An Art of Parenting

Posts Tagged ‘body’

Pregnancy care tips are so many. To shed a few of them, first of all, be happy. Keep your mind, body and soul light and happy. Tell that you are happy and do not bottle up your sad feelings. Educate yourself regarding the exercises that has to be followed to keep you and your baby fit and healthy.

Whenever you get the feel that something is wrong somewhere, get the advice of your doctor as soon as possible. Avoid chemicals to the core and start taking at least one vegetable in your every day diet. Drink at least eight to ten normal tumblers of water everyday, so that you always remain hydrated. Get to know what is the diet to be followed and adhere to it very strictly.

The practice of wrapping up the child was brought to us by the British. In the womb, the child remains in a curled up position and the pressure of the uterus is constantly exerted on the baby’s body. This pressure disappears once the child emerges from the womb. The new-found freedom allows the child to move its limbs about unobstructed. The post-natal environment is radically different from that in the womb.

The warm, comforting, pressure of the uterus is no longer there and the mild may not sleep peacefully. The idea behind wrapping the child up tightly is to make it feel snug and secure and induce it to sleep long. This practice prevails in hospitals and big cities. It is easier to carry a wrapped up baby. The mother to o need not fumble and flounder confusedly during breast feeding, for the bundled baby is easier to handle.

In some families, particularly those living in small towns or villages, the child is not tied up but is kept in a cradle and covered with a light quilt or sheet. After 1 ½ – 2 months the growing child breaks loose of its restrictions. The hands and legs fidget enough to free themselves of the constraining cloth whether it is tied or merely used as a cover.

Dark green stool, basically, called as meconium is undergone by the baby which happens regularly for couple of days from the day of birth. It will have a sweetish smell and the milk which is consumed by the baby is the reason for the stool. Many people call it as diarrhea but it is very common in the life of the new born. Gaining in weight of the baby depends upon the feeding of the mother and the stool is not the reason for the illness or wellness of the baby. Even if the third or fourth day, the baby passes stool, the mother should not get worried instead she can consult a doctor and find out the reason for it.

The mother should keep in mind that the stool will not bring discomfort to the baby at the time of passing the stool. Mothers need not wash the napkins of their children. It may take three or four months to lessen the stool so that the baby passes stool once a day. Depending upon the breast feed and bottle feed, the stool may differ in smell and color. If a mother feeds her child using bottle, the stool will be harder and it will be whitish in color. Stool may also separately curdle with the water and it indicates that the baby have been fed by bottle milk. Hence, breast milk is always good for the health of the baby!

The first stage of labour lasts twelve to twenty-four hours with a first baby and usually less with subsequent children. During these hours the contractions of the uterus increase in strength and come more frequently, until by the end of the first stage they may be occurring every three to five minutes. The cervix or neck of the womb undergoes several important changes. First it is drawn up so that it no longer projects into the vagina, then it gradually opens or dilates. By the end of the first stage the opening in the cervix is large enough to allow the baby’s head to pass into the vagina.

The cervix itself is converted into one continuous cavity. In the majority of labours the membrane rupture and the waters escape towards the end of the first stage, through they may rapture earlier, and in a few cases they do not rupture before the birth of the baby. The baby mat then be born completely enclosed in the membrane or “caul” an even which was once thought to be an omen of great good fortune. When the baby’s head passes through the cervix and into the vagina the second stage of labour begins. At once, the picture changes.

The stretching of the vagina and the surrounding structures by the pressure of the head brings into action a reflex or automatic mechanism. With each contraction of the uterus the expulsive muscles of the abdomen and chest contract as well and the mother feels an impulse to press or bear down to expel the baby. As she presses with each contraction the baby’s head advances farther and the tissues gradually stretch until the head escapes from the vagina, to be followed at once or with the next contraction by the shoulders and the rest of the body.