About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Avoid Labor Waiting Room Stresses

About Pregnancy & Childbirth Pregnancy & Childbirth

Avoid Labor Waiting Room Stresses Jul 19th 2013, 08:20 I am not a huge proponent of people sitting around in a waiting room while mom labors.  That said, sometimes people choose to go, some even wind up camping out for days. When that happens, you're bound to run into one of the seven types of people you'd rather avoid. These people can make your stay in the waiting room hellish. Which ones do you recognize? Related: Hospital Waiting Room Etiquette Best Hospital Waiting Room Stories Worst Thing You've Seen in a Waiting Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Join the conversation! NEWSLETTER | PINTEREST | TWITTER FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ | CONNECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo © Ambrophoto - Fotolia.com Avoid Labor Waiting Room Stresses originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Friday, July 19th, 2013 at 08:20:20. Permalink | Comment | Email this

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About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Shift Workers May Have More Pregnancy Complications

About Pregnancy & Childbirth Pregnancy & Childbirth

Shift Workers May Have More Pregnancy Complications Jul 18th 2013, 10:09 It has long been thought that women who worked shift work or flexible shifts, shifts that move around, had changes in their menstrual cycles and fertility. A large retrospective look at the reproductive history of over 100,000 women was presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference this month. While these findings still need to be looked at in other studies because of a multitude of factors, it gives us some guidance as to where to start looking. Some of the findings included that women who worked irregular hours had a 33% greater chance of having menstrual disruption. This would be shorter or longer periods, anovulatory cycles, etc. This would cause issues with conceiving when they were trying to get pregnant. Their findings showed an 80% higher chance of subfertility, meaning less than ideal fertility levels. For women who worked night shift, they didn't appear to have the same irregularities, but they did have a higher rate of miscarriage than their day working counter parts. While this study doesn't prove that working at night causes miscarriages, it does show something to be studied. So what do you do if you work rotating shifts or work at night? I'd recommend that you start by charting your menstrual cycles.  This will give you an idea of if you're having irregularities. I would recommend this even if you are not yet trying to become pregnant. It can only provide you with valuable information.  If you're working at night, it's harder to say what a good recommendation would be. Things we don't know include: Does changing to day shift help? Or would the change in work patterns be even more stressful to your body and thereby potentially more harmful to your baby? Talking to your practitioner and seeing if new studies are out being a great place to start. What's your work cycle like? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Join the conversation! NEWSLETTER | PINTEREST | TWITTER FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ | CONNECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo © ShutterStock Shift Workers May Have More Pregnancy Complications originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Thursday, July 18th, 2013 at 10:09:54. Permalink | Comment | Email this

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About Pregnancy & Childbirth: How a Doula is Like a Wedding Planner

About Pregnancy & Childbirth Pregnancy & Childbirth

How a Doula is Like a Wedding Planner Jul 16th 2013, 09:19 Some of the most important days in the life of a woman and family are both wedding and birth days. Women spend a lot of time planning wedding details like food, flowers, decorations and a caterer. Sometimes the options become overwhelming or they simply want help navigating the choices for the best price or experience. For many women this makes the process of the wedding much more enjoyable and relaxing. They know that they have an experienced professional who can help them. It typically isn't their mother or sister or even best friend (unless they are professionals in the field). While you can't plan birth, it is helpful to enter pregnancy and labor prepared and knowledgable about choices that you will have to make. A doula can help you to do that. The role of a doula during your pregnancy and birth is exactly the same as the role of the wedding planner leading up to the big day. She will help you find the right classes and people to meet the needs you have set forth in your ideal birth. A doula will help you when you need to deviate from what you wanted, they can be a good listener, provide recommended resources, alleviate stress, and help everything go smoother. If you wouldn't just wing it without a wedding planner on your wedding day, why would you choose to wing it at your birth? 5 Ways Your Doula is Like a Wedding Planner 4 Reasons to Have a Doula at Your Birth 8 Reasons People Don't Hire Doulas 5 Ways to Say Money on a Doula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Join the conversation! NEWSLETTER | PINTEREST | TWITTER FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ | CONNECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo © BB&Co How a Doula is Like a Wedding Planner originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Tuesday, July 16th, 2013 at 09:19:48. Permalink | Comment | Email this

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About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Stripping the Membranes

About Pregnancy & Childbirth Pregnancy & Childbirth

Stripping the Membranes Jul 15th 2013, 09:08 Stripping the membranes that is something done at the end of pregnancy to try to lessen the chances of you going to a full 42 weeks of gestation and hopefully decreasing the risk of having an induction of labor. It is done during a vaginal exam and most women find it fairly uncomfortable to very painful. Most moms say they would be okay with the stripping of the membranes, if they were asked about it before it was done.  Though there are some practitioners who do discuss the risks and benefits of this procedure, some also fail to mention it all together until after the woman has had a painful exam with no understanding of what's being done to her cervix. So if she then has some bleeding or irregular contractions afterwards, she might not understand why and be frightened. So, as you go to your last few prenatal appointments, if your practitioner is going to do a vaginal exam, ask about stripping the membranes before you take your pants off! Have you had your membranes stripped? Did your practitioner talk to you about it before? Related: Readers Share: Having the Membranes Stripped Source: Boulvain M, Stan C, Irion O. Membrane sweeping for induction of labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD000451. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000451.pub2 Photo © Mark Scott/Getty Images Stripping the Membranes originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Monday, July 15th, 2013 at 09:08:41. Permalink | Comment | Email this

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About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Combination Fatigue and Insomnia: a Cruel Joke in Pregnancy

About Pregnancy & Childbirth Pregnancy & Childbirth

Combination Fatigue and Insomnia: a Cruel Joke in Pregnancy Jul 14th 2013, 13:30 Fatigue is one of the earliest symptoms of pregnancy. I remember waking up after a full nights sleep and only being able to stay awake for a few hours before requiring a nap. I'm not using the word requiring lightly here, it honestly felt like I was going to go mad if I didn't sleep. (And I am not a napper by any stretch of the imagination!) It was a really rough time in my early pregnancy. That went on for a few weeks and I thought that this was going to be as bad as it got.  But, being my first baby, I'd come home from work and go to bed without a problem.  That is until I was about eight weeks pregnant and I started to get insomnia on top of everything else. It was a cruel joke that I was so tired, had the time and yet could not sleep. Some nights I'd fall asleep but wake up to go to the bathroom and not get back to sleep.  Other nights I simply couldn't fall asleep.  This let up in the second trimester, but it did come back with a vengeance in the third trimester. Have you had any of this type of combo-pregnancy symptoms when it came to sleep? How did you cope? Related: Pregnancy Sleep Tips 6 Dreams Pregnant Women Have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Join the conversation! NEWSLETTER | PINTEREST | TWITTER FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ | CONNECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo © iStockPhoto Combination Fatigue and Insomnia: a Cruel Joke in Pregnancy originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Sunday, July 14th, 2013 at 13:30:04. Permalink | Comment | Email this

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About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Dollar Store Pregnancy Tests

About Pregnancy & Childbirth Pregnancy & Childbirth

Dollar Store Pregnancy Tests Jul 13th 2013, 18:06 I've seen this question come up a lot this week, so I thought I would weigh in.  Dollar store pregnancy tests are accurate. You simply are getting a pregnancy test without the fancy packaging. These are every bit as reliable as other basic pregnancy tests at a drastic reduction in cost. Now, what you do not get with a dollar store pregnancy test is a decent set of instructions. There is nothing to say how many drops of urine or how long to wait. Nor do you get a fancy 1-800 number staffed by a nurse to answer your pregnancy test questions. (I've got some of the answers to those questions.) I like to keep a stash of the dollar store tests because I can test easily and quickly without worrying about blowing $15 on a pregnancy test. If you've spent any time trying to conceive, it seems like breaking out a pregnancy test is a great way to bring on a late period. And, I'll admit it, I take a ton of pregnancy tests, even when they are positive. I take one daily just to help it sink in. Do you use dollar store pregnancy tests? What about their $1 ovulation kits? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Blood Pregnancy Test hCG Chart Photo © Thomas Northcut/Getty Images Dollar Store Pregnancy Tests originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Saturday, July 13th, 2013 at 18:06:12. Permalink | Comment | Email this

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About Pregnancy & Childbirth: Healthy Pregnancy Cravings

About Pregnancy & Childbirth Pregnancy & Childbirth

Healthy Pregnancy Cravings Jul 12th 2013, 11:40 Cravings are a notorious symptom of pregnancy. You always hear about the wild cravings (pickles and ice cream) or the things that send your partner out in the middle of the night (triple mocha fudge ice cream). What's really surprising to some pregnant women is that they find they have healthy cravings just as often as they have cravings for wild pairings or unhealthy items. In the first trimester, I usually craved really fresh fruit. Now, I certain fruits I preferred, like mangoes and bananas, but it was still a lot better than craving cookies. When I ask moms what they crave, healthy items often make the list. One mom talked about her obsession with raw broccoli and another liked fresh peanut butter on whole grain bread. Did you have any cravings that fell into the healthy category? What did you crave (even if it wasn't in the healthy category)? 6 Things You Can Do About Cravings in Pregnancy Some Women Crave Pickles... Harmful Cravings in Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Join the conversation! NEWSLETTER | PINTEREST | TWITTER FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ | CONNECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo © Noe Montes/Getty Images Healthy Pregnancy Cravings originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Friday, July 12th, 2013 at 11:40:09. Permalink | Comment | Email this

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