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Labor Day: 7 Labor & Delivery Tips for First Time Parenta 

 

 

It’s Labor Day in the US, a day to celebrate the worker, but if you are pregnant and set to deliver your baby soon, you could use this day off to start exploring tips to make your delivery day smoother.

For me, I, like Jessica Alba after me, relied on Hypnobirthing techniques to get me through and still today, three kids later with no plans for more, I STILL use those techniques I learned whenever I have to encounter a painful situation (getting a shot, getting through reps while doing Pilates or weightlifting, when suffering through a bad headache). 

Here are 7 other tips and tricks from BabyCenter to consider using to manage through labor pains:

1. Pack in the protein: If you were about to run a long marathon, would you eat only ice chips? No. You need to eat a protein-rich meal. It will give you the stamina needed for labor (plus many hospitals won’t let you eat once you check in anyway). Make a plan to either keep something in the fridge/freezer/cupboard or know where you can go to get your marathon meal.

  1. Don’t fight gravity: Remain upright as long as possible. Walk around or sit up, but don’t lie on your back. (Yes, that’s really me in the pic, before I found out I should be walking around.)
  2. Hydrate thyself: Pack (and use) a water bottle. If you properly hydrate yourself during labor, you’ll increase your energy output by as much as 30%. Also, if you can keep drinking water, you may not need an IV that will really restrict your mobility. That’s when the ice chips and clear liquids can also help.

  3. Breathe using your abdomen: Normal abdominal breathing increases relaxation, which you’re really going to need. Chest and patterned breathing may fool your body into stress mode, and you don’t want that.

  4. Take a virtual chill pill: You’ve got to stay relaxed. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. If music helps, bring a preloaded playlist on your iPod, locate a focal point in the room and breathe. Banish as much negative energy as possible. While it’s not easy, stay as relaxed as you can through contractions – it will let your body do what it’s supposed to do.

  5. Move around during labor: There are a variety of positions for labor. Try to change positions so you’re not in one place for too long. Speak to the nurse about how you can be monitored and still move around. Bring slippers or as for those lovely grippy hospital socks so you can walk the halls.

  6. Make sure you have support and loving encouragement: Having your husband partner or trained birth partner can make a big difference. That support will do more for you than any amount of medication!

Godspeed and good luck new first time parents!

Journalist takes on Excessive Ultrasounds Given in Low Risk Pregnancies 

 

 

In the 6th month of his wife’s pregnancy, Wall Street Journal writer Kevin Helliker noticed that she underwent 17 fetal ultrasound scans, notwithstanding the fact that she had a low-risk pregnancy.

Curious, Helliker set out researching to find out what doctors generally recommend, how many such scans are medically suggested be given, how many are actually being performed and what is known/not known about ultrasound safety. 

About 80% of most pregnancies are low risk, Helliker discovered, and that not since the early ‘90s has any epidemiological research been conducted on the procedure, and since then the power output on the scanning devices has increased eight-fold.

In his article this summer in the WSJ, Helliker notes that the scans “have turned the images of their unborn into fixtures of social media” and how in 2014, “usage in the U.S. of the most common fetal-ultrasound procedures averaged 5.2 per delivery, up 92 percent from 2004.”

Helliker summarized the potential dangers and risks, also, writing:

A joint statement in May 2014 from several medical societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, calls for one or two ultrasounds in low-risk, complication-free pregnancies.

Experts in fetal medicine have long recommended women undergo one ultrasound around the 20th week of a low-risk pregnancy, and in recent years they have come to recommend an earlier one as well, around the 12th week. About 80 percent of pregnancies are low-risk.

Fetal ultrasound in humans has never been shown to cause harm. However:

  • Nearly all research supporting its safety was conducted using equipment made before 1992, when the procedure produced about one-eighth the acoustic energy than today
  • Studies have suggested many operators don’t pay close attention to safety gauges while they are performing procedures.
  • Some animal experiments have suggested ill effects of ultrasound on embryos of mice and chickens. 
  • A 2006 Yale University study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found neurological abnormalities in mice exposed to ultrasound in utero.
  • Multiple fetal ultrasounds can raise false alarms, including overestimation of fetal size that can lead to potentially unnecessary c-sections.
  • Research suggests multiple scans don’t provide better outcomes in pregnancies.

Continue reading more of the specific, scientifically-grounded advice offerwd on how often US ought to be performed in low risk pregnancies.

Glamour Writer: ‘Quit Clicking Those Celeb ‘After Baby Body’ Headlines’

 

how i got my baby back

Yesterday, in Glamour  new mom and writer Petra Guglielmetti calls out the celeb media’ obsession with the post delivery celeb mom, in her piece, “Let’s Stop Clicking on Stories About Celebrities’ Post-Baby Bodies”.

Here is an excerpt:

Today I “stepped out post-baby,” also known in the tabloids as debuting my post-baby body. At least I think today would be considered my official debut—I left the house to work at a cafe after months of maternity leave. According to the headlines, celebrity moms debut themselves after childbirth in a variety of ways. Some, like Blake Lively, “display” and/or “flaunt” their post-baby selves by wearing clothing—not even necessarily revealing clothing—to press events. Many “show off” en route to the gym, a la Jessica Biel. Others simply venture out in public with a friend, like Jaime King (“Less than weeks after giving birth to baby Leo, Jaime King is already making her way out into the world.” Less than weeks? And wow, to think, boldly being visible out in public like that.) Apparently, when you are famous and have just given birth, such normal-seeming activities become debuts, opportunities for the world to examine how well your looks fared during that whole growing-and-birthing-a-human-being thing…..

….It’s hard not to click on these stories, even though we realize we shouldn’t encourage paparazzi to stalk new moms, who are already vulnerable, riding a roller coaster of stress and hormones. (Yes, professional actors sign up for a certain amount of media attention, but motherhood—especially new motherhood—should be sacred, no matter how high-profile you are.) We click even though we realize we should not compare ourselves to people who have full-time nannies and on-call glam squads. We click even though we realize that every woman’s build and metabolism and biology is unique; most of us didn’t have Jessica Alba’s post-baby abs before we had kids. We click even though we know we’ll glimpse comments that make us lose faith in humanity (“Looks like her boobies have deflated!”).

She then goes on to express her experiences of living life fully after delivering her baby and under different standards and without the flashing lights and glare of the public. She confesses that the media stories about celebs, however,  can impact women’s opinion of their own post-baby bodies. Finally, Guglielmetti proposes we all work to end it:

Here’s what I propose: Let’s stop clicking. Just decide here and now that we’re not doing it anymore. It’s one little-but-big way in which we can make our world a kinder place for new moms, and women in general. When you see any headline with any variation on “post-baby body” in it, just don’t click. As someone who has been employed as an online writer for a long time now, I promise you that editors will notice that we’re all not clicking and that those stories will dwindle and eventually disappear. Wouldn’t that be lovely?

I’m down. We don’t really cover post-baby bodies that much anymore here so, less clicks for our competitors sounds lovely! ha!

Just kidding, we believe in the message. and have blogged similar themes before so Bravo, Petra!

3 Body Parts of Someone’s Newborn You Should Never Touch 

 



Just like pregnant women are community property, so, to a certain extent are newborn babies and infants. When people see them out and about, at the mall, the park, in the synagogue, temple or church, they can’t help but want to squeeze those juicy cherubic cheeks, stroke that curly soft baby fine hair and try to get the baby to grip their finger.

All three of these areas are big NO TOUCH areas for most people and especially for strangers who do not know the baby or its parents.

Here’s why:

1. The hands: At the earliest stages in a baby’s life, its hands are always in its mouth. They suck on their hands, fingers and fists for comfort. Adults have their hands on a variety of different objects throughout the day, often times picking up germs here and there. Most people do not use hand sanitizers nor wash their hands as often as would be ideal during the day. The worst thing a new mom wants to see is your grubby mitts exposing her newborn’s hands to whatever germ may be hanging out on your hands. It’s tempting and often times, understandably when you are overwhelmed by the cuteness in front of you, but don’t. Think before acting. It’s a gross thing to do.

2. The face: Many adults have sensitive facial skin and newborns’ skin can be no different and in some respects, are even more sensitive. They are fresh out the womb and are still developing their immunity. A cheek stroke from you (with your germ-filled finger) is liable to have the poor kid break out in a rash later. The mom may not be in a position to wash off your cooties before it’s too late. Just say no to the “cheek squeeze.”

3. The hair: Similar to the same reason you don’t touch a newborn’s face and hands unless you are its parent, pediatrician or just finished rubbing hand sanitizers on your hands moments before getting permission to approach the baby, you don’t touch or stroke a baby’s hair.

Of course, all of the above rules are flexible and can be waived depending on the situation and your relationship with the parents, but by all means if you are a stranger, it’s best to watch and not touch. If you must, tug at a socks or stroke the forearm. Understand, you’re still pushing your luck.

Just passing along a little public service announcement on behalf of all those new (especially first-time) parents out there who go through public settings full of anxiety on how to best protect their baby from unwanted advances. [That will be the subject of another post]

 

Kim Kardashian Updates & Puts Morning Sickness Ad back Up

kim k diclegis bellyitchblog.c om

Today, Kim Kardashian put back up on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram the morning sickness ad that the US Food and Drug Administration made her take down for failure to state the side effects. She added the missing information about the side effects of the drug and the fact it hadn’t been tested on women with the most extreme form of morning sickness

The makers of Diclegis for extreme morning sickness should actually be glad the FDA stepped in. The amount of press the ad got because it was taken down had surpassed the number of people that follow Kim Kardashian on social media.

It harkens back to the old adage about there not being any such thing as bad publicity.

Anyway, one of my family members in her first trimester of pregnancy and she asked a group of us in an online forum for advice, and several people who are not Kim K fans and followers suggested Diclegis, partially because they had seen it discussed in the news related to the take down.  There you go!

Anyway, the family member I’m referencing was also very happy to learn that the side effect to the drug is excess drowsiness because she is already too tired at work, naturally because of the pregnancy. She decided her level of morning sickness is not that severe that she would need to take a drug that would cause additional fatigue.  She is going to try traditional relief remedies first. The drug is for women, for whom, traditional methods like changing diet, eating small mini meals, snacking on almonds, taking peppermint, ginger or eating things like preggie pops or wearing sea bands do not work.

Hence, the family member’s experience also exemplified what FDA warned about….the importance of having full disclosure in ads for pharmaceutical drugs.

 

 

9 Signs That You are of Above Average Intelligence

Earlier this year, Business Insider published a list from a summary of various studies which identified certain factors, traits and other things that make a person smart or smarter than others.

They included:

1. Being left handed

2. Being  tall

3. Owning a cat

4. Experimenting with drugs

5. Being an eldest in the family

6. Not smoking

7. Taking music lessons

8. Having a cat.

And in a recent infographic the site shared I noticed it left off one of the important ones we at Bellyitch always hear about:

9. Being breastfed!

Check out the infographic below from the recent piece for explanations on what makes these traits cause for higher IQ in a person:

smarter than average studies


Then consider the left out part from the February version of this piece:

“In two studies of breast-fed infants involving more than 3,000 children in Britain and New Zealand, breastfeeding was found to raise intelligence an average of nearly seven IQ points if the children had a particular version of a gene called FADS2,” Duke University reported in a press release.

That gene version is “involved in the control of fatty acid pathways,” said researcher and University of Illinois-Chicago psychologist Julia Kim-Cohen, and it “may help the children make better use of the breast milk and promote the brain development that is associated with a higher IQ score.”

Figuring out the exact mechanism of this relationship between FADS2, breastfeeding, and IQ will require further study, the scientists noted in their 2007 paper on the finding.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/signs-youre-smarter-than-average-2015-2#ixzz3kM4beF00

STUDY: Pregnant Women Still Fear Exercising 

Bellyitch Rewind 



Though exercise during pregnancy has proven benefits for healthy women, many still fear it, according to a new study.

“Despite what we have said over the last 10 years, pregnant women are still afraid exercise is going to hurt their child,” says researcher Melissa J. Hague, MD, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita.

In her study of 90 women, she found many regular exercisers stopped working out when they became pregnant. Some told her they did not think exercising, even walking, was safe during pregnancy.

“I was really surprised,” she tells WebMD.

Hague presented her findings this week at the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in San Diego.

Exercise During Pregnancy: Expert Opinion

In 2002, ACOG issued an opinion about exercise during pregnancy. Recreational and competitive athletes without pregnancy complications can remain active with their doctor’s OK, it says. They should modify their workouts as medically indicated.

Inactive women should consult their doctors before starting a program, it says.

Moderate exercise for 30 minutes or more most or all days of the week appears safe for pregnant women without complications, it says. Activities with a high risk of falling, contact sports, and scuba diving should not be done

Pediatricians: Give Babies Peanuts before 1yo to Avoid extreme Peanut Allergy

peanuts baby getty

Seems like homeopathy is right after all.

Next week, the American Academy of Pediatrics will release a statement online advising that before a child turns one-year old, his parents should give him a peanut product in order to reduce his chances of developing extreme peanut allergies

The advice comes in a consensus statement that the American Academy of Pediatrics helped prepare and endorsed in June along with the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and several foreign allergy groups.

The recommendations are meant to be interim guidance while the National Institute of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology develop more extensive guidelines.

The academy will release the statement online Monday in the journal Paediatrics.

Children who have skin reactions to eating eggs or have a severe eczema skin rash are suspected of having food allergies, and recommended to get allergy tests between 4 months and 11 months of age.

photo: Getty

 

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