1. {
Pregnancy
and
Preparing for Birth
CHAPTER 15
By:
Gina Zewiey

2. Change and Growth: Physically
• Every organ system
adapts
• Heart grows as it pumps
extra blood throughout
the body
• Digestion patterns
change as your body
delivers nutrients from
the food to the growing
fetus
• Hormonal changes cause
changes to skin and hair
• Ligaments soften to
allow your pelvis to
enlarge to accommodate
to the birth of your baby
• Cells divide, brain synapses develop, a new
heart starts to beat
• Breasts grow and begin to produce the
nutrient filled milk called lostrum

3. • Becoming a mother transforms your identity and calls on your
emotional strengths and resources
• You gain confidence in your own abilities
• Learning to trust yourself during the changes of
pregnancy, birth, and parenthood may help you as you face
other challenges throughout life
• Many women report heightened perceptions, increased
energy, and feelings of being in love, special, fertile, potent, and
creative while pregnant
• Many also have strong negative emotions or feel ambivalent
with this baby growing inside you
• Pregnancy and childbirth raise perfectly natural fears of pain
and the unknown
Change and Growth: Emotionally

4. Midwives
• Midwives attend and support women during pregnancy and childbirth, and teach
other women to do so
• They are trained to provide women with prenatal care, care during labor and
birth, and follow-up care after the baby is born
• In the U.S today, midwives attend approx. 1 in 10 vaginal births, primarily in
hospitals
• There are many other different types of Midwives such as:
- certified nurse midwives (educated in nursing and midwifery
- certifies midwives (educated in only midwifery)
- certifies professional midwives (specialize in healthy pregnancy and natural
childbirth and attend births at home and, in some states, birth centers)
- other midwives (some are not certifies and consider themselves “traditional,
independent, or direct entry” midwives)

5. Choosing a Birth Place…
• Home: good option for healthy women who have healthy pregnancies, a safe and
supportive home environment, and easy access to backup medical care. But has two
critical characteristics: 1.) rely on bodies natural abilities (not machines or drugs), 2.)
you can receive continuous support from attendants of own choosing
• Birth Center: homelike places with added comfort such as birth tubs and birthing
balls. They have systems in place to deal with complications during labor and transfer
to a hospital if need be. They provide comprehensive family-centered care for women
during pregnancy, childbirth, and the time following birth.
• Birth Centers in Hospitals: these places in hospitals are for healthy women who
desire midwifery model and low intervention care but also in close proximity of
medical help (anesthesia and surgical facilities) if need be.
• Hospital: standard setting for many women who choose to be close to medical care
while giving birth. Considered safest for women with high blood
pressure, disorders, carrying multiple children, delivering prematurely etc.

6. Child Birth Classes
• These classes help fill the gap to the preparation for
labor, birth, breastfeeding, and early parenting in detail.
• Women can choose from Lamaze, Bradley Method, ICEA, Birth
Works, HypnoBirthing, Birthing from Within, and mindfulness-based
childbirth preparation methods.
• Techniques such as
meditation, visualization, m
ovement, and rhythmic
techniques are tools you
might use to help ride the
waves of labor!

7. Prenatal Care
Consists of three interrelated elements:
1.) regular visits with your midwife or doctor
2.) the care you give yourself
3.) the care you receive from your friends, family, and
other support people

8. First Prenatal Visit!
• During your first prenatal
visit you will meet your
care provider and you
should always come with
questions to ask to
decided if this care
provider is good for you!
• If possible bring your
significant other, family
member or friend to your
first visit.
• You will be asked about your health history and your families history, your
backround, your occupation, and what support you have at home. You will
also talk about diet, exercise, and drug and alcohol abuse.
• Another important goal is to establish a reliable estimated due date (EDD).
• Then you will schedule more follow up dates throughout your pregnancy.

9. Tests During Pregnancy

10. • They provide information about your health and detect conditions that
can often be treated
• If you do not want certain tests, for example a blood HIV test, you are
allowed to refuse them in most states
• After first visit, blood tests are not needed at each visit, but at the sixth
month a blood test that measures the level of sugar in your blood is
routine in many practices
What do the prenatal tests do?

11. • Genetic Carrier Testing: blood tests that can be performed before you
get pregnant or in early pregnancy. This test determines if you or your
partner is a carrier of diseases that can be passed to your children.
(blood tests for sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis)
• Screening Tests: to measure the likelihood that your fetus had a
particular condition but cannot tell for certain whether the fetus has
the condition. (ultrasounds and “maternal marker” blood tests)
• Diagnostic Test: give a yes-or-no answer, identifying whether the fetus
does or does not have a particular condition. (amniocentesis and
chronic villus sampling)
Three Types of Screen Tests

12. Teen Pregnancies
• Younger teens (13 to 15) have a higher risk of complicated births
• It’s important to gain enough weight to
carry the baby, so do not diet
• You may have many plans to make
before giving birth.
• For example:
- where you and the baby are going to live
- how to stay in school and keep a job
- arrange for health insurance
- ensure that you will have enough money.
• The more helpful and supportive people
in your life
(family, friends, counselors, the baby’s
father) the better off you will be!

13. Drug and Alcohol Addicted Babies

14. •
low birth weight
•
disturbed sleep patterns
•
Hyperactive
•
low frustration tolerance
•
easily startled
•
easily woken
•
Irritable
•
poor feeding habits
Symptoms of
Drug Addicted
Babies
• rapid heartbeat
• excessive sudden
movement
• urinary tract defects
• impaired motor skills
• delayed social skills
• behavior problems

15. • Pregnancy in your late 30’s or 40’s
• Weight and Pregnancy
• Abuse and Violence (sexually or non sexually)
• Disability
• Chronic Illnesses
• Previous Cesarean Section
• Depression and Other Mental Health Challenges
Other Special
Considerations
During Pregnancy
(Risks)

17. Preparing For
Labor and
Birth
• As the day approaches the decisions are being finalized with having a
natural birth or you might know if you prefer an epidural.
• May have cultural or religious customs you want to add into your
birth
• The major labor and birth choices (such as switching your doctor or
midwife during late pregnancy) you will need to consider ahead of
time
• You want to know who you want to have in the room for support and
which labor interventions you will agree to under which circumstances

18. Planning for
Pain Management
Preparing
for
Breastfeeding

19. “The transition to motherhood can be
challenging, both physically and emotionally.
Learning as much as you can and listening to
other women’s stories will give you the
information and inspiration to face the
challenges of pregnancy and childbirth with
greater confidence.”
Ready For Birth!

20. Memorable
Quote
“As a woman who struggled with so many body image issues and an eating disorder as
a younger woman, my first pregnancy was an exercise in body acceptance. Watching my
stomach and hips grow and change in ways I could not control, I felt an alternating
sense of disgust and amazement. When I began to look obviously pregnant, something
changed. I was able to inhabit my body proudly, touching my hands to my belly
knowing that my child needed this body to grow, develop, and give him life—never did
I feel such love and pride about my physical body, and it was pure magic!”