And The Journey of Motherhood Begins
This is the first blog posting of my brand spanking new blog!! I am a 4th year medical student who just delivered a baby girl and will be starting her medical residency in June in combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics in Chicago! This blog will chronicle my experiences of working 80 hours a week as a new mother. I'm hoping to offer guidance, honesty, and knowledge to new parents, especially working mothers. I believe a woman should be able to have both a career and a family. My field of expertise will be pediatrics and thus informational posts I blog about will be backed by research articles. I try to live a holistic life and believe in preventive medicine before interventional.
*The information and viewpoints provided here are my own. They should not be considered medical advice and are not a substitute for seeking medical attention from your own doctor. Always see a doctor should you have concerns regarding your child’s health, diagnosis, or treatment. If you feel you have a medical emergency, call 911*
Pregnancy and Birth:
*The information and viewpoints provided here are my own. They should not be considered medical advice and are not a substitute for seeking medical attention from your own doctor. Always see a doctor should you have concerns regarding your child’s health, diagnosis, or treatment. If you feel you have a medical emergency, call 911*
Pregnancy and Birth:
1. Working throughout your pregnancy is doable, but take it easy on yourself.
I found out I was pregnant in July of my fourth year of medical school prior to applying and interviewing for residencies. I was scared at how having a baby would change my life and my career. However, once I put my mind to something, I do it. I knew that to survive intern year with an infant while working 80 hours per week, I would need help with childcare. I knew Chicago would be the best place for me to match because both of my daughter’s grandmothers would be within an hour away. I applied to seventeen programs and interviewed at twelve. I interviewed up until 32 weeks pregnant, travelling to Milwaukee during a blizzard.
2. Eat everything in moderation, but focus on eating whole foods packed with nutrition.
Throughout my pregnancy, I tried to eat healthy foods while steadily gaining weight. Working in the medical field, there is often little time to eat, yet alone pee. While pregnant, your baby is your priority. I packed a water bottle, fruits, nuts, and granola bars for shifts where I knew I would not be able to take a break to eat. I splurged on Panera bread, Jimmy Johns, and Boston Market throughout my pregnancy. Cheese became my favorite food. I gained 30 pounds overall. Obstetricians recommend gaining between 25-35 pounds, but don’t fret over the number on the scale. http://www.acog.org/Resources-And-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Weight-Gain-During-Pregnancy
People will tell you you’re not gaining enough weight or you’re gaining too much. You can’t please anyone. A healthy diet includes whole foods, fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, dairy, and low mercury content fish. Omega-3 fatty acids are wonderful in nurturing your baby’s brain. Eating salmon, walnuts, flaxseed oil, or taking a prenatal vitamin with DHA and EPA (omega-3 fatty acids) will help ensure you get enough of this nutrient. Furthermore, if you want to splurge and have a Dairy Queen Blizzard™ or eat a half a pizza, do it! I believe in moderation. Do not smoke cigarettes as this can restrict blood flow to the placenta and cause intrauterine growth restriction. Caffeine intake around 200 mg is fine during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. A cup of joe is around 150 mg, a shot of espresso has around 75 mg, a can of pop has around 30-50 mg of caffeine.
I found out I was pregnant in July of my fourth year of medical school prior to applying and interviewing for residencies. I was scared at how having a baby would change my life and my career. However, once I put my mind to something, I do it. I knew that to survive intern year with an infant while working 80 hours per week, I would need help with childcare. I knew Chicago would be the best place for me to match because both of my daughter’s grandmothers would be within an hour away. I applied to seventeen programs and interviewed at twelve. I interviewed up until 32 weeks pregnant, travelling to Milwaukee during a blizzard.
2. Eat everything in moderation, but focus on eating whole foods packed with nutrition.
Throughout my pregnancy, I tried to eat healthy foods while steadily gaining weight. Working in the medical field, there is often little time to eat, yet alone pee. While pregnant, your baby is your priority. I packed a water bottle, fruits, nuts, and granola bars for shifts where I knew I would not be able to take a break to eat. I splurged on Panera bread, Jimmy Johns, and Boston Market throughout my pregnancy. Cheese became my favorite food. I gained 30 pounds overall. Obstetricians recommend gaining between 25-35 pounds, but don’t fret over the number on the scale. http://www.acog.org/Resources-And-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Weight-Gain-During-Pregnancy
People will tell you you’re not gaining enough weight or you’re gaining too much. You can’t please anyone. A healthy diet includes whole foods, fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, dairy, and low mercury content fish. Omega-3 fatty acids are wonderful in nurturing your baby’s brain. Eating salmon, walnuts, flaxseed oil, or taking a prenatal vitamin with DHA and EPA (omega-3 fatty acids) will help ensure you get enough of this nutrient. Furthermore, if you want to splurge and have a Dairy Queen Blizzard™ or eat a half a pizza, do it! I believe in moderation. Do not smoke cigarettes as this can restrict blood flow to the placenta and cause intrauterine growth restriction. Caffeine intake around 200 mg is fine during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. A cup of joe is around 150 mg, a shot of espresso has around 75 mg, a can of pop has around 30-50 mg of caffeine.
3. Enjoy your pregnancy.
You will get more sleep while pregnant then when you are a mother. At the end of your pregnancy, you will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of your little one. Be patient. I drank around 4 cups of raspberry tea leaf a day (http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Medicinals-Organic-Raspberry-16-Count/dp/B0009F3PP8) to ripen my cervix, walked up to 5 miles a day, and bounced up and down on an exercise ball to help induce my labor. There are certain symptoms that may indicate labor could be close, but the only way your baby is going to come out is if your uterus contracts so that your cervix dilates. Thus, once your contractions start happening labor has begun! I had lost my mucus plug a few weeks prior and continuously lost it. The mucus plug is in your cervix and looks like yellow snot when it comes out in the toilet. It can regenerate itself and thus does not indicate immediate labor. Contractions are intense uterine cramps that come in waves. Braxton hicks are sporadic and do not get more intense like labor contractions.
4. To Birth Plan or Not to Birth Plan.
The sequence of events did not go according to the books for my labor, neither did conception. You have to be prepared for anything to happen. My recommendation for a birth plan is to have no birth plan. Make a birth algorithm. I would really like to have a natural birth without any pain medications and would like nursing and obstetricians to support that decision. However, if I beg and plead, allow me some IV pain meds. I would really prefer to delivery vaginally, but if the baby’s health is in danger or labor is taking too long, I am okay with having a C-section. My birth plan consisted of an all-natural vaginal birth. I met up with my best friend’s mother the day before my water broke to practice self-hypnosis. The day of my 39-week OB appointment my water broke. Daniel and I went to a comic book donut shop in Crown Point, Indiana. After eating a delicious chocolate éclair donut, I went to the bathroom. When I came out, I thought I had peed my pants right after peeing. This confused me. Then, I thought, OMG! My water broke. I hadn’t felt any contractions yet, which was odd. I felt mini contractions earlier that night after walking. However, I was only dilated to a few centimeters at my OB appointment prior to my water breaking. I was Group B Strep positive and knew I had to get to the hospital quickly to receive antibiotics to lower the baby’s risk of infection. Daniel and I quickly ate chicken tacos and guacamole, packed our bags, and rushed off to the hospital. When I got to the hospital, I was told to put on a gown. They placed an IV in my right arm and drew blood. The nurse checked the fluid in my panties, which was positive for amniotic fluid. This was it! She was coming tonight or tomorrow. They told me they would give me twelve hours to start contracting naturally or that I would get induced with Pitocin. I walked laps around the labor and delivery floor, I bounced on the exercise ball in the room, and I ate spicy food. Alas, 3:30 a.m. came and I received Pitocin via my IV. Pitocin is synthetic manmade oxytocin. Oxytocin is the love or cuddle hormone. It is produced after sex and helps the uterus to contract. Hence, they recommend having sex to induce labor. Around 4 a.m., I started to feel smaller contractions. Contractions are like waves of pain, steadily increasing and then decreasing. At first, I thought I could withstand the pain. They got more intense the further dilated I was. The nurse gave me some IV pain meds and I felt so much better. It allowed me to get to the 6-7 cm point. While on the IV pain meds, I would fall asleep in between contractions. It was a nice feeling, equivalent to having a few glasses of wine. After the pain medication wore off, the pain was so intense I vomited twice. Then, I tried to get into the warm bath to help ease my pain, but all I wanted to do was hit something and scream and cry. Daniel was great. He held my hand and put a cool cloth on my head. I told him not to say anything at all during the end of my labor. In my head I was thinking, what could a man that will never endure this pain really say to help me feel better? When in the tub, I could feel gravity pulling the baby’s head downward and knew pushing would start soon. The second phase of labor is the pushing. The first phase is your cervix dilating. The third is when they deliver your placenta. The second phase should really be called the ring of fire. Your cervix and vagina will BURN and you will poop on the hospital bed in front of your husband/boyfriend/significant other. They tell you to use the same muscles you use when you defecate to push the baby out. You know you are close to being done with labor when they call the midwife or OB into the room. Otherwise, sometimes the pushing feels like you push a lot just to have the head go in the reverse direction you want it to. The nurses were wonderful where I delivered. They were my cheerleaders. When you feel like you can’t push anymore, keep pushing. At 8:51 a.m, we welcomed a beautiful baby girl Amelia into this world.
You will get more sleep while pregnant then when you are a mother. At the end of your pregnancy, you will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of your little one. Be patient. I drank around 4 cups of raspberry tea leaf a day (http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Medicinals-Organic-Raspberry-16-Count/dp/B0009F3PP8) to ripen my cervix, walked up to 5 miles a day, and bounced up and down on an exercise ball to help induce my labor. There are certain symptoms that may indicate labor could be close, but the only way your baby is going to come out is if your uterus contracts so that your cervix dilates. Thus, once your contractions start happening labor has begun! I had lost my mucus plug a few weeks prior and continuously lost it. The mucus plug is in your cervix and looks like yellow snot when it comes out in the toilet. It can regenerate itself and thus does not indicate immediate labor. Contractions are intense uterine cramps that come in waves. Braxton hicks are sporadic and do not get more intense like labor contractions.
4. To Birth Plan or Not to Birth Plan.
The sequence of events did not go according to the books for my labor, neither did conception. You have to be prepared for anything to happen. My recommendation for a birth plan is to have no birth plan. Make a birth algorithm. I would really like to have a natural birth without any pain medications and would like nursing and obstetricians to support that decision. However, if I beg and plead, allow me some IV pain meds. I would really prefer to delivery vaginally, but if the baby’s health is in danger or labor is taking too long, I am okay with having a C-section. My birth plan consisted of an all-natural vaginal birth. I met up with my best friend’s mother the day before my water broke to practice self-hypnosis. The day of my 39-week OB appointment my water broke. Daniel and I went to a comic book donut shop in Crown Point, Indiana. After eating a delicious chocolate éclair donut, I went to the bathroom. When I came out, I thought I had peed my pants right after peeing. This confused me. Then, I thought, OMG! My water broke. I hadn’t felt any contractions yet, which was odd. I felt mini contractions earlier that night after walking. However, I was only dilated to a few centimeters at my OB appointment prior to my water breaking. I was Group B Strep positive and knew I had to get to the hospital quickly to receive antibiotics to lower the baby’s risk of infection. Daniel and I quickly ate chicken tacos and guacamole, packed our bags, and rushed off to the hospital. When I got to the hospital, I was told to put on a gown. They placed an IV in my right arm and drew blood. The nurse checked the fluid in my panties, which was positive for amniotic fluid. This was it! She was coming tonight or tomorrow. They told me they would give me twelve hours to start contracting naturally or that I would get induced with Pitocin. I walked laps around the labor and delivery floor, I bounced on the exercise ball in the room, and I ate spicy food. Alas, 3:30 a.m. came and I received Pitocin via my IV. Pitocin is synthetic manmade oxytocin. Oxytocin is the love or cuddle hormone. It is produced after sex and helps the uterus to contract. Hence, they recommend having sex to induce labor. Around 4 a.m., I started to feel smaller contractions. Contractions are like waves of pain, steadily increasing and then decreasing. At first, I thought I could withstand the pain. They got more intense the further dilated I was. The nurse gave me some IV pain meds and I felt so much better. It allowed me to get to the 6-7 cm point. While on the IV pain meds, I would fall asleep in between contractions. It was a nice feeling, equivalent to having a few glasses of wine. After the pain medication wore off, the pain was so intense I vomited twice. Then, I tried to get into the warm bath to help ease my pain, but all I wanted to do was hit something and scream and cry. Daniel was great. He held my hand and put a cool cloth on my head. I told him not to say anything at all during the end of my labor. In my head I was thinking, what could a man that will never endure this pain really say to help me feel better? When in the tub, I could feel gravity pulling the baby’s head downward and knew pushing would start soon. The second phase of labor is the pushing. The first phase is your cervix dilating. The third is when they deliver your placenta. The second phase should really be called the ring of fire. Your cervix and vagina will BURN and you will poop on the hospital bed in front of your husband/boyfriend/significant other. They tell you to use the same muscles you use when you defecate to push the baby out. You know you are close to being done with labor when they call the midwife or OB into the room. Otherwise, sometimes the pushing feels like you push a lot just to have the head go in the reverse direction you want it to. The nurses were wonderful where I delivered. They were my cheerleaders. When you feel like you can’t push anymore, keep pushing. At 8:51 a.m, we welcomed a beautiful baby girl Amelia into this world.
Then, the lactation consultant entered the room... Next post will be about BREASTFEEDING!
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