Week 18 of PregnancyYour Baby and Changes… By week 18 of pregnancy your baby is now five or six inches long and weighs six or seven ounces! Your baby is moving around quite a bit at this stage, often stretching his arms and legs. Your baby’s heart has developed enough at this stage to allow you the chance to have an ultrasound to check out the structure of the heart to make sure the structure is normal. During this check up your healthcare provider will examine your baby's placenta and umbilical cord and also determine whether or not the due date you have estimated is likely to be correct. And by week eighteen your baby's genitals should be distinguishable, so if you choose to do so you should be able to determine the sex of your baby. Your Body and Changes… By week eighteen you should definitely be showing. If you have gained between ten and fifteen pounds at this point in time, you are right on track. But don’t worry if you’ve gained more than this average, or less. Your doctor will be monitoring your weight and will be the one to tell you when there is a concern. Your uterus is the size of a small melon by this point in time. You are probably noticing that it’s not as easy to sleep at this stage in your pregnancy. And the sad part is this is just the beginning. One of the best things you can do during your pregnancy is lie on your left side. This will help prevent your uterus from pressing up against your inferior vena cava; it’s a vein inside your body that returns blood back to your heart. You are also probably noticing that you are growing hungrier at this stage. An increase in appetite is pretty common about now. Your cardiovascular system is going through some pretty dramatic changes at this stage and you will probably see a drop in your blood pressure. Because of this, you might feel dizzy at times if you make a sudden change in your movement. Articles
Water birthing is the process of giving birth to your baby in a warm tub of water. Some women choose to birth to their babies in water because of the many benefits that come with it, up to and including the comfort and soothing natural effect that the water give them.
The baby has lived in the amniotic sac for nine months therefore water birthing gives the
baby and opportunity to be born in a similar environment which offers comfort. It also is
a less stressful environment for the mother during childbirth. Single motherhood is more common than one might think. According to resources there is an estimated 10.4 million single mothers in the USA alone, and average of 3.5% of the nation. Many reasons for single motherhood exist up to and including simple divorce situations. Mothers make great leaders for this reason. They are able to block out all obstacles existing for being a single parent and put their children's well being as a top priority. “Getting your tubes tied” is a phrase or term which is used commonly to describe one process of contraception in the female anatomy. The medical term for this is “tubal ligation”. With having a baby, comes responsibility from the start of being a parent. Part of that responsibility if ensuring that your new little newborn is protected from germs, viruses, and diseases while still surviving on the mommy’s immune system. It has been said that is mothers had gum disease their babies have four times the changes of experiencing gum disease as well. |
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