Posts Tagged ‘Pregnancy’
I finally feel baby move at 22 weeks!
Posted on August 24, 2009 - by Bradley Hebdon
It’s official. With my hand on Denise’s round tummy, I felt the baby move at 22 weeks. A pretty amazing experience which is hard to describe. After reading through a few blogs, it seems many dads-to-be are actually pretty freaked out by the experience and find it too unusual or weird. I’ve also read that some dads ”communicate” with their baby via tapping on mom’s stomach, and being replied to by a swift punch. Not sure how mother’s feel about this game.
By the way, I wonder how “Octomom” felt with 8 babies all doing their Kung-Fu routines inside her?
Baby now at 22 weeks!
Posted on August 22, 2009 - by Bradley Hebdon
Baby’s now nearly a pound and 11 inches from head to heel. She’s definitely stronger with more frequent and stronger punches, kicks and headbutts. In fact, her hands have grown bigger and stronger and she can now feel and touch with newly developed nerve endings in her fingers. Apparently she’ll try them out by touching her face and yank the umbilical cord — probably for more food, I’m sure. And by the way, she can also taste the amniotic fluid. Yes, she’s test-driving her new taste buds. She’s also sporting a short hair-do. White, I’m told. But this obviously changes over time once pigment appears.
Memories from within the womb
Posted on August 5, 2009 - by Bradley Hebdon
During pregnancy, parents often attempt to communicate with the baby as it develops within the womb. They might play Mozart to raise their baby’s IQ; or talk to the baby in the hope that he might recognize their voices once born; or dad might poke mom’s belly in hope of a reciprical baby kick and also shine a flashlight to brighten their dark little cave.
While this might sound like fun and games, there’s a lot of research being done that has uncovered remarkable evidence of how babies respond to outside stimulation.
Audio Stimulation
The baby can in fact hear from within the womb and many studies now confirm that voices can be heard. A mother’s voice is particularly powerful because it is transmitted to the womb through her own body reaching the baby in a more audible form than the outside sounds.
Music is another source of stimulation and in one study, “Brahm’s Lullabye” was played throughout the day in a premature baby nursery. It was documented that the music produced faster weight gain than the effect of voice sounds. The baby’s heart rate can also be altered by sounds. In fact, only a 5 second stimulus of sound can change the heart rate and cause the baby to move around for up to an hour.
Visual Stimulation
Despite the baby’s eyelids remaining closed until the 26th week, they are sensitive to projections of light on the belly and respond with an accelerated heart rate. It has also been observed that they can detect the location of needles entering the womb, even with their eyelids still fused. Despite their closed eyes, it’s assumed that they have some aspect of vision, but it’s not understood how. Babies have been observed either shrinking away from the needle, or attacking it with a fist. And when twins are in the womb together, they will often locate each other, touch faces and hold hands.
Dreaming
As early as 23 weeks, babies are starting to dream with rapid eye movement and they display facial expressions that can range from pleasant to unpleasant depending on the dream. It’s also important to note that dreams are neither reactive or evoked which means that the baby has inner mental or emotional experiences.
Other Stimulation
Believe it or not, ultrasounds have recorded erections as early as 16 weeks, which are often partnered with finger sucking. This suggests that pleasurable self-stimulation is already possible. And in the third trimester, when the parents are engaged in intercourse, the baby’s heart rate fluctuates wildly and is directly associated with paternal and maternal orgasms!
Remembering Experiences
Now, it’s doubtful you remember anything from your days within the womb. But a new study suggests that a short-term memory could be present for fetuses at 30 weeks of age. This study tested how fetuses in nearly 100 pregnant women responded to a very low vibrating sound. The researchers then observed the reactions using an ultrasound. The fetus was startled when it first heard/felt the sound, but after repeating this stimulation it got used to the sound, and no longer reacted to it.
This lessened response to a repeated stimulus is called habituation, a process that both humans and animals are known to experience. For example, you might become habituated to the sound of your grandfather clock ticking. Hearing it at first, but growing used to the noise after a while and falling asleep. Habituation is a form of learning and memory.
The researchers also discovered that if they played the sound to the same fetus 4 weeks later, it stopped reacting to the sounds after only a few attempts. Whereas the fetus that had not been exposed to the stimulation 4 weeks earlier, took much longer to ignore it. This test illustrated that a 30 day short-term memory was in place.
It still hasn’t been proven that the baby can remember all the stimulation it receives, but it should make you think twice about the environment outside the womb, and how it can effect the baby within.
Top 10 Pregnancy Books for Women
Posted on July 13, 2009 - by Bradley Hebdon
The following books are highly recommended reads for expecting moms-to-be. Whether you want a laugh, or an in-depth resource, these books cover a wide range of subject matter.
1. What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Announcing a brand new, cover-to-cover revision of America’s pregnancy bible. What to Expect When You’re Expecting is a perennial New York Times bestseller and one of USA Today‘s 25 most influential books of the past 25 years. It’s read by more than 90% of pregnant women who read a pregnancy book–the most iconic, must-have book for parents-to-be, with over 14.5 million copies in print.
2. Taking Charge of your Fertility | by Toni Weschler
This comprehensive book explains in lucid, assured terms how to practice the fertility awareness method (FAM), a natural, scientifically proven but little-known form of birth control (which is notto be confused with the woefully ineffective “rhythm” method). Author Toni Weschler has been teaching fertility awareness for almost 20 years, and it’s only just now gaining in popularity.
3. Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy | by Mayo Clinic
Would-be mothers looking for precise, accurate information from a reputable source will appreciate this mammoth pregnancy guide from the celebrated Mayo Clinic. The volume actually provides much more information than most parents will need: week by week accounts of the baby’s development, entries on how pregnancy can be affected by dozens of previous health conditions (such as HIV and diabetes), self-care tips for side effects like nausea and back pain, sidebars that explain the difference between identical and fraternal twins, etc.
4. The Birth Partner: Everything You Need to Know to Help a Woman Through Childbirth
by Penny Simkin
The role of birth partner is a tough one. A birth partner may be expected to help a laboring woman make decisions and help her get through the pain and discomfort of childbirth. During this high-intensity time, the birth partner–whether father, partner, or friend–needs a book that can give thorough information for studying ahead of time, yet can be easily referenced in an emergency or for quick answers during labor and delivery. The Birth Partner fills both needs.
5. The Little Big Book for Moms
The Little Big Book for Moms is packed with all the fun, magic, and wonder of early childhood in a beautifully designed, chunky little package. Illustrated throughout with early 20th-century work by artists like Jessie Wilcox Smith and Ida Waugh, this is a delicious treasure for the expectant mother to savor in anticipation, and for the new mother to share with her little ones.
6. The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Book
Written by an obstetrician who is also a mother, it is chocked-full of information useful to all mothers, not just for the corporate woman. She takes the reader through the life-changing process starting with a pre-pregnancy life survey and shares fundamental advice for every demographic. An in-depth A+ resource guide
7. Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth
McCarthy applies her in-your-face manner and blue humor to the subject of pregnancy and childbirth in this little piece of fun. The former Playboycenterfold and all-around bad girl recounts her journey to motherhood with utter abandon, discussing topics that those other wholesome books tend to treat too gently, such as enemas, pubic hair growth, and sex in the ninth month.
8. Your Pregnancy Week by Week
This book is a worthy addition in this subject area. Its format, information, and language are both highly accessible and current. As the title states, pregnancy is followed week by week. A chapter is devoted to each week, covering six basic areas: baby size; mother’s size; baby’s growth and development; changes in the mother; how the mother’s behavior affects development; and things “you should also know.”
9. The Mother of All Pregnancy Books
A book that lives up to its name, author Ann Douglas has packed a remarkable amount of text, charts and tables into this 500-plus page volume that covers nearly every aspect of pregnancy, from considering pregnancy (is there ever a “good” time to do it?) to nutrition, exercise, breast-feeding and the top 10 worries for each trimester.
10. The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy
For first-time mothers-to-be, this candid, funny and very reassuring guide to pregnancy is just what the doctor ordered?or would if he/she knew about it. Iovine, who has had four babies and who seemingly has girlfriends with many more, believes that women learn the really valuable things about pregnancy from other women.
