Bringing The Baby Home – Getting organized

First and foremost try to understand what it takes to be parents. Ideally, both of you should plan well in advance and get acquired with all possible requirements of the new situation. Ask your friends or other new parents about their experiences. You should prepare yourself not just mentally but also physically.

Talk to your friends and relatives about what it is like to have a baby. Both parents must get acquainted with what will be required of them. If both of you are working, you should look for a long term help, well before the baby arrives. If there are elders, examine the feasibility of their staying with you.

This kind of arrangement works in two ways. The physical as well as emotional trauma of terminating the pregnancy is overcome the young women does not have to give up her ambition. However, if you are the kind of people who are used to staying alone and cannot adjust someone staying with you permanently, discuss with each other the alternative ways and means of facing the situation. Identify in your neighborhood, a home or a person with whom you can entrust your child. These days neighbors may not be very helpful, but it worth checking if there is one who can help you, at least occasionally.

Postpartum Depression

Some women go into severe depression or extreme happiness within hours of delivering the baby. Some cry incessantly, others start muttering irrelevantly, some remain numb in a state of shock, and yet others may lose control over bowel movements. This may continue for a few hours. Doctors do not give any specific reason for this unpredictable state. Various explanations are given but none of them have been scientifically proved. However, very few women go into severe postpartum depression and it is usually not anything to worry about. Of course, this kind of unpredictable behaviors of the mother’s and their state of mind is the result of sudden demise or success of long and strong expectations, they had been framing since months.

This discussion is in no way intended to scare young couples, because most babies are born normal, after full term, and without any major complications. But while ignorance is bliss, knowledge is far more rewarding. 

The Effects Of The Birth Process

The majority of infants do not suffer serious impairment at birth. Even when an infant is born with complications, some of them disappear during subsequent development. However, less than ten per cent do have some abnormality which may not disappear, may take longer to disappear or which could pose problems. More males than females are born with anomalies mainly because of the sex chromosome or due to bigger size and bigger head of the baby. In prolonged labor or in difficult birth, the chances of neurological damage due to pressure or haemorrhage are greater for male children. Factors related to developmental deviation and infant mortality and poor resistance to infections are also more common in boys than in girls.

Anoxia or oxygen deprivation and retention of carbon dioxide during birth is something, any infant can suffer from prolonged labor or difficulties during delivery can lead to severe anoxia., brain damage, functional defects, or even death of the infant. It should be remembered that brain damage is permanent and therefore can be a cause of future mental anomaly.

Prematurity and low birthweight, in their extreme forms, are associated with intellectual impairment. Intellectual deficits associated with very low birthweight tend to be more enduring than anoxia.

Antenatal Diagnosis

There are various techniques of antenatal diagnosis such as urine or blood tests, amniocentesis and ultrasonography. Blood tests identify the haemoglobin level in the expectant mother as well as the presence of AIDS and the HIV virus. If the woman is HIV positive there is the danger of the virus transmitted to the foetus. The Rh factor (Rh+ or Rh-) is also detected through a blood test.

Techniques of antenatal diagnosis:

·         Urine and blood tests

·         Amniocentesis

·         Ultrasonography

In amniocentesis, a needle is inserted on the amniotic sac which surrounds the foetus, and a little fluid is removed. The cells in the fluid, are examined for the presence of any disorders due to genetic abnormalities. The sixteenth week of pregnancy is supposed to be ideal for the procedure as there are plenty of foetal cells in the surrounding fluid at that time, and the foetus is still small and likely to be injured. If the foetus is found to posses any disorder, it is still not too late to terminate the pregnancy. This decision should always be the last and taken in the interest of the family, particularly the mother. The mother and the family should be intimated the real situation so that they can come forward with a firm decision whether to keep the baby or not.

Maternal Age And Genetic Counseling

Maternal Age: Women who have their first child after the age of 35 years are likely to experience more problems during pregnancy and complications during delivery. Similarly, the incidence of two-egg twin formation, mental retardation, microcephaly (mental retardation associated with small skull and brain), Down’s syndrome (earlier known as Mongolism) low birthweight, and even cerebral palsy, is greater.

Genetic Counseling: Genetic counseling has become possible through advances in biology and genetics. Through amniocentesis, and chromosomal analysis in early pregnancy, it is possible to detect various chromosomal abnormalities (and these can be many) such as mental deficiency, blindness, Down’s syndrome and analysis. Parents then have the option to terminate the pregnancy and avoid the distress of having an abnormal child. There are many ethical issues involved and it is best that any decision after amniocentesis is taken jointly by parents and doctors. Of course, the mother should be consulted first and properly; every aspects must be presented to the mother and the family transparently, so that they can take a firm decision of their own.

Maternal Emotional State

Research has indicated that emotionally disturbed women have a tendency towards premature delivery and giving birth to low birthweight babies who have a greater vulnerability to disturbed emotions. This is might be attributable to generic transmission of emotionality or to the fact that the emotionality in pregnant woman induces metabolic changes which affect the foetus. It is also possible that if a pregnant women has little or no emotional support, especially at a time when she is feeling very low, tired or lonely, her anxiety level can rise with minimal provocation.

A pregnant woman requires a great deal of emotional support when she is feeling low, tired or lonely, because her anxiety level can rise with minimal provocation. She should avoid stressful depressing situations.

Some researchers have proved that if the mother-to-be talks to her baby in the womb and sings to it, the baby can easily identify its mother’s voice after birth and stop crying. The overall effort should be to avoid any tension. High maternal anxiety is associated with nausea during pregnancy, abortion, prematurity, prolonged labor and delivery complications. It is reported that a woman who enjoy support, companionship and reassurances – such as holding hands, having their back rubbed or being talked to during labor – have short labor and their infants are less distressed.

Drugs And Maternal Diet

Alcohol, drugs and tobacco are harmful to the developing foetus. The intake of these substances must come to a halt during pregnancy. Doctors will advice you to avoid even painkillers and other medicines because any drug in excess can cause low birthweight and prematurity. These days there is a concern, even about drugs administered to ease pain and sedate a woman during labor because they are known to cause neonatal depression and decreased mental activity.

Maternal Diet: it is not easy to pinpoint the effects of maternal malnutrition but in homes where there is gross dietary deficiency, especially of some vitamins or proteins, either due to ignorance or neglect of the pregnant woman, there is an increase in prematurity, stillbirth and physical and neural defects in the infant. It is advisable to consult your doctor about the kind of food you should eat, and to follow dietary instructions carefully. A sound maternal health and a good dietary is a strong ground for a healthy baby.