Pregnant With Medical Issues? Questions To Ask Part 2

(Continued from Part 1)

-What effect with the pregnancy have on me? This is different from the first one because some disorders can be exacerbated by pregnancy, medicine or no. For instance, a good friend of mine from high school has MS. She told me that, while she wanted kids before, she didn't think it would be a good idea to get pregnant because it might make her disease progress even faster than it already had. She'd seen this happen with her cousin and, while no two cases are exactly alike, she didn't want to take the risk. Also, people with severe injuries like I mention below might decide against having children because they fear their bodies cannot handle the stress a pregnancy would cause. What we have to remember here is that it is not only the baby's life to consider, but our own and the rest of our family's. Some might find this selfish, but consider this: There are religions (i.e. Judaism) that will require that a mother terminate a pregnancy if carrying it to term will endanger her life. The reason for this is that life-which is to be preserved above all else-is thought to begin at birth, not conception. There's definitely some disagreement as to exactly when the fetus would be considered a life-at birth, when it is capable of living outside of the womb, etc-but, until then, it is considered a potential life while the mother is a full life. A woman who believes this way might decide not to get pregnant (or to have the baby delivered early) so she will not have to deal with the physical and mental effects terminating a pregnancy may cause.

-What sorts of special precautions do I need to take, if any? Eight years ago, I was in a massive car wreck and broke my pelvis. To literally put me back together, doctors had to put two metal pins in the left side to stabilize the bones while I recovered. One of my doctors told me that, as long as I had those pins in, my pelvis may not be able to expand enough to permit me to carry a child to term and have it naturally. He said that, since this wasn't something they'd be able to predict ahead of time, he would probably schedule a C-section as close to the end of 9 months as possible just to be safe. I didn't get pregnant and had the pins removed last year during my hip replacement, but the point is that you might have to take special precautions to ensure your own health rather than the baby's.

And now, for what is probably the most difficult question of all-
-Is it worth the risk? For some people, the answer might be no. However, it's something only they and their doctor can decide. If a couple can't have a child naturally but still feels called to parenthood, there are tons of children out there in need of a home. There's more than one kind of family.

Newborn Health Information

Having a newborn in the home is an exciting time for the whole family. It can also be quite a learning experience as well. The parents must learn to adapt to the baby just as much as the baby is learning to adapt to them. Newborn health should be followed very closely to all the resources you will be provided with from the pediatrician and also from any books or online resources you can get your hands on.

To fulfill your newborn health you must start during pregnancy. Everything that the mother does and is involved in during the pregnancy will directly effect the infant. This means you cannot engage in any foods, drinks or medications that may be unsafe for your baby. Alcohol and drugs are never a wise option for any pregnant woman, medications even the ones that can be purchased at the store as an over the counter medication should not be taken unless your doctor gives the ok to do so. Eating a nutritional diet and getting every visit in to the doctor to ensure your baby will be safe and healthy is key.

Once the baby is born and you have your little bundle of joy the next step in newborn health should be to provide that same good nutrition to your infant as well. All newborns have a different eating schedule and they will have different personal preferences for how well they eat and when they sleep. A newborn that is full is one that will sleep very well. Next you must always work closely with your newborn’s doctor to get all the immunizations they need to continue being healthy and to grow and develop just as planned. It is the choice of the parents to get these immunizations which will be something to discuss prior to giving birth. When you do deliver the baby, it is the first days they are in the hospital that they are given their very first immunizations so you need to have that established before going there to advise the nursing staff of what your decision is.

Keeping the baby is safe at all times is another large factor of good overall newborn health. A newborn cannot really get around very well as they cannot even sit up yet, but what they can do very quickly is roll over and they can also scratch themselves and pull blankets over their heads and many babies nearly suffocate themselves in the process. Always keep smaller blankets in the newborn’s crib or place them in a blanket sleeper that they will not harm themselves in and also stay warm while they are sleeping. Newborns are generally simple to care for as they must eat every few hours and the rest of the day they essentially spend sleeping. Keep your newborn clean, dry and fed and the weeks will go by very fast until they begin to reach certain milestones in their lives such as walking and talking so enjoy the quiet weeks as they do grow up very fast.