Interview with Pregnant Women It is important to understand what women commonly experience during pregnancy. With a better understanding of what happens during prenatal development and childbirth, physicians can competently develop the best plan for the mother and baby. I interviewed two women who have been previously pregnant in order to evaluate how the ideas in the book translate into real-life experiences. Based on my knowledge about prenatal development and childbirth I expected the women to answer the way they did. Development happens rapidly during the prenatal period, which is the time between conception and birth. Prenatal development is normally divided into three stages: the germinal stage, the embryonic stage, and the fetal stage. …show more content…
She stated, “The best part of the pregnancy was my hair, it was strong, silky, shiny, and it grew really fast.” Additionally, she believed the worst part of the pregnancy was not being able to bend over. She was used to being very active and not being able to move much got to her. According to these women these were the best and worst parts of their pregnancy. When asked the question of their experience with labor and delivery there were some similarities. Both women experienced major pain during labor, one described the labor pain as “really bad menstrual cramps multiplied by a thousand. It feels like your abdomen is being squeezed and twisted.” Whereas the other described it as having your insides squeezed, twisted, and pulled. Almost every pregnant woman I have ever heard talk about child birth has described it as the most painful thing that has ever happened to
Pam Jenkins is a 36 year-old woman that is 30 weeks into her third pregnancy. Since her pregnancy began, Pam has gained 20 pounds. Although Pam has reduced the amount that she smokes, she continues to smoke 5 cigarettes per day, which may cause some issues with her worry of another preterm birth. Another factor that could also cause complications is her delayed prenatal vitamin use. After logging her dietary intake within a 24 hour period into SuperTracker, I will be making recommendations on how she can alter her diet and lifestyle to ensure that Pam receives the nutrients she needs for herself and for her baby.
"7 Tips For Having A Natural Childbirth." Fit Pregnancy. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .
Mayo Clinic collaborative services educational publication. (2004). Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. New York, NY, Harper Collins Publishers Inc.
The use of epidurals is so common today that many perinatal professionals are calling the 1990s the age of the epidural epidemic. Believed by many in the medical profession to be safe and effective, the epidural seems now to be regarded as a veritable panacea for dealing with the pain of childbirth. It is true that most women experience pain during the course of labor. This pain can be intense and very real, even for those who have prepared for it. But pain is only one of many possible sensations and experiences that characterize the experience of giving birth. Barbara Katz Rothman, a sociologist who studies birth in America, writes that in the medical management of childbirth, the experience of the mother is viewed by physicians as pain: pain experienced and pain to be avoided.1 Having experienced childbirth ourselves, we have great compassion for women in painful labors. However, we also feel a responsibility to mothers and their babies to explore issues concerning the use of epidural anesthesia in labor issues that are seldom discussed prenatally.
1.1 Describe, in-depth, stages of development from conception to birth in groups of 4 weeks i.e. 0-4, 4-8, 8-12...36-40 weeks.
The debate concerning abortion still exists and is causing a lot of controversy. One of the biggest is an issue concerning mother’s who are experiencing health compilations during p...
How the provision of information in the antenatal period can positively affect health and life style choices in the pregnant woman and her family.
A description can never be as vivid as an event that has been experienced. An experience can never be as defining as an event that has left you changed. Under the intensity of childbirth, you're more likely to remember details that would otherwise go unnoticed. All the scenes come together to leave a permanent imprint on the mind's eye.
Pregnancy can be an exciting and sometimes frightening experience for many women. It was a snowy Sunday afternoon, and I was not feeling very well. I remember all week long, every morning I felt nauseated. I was craving odd foods, and foods I normally would not eat together. I was on the phone with my best friend explaining to her how I was feeling. She said “It sounds like you are pregnant.” That thought never even crossed my mind until that moment. Sure enough she was right, I was pregnant for the first time. I was excited to have a baby and never realized how many emotions or complications can take place during a pregnancy. Everybody that I knew that had babies, had such wonderful experiences. Unfortunately, this happy moment became such a monumental, emotional and stressful time in my life. During my pregnancy, I went through many emotional experiences from almost losing my child, to the uncertainty of a birth defect and early delivery.
While working as a nurse Sanger came across a woman by the name of Sadie Sachs (likely a compilation of many women) who became very ill after giving herself an abortion. Sachs begged the doctor for advice on pregnancy preven...
Joseph Lee describes childbirth as a pathologic process that damages both mothers and babies “often and much.” He said that if birth were properly viewed as a destructive pathology rather than as a normal function, “the midwife would be impossible even of mention.” In the first issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, DeLee proposed a sequence of interventions designed to save women from the ‘evils natural to labor.” The interventions included routine use of sedatives, ether, episiotomies, and forceps. (Put Citation)
There are two different ways to break down the prenatal time period: by trimester or by periods. The first period is called the germinal period. This time frame consists of the first fourteen days of the baby’s development starting with conception. During these two weeks, the fertilized egg makes it’s way into the uterus for implantation in the lining of the uterus. The next period, the embryonic period starts here. The embryonic period lasts the third through the eighth week of pregnancy. During this time period, according to Kathleen Stassen Burger, Author of The Developing Person: Through Childhood and Adolescence, “…the formless mass of cells becomes a distinct being-not yet recognizably human, but worthy of a new name, embryo” (Burg...
This is the embryonic period, which occurs three weeks after conception and lasts until the eighth week. During the fourth week, the shape of the head begins to form, along with the formation of the eyes, mouth, nose, and mouth. Through the fifth and eighth week the lower body develops, as the legs and arms appear. After the embryonic stage, the fetal stage begins, which is during the ninth week through birth, where the fetus has a physical appearance distinctive to human features compared to when it was an embryo. At birth, one of the earliest signs of motor development is its first reflexes as a newborn coming out the mother’s womb. Newborns reflexes are not learned, rather they are born with these reflexes and act instinctively to protect itself in its first few months of life. At this point both the physical and motor development is starting to develop naturally at the same
This process is called conception, the female is now officially two weeks pregnant and the fertilized egg is called a zygote. Let’s move on to pregnancy. Pregnancy is a state in which a woman carries a fertilized egg inside her body, it usually lasts up to 40 weeks, and it is divided into three trimesters, each lasting three months. The first month. The embryo is about a third of an inch long. The head, trunk, and the beginnings of the arms and legs have started to develop. By this month, the embryo starts to receive nutrients and releases waste through the umbilical cord and placenta. The heart also starts to beat. The second month. The heart is now pumping and the nervous system, including the brain and the spinal cord begins to develop. The fetus is 1 in 2.5cm now and has developed cartilage skeleton. The arms, legs, facial features and other major organs begin to appear. The third month. The fetus has grown up to 4 in 10cm and weighs a little more than an ounce. The major blood vessels are almost completed and the face starts to show up more. The kidneys and the 4 chambers of the heart are now complete. The fourth month. The fetus is now 4 oz of 112g and can kick and swallow. The
The miracle of life is something most of us will experience in our lifetime. The process before actually giving birth, I think is the hardest part of the entire scenario of child bearing. This amazing experience is something that can make the individuals who are involved in the process change in so many ways. The process of giving birth, for those of you who have not experienced or will never experience it, can be very hard, long and rewarding all at the same time. To give a better description, think of eating a fireball. At first the fireball is tame and calm, but just when you least expect it the fireball becomes hot. Then, when the hot sensation becomes too much, the sweet flavor of the fireball breaks through.