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photo of Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE

Robin's Pregnancy / Birth Blog

By Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE, About.com Guide to Pregnancy / Birth since 1997

Who is in the waiting room when you're in labor?

Wednesday August 20, 2008
Last year, during a client's pregnancy she argued with her family about when they were to be called to the hospital. The pregnant mom said that she would feel watched even from the waiting room and begged that they stay home until she called, probably around the time she started pushing. Her thoughts were that they would be more comfortable at home and that she could relax and know that they were comfortable. They hated the idea. They wanted to know right away. Their compromise was that they would be called right away but promised to stay home until a second call came.

Do I need to tell you how this one worked out? The mom called as soon as she was admitted, knowing that the baby was hours away. The family came anyway. They continually asked the nurses for updates. The nurses asked the mom and dad if they wanted them to have updates or allow anyone back into the labor room. And at one point the grandma-to-be parked herself outside the door of the labor room refusing to leave. The few people who did stay home got the second call, nearly 25 hours after the first call. They came up to the hospital. Once the baby was born, it was too difficult for dad to leave the room to give the good news immediately because they wouldn't allow him back in. By the time they had clothes on mom, baby was done with routine procedures and everything else it was about 90 minutes and the family had gone home upset...

Ouch. This is totally not the way it should be. But it's so hard to be in the waiting room. I know that.

Recently, I had the privilege of teaching a birth doula training. We spent a lot of time talking about how to comfort laboring women and their families during birth. One of the things that came up was people in the waiting room while mom was giving birth. We talked about how hard it is to be in the waiting room when someone else is in labor. My students said that they felt scared, anxious, useless and lots of other words.

This made me wonder what it felt like to moms knowing that they had people in the waiting room waiting. When I started asking them, they said they felt like they had performance anxiety, nervous, like they were making people suffer or wait. Goodness, if everyone is feeling so uptight about having people in the waiting room at the hospital - why are we doing it? Would you rather have your family waiting in the comfort of their own home? Or do you like the access?

Related:

Itchy Belly

Tuesday August 19, 2008

Yes, my belly is rather itchy during the third trimester, though I realize others have it worse. Pregnancy simply has a way of doing that to my skin, but add the stretching of my pregnant abdomen and it's a mess. It's not just the stretch marks causing the itching either. I do stay hydrated by drinking lots of water, and I don't have PUPPS, but it just is irritating. Rather than sit around and scratch all day, I try to keep my belly moisturized. I've tried lots of products and lotions, some work better than others and some certainly smell better than others. How do you treat pregnancy belly itching?

Photo (c) REW

What do you know about pregnancy?

Monday August 18, 2008
So you've read a lot of good pregnancy books and you think you've got it all under control. Maybe you've had a baby already and known your way around a birthing room. Here is a fun quiz to test your knowledge of pregnancy and birth. How well do you score?

Related:

Photo (c) iStockPhoto

What's Matthew McConaughey doing with a placenta?

Sunday August 17, 2008
Matthew McConaughey is in the news for talking about what he intends to do with the placenta of his son Levi. Basically he wants to use it to nourish a tree he will plant. This is something more an more people are doing and not just celebrities. We haven't heard this much about celebrity placenta since there was a rumor that Tom Cruise was going to eat the placenta of Baby Suri.

While the placenta might not be the most thrilling aspect of your birth, you have to acknowledge the amazing abilities it has as it helps your baby through the long nine months of your pregnancy. Find out why your doctor or midwife looks at the placenta in detail after you give birth. (Includes pictures!)

You named your baby what???

Saturday August 16, 2008
A Chinese couple is trying to give their son "@" as a name. When pronounced, they say it means love him. While the thought is nice, it's still bit strange, even when you look at how Chinese names are made up of characters rather than letters anyway. No word on whether or not the name will be allowed, but at least his name would be available on all computers...

Also a family in New Zealand went to register their baby's name and was told that the government would have to think about it. The couple say they chose the name because all of a sudden it became very clear that their baby was coming soon. The name they chose: 4Real. The government has said that they will take the matter up privately. If the naming issue hasn't been settled by the birth, then the baby's name will be recorded as Real. What's the weirdest baby name you've heard of?

Would you name your baby something unusual?

See the poll results.

Related:

Pregnancy Guide

Friday August 15, 2008

I can be your personal guide and childbirth educator through the pregnancy process. These newsletters and classes are designed to help keep you informed of the changes in your and your baby, the latest happenings, fashions and baby related news. Get all your baby news by email or RSS feed!

Photo (c) L. Bruni

Burst of Energy Before Labor - Or is it nesting?

Thursday August 14, 2008
You often hear people talk about a burst of energy before labor, also commonly called nesting. This can take on many different forms from a burst of cleaning or organizing frenzy, you know the type I'm talking about. It's not your average, gee, I'll clean my room, but rather the I think I'll wipe down the base boards and vacuum all the cobwebs, while I clean the room variety. Many women use this burst of energy to do something productive like pack their hospital bag, finish organizing the baby's nursery or clothes, or just to finish tidying up the house. But you have to be careful to avoid over doing it. Share your nesting story with us or read others...

More Information:

Coloring Your Hair in Pregnancy

Wednesday August 13, 2008
One of the most frequent questions I get is whether or not it is safe to dye your hair in pregnancy. Do you color your hair in pregnancy? I also get plenty of other questions about medications in pregnancy and even vaccinations. How about what is safe to eat while pregnant and what isn't safe to eat? There are so many questions about what is safe while you're pregnant and what isn't. Some women even say that their entire pregnancy is clouded by fear that they will do something wrong and harm their baby. My advice? Get educated and make wise decisions for you, but remember, a little common sense goes a long way.

More information:

Pregnancy Videos

Tuesday August 12, 2008

These videos on pregnancy and birth cover a wide variety of topics, but it might be helpful for you to use these quick videos as a learning tool for the various aspects of pregnancy and birth. I really like the prenatal yoga videos!

Photo (c) About.com

Three Trimesters of Pregnancy

Monday August 11, 2008

Everyone probably knows that there are three trimesters of pregnancy. What you may not know is that each trimester is vastly different in terms of what you need to know about daily life, pregnancy testing and just getting around. Here I've broken down the trimesters for you and placed the relevant information inside:

Related:

Photo (c) J. Reid

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