Pregnant you are.? This is calculated not from the day you conceived but from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). In reality, a pregnancy will usually last 38 weeks. Because we are adding two weeks at the beginning, the pregnancy lasts around 40 weeks. We then allow a further ten days over the due date. Most women will go over their expected date of delivery (EDD) so as a mind-set I advise patients to avoid disappointment early by calculating the worst-case scenario and then adding ten days to their due date. This way, the longest period they are going to be pregnant is established. What else? Water Births This topic often makes me want to crack up. All right—I know what you are thinking. You are saying that this is very judgmental. How dare he have such a closed mind! But just hear me out on this one. I am often asked in all sincerity about this as an option for childbirth. And I have seen the videos. The rationale for water birth advocates that the baby who has floated in a pool of amniotic fluid for the past 40 weeks should now be born into another body of fluid. Supposedly, the whole process is almost natural and most pleasant for the baby. Furthermore, it is supposed to result in less pain for the expectant mother.
This is not the case! Okay, here is the problem. Monitored care is the reason for the current reduced infant-maternal mortality and morbidity rate in the year 2006 in developed countries. This means that at specific points during the first and second stages of labour, we monitor the fetal heart and assess how the baby is doing. We look for changes in the baby’s heart rate and its response to the contractions and to pushing.
This becomes impossible when you are immersed in a pool of water. And I also wonder how long you would wish to remain in the water before it becomes cold (unless it is continuously reheated) or you start to wrinkle up like a prune. Finally, what is the point? For pain control? If I am in a hot tub and I am passing a kidney stone, does this mean that my pain will go? If that were the case, every emergency room would be equipped with a hot tub for anyone passing a kidney stone. So, in reality, the pain might be a little less, but overall, not by a whole lot. What about making it easier on the baby? Well why? The baby is not a fish or amphibian. It is human. Humans live on land, not in water.
We are designed to have babies on dry land. And guess what … babies are designed to take their first breath on land. If they don’t, and they are born into water and the cord is clamped, they have no means of getting oxygen—because they do not have gills at birth. So, once born in water, they would have to come onto dry land anyway to take their first breath, which is ultimately what happens for all births without running the risk of not being able to monitor the baby. Part of the process of resuscitation in a newborn is to dry, suction, and heat. All of these things are impossible to do in water. I guess the whole concept is somewhat of a fantasy—almost like having sex in water—it is way overrated.
[drpcoupon name=”Circle of Pregnancy”]
