Whether you plan on giving birth with the assistance of an obstetrician, midwife or family practitioner, choosing your caregiver is an important decision. There are many different styles and methods of practice and stereotypes don’t always hold true. Not all obstetricians are eager to intervene no matter what and not all midwifes are sensitive, flexible and noninterventive. Ask friends for recommendations and then interview several caregivers before making your decision. Ask open ended questions to get unbiased answers. Follow up with vague answers and evaluate how comfortable you feel asking the caregiver questions when something is unclear. Pregnancy is full … Continue reading →

Women find themselves pregnant and without health insurance to cover prenatal care or birth for a variety of reasons. For some, the cost of health insurance is not within the family’s budget or the employer does not offer health benefits to employees. In the current recession, many people are losing their jobs. With these jobs, employer based health care benefits are often lost. Displaced workers have the option of COBRA to continue health benefits. However, the premium to continue the benefits is extremely expensive. Since the family has lost the income, they are often not able to afford these payments. … Continue reading →

One of the most common questions I hear and see asked in our forums is about the safety of medications during pregnancy. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone ask if a certain medicine is safe, I’d be too busy lying on my private island to be writing this blog. I had the same concerns with each of my babies. The doctor often gives you a limited list of drugs that are considered to be safe. This is a relatively short list and includes mostly medicines that have been around for a long time. The reason … Continue reading →

“Have a baby, lose a tooth” was a common saying in our grandmothers’ day. During your pregnancy, you may hear this from an older family member. Is it one of those pregnancy myths or can it be true? This depends on who you ask. Some believe it was true in the old days, but modern dental care has taken care of the problem. Others are staunch believers in this saying. A recently released medical study looked at this issue. The study was conducted by New York University and The Yale School of Medicine. Researchers looked at a nationwide sampling of … Continue reading →

Do you feel well informed by your health care provider? Doctors and midwives vary from each other and among other professionals in their field in terms of patient communication and patient education. Some doctors are naturally good at educating and informing patients about options for birth as well as many other health related topics. Others aren’t as good at communicating or are hurrying to the next patient and don’t take the time. Rushing or not bothering to offer information to patients seems to be all too common in the experiences of many women. The reasons vary. Sometimes the doctor is … Continue reading →

During pregnancy, women often aren’t totally honest with their doctors. Some withhold information or avoid questions out of fear. This ranges from small fibs about diet and exercise to more serious deception about smoking cigarettes, drinking and drug use during pregnancy. Women have many reasons for being less than honest with doctors and midwives. Sometimes the reason is a desire to project an image of the perfect patient and perfect mother to be. They want the midwife or doctor to view them in that image and fear disclosing anything that would tarnish that image. This often occurs in women who … Continue reading →

Ultrasound is quite effective for determining the gender of the baby. With an experienced ultrasound technician and good equipment, the gender is correct about 95% of the time. The only time there may be a problem is if the baby is shy. By now most of us know that the gender can be detected with ultrasound. What many don’t know is how is this done? What does the technician see that reveals the gender of the baby? Is it something I can see? Sometimes parents that don’t want to know the gender worry that they may accidentally see something during … Continue reading →

There are several benefits of chiropractic care for pregnant women. Visiting your chiropractor can help with some of the discomforts of pregnancy. The physical changes of pregnancy cause stress to the spine. This contributes to back pain. As labor approaches, the baby moves down into the pelvis. This can result in pain in the pelvic bone or at the bottom of the spine. Pelvic adjustments help bring the hips back into proper alignment, which relieves the pain. Many women are sent to the chiropractor by their health care provider if the baby is in a breech presentation. Midwives are more … Continue reading →

It’s a good idea for every pregnant woman to write a birth plan. Your birth plan spells out your wishes for labor, delivery and the period immediately following the baby’s birth. This helps you focus on what you want and tells your coach and the medical staff how you want things handled. When you make a birth plan, you will want to review it with your doctor. Sometimes the doctor or hospital will have a policy that may not fit with your birth plan. It’s important to know this early, so you can make a decision regarding care for the … Continue reading →