Pregnancy, Fertility and Childbirth

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• QHow do I use a kick count chart during pregnancy?

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  A Count the Kicks answered

  To use a kick count chart during pregnancy, simply check the box that corresponds with the number of minutes it took to feel 10 movements. After a few weeks you will probably see a pattern in the results. Call your provider immediately if you notice a significant change in your baby’s movement patterns.
  
  A Count the Kicks Chart is an easy-to-use tool to get to know your baby and one way to alert you to potential problems.  

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• QHow should I handle cravings during pregnancy?

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  A Brigham and Women's Hospital answered

  In general, you should quench your thirst and settle your stomach with anything you crave because you need fluids and nutrients during pregnancy. Bear in mind, though, that you should eat a balanced diet. Eating spinach at 2 a.m. is OK, but eating hot chili regularly or a half-dozen candy bars is not. If you have a desire to eat strange foods or non-food items such as clay or laundry detergent, speak with your doctor. This could indicate a nutritional deficiency that needs to be corrected.
• QWhat questions should I ask when selecting a hospital for giving birth?

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  A Dr. Brian C. Josephs, MD , OBGYN (Obstetrics & Gynecology), answered on behalf of Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center

  

  Brian Josephs, MD, FACOG from Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center offers his advice on what to look for when selecting a hospital for giving birth in this video.

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• QWhat are underwater deliveries?

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  A Dr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answered

  

  More and more women are deciding to have underwater deliveries. The tub needs to be big enough to hold two or three people with 2 or 3 feet of water. When the baby comes out, the midwife or doctor cuts the cord while the baby is still underwater—and then the baby gasps for his first breath when he's removed from the tub. Though it's not all that common, the moms who go the aqua route say they love it. Humans, indeed, may have come from the water to the land and then returned to the water, only to come back - perhaps why we can be born underwater (other mammals can't do this - apart from whales and manatees, of course). Just plan for it ahead of time. More and more hospitals and birthing centers have tubs, but if yours doesn't or you're planning to deliver at home, you can rent one.

  

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  YOU: Having a Baby: The Owner's Manual to a Happy and Healthy Pregnancy
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• QHow is an ectopic pregnancy diagnosed?

  1 Answer

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  A Dr. Kevin W. Windom, MD , OBGYN (Obstetrics & Gynecology), answered

  An ectopic pregnancy is diagnosed by an abnormal rise in the pregnancy hormones along with vaginal bleeding and an ultrasound that shows the absence of an intrauterine pregnancy and/or a pregnancy seen in the fallopian tubes.  The diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy is very difficult.  Due to the fact that this can be a life-threatening situation, it is very important that a patient stay in close contact with her doctor during the evaluation of an early pregnancy, especially if their doctor is worried that she could have an ectopic pregnancy.
• QWhat are the different birth places where I can deliver my baby?

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  A Boston Women's Health Book Collective , Administration, answered

  

  Potential birthing locations include:

  Giving birth at home: Giving birth at home is a proven safe choice unless specific risk factors are present before labor or develop during labor. In familiar surroundings, labor usually unfolds harmoniously over a period of hours or sometimes days.

  Freestanding Birth Centers: Freestanding birth centers are homelike centers with access to specialist consultation and hospital acute care services as needed. The birth center philosophy is simple�pregnancy and birth are normal until proved otherwise. Birth centers are guided by the wellness model of pregnancy and birth.

  Transferring to a hospital: Although figures vary, approximately 8 to 13 percent of women who labor at home or in a freestanding birth center will need to transfer to a hospital for assistance during labor. However, complications that require rapid emergency transfer are very rare. Midwives and other practitioners who attend women at home or at freestanding birth centers arrange for medical consultation and for hospital transport when necessary.

  

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  Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era
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• QWhat is a molar pregnancy?

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  A March of Dimes answered

  A molar pregnancy is when tissue in the uterus (womb) forms into an abnormal growth or tumor instead of the placenta. In a healthy pregnancy, the placenta grows in your uterus and supplies your baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord. A molar pregnancy always ends in pregnancy loss. Without treatment, it can be life-threatening to a pregnant woman.
  
  Signs and symptoms of a molar pregnancy include:

  • Bleeding from the vagina in the first 3 months of pregnancy
  • Grape-like cysts (fluid-filled sacs) passing out of the vagina
  • Intense nausea and throwing up
  • Pelvic pressure or pain. These happens rarely.

  If you have any of these signs or symptoms, call your healthcare provider right away. Learn more at: marchofdimes.org

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• QWhat are the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy?

  3 Answers

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  A Dr. Kevin W. Windom, MD , OBGYN (Obstetrics & Gynecology), answered

  The most common symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy are pelvic pain and vaginal bleeding with a positive pregnancy test.  If a patient experiences these symptoms, she needs to seek help through an emergency room physician or an OB/GYN immediately because an ectopic pregnancy has the potential of the pregnancy rupturing in the tube and can cause internal bleeding and possibly death.

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• QWhat causes an ectopic pregnancy?

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  A Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD , Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answered

  

  Tubal problems can cause ectopic pregnancies. Even smoking and douching can cause the blastocyst to not implant normally and to implant in the tube instead. If you've had pelvic infections or a prior ectopic pregnancy, the risk of having another is about 15 percent. Non-white women have higher risk, as do older women.

  

  Find out more about this book:

  YOU: Having a Baby: The Owner's Manual to a Happy and Healthy Pregnancy
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• QHow do I deal with unexpected pregnancy later in life?

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  A Boston Women's Health Book Collective , Administration, answered

  

  While those of us in their late thirties, forties, and early fifties have far fewer pregnancies than younger women, a disproportionately high percentage of pregnancies are unexpected. Slightly over half of all women aged 40 or more who get pregnant were not intending to conceive.

  If you did not expect or desire to become pregnant, consider all of your options, which include having an abortion or placing the baby for adoption, as well as bearing and raising a child. Knowing that this may be your last possible pregnancy may make this a particularly difficult decision, so get as much nonjudgmental support as you can.

  

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  Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause
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