Pregnancy Week by Week – The Final Stages
A pregnancy is usually an expected happy event in a family, anticipated much like Christmas day to a young child, yet even so it is fraught with hormonal upheavals and emotions that affect the entire family. From before the moment a woman discovers she is pregnant to months after she delivers her body is being changed in many ways physically as well as emotionally and outside influence greatly affects the entire pregnancy.
In the third trimester of pregnancy a woman's hormones have pretty much stabilized and the mood swings have subsided by a substantial degree. Unfortunately, other mental and emotional problems may creep in during this final stage of pregnancy. The ability to focus mentally on a subject seems to be greatly diminished in many women making her job more difficult and in turn cause more concern and worry. Forgetfulness and just being mentally off is a common complaint that woman often share but is also something that many woman feel and because of fears never share with others. The fear of losing a job or being rejected is often high among women in the third trimester of pregnancy and she may begin to withdraw hoping to fade into the background and go unnoticed.
At this time nutrition and exercise becomes increasingly important. By getting the right foods, avoiding foods high in sodium and iron, particularly if taking iron supplements and getting moderate exercise will help to ease fears and anxiety as well as just making the physical and mental body feel well. Maintaining an exercise plan many emotional problems are lessened as well due to the endorphins that are released during exercise causing a feeling of well being. Always make sure the exercise is approved by the health care provider and is done in a safe way. Ensuring plenty of sleep and rest is a huge factor in curbing those emotional upheavals; take the time to center.
Allowing ones self to feel uncertain or fearful about the pregnancy in general is a helpful tool. Not every woman feels happy and excited as the approach to motherhood happens, sometimes they may feel uncertain about if this was such a good idea after all. They may feel a little resentful that their life will be changed more drastically then their partners. They may feel concern about their career and how it can be managed with a family, these are normal and common feelings and allowing them to be felt and experienced is helpful in letting them go.
When it comes down to it though, finding others to share in this is often the best advice. Seeking out others who have experience the same feelings or are currently experiencing them can be just what is needed. Books and videos, web sites and message boards, today's pregnant woman has the world at her fingertips and no matter the time of day or night she can connect with others and take comfort in the fact that what she is feeling is normal and she is not alone but most importantly it will pass. Father's too are seeking information and support more so than ever before and they are taking a more involved role in pregnancy, delivery and child rearing. Men too want to know what to expect in the various stages of pregnancy development and get support for the fears they have as well as the comfort in knowing that others are experiencing this too.
Brian G Potter is researching and writing on the different stages of pregnancy and will be adding more on this subject soon. Meanwhile however, if you would like more information and advice on your pregnancywhy not visit http://3trimesterspregnancy.com/ where you can obtain most of the help and information you need.
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8 Ways to Control Labor Pain
By Jenna Garvin
Recently giving birth to my third daughter, I learned the 8 ways to control labor pain. Having had given birth 2 times previously, I know how my body functions during pregnancy and I knew it was unlikely for me to go before my due date (but I will admit to hoping I would). My due date was Monday, September 1st and starting Sunday night, I began having lots of contractions. I contracted every few minutes for hours that night, and didn't get more then about 2 hours of sleep. When I woke my contractions had pretty much stopped and I was so upset. At my appointment the week before I had been 3 cm dilated and thought for sure that when my contractions started that that was it and that I was going to be one of the lucky ones to give birth on their due dates. But I wasn't.
The next day, Tuesday September 2nd, I had my 40 week doctor's appointment. My doctor checked me to see if any progress had been made the day before when I was having "false labor" (which is a very deceptive term because it does do more then keep you awake) and to my delightful surprise it had! I was nearly 5 cm dilated and 70% effaced. Not too bad for a woman NOT in active labor. After my appointment I had a few scattered very real labor pains, but they didn't get into an active pattern until later that evening. As soon as we knew it was the real deal, my husband and I were off to the hospital.
I got there and got checked in and the doctor did an internal to see how far along I was. I was 5 cm dilated. So the doctor left and the nurse popped her head in every now and then to see how I was doing, but for the most part they left us alone, which for me was a blessing. Once labor began I turned all of my focus to myself, my body, my mind, my needs, and tried to shove every other thought from my head. During my contractions I would close my eyes and breathe deeply and with control, not panting and hyperventilating like you see in the movies. After I got the green light to roam the halls, my husband and I did. We walked several laps and I told him I didn't like it and we went back to our room. Walking can be an aid in helping labor to progress, but to me it felt really weird and gross, and didn't allow me to properly relax, so I stopped.
We went back in our room and I sat in the rocking chair, hoping that would help. It was okay and I did it for about an hour, but I kept getting these really, really bad contractions all of a sudden, and would have to empty my bladder to ease the pain. About 45 minutes before my baby girl was brought into the world, the nurse came back in the room and told me the doctor would be in, in about an hour to check me again and break my water. At that point I decided to get in the birthing tub and try to relax for the next hour or so. I filled up the tub with lukewarm water (so I wouldn't overheat) and turned on the jets. I sat there, sitting up, not laying back, and allowed my mind to get lost in the sound of the water being blasted out of the jets. I kept trying to take myself to a happy safe place...I chose my honeymoon. I kept imagining I was in our honeymoon suite and trying to recall the smells and sights of the room. How warm and cozy it was, the smell of shampoo from the shower, the lovely wall paper and decorations. With eyes closed, and body totally relaxed (not one muscle was tense) I would mentally talk my way through the labor pain. One would come and I would relax my body even more, and go to my honeymoon suite. The only movement and sound to be seen or heard was my head moving side to side with the pain of the contractions and the water coming out of the jets. About 40 minutes after getting into the tub, I got a really, really bad contraction. It hurt so bad it forced me to stand up, and that is when I realized my water had broken in the tub and the baby was coming out!
Because I was able to control my mind and relax my body during labor, I was able to go completely non-medicated and had a quick, relatively easy labor. My daughter was born with only 3 pushes and the doctor nearly missed the delivery because of how quickly it all happened. My best advice to give birth naturally would be:
1.) Keep your bladder empty
2.) Focus all of your attention on yourself, you mind, your body, your needs.
3.) Use a birthing tub with jets
4.) Use lukewarm water in the tub so you don't overheat
5.) Have your husband rub you, comfort you, talk to you (if you want)
6.) Focus your mind on a place where you feel most comfortable
7.) Relax every single muscle in your body during contractions
8.) Do not talk and keep your eyes closed while they are happening.
Jenna Garvin is the owner and founder of The Pregnancy Health Center, the #1 online resource for pregnancy and conception health. Learn more about inducing labor naturally and easing labor pain Don't forget to get your FREE book!!!
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The Chinese Birth Chart and the Lunar Calendar
By Yae Lok
Gender Selection by using the Chinese Birth Chart (Chinese Gender Chart) is easy, natural and costless. The chart can predict the sex of an unborn baby accurately ONLY when using it correctly.
The original Chinese Birth Chart is believed to have been buried in a tomb near Beijing for almost 700 years and the original is now in the Beijing Institute of Science. Based on the chart, by knowing the month when a baby was conceived, with the age of the mother at conception, the sex of the baby can be determined. For example, if you were 35 years old, at the time of conception and your baby was conceived on the 8th month, the chart predicts you'll have a boy. And if you were 40 years old at the time of conception and your baby was conceived on the 5th month, then the chart predicts you'll have a girl. Simple!?
The accuracy of the Chinese Birth Chart, however is questionable, as many people found the chart generates a wrong outcome. Some people even claim that using the Chinese Birth Chart method to select the gender of a baby is just equal to flipping a coin. The fact is that thousands and thousands of people are still searching the web everyday, and wishing to find out how to use the chart correctly. Then what's the main factor causes wrong predictions? The chart must be used with Chinese Calendar.
Both the mother's age and the month at conception must based on the Chinese (Lunar) calendar. In other words, you need to know how to convert the Western (Gregorian) calendar into the Chinese calendar if you want to get an accurate prediction.
Two more important tips regarding the calculation of lunar age.
1. When a baby is born, he/she is already one year old.
2. All people gain 1 year of age at the Chinese new year.
So, for example, if John was born on January 23, 2006, then he was 2 years of lunar age on February 23, 2006 (because Chinese new year was on January 29, 2006). You can find more information about the lunar age calculation here. Good luck!
Master Yae Lok is the founder of the website 'Chinese Birth Gender Chart' at http://www.chinesegenderchart.info Please visit his website and learn all the tips about using the Chinese Birth Chart for gender selection, plus articles about Chinese customs at pregnancy and childbirth.
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