for you, or if your labor is prolonged or complicated, you may need something else to help you cope.
Do not feel let down or guilty about this – it is important that you make this decision for yourself in order to stay in control of what is happening. In no way does it mean that you have somehow ‘failed’ if you use drugs or have an epidural to help you – regard this as a positive move for your baby. If you reject additional pain relief when you need it, you will become tired and distressed, labor will become prolonged because the oxytocin and endorphin levels will be affected and you will feel less able to enjoy welcoming your baby when he is born.
Your baby should normally settle into a position that is favourable for the birth by about 34-35 weeks of pregnancy. Most babies settle into a cephalic (head-first) presentation, but occasionally they are bottom-first, or breech. This can happen if your baby is big, if your pelvis is small or a slightly different shape from normal, or if your placenta is lying low in the uterus (placenta praevia, which fills up the space where your baby’s head would normally settle). Excessive fluid around your baby may mean he is more likely to keep changing position and so he could be breech when you start labor, or if there is not enough fluid he is less able to move and may get stuck in the breech position. Read the rest of this entry »
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