Washington - Knowing little about pregnancy is easy, as I remembered when I recently became pregnant with my third child.
One of the difficulties? Keeping up with the headlines detailing the latest harbinger of foetal harm. Maintaining that level of paranoia is simply exhausting.
There are the usual suspects – smoking, alcohol, illegal drugs, many medications, raw/under-cooked animal products or fish with high mercury content; hot tubs, hot baths or saunas. No roller-coasters, contact sports, skiing, surfing, high heels, heavy lifting or cleaning the kitty litter box.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US raised eyebrowswhen it went a step further to say that sexually active women who aren’t using birth control should abstain from alcohol because of the potential danger to their offspring.
Most doctor-recommended things to avoid aren’t advised without research-backed good reason, but where things start to get sticky is that the medical establishment can’t seem to agree on the list. Most doctors say caffeine should be reduced or eliminated, but a recent study suggests it might not be so bad after all. Everything is suspect.
Included on the list of “Hidden Dangers Lurking in Your House” on the pregnancy website ‘The Bump’ are wall paint, carpets, plastics, household cleaners and mould – as well as air and water.
And it’s not just common household products, foods and medications – it’s your personal attributes that might hurt your baby. If you want a healthy pregnancy, we are told, don’t be old, don’t be overweight and definitely don’t have depression.
Dare to get pregnant at the “advanced maternal age” of 35 or older and your pregnancy automatically will be classified as “high-risk”. Simply being old means an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, miscarriage, placenta previa, Caesarean section, premature birth, birth defects and stillbirth.
The latest cardinal sin of pregnancy is obesity. Women are encouraged to achieve a healthy weight before becoming pregnant (of course, all pregnancies are planned) because a woman’s excess body weight has been linked to altered brain development and even an increased risk of infant death. Yes, your fatness might kill your baby.
All the endless lists of what to avoid might give mothers the impression that they have much more control over the outcomes of their pregnancies than they actually do. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about the mechanisms at play in foetal development.
Anywhere from 10 percent to 25 percent of pregnancies will end in miscarriage and usually the cause cannot be identified. The most common cause of miscarriage during the first trimester is chromosomal abnormality – which has nothing to do with what the mother was or was not eating or whether she got highlights while pregnant.
I am thankful for clinicians who work to improve outcomes for babies and mothers. What I object to is how medical research is reported. The onslaught of media coverage of any pregnancy-related medical study usually leaves out the most critical measure: whether the threat level warrants caution, lifestyle changes or official recommendation changes.
Don’t be deceived: all this advice for moms-to-be isn’t about the moms. It’s about the babies. Yes, I want the best for my children. I want their bodies and minds to form properly, but at what point do I cease to be me and become merely an incubator?
Women don’t become absolved of all their responsibilities while gestating. We travel. We present at conferences. We have duties to family members. We have other children who need looking after.
Perfection and ultimate sacrifice can’t be immediately foisted upon women the minute the pregnancy test shows its little plus sign.
Pregnancy can be a great inspiration for living a healthier life, but it’s not always a walk in the park. If I feel like eating only peanut butter pie, then I’m going to eat peanut butter pie. If I have a blistering headache, I’m going to take pain medication. Do listen to your doctor’s advice.
If you have concerns, ask a medical professional to explain the risks to you in detail. Read the news, but use your brain. When you are advised as a pregnant woman not to install a digital TV antenna or watch movies in 3D, feel free to rely on your judgement.
Besides, seeing as you are about to bring a child into the world and thus incur the opinions of family members, friends and strangers about how you are Doing Parenting Wrong, you may as well learn to tune out the noise.
Washington Post
How partners can help
In her book Ultimate Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting Guide, published by Human and Rousseau, well-known South African nurse and midwife Sister Lilian Paramor suggests these top five ways in which partners can help during the birth:
l In early labour take your partner for a walk or put on her favourite song and dance with her. She will relax and labour will progress faster.
l Keep calm. Encourage your partner with loving words, give her a gentle back rub or respond to her need for water or a cool cloth.
l Guard the environment, asking people to talk and work quietly – this may be the most important thing you can do.
l Don’t focus on the technology of birth – either just hold her hand or sit quietly alongside her.
l If you notice she prefers to withdraw into herself, know this is not rejection of you, but her instincts kicking in, precisely because you have been her silent champion.
And, lastly remember to be prepared. Jokes are made about it, but the last thing you want is to run out of petrol on your way to the clinic. There may be enough time to fill up, but it’s far less stressful on both of you if you don’t need to stop en route. From 36 weeks make sure your tank is always topped up.
Did you know?
l South Africa has among the highest rates of Caesarean sections in the world, along with Brazil, China and the US. According to figures released by the Council for Medical Schemes, almost 70 percent of births covered by private medical aids were by C-section. The figure is said to be increasing.
l Taking babies out of the womb too soon has been shown by a great deal of research to be detrimental to them. Their brains, lungs and liver aren’t fully developed until at least 39 weeks. Yet there is a trend to induce expectant mothers when their babies are pre-term.
According to childbirth educator Lynne Bluff, an induction at 38 weeks is characterised as an unscheduled C-section and incurs a higher fee than an elective or scheduled C-section.
l The late pregnancy period is crucial for babies, says Bluff. “The foetus acquires fat needed to maintain body temperature, the liver matures enough to eliminate a toxin called bilirubin from the body, and the lungs get ready to exchange oxygen as soon as the umbilical cord is clamped.”
Disrupting any of those steps can result in brain damage and other problems. And the squeezing of the uterus during labour stimulates the baby and the placenta to make steroid hormones that help this last phase of lung maturation.