Phew! I have just had a very busy 24hrs. I had 2 of my ladies birth, meet up with Shannon and her family for the first time, and on top of that my dog Zac has a sore front paw.
It was nice to meet up with Shannon and her family. I look forward to getting to know them more as her pregnancy progresses. Boy, that Ben is a busy lad.
Shanon's pregnancy is progressing along as normal. She has terrible nausea, which she experiences mainly in the morning and evening. She as has no vomiting. I hope that this will settle as she enters the 2nd trimester at 12 weeks. Being hungry, and dehydrated can cause the nausea to increase, so I recommend that Shannon tries to eat small frequent meals and snacks throughout the day, and try to drink plenty of fluids. It may be at this stage of her pregnancy she eats what she feels like when she wants to. Ginger may be a help. When she first wakes in the morning it would be good to get out of bed slowly, if time and Ben allows. Dry toast and crackers are quite good, along with chewing gum and eating hard lollies. Hopefully she can avoid foods with bad smells. I have heard that when she does feel nauseated she should avoid drinking citrus juice, water, water, milk, coffee and tea which doesn't leave her with a lot of options for fluids. Lemonade is suppose to be good. I have my fingers crossed that the nausea will settle. I have heard that acupuncture may help, and know of a midwife in Wellington who performs acupuncture that I can refer her to, if needed.
Shannon is also experiencing constipation. I have suggested that she eats high fiber foods as her nausea permits like wholegrain cereals, breads, dried fruit, and fresh fruit and vegetables. Drinking as much fluids as she is able, about 2 litres is recommended. Getting out and about, walking, perhaps going for a swim at the local pool will help with the constipation, as well as providing actives for Ben and her to do together.
I have given her a copy of MOH "Healthly food guidelines for pregnancy''
Moving to Wellington has been hard for the family. Shannon misses her mum and friends, and Bruce is away through the week with his job. I suggested that Shannon drops into The Family Center, run by Plunket, as they run playgroups for Ben to enjoy. This will give Shannon a chance to meet other mums and have a break from caring for Ben.
I hope some of these things work for Shannon and her family. I will ring her next week to see if her nausea has settled, and constipation has improved.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Can I ask a question of midwife Emma?
I wonder if you could elaborate on avoiding citrus? I'm curious. I was told in my second and third trimesters to stop with the pineapple cravings. I was eating them non stop at the time. My midwives explained that THAT much acidity wasn't good for me. And in some people irrates the body enough to start on labour.
*I was a homebirth after cesarean client... so we were all trying to be careful!
Just curious. Seems to me that some people perhaps are less tolerant to the acidity in citrus. This wasn't the case with me in my first pregnancy and the only thing that kept me somewhat normal in my subsequent pregnancies.
Thanks for the opportunity to learn! I used to dream of being a midwife... three kids later and no program near by, it is doubtful.
I always love to hear more tid bits for my doula clients though.
K in Canada
~hope your dogs paw is feeling better! Our Lab has a bit of a limp at the moment too.
Hi there. How is the weather there in Canada? Avoiding citrus in pregnancy is advisable, as it may aggravated heartburn, a common complaint experienced during pregnancy, The relaxing effects of the hormone progesterone on the smooth muscle of the lower oesophageal sphincter and growing uterus which increases intra-gastric pressure, may result in the reflux of the stomach contents into the lower oesophagus. Och! Not sure about irritating the body enough to start labour though.
Ahhhh okay, I figured it was close to that. I had a bit of heartburn with my last pregnancy... the only one that didn't start and end with constant vomiting.
One of my midwives did a lot of training and work in SE Asia, so perhaps her views of citrus and labour came from what she saw in her clients there?
The weather is tolerable. Not too hot, cool in the evenings. Too many mosquito's though. blech, I despise the little blood suckers.
Post a Comment