Thursday, December 27, 2012

About Pregnancy & Childbirth: New Year's Cheer without the Alcohol

About Pregnancy & Childbirth
Pregnancy & Childbirth
New Year's Cheer without the Alcohol
Dec 27th 2012, 09:32

Let's face it the, New Year's Eve means tons of parties and plenty of opportunities for alcoholic beverages. If you're used to celebrating the holidays with a drink or two, whether it's the celebratory New Year's champagne or the family version of egg nog, this year might be different.

The Newly Non-Drinking Girl's Guide to Pregnancy
has some ideas to keep you happy and sober.

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New Year's Cheer without the Alcohol originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 09:32:52.

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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Did Santa bring you a big fat positive pregnancy test?

About Pregnancy & Childbirth
Pregnancy & Childbirth
Did Santa bring you a big fat positive pregnancy test?
Dec 25th 2012, 08:10

If so, congratulations! Are you planning to share the big news of your pregnancy today at Christmas? Well here are some special ideas for sharing the good news on Christmas.

Or perhaps you're not yet pregnant or are looking for generic ideas on announcing your pregnancy. If so, we've got some ideas for that as well! You can also add your own pregnancy announcement! If you've decided to keep the secret a bit longer, you can still come talk to us about it at the due date forums. I'm personally hanging out and watching #twitterbirth on Twitter. If you're there, stop by and say hi to me. Merry Christmas!

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Photo © EyeWire

Did Santa bring you a big fat positive pregnancy test? originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Tuesday, December 25th, 2012 at 08:10:34.

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Friday, December 21, 2012

About Pregnancy & Childbirth: A Twin Birth Story at 40+ Weeks

About Pregnancy & Childbirth
Pregnancy & Childbirth
A Twin Birth Story at 40+ Weeks
Dec 21st 2012, 10:10

Almost eleven years ago I got the news - we were expecting twins. When I was pregnant with my twins, I thought for sure there ought to be some way to tell I was pregnant with two rather than one - without the use of medical technology. With multiple birth rates on the rise, you may wonder if maybe your bundle of joy isn't really bundles (plural). This quick and easy quiz can help you sort out fact from fiction in the great scheme of things and help you determine if you're possibly having twins!

Our identical twin girls turned ten today! Take a trip down memory lane with me and read about their birth, it was a wild ride!

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Photo © Robin Elise Weiss

A Twin Birth Story at 40+ Weeks originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Friday, December 21st, 2012 at 10:10:33.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

About Pregnancy & Childbirth: What's up with celebrities not naming their babies?

About Pregnancy & Childbirth
Pregnancy & Childbirth
What's up with celebrities not naming their babies?
Dec 19th 2012, 10:16

Fred Savage and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed a son on November 26th - and didn't name him right away. The same week, Guy Ritchie and girlfriend, Jacqui Ainsley, welcomed a daughter and also didn't name her at birth. And singer Adele has yet to file for a name for her baby boy born in October with boyfriend, Simon Konecki.

Adele

While this may all seem unusual, it's not. In fact, in some traditions, babies aren't named until after birth, sometimes weeks later. For example, babies born into Jewish families traditionally aren't named until the 8th day for boys or about two weeks for girls. There are other traditions that have families waiting to get to know the baby before choosing a name.

We actually waited to name our children until after birth. Technically it was because my husband and I were having trouble agreeing on names, but we also wanted to get to know the baby a bit.  The longest we went was about four weeks with our seventh baby, fifth daughter.  She just went by Lucky Seven until we named her. Now her name is Ada.  Though she is certainly not the Norah we had considered. And I can't count the number of people who still causally refer to my four year old as Ocho, and not her name, Noa.

The truth is we didn't have names, sometimes up until moments before the naming ceremonies began. So it doesn't surprise me to hear that others have similar issues, even if I don't know the details.  I'll also say that I'm sure some people who don't announce baby names, do know the name and the simply aren't sharing.

What are you doing?

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Photo © Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

What's up with celebrities not naming their babies? originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 at 10:16:37.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Traumatic Birth

About Pregnancy & Childbirth
Pregnancy & Childbirth
Traumatic Birth
Dec 18th 2012, 11:15

Mother, Father, Doctor in Labor

Something very few people talk about or acknowledge is traumatic birth.  "A birth is defined as traumatic if the woman was or believed she or her baby was in danger of injury or death, and she felt helpless, out of control, or alone, and can occur at any point in labor and birth," says Cheryl Beck, researcher.   According to a variety of studies, the rate of women experiencing a traumatic birth is between 25-34%.

When someone experiences a traumatic birth, the negative experience can lead to further complications, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other unwanted symptoms. Treatment can help. This treatment may include therapy, medications or a combination. In some cases, hospitalization may be needed.

What causes a traumatic birth?  Beck cites the following as potential reasons a person may experience a traumatic birth:

  • Perceived lack of communication from the medical staff
  • Fear of unsafe care
  • Lack of choice regarding routine medical procedures
  • Lack of continuity of people caring for the mother/baby
  • Care being based solely on the delivery outcome

When I was talking about this in my childbirth class, so may of the moms and their partners were shocked to hear some of these reasons, particularly the lack of continuity of care and lack of choice. Many of the practices in my area have obstetricians that are on call only certain hours, and then you're handed off to the next person, no matter where you are in labor. So they have little control, other than to change doctors. Though one mom said that her birth plan became even more important to her as she learned this information and had decided to share it with her practitioner.

Other than awareness and education, what are you doing to try to avoid falling into this category?

Resources:

 

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Traumatic Birth originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Tuesday, December 18th, 2012 at 11:15:57.

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Monday, December 17, 2012

About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Miscarriage: It Just Sucks

About Pregnancy & Childbirth
Pregnancy & Childbirth
Miscarriage: It Just Sucks
Dec 17th 2012, 14:52

Sad Couple Comforting Each Other

Having a miscarriage or other pregnancy loss is hard on anyone.  I know that when we had our pregnancy losses, my husband was just as devastated as I was, only he lacked the support that I had. Ryan tells of his experience as a father after a miscarriage:

"My wife and I had two miscarriages.  I don't deal with the hormonal and physical issues, but the baby was real in my heart and dreams.  My wife heard all of the terrible things that people say.  The most helpful comment came from my friend who had also dealt with a miscarriage.  I told him about it, and he said , 'There's nothing to say except it sucks.'  My wife and I have used the 'it sucks' comment a lot since then.  There's really no explanation--it just sucks."

What was your experience as a father after miscarriage?  Or how did your partner respond after you had a miscarriage?

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Miscarriage: It Just Sucks originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Monday, December 17th, 2012 at 14:52:55.

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Friday, December 14, 2012

About Pregnancy & Childbirth: One Mom Shares How Her Ultrasound Was Wrong

About Pregnancy & Childbirth
Pregnancy & Childbirth
One Mom Shares How Her Ultrasound Was Wrong
Dec 14th 2012, 08:47

Girl or Boy Dice

The ultrasound is considered fool proof when it comes to the answer of girl or boy?  The fact is, it's not.  Here's Mary Beth's story:

"We had a 16 week 'gender' reveal ultrasound and followed with a 'gender' reveal party with friends and family... at that time we were having a girl (Ellie). At my 20 week ultrasound we discovered that she was a 'he'.... I'm certainly not 'disappointed' - I want a happy healthy baby regardless. But, I'm struggling b/c I feel like I've lost my baby girl. It's especially hard when friends and family say things like 'aww so sad I really wanted you to have a girl.' I'm thinking therapy is in my future."

This is a different take on gender disappointment. Have you had something like this happen to you?

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One Mom Shares How Her Ultrasound Was Wrong originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Friday, December 14th, 2012 at 08:47:26.

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