Our Baby News

In our culture extended breastfeeding is misunderstood in many ways. I’ve been collecting these misconceptions about it in my head and thought I’d take this opportunity to address them here.

Having a baby is one of the most amazing things you will ever do, but it can be a trying time. Breastfeeding can help bring happiness when it goes well but can worsen the stress if it’s going badly, especially as you’re probably not getting enough sleep! Dads often feel left out but why not join in? There’s plenty you can do to help.

Breastfeeding gives your baby all the food and drink she needs until you introduce her to solids and by eating healthily yourself you can make sure she gets all the nutrients she needs. Breastfeeding can make you hungrier and thirstier than usual as your body needs extra energy to produce milk.

On average you’ll need about an extra 300-400 calories a day while breastfeeding. While you’re feeding, keep a glass of water, milk or diluted fruit juice nearby as you’re likely to feel thirsty. Keep cups of coffee, tea and cola to a minimum as their caffeine content can be passed on during breastfeeding. You’ll also be more prone to constipation during breastfeeding, so drink plenty of fluids to help prevent this.

IS IT BEST TO HAVE A BABY IN HOSPITAL?

This is a question that has been debated for many years. There are people who say that normal childbirth is a natural event and not a sickness and that the place for normal events is a normal home, while others point out that childbirth is potentially hazardous for both mother and baby and that hospitals are safer because they are equipped to deal with emergencies. And indeed there are pros and cons on both sides. In this country the proportion of home confinements has fallen heavily and it must be said that neonatal morbidity (illness and death in the newborn) has also fallen. However, this could be due as much to constantly improving ante-natal care and obstetric knowledge as to hospital confinement.

The good things about hospital confinements are:

• ready availability of emergency services, such as anesthesia, blood transfusion, surgery;

• constant availability of trained staff and consultant experts, by night as well as day;

• freedom from any responsibility for her own care by the mother (at home she has to be involved with planning meals, seeing the housework is done properly and so on; even if she has help the fact that she is there at home often means she inevitably shares in what is going on);

IS THERE AN IDEAL AGE FOR A WOMAN TO HAVE A BABY?

Another impossible question because so many factors are involved. In purely physical terms, a woman is probably at her ideal age for giving birth at between twenty to twenty-five but this may not be the ideal emotional age for her. She .may want to establish a career, and her partner may want to set their home on a sound financial footing before starting a baby and that may mean waiting until the wife is in her late twenties or early thirties, sometimes even later. In physical terms, again, pregnancy problems do increase after the age of thirty-five. For example, there is known to be an increased incidence of Down’s Syndrome (it used to be called mongolism) in older mothers (over forties).

Congratulations on being pregnant and having a baby

Now it’s time to start planning, since having a baby can be a fun, yet stressful time.  Being pregnant can be one of the best times of your life, so make sure you’re prepared!

Pregnancy and Having a Baby

When a woman is having a baby, conception is just the start of something amazing and wonderful.  Being pregnant will affect you and your body for 9 months, so it is important to understand the importance of taking care of your pregnant body while having a baby.  Take notes on our general pregnancy outline.

WHY DO SOME WOMEN HAVE TO HAVE CAESARIAN OPERATIONS?

The operation that is performed to remove a baby from the mother’s uterus via an incision in her abdomen, rather than through the traditional route, is called caesarian section. It is said that Julius Caesar was born this way, at a time when such operations were only done when the mother had died, but in fact his mother lived long after his birth, so this seems unlikely.

Probably the first recorded successful operation was performed by one Jacob Nufer, a Swiss sow gelder, who in 1500 saved both his wife and their baby in an emergency by swift application of the tools of his trade. The operation has been performed with varying degrees of success throughout the succeeding centuries, until now it is one of the safest operations that can be done and is definitely life-saving.