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Reassurances for the mom-to-be By S. Danyelle Knight Whether attributed to my Type A personality, my out-of-whack hormones or my lack of pre-natal experience, paranoia seemed as much a part of the package during my pregnancy as food cravings and swollen feet. Suddenly, my body was not my own; it was a complicated machine manufacturing another human being. This was serious stuff, and I wanted to do everything right. Student that I am, I turned to books and periodicals on the subject to educate myself, thinking pregnancy, childbirth and parenting were subjects as cut and dried as grammar or geometry. Wrong! Not only did these resources reveal to me just how unpredictable pregnancy could be, they brought up frightening possibilities that I hadn’t even considered. Instead of reassuring me that everything was going to be OK, my reading became a source of anxiety to the point that my husband insisted I not read any of “those pregnancy books” before bedtime. When you’re a first-timer, it’s easy to whip yourself into a frenzy over everything that can go wrong and ignore the reality that moms and babies have been doing this successfully since the beginning of mankind. But let’s face it, worse-case scenarios sell more magazines than articles on women who have the same old story to tell. So, how can you be proactive about your pregnancy without becoming a worry wart? Getting started By Michele Piazzoni How do you handle it when your new baby cries in the night? Researchers in London say that how you respond to your baby’s night crying can have an effect on how quickly she is able to sleep through the night. In the recent study, parents who let their babies cry more during waking and sleeping hours, endured more crying early on, but were able to enjoy a full night’s sleep by 12 weeks. However, parents who held their babies for 15 hours per day and co-slept with their child, enjoyed less crying overall but continued waking through the night beyond 12 weeks. It was parents whose care fell somewhere in between the two extremes who enjoyed less crying earlier on as well as a full night’s sleep by 12 weeks. Tuning children in to TV at an early age may make if more difficult for them to tune out when they get older. New data shows that daily hours of TV watching before age 4 is related to increased protests to turn the TV off at age 6. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for children under 2 and less than 2 hours per day for children who are older. Your parenting style may have an impact on your child’s likelihood of being overweight by first grade. Researchers say that parents who are strict disciplinarians may have a negative effect on their child’s developing eating habits, while parents who are authoritative (respectful of their child while maintaining clear boundaries) were more likely to create an environment that promotes self-control and is linked to a lower risk of becoming overweight. I shelved the books and magazines and eschewed my late-night Internet searches until I felt capable of putting things into their proper perspective. When I returned to my research, I tried not to read between the lines, saving the most pressing questions for my doctor – a person whose experience, expertise and motives I trusted. For day-to-day questions and concerns, I sought the wisdom of other women who had lived through morning sickness and post-partum depression. They were an immediate, reliable source of common sense, helpful hints and reassurance. The advice I give to all first-time moms is to trust your instincts. My sister is the proud mother of a precious 6-month-old baby boy, but her first pregnancy resulted in an early miscarriage. Her gut told her something wasn’t right when she started experiencing bleeding and cramps – symptoms that can be commonplace for healthy pregnancies. In spite of reassurance from others that “it was probably nothing,” she sought medical attention when her symptoms persisted. She is the perfect example of what to do when your worries are well founded. You may never have experienced pregnancy, but you know yourself. Don’t be dissuaded from calling your doctor if you suspect a serious problem. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health suggests you call your doctor right away if you: • Are bleeding or leaking fluid from the vagina • Have sudden or severe swelling in the face, hands, or fingers • Get severe or long-lasting headaches • Have discomfort, pain or cramping in the lower abdomen • Have a fever or chills • Are vomiting or have persistent nausea • Feel discomfort, pain or burning with urination • Have problems seeing or blurred vision • Feel dizzy • Sense a change in your baby’s movement • Suspect your baby is moving less than normally after 28 weeks of pregnancy (if you count less than 10 movements in 2 hours or less) Pregnancy is tough enough on a woman’s body and mind without the added stress of fretting about the unknown. It’s an uncomfortable, uncertain time to be sure, but carrying your child is also an experience too miraculous to waste on worry. Trust yourself, seek the support of other women and let your doctor do his/her job. The next time you find yourself nail biting for no good reason, put your mind to work on something productive like writing a journal entry or decorating the nursery. A bowl of ice cream works wonders, too! |
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