You are here: Home / Featured Story

How to Soothe Common Pregnancy Discomforts: Heartburn

May 17, 2013 By FitPregnancy Leave a Comment

In this new series on Giving Birth with Confidence, we’re going to cover some of the most common discomforts that can happen during pregnancy and share tried-and-true ways to help soothe or eliminate them. Pregnancy can be an amazing time in a woman’s life, but it can also be challenging. The reality is that some women’s bodies accept and cope well with pregnancy and some don’t. In any case, having extra tools in your coping toolbox can go along way toward increasing your quality of life during the 4o-ish weeks of pregnancy.

Five Ways to Extinguish the Fire of Heartburn During Pregnancy

By Hillari Dowdle, freelance writer for FitPregnancy

It was heartburn that got me in the end. I could take the swelling, the back pain, the constant trips to the bathroom, the itchy skin, the fatigue, the sweating, the sleeplessness and even the psychological shock of seeing the scale tip 200 pounds. But the constant, searing pain of heartburn made the miracle of pregnancy seem more like a curse—by the middle of my third trimester, my mantra had changed from Please, let him be healthy! to Just get him OUT!

That fiery sensation known as heartburn happens when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), a muscle responsible for keeping stomach contents in their place, begins to relax or leak. this allows stomach acids to flow upward into the esophagus, explains Suzanne Trupin, M.D., CEO of Women’s Health Practice of Champaign, Ill. Pregnant women are prime candidates for two reasons: First, the hormone relaxin—busy limbering up your joints and connective tissue for an easier birth—slows your digestion, meaning food stays in your stomach longer and triggers more acid production. Second, your growing baby exerts pressure on both the stomach and the LES, increasing the chance that acids will be pushed up into the esophagus.

So what’s an expectant mother to do? Follow these five tips to relieve the pain:

1. Eat less, more often
Overeating exacerbates heartburn, says rachel Brandeis, M.S., a registered dietitian in Atlanta who specializes in prenatal nutrition. “When you’re pregnant, there’s less room for your stomach to expand,” she explains. Maintaining a sensible diet will not only stave off heartburn in the short term, but throughout your pregnancy as well, because gaining more than the recommended weight puts more pressure on your abdomen, which can trigger the condition. Instead of three meals a day, aim for six mini-meals (See “Mini-Size Me” below) of no more than 1 1⁄2 cups of food each, Brandeis recommends. Smaller meals are easier for your body to digest.

2. Eliminate trigger foods
Identify the foods that intensify your heartburn and banish them from your diet. While there are no universally “banned” foods, common heartburn triggers include acidic foods, such as citrus fruits and tomatoes, greasy or fried foods, spicy foods, chocolate, coffee, carbonated beverages, and alcohol (which, as you well know, you should eliminate anyway!).

3. Focus on fluids
“Liquid-y foods are less likely to cause problems than solids, since they move through the stomach more quickly,” Brandeis says. Soups, smoothies, yogurt, milkshakes, protein shakes and puddings are good choices. Look for liquids that offer plenty of protein, such as milk and drinkable yogurt, and aim to make solids a little less so: “chew solid foods slowly and extremely well, until they’re almost liquefied,” Brandeis adds.

4. Sleep smart
To avoid nighttime heartburn, don’t eat anything for at least three hours before bedtime. Elevate the head of your bed by placing books under the legs, and if you’re not already sleeping on your left side, start now; stomach acids will have to travel uphill to reach the esophagus—no easy feat!

5. Time for Tums
It’s fine to find relief in a bottle of tums or rolaids or other calcium- containing antacids. However, “too much calcium can block iron absorption, so don’t take tums at the same time you take your prenatal vitamin,” Brandeis advises. By the time I gave birth, I estimate I’d ingested my own considerable body weight in tums. This overuse created calcium overload, which may have exacerbated my anemia. If you’re taking antacids 10 times a day (or more—as I was), talk to your doctor: she may want to check for ulcers or a hiatal hernia (where part of the stomach protrudes into the chest cavity), or prescribe medication.

Also, avoid antacids that list aluminum (such as aluminum hydroxide or aluminum carbonate) as an ingredient; it can cause constipation and can even be toxic in large doses. Remedies containing aspirin (such as alka-seltzer) should also be avoided during pregnancy; look for salicylate or acetylsalicylic acid in ingredients lists. You don’t want an antacid containing sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or sodium citrate, either. Both are high in sodium, which causes water retention.

Mini-Size Me

Here’s a sample of what a day’s worth of small, healthful meals looks like:

1 cup of oatmeal with milk and 1 apple

1 cup of yogurt with fruit

1 ⁄2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich and 1 cup of vegetable soup

1 handful of whole-grain crackers and 1 ounce of your favorite hard cheese

2 ounces of chicken, 1 ⁄2 cup of mashed sweet potatoes and 1⁄2 cup of cottage cheese with fruit

Find eight more small snacks that are easy to make, packed with pregnancy nutrients and delicious at fitpregnancy.com/snackideas.

 

Did you experience heartburn during pregnancy? What helped you get rid of it? Share in the comments — women want to know!

 

Filed Under Common Discomforts, Featured Story, Health and well-being, Medications During Pregnancy, Nutrition, Pregnancy Tagged With heartburn

How to Screen Yourself for Postpartum Depression

May 15, 2013 By Cara Terreri Leave a Comment

May is Mental Health Month. As childbirth education advocates, Lamaze believes that mental health during and after pregnancy is critical to the health and safety of moms and their babies. If you are experiencing depression, anxiety, psychosis, or any other mental health issues, contact your care provider and seek support and resources from Postpartum Progress and Postpartum Support International. You don’t have to suffer alone — and you don’t have to suffer. There is support and treatment available for mental health disorders. Also know that you are not alone — it has been found that 1 in 7 women will experience postpartum depression, though that rate is thought to be higher for all postpartum disorders.

So how do you know if you are experiencing a postpartum disorder? Many moms downplay or dismiss their feelings, chalking them up to “hormones,” but it’s important to take notice and check in with yourself. A postpartum disorder is more than just a “bad day,” and even if you feel as though you are coping, a postpartum disorder ultimately affects your quality of life. If you feel as though something is “off” or if your partner expresses concern about your state of well-being, you can take a free, quick, confidential, online screening quiz to determine whether you may be suffering from postpartum depression.

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS) was developed in 1987 to help doctors determine whether a mother may be suffering from postpartum depression. The scale has since been validated, and evidence from a number of research studies has confirmed the tool to be both reliable and sensitive in detecting depression. The EPDS Score is designed to assist — not replace — clinical judgment. If you feel you may be at risk or suffering from post natal depression, please share the results with your care provider.

Filed Under Featured Story, Health and well-being, Parenting, Perinatal Depression, Post-partum depression, Postpartum, Postpartum Mood Disorder, Postpartum support, Pregnancy Tagged With postpartum depression, PPMD

Congratulations to Our Mother’s Day Giveaway Winner!

May 14, 2013 By Cara Terreri Leave a Comment

Congratulations to Rachel R. who won The First Years stroller and car seat combo set! Her answer to the question about attending childbirth classes was:

I am pregnant with my first, and do plan to attend a child birth class so I will have strategies for natural child birth.

We enjoyed reading through your responses about childbirth classes. As an organization who specializes in childbirth education, it’s very helpful to understand the why or why not when it comes to taking childbirth classes. We strive to find ways to reach women everywhere to help them become informed and make the best decisions about their maternity care.

Filed Under Featured Story, Giveaway

What Women Are Saying About Birth and How it Can Help You

May 13, 2013 By Cara Terreri Leave a Comment

Listening to Mothers III Report Debuts with Feedback on Birth and Maternity Care from 2,500 Women Around the U.S.

 

Last week, Childbirth Connection released the third in a series of reports (the first and second were released in 2002 and 2006) entitled Listening to Mothers. The Listening to Mothers III report is devoted to understanding the experiences and perspectives of childbearing women as a means to improving maternity care policy, practice, education, and research. Results from the first two reports have been widely used to do exactly those things.

The other intention behind the report’s findings is to increase awareness among childbearing women of the issues in our maternity care system and motivate them to seek safe and effective care. Some people like to say, “What you don’t know, can’t hurt you,” but in the case of knowing about your maternity care, what you don’t know can impact the safety and health of you and your baby. When you know all of the choices available to you, you are empowered to make the best decisions for your family.

Below is a summary of some of the key findings (excerpted from the Childbirth Connection website). I encourage you to click through and read the full report. Earmark items that you want to learn more about. Highlight things that you want to mention to your care provider. Circle things to include in your own birth plan.

The use of prenatal ultrasound has increased, including a steep increase in use for an indication that is not supported by evidence. Between the second and third surveys, the proportion of women who had two or fewer ultrasounds decreased from 41% to 30%, while the proportion who had five or more ultrasounds increased from 23% to 34%. In the most recent survey, 68% of women reported that their caregiver used ultrasound near the end of pregnancy to estimate fetal weight, compared with 51% in Listening to Mothers II. Routine fetal weight estimation is not supported by evidence or clinical guidelines.

>>Learn more about common interventions used during birth.

Many women report experiencing pressure from a care provider to have a cesarean, labor induction, or an epidural. The percentage of women who experienced pressure to have a cesarean rose from 9% to 13% between the second and third surveys, while pressure to accept an epidural increased from 7% to 15% and pressure to induce labor increased from 11% to 15%. The proportion of women who attempted to self-induce labor increased from 22% to 29% during the same period, which may be related to pressure to accept medical induction and desire to avoid such intervention. (In Listening to Mothers II, one-third of women who attempted self-induction did so to avoid a medical induction.)

>>Learn about the importance of letting labor begin on its own.

Women’s interest in and access to VBAC is shifting. The data on vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) suggest a small increase between the second and third surveys in the proportion of women with a prior cesarean who were interested in the option of a VBAC, from 45% to 48%. The proportion of women with a prior cesarean who reported a lack of access to VBAC grew to 56% in the current survey from 42% a decade earlier. For those who did not have the option of a VBAC, the proportion reporting that their care provider or their hospital was unwilling declined appreciably between the last two surveys, however, the proportion of mothers denied access to a VBAC for a medical reason unrelated to their prior pregnancy more than doubled (20% to 45%) across the past two surveys.

>>Learn more about VBAC options.

Hospital support for exclusive breastfeeding is improving, although women’s intentions to and experiences with exclusive breastfeeding appear to be declining. Among women intending to exclusively breastfeed, there has been a marked decrease in the percentage of women who received free formula samples or offers at hospital discharge (from 80% to 66% to 49%) and whose babies received formula or water supplementation during the hospital stay (from 47% to 38% to 29%). Across the two most recent surveys there was an increase in newborns being primarily in their mothers’ arms in the first hour after birth, a practice that facilitates breastfeeding, from 34% to 47%. However, the percentage of women nearing the end of pregnancy who hoped to breastfeed decreased over the three surveys, from 67% to 61% to 54%, as did the proportion exclusively breastfeeding at one week (falling from 58% to 51% to 50%.)

>>Learn more about the importance of keeping baby with you after birth and establishing breastfeeding.

Filed Under Birth, Breastfeeding, Featured Story Tagged With Childbirth Connection, Listening to Mothers

Great Expectations: Heather @ 20 Weeks!

May 10, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

I’m halfway done! Congratulations to me! Now, I just have one question. When do I get my brain back? Anyone?

We’re now in the pleasant middle stretch; I’ve gotten into stride for the most part. It’s hard to tell between muscle twitch or movement
sometimes, but I’m pretty certain I’ve finally gotten to that point as well. Stupidity is my biggest complaint at the moment, and it’s
serious. A fog has descended over my brain. What I even remember to do is done with a frightening lack of accuracy. Baby has turned out to be every bit as camera shy as Mom, but we’ll see if next week brings any news. We keep hearing “probably” girl, but I hate to call it for sure until we’ve actually seen something.

Meanwhile, I’m just trying to enjoy this phase without stressing about too much, at least for a week or two. It’s my favorite time of year, where everything is green and rainy but the mountains still have caps of snow. The lilacs will bloom, soon! We have warmth and cool, and possibly only a few week’s break between winter cold and summer heat. What a joy that will be!

I’m relieved to focus on other things for a while, such as: wishing you all a Happy Mothers’ Day. When I say “Mother” I mean those like my beautiful Mom, above, and all the women out there who celebrate their inherent capacity to nurture others and who help whatever they touch to grow. I’m talking about crazy aunts, best friends, educators, healing scientists, authors, etc. I’ve met lots of you in lots of
places, and I owe you the deepest gratitude, particularly for your example. Because of your efforts, my life has deeper purpose and
satisfaction.

I was raised on the concept of traditional family, which for me provided a positive sense of direction in life. I want to be part of
that powerful legacy of mothering. However, I don’t accept the overly sanctified vision of the flawless mother in the ideal family, mostly because neither of those exist. Also because there will come a moment when each of us who buys into it realizes how short of that measure we fall in some way, and run the risk of being crippled by despair. I’ve seen this sadly often in my own childhood home.

Still, I believe that each of us striving toward many of those goals in our own way leads us to become better than we could be otherwise. It just works best if you don’t try to do it all, or all at once. Easier said than accomplished. I have less physically to cope with at the moment, but my brain is becoming more and more absent and my heart more vulnerable, just as my focus is turning to what happens after the next 4-5 months. Am I ready for this? I suppose I won’t ever be completely ready because I don’t know yet what to expect. At least, I know I have the right intentions, and great support from many directions. I feel I’m in the right place.

I will quickly share two treasured experiences that have pushed me to face Mothering With Confidence. I was working as a missionary in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and experiencing a kind of personal crisis, namely one of those moments of crippling despair and inadequacy. I expressed some of my doubts to the man directing missionary efforts in that part of the state, and was reminded in turn of the many family members I had who were praying for my success as I worked there and beyond, from my immediate family to generations past to the children and grandchildren I was yet to have. This reminder turned my thoughts to my mother, the harrowing challenges I had seen her face through my life, and to the person she had become as a result. Was she perfect? No. But she had a heart that was always willing to love, accept, and reassure. Because she had been hurt, she knew how to comfort. I decided that if enduring that time was what it took to be like her, to offer what I hoped to give to others, I would do it.

So I tried my best to move forward and give of myself and then came home to face the rest of my life. Enter another despairing moment. It was a late night, and I was lying in bed, thinking of all that still needed to happen. Where would I find work? What would I study? Was I going to be married, or not? What if I was? Would I be happy? Would I be a good mother? It was all so much and seemed so urgent. I prayed and prayed for comfort and was surprised when the answer came so quickly.

I dreamed that night of my first experiences with a new baby. The first time we met, I realized I was holding her incorrectly. When we
brought her home, my dream husband and I had just moved, and boxes were everywhere. My family had come to stay with us and help unpack. We all sat on the couch and talked and laughed together, mostly about how our new girl still had no name. Finally, she grew tired. For what seemed like a real life hour, I tried to rock her and shush my family, looking through boxes for her pajamas. We fell asleep together in a recliner in another room. When I woke up, she had peed all over us both. Okay, bathtime! I got her undressed and into the bathtub before I realized I had never cleaned it after the move. My mother held her as I scrubbed and disinfected obsessively. Just as I was ready to put her back in, she peed again in the water. The most striking part of the dream was how calm and happy I felt, in the middle of the chaos and as I made so many silly mistakes. It didn’t matter; I kept moving on to the next thing. I loved watching how aware and smart my baby was, and talking and explaining the world to her. Everything would be fine. The confidence was coming from around and not inside me, but it quieted my heart and left me feeling peaceful in the morning.

I wish we all allowed ourselves that peace more often. I’m wishing it for all of you, in all your nurturing efforts. Let’s all live in the
season and the spirit of new life and growth in the world right now. This is a beautiful time to celebrate and simply be.

Filed Under Featured Story, Great Expectations

The First Years Stroller & Car Seat Giveaway for Mother’s Day

May 8, 2013 By Cara Terreri 32 Comments

In celebration of Mother’s Day, we have a giveaway perfect for parents-to-be! Lamaze is thrilled to be able to give away a “Wisp” stroller and “Via” car seat system by The First Years — worth $249!

New from The First Years, a truly lightweight travel system that is fashionable and durable. European-styled frame rated for use to 50 pounds all at a very affordable price. The Wisp stroller features taller handle heights, front swivel lock and rear brakes, generous lower and upper storage, a removable child tray and an oversized canopy with a peek a boo window.

The new Via Infant Seat is new from the makers of the family of 5-Star Rated Car Seats. The Via offers the features that are standard on all The First Years car seats. For use from 5 to 35 pounds with the base, the Via features double wall construction for extra support. The patented one-hand easy-to-adjust five-point harness means you never need to rethread, ever, making it one of the easiest seats to use. The Via offers one of the deepest shells in the market and is side-impact tested to International standards. The patented Rebound Energy Management handle helps manage the energy in the event of a crash and the innovative comfort carry handle with oversized elbow padding makes it easier to carry. The exclusive Information frame handle, provides a secure spot for all that important contact information.

To enter to win, answer the following question in the comments below: Did you attend childbirth classes during your pregnancy? Why or why not? 

The deadline to enter is midnight on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 12. We’ll announce the winner next week here on the blog. Unfortunately, we are limited to shipping the stroller only to the continental United States. There will be only one winner. Winner will be notified directly by email as well as announced on the blog. Prize cannot be exchanged for cash value.

 

Good luck!

Filed Under Featured Story, Giveaway Tagged With Giveaway

A Mother’s Essay: “I ‘Have it All’… Just Not All at Once”

May 6, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

By Jennifer Marshall

There has been a lot of talk on the interwebs lately about women and work and family and can we really “have it all?” Some argue yes, we definitely can. Others argue, well sure, if you have unlimited income then, yes, you can. But I think it’s safe to say that it’s definitely not the reality for most working Americans.

For me, it’s all about bursts of “having it all.” You know, those days when you finally get the kids tucked into bed at 8pm and you sit down and realize: “Wow. Today was really awesome.” I know — doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does, I like to savor every drop of it.

Those are the days when the kids are happy and smiling when they hop out of bed for breakfast. When they play together so sweetly as I buzz about the kitchen making them french toast because it’s what they said they were craving. My coffee is perfect and I sip it as I cook. Everyone loves their breakfast and eats it all up without any spills and I even have a conversation with my little ones as they tell me excitedly about what they’re going to do at school that day.

The morning routine continues to go smoothly as I dress my younger one and the older one practically dresses himself after I lay out some clothes. Teeth are brushed, shoes and jackets put on without having to ask ten times, and bookbags are ready so that we make it to school with three minutes to spare. My big kid remarks on the drive to school, “Today was a good morning, Mommy.” And I drive on with a smile.

Back at home, I dive into cleaning up the breakfast dishes and marvel at how it only takes fifteen minutes when there aren’t little ones underfoot. I settle in to get some work done and have a leisurely lunch, actually tasting each bite, before picking up the kids. Their shining smiling faces are so full of joy when I arrive to pick them up. It’s been a good break, but I am ready to have them back again, to hear all about their adventures at school. The afternoon sails by with a nap for baby girl and quiet time for big brother while I finish up where I left off with my work.

We play some board games together and read a few books before I realized it’s already time to make dinner. My husband arrives home around 6pm, and the kids are sitting at the table in the kitchen eating their meals because they were so hungry from all the play that they couldn’t wait for Daddy. I wrap my arms around him for a cozy “welcome home” hug and the kids both smile at our little display of affection. As he goes upstairs to change out of his work clothes into something more comfortable, I think to myself, “How did I get so lucky?”

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of days when I am counting the seconds until bedtime because it’s been such a rough and draining day. Those are the days when I feel like a terrible mother because I forgot my patience and yelled at the kids too much or because work was so busy that I barely had time to play with them let alone feed them a proper meal. But when the days come where I have juggled everything with ease and I look around me and am in complete awe at all that I have, I am filled with an immense gratitude for life and motherhood.

Makes me want to push my luck and just go for one more. But that’s another post altogether.

Finding a balance has been a lifesaver for me. I enjoy my first career and appreciate the flexibility I have in working from home. For me, trying to “have it all” – all at once – is way too stressful. It makes life miserable for me and my family which is not fair for anyone, myself included. Instead, I have come to terms with the reality that it is better to go with the flow of life than to try to arrange all the responsibilities of work and family into a perfect package. If I work on a contract for 9 months and then want to take five or six months off to give my family my complete and undivided attention, then I’m going to work hard at our family budget in order to make that happen. It’s worth it in the end and the balance it provides our family with gives me sanity.

Balance is the key for me in life and work and I am very thankful for being able to “have it all” even if I don’t always have it all at once.

Jennifer is a 34-year old wife and mother of two young children. Over seven years ago she suffered her first manic episode. Several months and many doctor’s appointments later, she was finally diagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder – Type I. Jennifer’s blog, www.bipolarmomlife.com, documents her progress, and keeps her accountable and healthy for her family. She is currently blogging for WhatToExpect.com’s Word of Mom community and is also working on a memoir. Along the way, she hopes to help fight stigma and inspire other people who are struggling with the same feelings, fears, and insecurities that she was at one point. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. You just need to keep fighting hard to get there. You can email Jennifer at bipolarmomlife@gmail.com.
Filed Under Featured Story, Parenting

For Moms-To-Be on Mother’s Day: A Message from MotherToBaby

May 3, 2013 By admin Leave a Comment

By Kenneth Lyons Jones, MD, OTIS/MotherToBaby President

We, the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), are extremely pleased to introduce a new name for our free counseling service: MotherToBaby. MotherToBaby was chosen because it so perfectly depicts the commitment we have made to provide personalized, evidence-based information to mothers-to-be, to women contemplating pregnancy, and to health care professionals about medications and other exposures during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

The awareness that a drug can be transported from mother to baby is a fairly new concept. Until recently it was thought that the developing baby was protected from the external environment and that all birth defects had a genetic cause. That all changed in the 1960s when Widukind Lenz in West Germany and William McBride in Australia recognized that a drug used for the treatment of nausea and vomiting, as well as anxiety, caused serious defects in the development of a baby’s arms and legs when taken early in pregnancy. Over the years , the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. No longer is it believed that the unborn baby is protected from environmental influences. Instead, concern has been raised that many drugs taken commonly by pregnant women can cause problems for a developing baby.

Despite that concern, instances occur in which a woman inadvertently takes a medication prior to the time she realizes she is pregnant and many women are required to take a drug because of a chronic condition such as a seizure disorder or depression. That is why, in addition to our counseling services, we have a major commitment to gain new information about drugs for which little or no information is known. When a drug is newly approved by the FDA and marketed there is inadequate information about the effects of that drug on human pregnancy outcome. After all, it would be unethical to give a newly marketed drug to a pregnant woman to find out if it is safe for the developing baby.

At the present time drugs are evaluated only after a woman discovers she is pregnant. In cases in which pregnant women call MotherToBaby about a drug for which adequate information is unavailable, follow-up of her pregnancy by our counselors and documentation of pregnancy outcome can provide valuable information that can help the next pregnant woman who asks us about the same medication.

We at MotherToBaby are consulted about hundreds of different drugs each year, but the one that we are most frequently asked about is alcohol. Like most drugs, there remains a huge amount of important information about its effect on the developing baby for which we lack adequate information. However, we do know that prenatal exposure to alcohol is the number one cause of intellectual disability. We know that the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) occurs in children of all ethnic groups, all nationalities, and all socioeconomic groups. In fact, women with advanced education report they drink alcohol more than women with less education. Unlike many other drugs, we know that alcohol can have an effect following exposure in any trimester of pregnancy, and we know that FASD occurs in one out of 100 live born babies making it almost as common as Autism Spectrum Disorder.

It is important to recognize that knowledge about the effects of drugs, chemicals, infections, and environmental agents on pregnancy outcome provides the opportunity to prevent birth defects and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. We at MotherToBaby believe our primary role is to provide that education to pregnant women and particularly to women who are contemplating pregnancy.

If you have questions about drugs and other exposures, call MotherToBaby toll-FREE at 866-626-6847 or visit MotherToBaby.org to browse a library of fact sheets. MotherToBaby and OTIS are suggested resources by many agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Kenneth Lyons Jones, MD, is a professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego and current president of OTIS/MotherToBaby. He was the first researcher to identify Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in 1973. 

Filed Under Exposures During Pregnancy, Featured Story, Pregnancy Tagged With MotherToBaby, OTIS

Welcome to May!

May 1, 2013 By Cara Terreri Leave a Comment

Happy May 1st, everyone! Here at Giving Birth with Confidence, there is a lot going on in May. First, and most obvious, is Mother’s Day. We’ll be sharing inspiring stories and short essays from mothers, along with a giveaway or two, on the blog this month.

May is also Mental Health Month, a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. We’ll be sharing mental health resources helpful for women and families experiencing mental health disorders during pregnancy and postpartum.

And last, but certainly not least, we’ve just received news that our Great Expectations blogger, Rebecca, gave birth to her baby boy yesterday! Mom and baby are both doing very well. We won’t receive Rebecca’s “40 weeks” installment this Friday, but we will get to read her birth story later this month. Congrats, Rebecca!

Filed Under Featured Story

What Will You Do on Your Due Date?

April 29, 2013 By Cara Terreri 1 Comment

In the last few weeks leading up to your due date, you’re probably feeling pregnant — very pregnant. You may be feeling more tired, more sore, and generally more uncomfortable. Or you may feel physically great! It’s an exciting and sometimes nerve-wracking time. You’re wondering when labor will begin, if those last few contractions were the start of “real” labor, or perhaps, you’re soaking up every last moment of your pregnancy, in no particular rush for baby to arrive. Either way, if you make it to your due date without going into labor, it’s a milestone to be celebrated.

While your due date is just an estimate — not an expiration date — you may feel disappointed when you’ve hit your due date with no sign of baby. Planning a celebration on your due date gives you something else (with a more definite time frame) to look forward to and enjoy.  Need some ideas? How about:

  • Pedicure — the foot rub will be heavenly!
  • Prenatal massage
  • Lunch/dinner date
  • A nap!
  • Shopping with a friend
  • Movie

Whatever you do on your due date, be sure to make it an official plan — put it on your calendar, invite your friend or spouse if they’re included. And if your celebratory due date event comes and goes, and you go past your due date, plan another celebration! Treat yourself, even in a small way, for each day you go past your due date. It helps you pass the time and it’s also well-deserved — growing a baby is hard work!

What will you do on your due date?

 

Filed Under Featured Story, Pregnancy
« Older Posts