Joanne Stone

More and more women are expressing interest in nontraditional or alternative birthing methods, and more and more possibilities are becoming available. Certainly, the following options aren’t for everyone, but knowing what’s possible can be helpful. Delivering without anesthesia Natural childbirth usually refers to giving birth without any medications or anesthesia.

Once you find out you’re pregnant, follow a recommended schedule of prenatal visits and review the tests you can expect for each doctor’s visit. Learning a few medical abbreviations used by your doctors and hospital staff will help you keep up with what's going on all the way through your delivery.Keeping tabs on your baby’s growth is exciting, especially when you have a helpful growth chart to follow.

On or about the fifth day of development, the blastocyst attaches to the blood-rich lining of the uterus during a process called implantation. Part of the blastocyst grows to become the embryo (the baby in the first eight weeks of development), and the other part becomes the placenta (the organ that implants into the uterus to provide oxygen and nourishment to the fetus and eliminate its waste products).

Your positive pregnancy test marks a new beginning. The time has come to start thinking about what lies ahead. After you decide who your practitioner will be, give the office a call to find out how to proceed. Some practices want you to come in for a visit with the office nurse to give a medical history and confirm your good news with either a blood or urine test, whereas others schedule a first visit with the practitioner.

If you’ve ever had a parent-to-be show you an ultrasound picture of the baby, you know determining what you’re looking at, let alone detecting a family resemblance, isn’t always easy! But ultrasound pictures can be amazingly clear and useful — if you know what you’re looking for. Following are some of the items that doctors and sonographers try to pick out on ultrasound to find out whether the baby is growing and developing well.

If you plan on breast-feeding, you may want to take steps to toughen the skin around your nipples, which can help prevent them from cracking and becoming painful and sore when you’re breast-feeding. You can try very gently rubbing or massaging your nipples between your fingers, exposing them to air, rubbing them gently with a washcloth, or wearing a nursing bra with the flaps down so that your nipples rub against your clothes.

So you know what’s going on throughout your pregnancy while at doctor’s visits, touring the hospital, and during labor and delivery, learn these medical abbreviations and what they mean. Abbreviation What It Stands For AFP Alpha-fetoprotein AMA/APA Advanced Maternal/Paternal Age CNM Certified Nurse Midwife CR

During your pregnancy, pack portable items you’ll need for your labor and delivery and hospital stay in a bag and keep it in a handy place or in your car. For your trip to the hospital you’ll need: Your partner/labor coach A bathrobe and nightgown Toiletries Sturdy underwear that you don’t mind soili

To ensure the health of you and your baby, you’ll need to schedule regular visits to your doctor during your pregnancy. Use this guideline for making your appointments and understanding common procedures for each visit: Weeks Possible Tests 6–8 Blood type, rubella titer, blood counts, hepatitis screen, ultrasound.