Pregnancy – Coping Tips for Dads or Partners

This is a guest blog by The Pregnancy Zone.

Expectant dads or partners can feel out of the loop during pregnancy, with a spate of unfamiliar feelings and anxiety over what to do. But there is a lot he can do for his partner and baby during this period. As a mom to be, here are ideas you can suggest to your partner to help him feel more involved and included.

Become Informed

Pregnancy is fascinating! To find out what is going on with mom and baby, read one of the many books on the subject, do some internet research and talk to experienced dads. This will brighten his experience. Just knowing about common pregnancy discomforts, and suggestions to alleviate them, can help a partner feel the experience more keenly.

Get Involved

Go to the prenatal check-ups with mom. Be there for support and reassurance that all is well. It is educational and helpful. If there is an ultra-sound scheduled, it can be deeply moving to ‘see’ the baby for the first time.

Attend Classes Together

Birth Preparation classes, such as natural birth preparation, can help the couple bond and will be of great value when labor happens.

Go Shopping

If mom is shopping for baby necessities—booties, onesies, tiny hats and socks—go along. Indulge mom a bit. It might even be a surprise to see how enjoyable shopping for baby can be!

Get the Nursery Ready

Putting together a bassinet or changing table or arranging for storage space for mom and baby are concrete projects that can give dads-to-be some real, solid purpose. This can be a hugely interesting DIY project as well.

Create a birth plan

The father-to-be needs to discuss with the mother what kind of birth she would like and help make necessary preparations in advance. If considering a home birth, both parents will need to study the risks and benefits, along with getting to know the midwife well. If it is water birth that the mother desires, the new dad should consider the logistical requirements of this and prepare accordingly.

Make sure finances are in order

Both parents need to be aware that a new baby means new expenses. To avoid surprises when baby arrives, get involved in making provisions beforehand.

Be patient

Partners can feel confused and out of control since there is little one can do to help a pregnancy along. Some moms develop an aversion to sexual intimacy, while others have a heightened libido. Dads, don’t take it personally! Things are never for ever!

Also remember that men can fall prey to pregnancy related depression, so both future parents need to take care of themselves – and each other! – and don’t ignore signs that either partner may need help.

Author Bio:

This is a guest post by ThePregnancyZone.com. The blog offers complete Pregnancy week by week information and topics relating to Preparing for the Pregnancy, Pregnancy Stages, Labor & Delivery, Pregnancy Issues, Health Issues, Parental care etc.

Mom-Baby Fitness: Modeling Healthy Lifestyle Habits

Guest Blog by Alana Abbott, DTP certified instructor, writer and mom.

My daughter has been taking Mom-Baby Fitness with me since she was six weeks old. When I became an instructor, she did, too. She is older than the children of most of my students, and, although she has a mind of her own on many of our activities, she enjoys dancing along with the mommies.

Her favorite Christmas gift this past year was a stroller and her own baby doll. The enthusiasm she showed for this pairing of toys reflects to me just how much of an example we moms set for our babies and toddlers – just by showing up and going to class. We often think of going to Mom-Baby Fitness as doing something good for our own fitness and our children’s social development. But it is also good for our children’s fitness!

Childhood Obesity

The media bombards us with facts about the growing childhood obesity epidemic. According to the CDC, childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled over the last thirty years. To combat the risk of obesity, the CDC recommends healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity. Diet and physical activity are influenced, unsurprisingly, by the child’s family.

Exercise doesn’t just combat obesity, however; it also lowers the risk of children developing type 2 diabetes and helps children develop stronger muscles and bones. By creating an environment where moms show that exercise is fun – through dancing, walking strollers side by side, or chatting while doing strength training – our babies are shown exercise and activity as an enjoyable activity and a behavior that is an everyday part of life.

Active Together

Recent evidence shows that new parents exercise less than they did pre-children, according to a recent report in Pediatrics. Fitting in exercise is a challenge! Involving your child in your exercise helps you create a healthy lifestyle for yourself – and a healthy example for your child. In a recommendation from the Mayo Clinic, the first step in getting your kids off the couch is to set a good example: “Your active lifestyle can be a powerful stimulus for your child. If you want an active child, be active yourself.”

I let my daughter bring her stroller and baby doll to class, so she can do what the mommies are doing. Her active approach is catching on, too – other toddlers are starting to join in!

It is never too early to start modeling healthy habits!

The 51% Factor: Pregnancy, Power & Health

Recently I came across this posting and thought it worth posting again. On one hand I see signs of continuing progress, and on another hand it seems to me there are fundamentalist influences popping up everywhere (including among U.S. evangelists) that threaten women’s right to reproductive freedom and health. There is no end to the need to be vigilant.

In the U.S. and most of the developed world, approximately 51% of the population is female. Most females give birth at some point in their lives, although, in any year, only about 2% of the population gives birth.

No one living on earth got here any other way than gestation, so there ought to be some power attached to being part of that 51%. Historically, it might be said that the power has been merely for survival…the good breeders survived long enough to produce heirs and those who lived on knew where the roots and fruit grew.

Only women can make more people with their bodies.

Here are some things to consider:

• Women make people
• Women’s health and fitness before pregnancy affects whether the pregnancy is healthy
• Women’s health and fitness during pregnancy affects her lifetime health and that of her offspring
• Maternal survival is important to offspring well-being
• Maternal health and fitness affects maternal adaptation and thereby offspring well-being

Thus, is it not a sanguine notion that the health and survival of women is critical to the health of everyone? After all, the health of nations is associated with this slight majority of females, and the wealth of nations is associated with its health.

The good news is that people working from this understanding are making some headway around the globe. Recently, the World Health Organization noted that maternal death among pregnant and birthing women world-wide has been dramatically reduced from the 1980′s to recently. This is very good news!

Here is the interesting footnote:  Maternal death in the U.S. has risen 42% in the same period. While the absolute numbers remain small, this is a disturbing picture. What could be causing this?

Time will tell if we can figure it out and fix it. I venture to suggest some directions for consideration:

• The elevated cesarean birth rate with its sequellae of cardiovascular and immune system disorders
• Obesity
• Metabolic syndromes
• Diabetes
• Heart disease

Why am I hopeful, then? I see among our current educated generation of new moms and moms-to-be a willingness to exert their influence – as breeders – over the health care scene. They want less technological birth. They want support. They want more information. They want to be healthy. These are wonderful things. I salute these young women…they also make my job easier in the process.

In addition, I see among young health care practitioners an understanding of the value of these things. Among practitioners working in public health clinics there is a sense of desperation on the one hand that the poor and indigent have no capacity or will to take care of themselves. On the other hand, the first step is always education and there are a lot of people working on this issue.

Which brings me to the closing point:  How do we bring more resources and intelligence to helping women be healthy, prepare for pregnancy, have healthy babies, reduce pregnancy complications, and improve infant and maternal death rates? I, for one, will keep blogging on this issue. You, I hope, will vote for people who understand this issue. The political power and will is in our hands.

51% of us are women…some day 51% of us can set priorities

How to Get Pregnant – Coaching Topic #1

Hurrah! We have power at last…a week after hurricane Irene romped through, we have juice! Thanks for bearing with us while we camped out.

So let’s get on with the topic of How to Get Pregnant, starting with why do we need to know this?

In the past few decades, the average age for a first pregnancy in the U.S. has moved from the mid twenties into the mid thirties. In the same time period, the facts of conception – sperm enters egg released in mid cycle, then zygote implants in the uterus, along with how sex allows this to happen and how to prevent it – seems to have disappeared from middle and high school health classes. If that weren’t enough, as women have become more and more essential in the work force, the cost of having children as well as starting later, have driven down the birth rate. Similar conditions exist in most developed nations, although teen pregnancy rates are lower everywhere else.

The birthing population has bifurcated – we see older women (over 35) and teens as the major groups having children. On the one hand we have been working to reduce teen pregnancy while helping older and older women become first time moms. To a certain extent, they need the same information; its just that with teens we use this information to prevent pregnancy and with older women we use information to help them increase their odds of getting pregnant.

Understanding the menstrual cycle, ovulation, charting temperature – all the basic techniques of using the “natural” method of birth control – have become the first steps of the how-to-get-pregnant coaches. Beyond this, a number of sites have their own essential lists to help women be healthy and ready. Sites such as gettingpregnant.com, pregnancy.org/getting-pregnant, and storknet.com/cubbies/preconception/ provide additional information. Many suggestions – things to avoid eating, what proteins are needed for ovulation, how to reduce stress, what to do if there are sperm problems, how to find IVF clinics, donors and surrogates – are addressed.

How effective are these suggestions? Well, research tells us they are somewhat effective. None of the sites I contacted answered my query about how they measure or assess consumer outcomes when following their suggestions.

An interesting article in the NY Times 9/1/2011, entitled Are You as Fertile as You Look? openened with this sentence: “FORTY may be the new 30, but try telling that to your ovaries.” The reality is that being under 35 is still the best predictor of how difficult it may be for you to become pregnant. As the article makes clear, looking 30 and being 30 are not the same thing. Even healthy living does not prevent the loss of good eggs.

So, what conclusions can we draw? First, even if you come from a “fertile family,” it may behoove you to have your children in your late 20s or early 30s. Second, if you are putting off having children beyond that time, ask yourself what extremes you are willing to go to to have your own biological offspring. And, third, consider adoption. Frankly, it would be wonderful if adoption were easier, but in the drive to conceive at later and later ages we see the hand of biology and understand why adoption is not easy:  Our own offspring – our own DNA out there in the world – is a heady motivation.

If you are on the pathway of becoming pregnant, being under 35 is the best ally you have. If not, maybe some of the suggestions on the web will work for you. Whatever you decide, all the best.

One parting comment:  Regular moderate exercise – while it helps you stay young and healthy – will not prevent your eggs from being popped out every month. It will help you have a healthy pregnancy if you conceive, so stay with it!

Pregnany & Parenting Coaching

Looking through incoming emails, tweets, fb notifications and e-newsletters that inhabit my inbox more and more, I noticed something interesting:  Lifestyle Coaches for people entering the pregnancy and parenting pathway. After some investigation, I found a plethora (many, many) web business/sites that offer services on everything from getting pregnant to getting your kid into college.

There are sites by enduring public health organizations that cover the range of conception, pregnancy, birth and early parenting issues – such sites as those by the Mayo Clinic, the March of Dimes, and WebMD – starting with how to get pregnant. You can also find business sites for these range of topics – such as The Bump and BabyCenter.

In addition, there are individualized sites that cover coaching for one or more parts of the process. Sites specialize in getting pregnant, being pregnant, giving birth, caring for a newborn, finding childcare, finding early childhood education, how to talk to toddlers, what to do with children of all ages, how to get them ready for school, how to encourage them in school and so on. Some specialize in a combination of two or more of these topics. Some started out specializing in one topic and are moving along as the owners or writers evolve in their lives.

I realize that this is an outgrowth of the “mommy bloggers.” Many computer literate women found blogging a way to deal with the life-changing event of having a child. For some, the internet became a means of making a living while staying home. Realizing that there was a large audience in this realm, the mommy entrepreneurs evolved…and, not all of them are mommies.

We are beginning to see the next generation:  pregnancy and parenting life coaches – individuals who may or may not have professional backgrounds in one of these areas, but are learning to turn their own experiences into businesses that help – or purport to help – others along this part of life’s path. Where does the impetus for this come from? Is it just that the internet makes a new business model possible? What else might be happening here?

For some time, I have thought that young persons entering parenthood these days are at a distinct disadvantage. Bearing and raising children is not easy or cheap. It requires a network of support and advice that used to be present in the extended family. But, we leave home and are much more mobile these days. We may live in Texas, but our baby’s grandparents live in Oregon or Brazil or Turkey. I asked my own exercise, childbirth education, and parenting clients about this. I found that many were in the classes precisely because they felt they had no firsthand experience or knowledge about what it was like to hold, feed or change a baby, let alone be prepared for birth and the sleep deprivation that followed. I also found mommy bloggers and entrepreneurs who found the impetus for their new work sprang from these issues in their own lives.

So, over the next series of blogs, I will be writing about some of these sites and services…both the professional organizations and the new mom entrepreneurs who have turned a difficult life transition into a way of simultaneously helping others while putting food on their tables. It looks to be an interesting journey and I hope you will follow along! I will get the next blog up in a few days, as soon as I am in the next location with internet access. My office is temporarily in the hurricane blackout zone of CT, but they promise me service soon. The first topic:  How to get pregnant!

Hip Hop Pregnancy!

We recently received this query from hip hop dance teacher Aysha Cheatham Bowling on the DTP facebook page and we thought it was so important that it deserved a blog entry.

Question:  I am a hip hop dance teacher and this is my first pregnancy. I am 6 months going on 7 months (due in Nov.). I have been experiencing a lot of Braxton Hicks with pain along with fibroid pain. I realize Braxton Hicks are very common in pregnancy, however the pain I experience at times can be debilitating. I have been dancing throughout my pregnancy so far, but had to cut back due to the pain. My class season is starting back up this month and I am getting worried about my ability to teach. What are some suggestions for teaching while pregnant? Any tips on warm up and movement modifications? Also, how does maternity leave work in the dance world? I am trying to figure out exactly how much time to take off. Everything is so unpredictable..lol. I am more familiar with what is common in the corporate world than dance.

Answers

1) Braxton-Hicks & fibroid pain – Braxton Hicks, or practicecontractions, are common from mid-pregnancy forward. The extent to which women are aware of them and how much discomfort they produce depends on several things – some genetic, some situational. One factor is fibroids. If your pain is so extreme that it limits activities of daily living (ADL), then you need to confer with your care provider to determine if there is something that can be done to alleviate the pain and/or whether you need to restrict ADL. If it is limiting your dance movement, you need to back off and find a way to tell or indicate to your students what you want them to do.

If the practice contractions are occurring more than 4 times an hour regularly while you are dancing and/or doing ADL, you need to confer with your care provider. When this happens, empty your bladder and drink 3 or 4 cups of water, lie on your left side and rest. If the contractions do not subside, call your care provider right away. NOTE: a full bladder can irritate the uterus causing disordered but uncomfortable contractions, so void your bladder at regular intervals.

2) Tips for teaching during pregnancy – By mid-pregnancy your alignment is shifting enough that all of your normal movement patterns are becoming inefficient. In addition to this changing alignment, your joints are at risk for damage due to hormonal changes in connective tissue, which normally helps maintain joint integrity. The bone facets that articulate together shift their relationship and nerves and blood vessels can be impinged. Therefore, making your movements smaller and less percussive are good strategies for preventing injury.

Check the pregnancy exercise tips on our website to find exercises especially designed for pregnancy. You may find some of these are useful warm-ups. Also, do side-lying relaxation every day for 10 to 20 minutes. Check the page on nutrition for childbearing, too, as nutrition plays a major role in keeping up your resources and energy.

3) How much time off will I need? - Yes, you are definitely entering the world of the unpredictable! Surely people have told you that your life will never be the same…in a good way! Well, it is true and one of the things that will be different is that priorities change and it is not always possible to predict how long things will take. Since you are fit and active and are remaining so during your pregnancy, your recovery time will be fairly quick. However, other factors will affect how long it takes you to get back into the studio. The course of your labor and birth, as well as the adjustments you and your baby and partner need to make in the immediate postpartum period, will influence when you are ready to start dancing.

With professional dancers and athletes, it has been my experience that if the birth is vaginal, within a week new moms are working on their core strength and endurance and within a month are able to do an easy class for themselves. By two months, many are back at work, rehearsing and sometimes performing. Of course, breastfeeding – which is very important for both mom and baby – may affect how long you can work at any one time. If the birth is surgical (cesarean), it may take a week or two longer to get to each milestone.

Follow up thoughts – This is an exciting and meaningful time in your life. You will not believe how amazing you will feel when you first see your baby. Be fully present and relish in the moment. Be careful now; it’s better to take precautions and make sure you and your soon-to-be-newborn are safe. When we train DTP teachers the first priority we teach is safety!

I hope this is helpful and that you will keep me posted on your progress.

- Ann Cowlin, DTP director

Betty Ford (1918-2011) – A True Beacon for Women

The passing of Betty Bloomer Ford, widow of the late President Gerald Ford, requires a moment of reflection. She will be remembered for her many contributions to women’s rights, health care and the arts.

Her first contribution is that, as a dancer for Martha Graham, she brought new awareness to the field of modern dance, an art forged and shaped largely by women. The presence of Betty Ford was palpable. Whenever we saw her on the TV screen as First Lady in the late 1970′s, we were aware of her strength and mindfulness of being.

Betty Ford put breast cancer on the map. While First Lady, she underwent a mastectomy. She did not hide her disease, but rather was public with her disclosure, encouraging women to have mammography and seek early care for this cancer.

As a mother, she raised interesting and independent children. She championed women’s rights and was an avid supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. And, she participated in the effort to bring about a woman’s right to reproductive self-determination and the right to abortion.

She is – of course – the founder of the Betty Ford Center, which has long provided support and rehabilitation for persons with substance addition. Her commitment to this effort began with her own path to sobriety following her addiction to pain killers and alcohol.

She changed forever the role of First Lady, asking women to step out and seek the recognition and respect that men routinely expected. She remains for those of us old enough to remember her influence as one of the tall trees in a small forest of feminine heroes. For those of you too young to have a memory, take a moment and do a google search. She was a quiet, but oh so powerful voice in the creation of the society in which you now operate. Without women like Betty Ford, you might not be so free.

Pregnancy Pathway, Outcome – Mom & Baby Health Status

This 2/1/2010 entry seems to draw attention consistently, so we decided it was worth re-posting it. The discussion concerns determinants of the health outcome for mom & baby in the Pregnancy Pathway. It reviews the pathway, and then continues to the last stage of the Pathway, the health outcome. Here’s the whole graphic:

So, the big question is: How can we predict the health outcome of mom and baby, given all the variables of preconception, conception, pregnancy, labor and birth?

Well, there are some things for which we can predict or estimate risk/benefit ratios, and there are some for which we cannot. Let’s start by going over the major things that are not very predictable. At the moment, genetics is pretty much unpredictable. Down the road…maybe…but for now, not so much. Some IVF labs claim they can slightly slightly increase the odds for one sex or the other.

Post-conception, chorionic villi sampling and amniocentesis are methods by which the genetic make-up of the fetus can be identified. These are done mainly to give parents a choice about continuing a pregnancy if there is a question about genetically transmitted disorders or conditions, such as Down Syndrome. But, for now, the best way to manipulate the genetic odds of health outcome for your offspring is to mate with someone who is healthy and has health-prone genes!

Once you are pregnant, it is clear that prenatal health care, exercise, healthy nutrition, stress management and adequate sleep play significant roles in increasing the potential for a healthy outcome for mother AND baby. In fact, not only short term, but also long term healthy outcomes are linked to these factors. These are factors within our control.

Risk factors – most of which are within in our control – that can adversely affect outcomes include environmental toxins, risky behaviors (unsafe sex, drinking, smoking or drugs), poor nutrition, sedentary behavior, stress and isolation (lack of social support). These risks, as well as the benefits, are all discussed in the previous posts.

At this point, it is important to note that there is a lot that goes into making a healthy pregnancy, birth and outcome that is within the control of the mother, providing she has family and/or social support to take good care of herself.

The labor process and birth mode can also affect health outcome, but in general the effect is short-lived. For moms who have received regular care and are in excellent health, the occurrence of a truly devastating birth outcome for mother and/or baby is extremely rare. The exception may be mental or emotional turmoil that can accompany a difficult, unexpected and uncomfortable situation, such as an unplanned cesarean birth.

 

Group exercise programs are a source of social support.

Three interesting research outcomes point to the importance of exercise groups. One is that exercise can help prevent some disorders of pregnancy, such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. Second is that the health benefits of exercising during pregnancy and the postpartum period are beneficial for both short and long term for mother and infant. Disorders of pregnancy are risk factors for future cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. Third is that exercise is most likely to occur when there is good social support.

Moving together is a “muscle bonding” experience that helps bind moms-to-be and new moms into a community of support. Within the group, moms can get help with tips for healthy eating and living, along with the support of others who know what she is experiencing. There are a lot of ways to get adequate exercise. When you are pregnant or a new mom, an exercise group can be one critical path to health and well-being.

Labor & Birth: The Big Push…Let the Woman Lead

“Let the Woman Lead in the Dance of Birth”

Today I attended an in-service training for labor nurses and educators in our hospital maternity services (Yale-New Haven Hospital) concerning the new guidelines on second stage, or pushing, from AWHONN. These guidelines are being implemented on our labor and birth floor. This change comes not a moment too soon!

Not only are women telling us that they dislike the medicalization of birth, but also that they perceive potential dangers to them and their offspring inherent in some common in-hospital practices. One such practice is the use of the Valsalva maneuver, also called “directed” pushing, in which you hold your breath and bear down hard. Unfortunately, it causes hemodynamic problems, damages tissue and stresses mother and baby.

Our educator today, Louise Ward, RN, MSN, took us through the second edition of the AWHONN guidelines, with their focus on following the woman’s urges, helping her stay mobile and upright, and supporting her physically, emotionally, instructionally and psychologically. She covered laboring down, the process of allowing the mother to wait until she felt sufficient pressure or has the urge to begin pushing. She covered accommodating women with epidurals, helping them distinguish between pain and pressure. And, we discussed how to help women accept and focus on letting the baby emerge.

Many of the topics we covered were items I had learned about by reading the research studies that allowed AWHONN to develop these evidence-based guidelines. But, it was an exciting moment for me.  Many of the women that I work with in various prenatal classes tell me they want to give birth at the hospital because they want to be in a safe place in case of an emergency, but do not want to be subjected to much of the medical intervention they hear about. I agree. And so, I am glad to learn what our hospital is doing to bring the evidence – which my clients have read – into practice.

Our hydrotherapy tub is up and running…plumbing finally fixed! We are committed to letting the mother lead in pushing, to support breastfeeding and nurture new families. Next, we may even get back to intermittent auscultation! These things are happening in part because of consumer pressure and in part because of mandates to reduce the number of unnecessary, ineffective and costly medical procedures throughout the health care system.

I’m glad to see that evidence, mother’s instincts and financial pressures are all pointing toward the same solution…birth is primal behavior and works best when we follow the woman’s lead.

Birth of Pregnancy Exercise: Evolution of DTP

Sometimes it is fun to look back at the long road to the present! Recently, I was interviewed by our local online media outlet (the Branford CT Patch) and was really thrilled with the resulting story. It focused on the 30 year road of DTP and I thought you might find it interesting.

Here is the link to the story and the subtitle:

http://branford.patch.com/articles/ann-cowlin-a-prenatal-fitness-pioneer-celebrates-30-years-of-work

What started as a “fledgling experiment” has become one Branford woman’s life work.

Thank you for taking a look!

Still looking for new ways to develop core strength & coordination!

That's it...try alternating this shape with the previous one...breathe out here!