Pregnancy 101

Transcript Good positions to use for effective pain management during labor. There are a lot of things that you can do to handle the sensations of labor. Movement is really important during labor and birth. One thing you want to consider is to use upright, gravity-friendly positions to help bring your baby down. You want …

Transcript How to bond with your baby during birth. The most important thing to remember is to trust your instincts. One thing to consider is to have immediate skin to skin contact. As soon as you deliver your baby, ask your care provider to place your baby on your chest, so that you can have …

Transcript The key to pushing is really positioning and how you’re positioned in order to give birth to your baby. Some great positions to use for pushing are side lying, so lying on your side and allowing your leg to come up. What you’re doing in lying on your side is allowing your pelvis to …

Transcript When you’re pregnant, you want to call your doctor or your midwife anytime that you have any kind of bright-red bleeding, a fall, or any kind of excessive headache or feelings of faint or dizziness. When you’re in labor, you want to call your doctor or your midwife as your contractions get stronger, longer, …

Transcript Sex during and after childbirth. Yes, I did say during. A lot of people are surprised to know that sex during childbirth is actually okay. The important thing to know is that if your waters have broken, do not have sexual intercourse. If your water hasn’t broken yet and you need to stimulate or …

Transcript So a lot of people ask me, ‘Why would a woman choose to give birth without medication to help with the pain?’ First of all labor and birth don’t always have to be painful. Many women experience birth in a variety of different ways. Some women who choose to have medication free birth, are …

Transcript So what are the signs that labor is beginning? You might be experiencing menstrual cramps, lower backache, soft bowel movements. So another sign of labor beginning is the discharge of the mucous plug or bloody show. The mucous plug is the plug inside your cervix that keeps the baby in. So when labor starts, …

Transcript So, what is Group B Strep? Group B Streptococcus or Beta Strep is a bacteria that can be found in about 1 out of 5 women’s bodies. Not all bacteria is bad and not all bacteria is harmful to our bodies. Group B Strep is found in about 1 out of 5 women’s vaginal …

Transcript Hi, I’m Elizabeth Mangum-Sarach. I’m the director of Birth Focus, a practice in New York City that offers labor support and postpartum doula services. I’ve been a doula for 7 years in New York City. I’ve been to over a hundred births, everywhere from home births to hospital births. A doula is someone who …

Transcript So there are a lot of different medical techniques that are used to induce labor. To induce labor means to speed up the labor process. Every person is different, every birth is different and the reality is that birth takes time. Sometimes, there are reasons that are required to speed up the labor process. …

Transcript So what are some natural ways to speed your labor along the really important thing to keep in your mind with labor is you need to be eating, moving and some times crying or making noise or laughing or any kind of release that’s going to allow your body to relax as much as …

Transcript How do you tell the difference between a Braxton Hicks Contraction and how to tell if your labor is real. A Braxton Hicks Contraction is a kind of a dress rehearsal to labor. It’s your uterus priming your body for what labor will be like. So if your contractions go away, when you lie …

Transcript So, some of the pros and cons to an epidural. The main thing to think about when choosing to have an epidural is when you’re going to have the epidural. You really don’t want to have an epidural too early in labor because sometimes labor progress is slowed down. You want to think about …

Transcript So how do you breathe when you’re in labor? Or breathing tips for birth. Truthfully this, hee, hee, hee, hoo, hoo, hoo, isn’t really taught anymore. Lamaze has changed its whole approach and now teaches evidence based practices for how to have a positive birth experience. So, when trying to think about tips for …

Transcript How to best support your partner while she is in labor. Penny Simkin, a well-known doula and physical therapist in the U.S., talks about the three R’s: relaxation, ritual, and rhythm. These are really important for your partner to know while she’s giving birth and while she’s in labor and really important things for …

Transcript So, what do you do when your water breaks? First of all, it’s not like it is in the movies. You don’t need to panic. Sometimes, the water breaks and it’s a big gush. Other times, you’ll just have a trickle of fluid. There are some important things to look for when your water …

Transcript So, what to expect after giving birth? If you’ve had a vaginal birth you can expect a great sense of euphoria from the flow of oxytocin rushing through your veins. Remember, oxytocin is the love hormone, so because you have the greatest amount of oxytocin after giving birth, you may experience a new respect …

Transcript So how does your belly expand during pregnancy. The truth is every woman’s body is different on average a women will gain between 25 and 35 pounds per pregnancy. Because every woman’s body is different your belly may start to show at 2 months or not until 6 months. If this is your first …

Transcript What you need to know about being pregnant at the age of 35 or older. The reality is, many women today choose parenting later in life for a variety of reasons. Choosing their career or educational goals, financial reasons, infertility, lack of a supportive partner, or maybe they’re just waiting for their biological clock …

Transcript Is a little drinking during pregnancy okay? The truth is the only safe level of drinking during pregnancy is not drinking at all. No safe level of maternal alcohol intake has been established. That being said, current studies show that moderate drinking has little to no effect on having a baby born with alcohol-related …

Transcript There may be all kinds of things you’ve heard about regarding having sex during labor. The truth is having sex during pregnancy is relatively safe for the most part. Sex may cause problems if you’ve had vaginal bleeding or spotting during pregnancy or if you have a new partner and are exposed to an …

Transcript So, what you need to know about spotting and/or vaginal bleeding. There are several causes for vaginal bleeding or spotting but the specifics aren’t always known. For half of the women who experience vaginal bleeding or spotting, there are no further complications and the bleeding stops. It’s normal to sometimes have spotting when the …

Transcript So during labor when should you go to the hospital. One important guide line to remember is 411. When your contractions are four minutes apart for at least an hour and for at least a minute long. The thing about contractions is that you want them to get stronger, longer and closer together. Remember …

Transcript Birth is the Mount Everest of physical functions in mammals. Your uterus is a very strong muscle. And your uterus is contracting. Like, giving a big hug to your baby. And squeezing your baby so that your baby can move further down, and be born. There’s all kinds of hormones, and different things that …

Transcript So, who should you have with you when you give birth? The most important thing is to have a labor companion. This labor companion can be your life partner, a family member, a friend, anyone who is there to support you in having the type of birth that you would like to have. It’s …

Transcript If you’re pregnant and you have a history of trauma or sexual abuse, there are a lot of things to consider in who to choose as your care provider and how to have a pleasant and safe birth experience. It’s estimated that between 20% and 40% of women have been sexually or emotionally abused. …

Transcript There are many ways to bond with your baby during pregnancy. Touching your belly and talking to your baby, reading your favorite childhood book to your baby, and picking out a favorite lullaby to sing to your baby are all really great ways to connect with your baby during pregnancy. Some people even believe …

Transcript In the last two trimesters, you’ll need to eat about 300 calories more per day. For the average woman, this means about 21 to 2500 calories per day. Overall, these calories should consist of high-protein, high-iron, and high-calcium. You want to be eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy products, and protein. …

Transcript The most common question asked about giving birth at home is, Is it safe? Yes. It is very safe as long as you have a registered midwife or certified nurse midwife attending the birth. Giving birth at home is an option. Birth is a normal physiological process, so home birth is reserved for women …

Transcript One of the most important things to remember about creating a birthing plan is that that word is a very challenging word to use in pregnancy and birth. The reality is I like to say how to create your birth preferences. So in thinking about your preferences for giving birth, it’s important to do …

Transcript Exercise and pregnancy. Exercise is very important during pregnancy. You want your body to be in really good shape for carrying your pregnancy and for giving birth. Some suggestions for exercising are to wear really supportive shoes, to do so three to four times per week and to run on a firm surface if …

Transcript Birth is a normal, physiological process just like yawning, breathing, stretching, peeing, pooping, farting. All of that stuff that our bodies normally do on our own, birth is also a normal, physiological process. It just takes a little bit more effort, like more position changing, more movement, more stretching of organs, and just more …

Transcript A miscarriage, or spontaneous abortion, is the unexpected death and delivery of the fetus and embryo before the 20th week. In reality, miscarriages are so much more common than we think they are. In our culture, it’s not very common to talk to about miscarriage. It’s uncomfortable for people to talk about and sometimes, …

Transcript There are many different options for childbirth education courses. Do you take one in your community? Do you take one at your hospital? There are a lot of different things to think about when considering taking a childbirth education class. Some of the different types of childbirth education classes are Lamaze, the Bradley method, …