Head Down Isn’t Everything. Find Your Baby’s Position Today!
January 17, 2012 by Dr. Frederick
Filed under General Info, Healthcare, Medicine, Midwife, OB/GYN, Women's Health
Were you excited when you found out your baby was head down and not breech? You most certainly had a reason to be happy now that you know you will less likely need a c-section.
Unfortunately, most care providers do not inform you about ALL that is going on with your baby’s positioning, and too many women end up with an excruciatingly painful and long labor. Most women believe the myth, “my baby loves to hang out in this position,” and that is simply not true. It isn’t the baby in most cases, it’s you!
Today, more babies are found in less optimal positions such as posterior position. A posterior baby is a baby whose back is against the mother’s back. This is very painful and difficult for the baby to spiral down during labor and birth. Mother’s often need pain medication and increase their chances of a c-section if their baby does not get into a more favorable position.
Take a moment to take your hands and hold your cheeks and squish your face together. Silly or what? Well, I am getting you to feel how squishy, moveable and soft this part of your head is. Now take your fingers and touch the back of your head right above your neck. Pretty hard bones don’t you think?
Would you rather have those hard bones or the squishy and moveable tissue up against your sacrum in late pregnancy and during labor? When women have those horrible back labor stories, unless they have some serious preexisting back injury or condition, the baby is usually in this position.
http://youtu.be/-Zgs_VEqx7Q
WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?
• Desk jobs, recliners, lounging around – when you lounge, your baby lounges. Your baby’s back will most likely lean in the direction you lean.
• Lack of exercise and imbalance in the body- your baby needs space so your muscles need to release tension on both sides of the body. If once side is stronger from lack of exercise (dominant side) you become tight and tense and your baby hangs out where there is room.
• Poor posture, alignment – go see a CHIROPRACTOR early on. Don’t wait too long.
• Loosen up- get a prenatal massage, take yoga classes and do your cat/cows and half dogs every day.
• Staying on all fours will help the baby get back into the correct position in most cases.
Signs of a posterior baby
• Back discomfort during labor
• Irregular labor patterns
• During pregnancy, can you locate your baby’s back with your hands?
• Dip in your belly when you lie on your back instead of a nice round belly.
For more information on fetal positioning and finding your baby, go to www.spinningbabies.com and learn more about Gail Tulley’s book Belly Mapping.
You can also join our midwives at our monthly events to learn more and get hands on help with finding your baby’s position and correcting it. Midwives specialize in assisting parents to be a partner in their care and learn about the baby and the process as a whole.
We will have on hand specialists providing demonstrations and educating families on optimal positioning/correcting positions during pregnancy and labor.
Learn unique tips on how to avoid back labor even after labor begins. Often when you arrive at the hospital, there are a series of routine events that often create this problem without parents or the nurses even recognizing the cause.
For more information, go to www.atlantamidwifery.com/meetup and join us at our next educational event.
Author:
Corrinna Edwards
Family Liaison
info@atlantamidwifery.com 404-805-2059
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT – solutions are easier than you might think
May 11, 2010 by Dr. Frederick
Filed under General Info, Healthcare, Medicine, OB/GYN, Women's Health
Eat More, Drink More, Lose More Weight. There is no disputing the fact that exercise is important in any weight loss goal. However, what is often overlooked but crucial is diet – and not in the traditional sense of the word. Proper nutrition is THE most important step in any successful weight loss program. There are many variations of exercise which work for different body types to achieve weight loss goals. But if these efforts are not combined with proper nutrition your results will be short lived. Slow metabolism is your worst enemy…even more so than the double-bacon cheeseburger or triple-dip hot fudge sundae at your favorite restaurant. Slow metabolism is the result of poor nutrition, yo-yo dieting and inactivity.
For more information on this and other ways to accomplish your goals, call ISIS at 770.521.2229.
H1N1 Vaccinations available at ISIS!
November 9, 2009 by Dr. Frederick
Filed under General Info
ISIS OB/GYN is now offering H1N1 shots to the public! All guests welcome starting at the age of 4. Vaccines begin at 8:30am and the last one is administered at 3:30pm. The office is closed from 12:30 to 1:30 for lunch. Cost is $20 cash or check.
Is There Proper H1N1 Etiquette?
September 24, 2009 by Dr. Frederick
Filed under General Info
(All provided information below has been quoted directly from a combination of medical websites)
My wife came to me the other day and asked if she would invite her team from work over to our house for dinner. I knew something about her request smelled funny. Usually, she simply tells me her plans, “By the way, I’ve invited my team over.” There is never really an option. I show up where and when I am told.
So I asked the question. “Why are you asking?”
She said one teammate’s daughter and wife seven days ago became ill with H1N1. He is not sick, but he has been exposed. “Is it ok for him to come over” she wondered “or are we putting our family at risk?”
Good question.
See we have two boys. One is 20 months old and the other is 9 weeks old. Even though her coworker is showing no symptoms of the flu, could he be carrying something that might adversely affect our little ones?
This prompted me to do some digging that I thought I’d share with you all.
H1N1 Symptoms and How It Spreads
Swine flu symptoms are similar to symptoms of other flu viruses. These include fever, cough, headaches, chills, body aches, a sore throat and fatigue. Vomiting and diarrhea have also been reported with this virus. It is important to remember that other conditions can cause these same symptoms. To determine for sure if you have swine flu versus another strain of flu or other condition, you will need to go to your doctor for a lab test.
Flu is similar to a cold virus in that it is typically spread from one person to another when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The virus can pass through an infected person’s lungs, throat or nose, sending particles into the air that can pass to anyone that person comes in close contact with. The other main way the virus spreads is from touching surfaces that are contaminated with the virus and then touching your eyes, mouth or nose.
Infants and Children and the Novel H1N1 Virus
Little is currently known about how this novel influenza A (H1N1) virus circulating in people may affect children. However, seasonal influenza and past pandemics, it is known that children, especially those younger than 5 years of age and those who have high-risk medical conditions are at increased risk of influenza-related complications. Among children less than 5 years, the risk for severe complications from seasonal influenza is highest among children less than 2 years old.
Illnesses caused by influenza virus infection are difficult to distinguish from illnesses caused by other respiratory pathogens based on symptoms alone. Young children are less likely to have typical influenza symptoms (e.g., fever and cough) and infants may present to medical care with fever and lethargy, and may not have cough or other respiratory symptoms or signs.
Why Pregnant Women and New Mothers are Particularly Vulnerable to H1N1
The growing fetus in a pregnant woman presses upward and compresses the lungs. Compression reduces the ability of the lungs to fill and expel fluid. As a result, pregnant women are susceptible to pneumonia.
Pregnancy and birth demand substantial changes in a mother’s immune system to accommodate a foreign body and subsequently to enhance inflammation enough to deliver a baby. These dramatic shifts in the immune system make a mother more vulnerable to infection and make flu infections more dangerous.
Prevention of Infection of Pregnant Mothers and Newborns is Imperative
Since infection poses high risks for pregnant mothers and their babies, the first priority to prevent infection. Isolation and hygiene must be encouraged. In England, women have been discouraged from becoming pregnant until after the current H1N1 outbreak has subsided. The CDC has not yet made that recommendation, but they do direct pregnant women to be vigilant about avoiding contact with infected individuals, to minimize contact of siblings with potential sources of infection and discourage visitors to newborns.
*H1N1 shots now available at ISIS OB/GYN for $20 cash. Open to all public, male or female, starting at the age of 4.
