Newbie Mom2be asks for non-medical advice

[lupin]

Hello all. I am a nurse at a small community hospital with a women's birthing center attached to it. At the present time I am at 21 weeks and my baby is thankfully progressing well. I am having some trouble though and request the nonmedical advice of OB-GYN nurses who care to give it. I am an ER nurse and the only things I have seen so far in regards to pregnancy is miscarriage and complications.

To give you all a little history I am a gravida 1 para0, with gallbladder issues that are causing me some discomfort. At the present time I am on a strict low-fat diet until I deliver and hopefully the surgeon will perform the choley. I have been in and out of the hospital for fluids and for intractable nausea and vomitting and RUQ pain.

I am receiving prenatal care and am taking the appropriate prenatal vitamins as suggested. My question is where I can get some info regarding low fat diets while pregnant, along with info on childbirth and birthing options. I asked my OB/GYN's office and they suggested the local library, where I found many humorous books and text book like tomes, but nothing truly helpful or understandable. I have considered birthing plans but from what I've read on the boards here, they don't seem to really help, just hinder the process. Many pregnancy magazines seem to push a pt vs doc mentality and they explain things in layman's terms but not rationales or interventions.

Also I would like to know if other pregnant nurses feel a lack of confidence during pregnancy. I am stuck between what I know as a nurse and what I feel as a patient and my husband doesn't seem to understand, though he does try. I am not an OB nurse so most of my interaction with pregnant women has been limited to the bad things that happen to cause them to come into the ER and most of it is not encouraging.

I would appreciate any resources you could suggest. Any homespun wisdom or experience that you feel would help would also be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[ladylabor]

Well first congratulations..... I am an ob nurse and I have seen patients who choose the lamaze, bradley and hypno birthing I have also seen the epidural births.. The key to this is to know yourself, how do you tolerate pain? If you choose a birthplan understand that it is not a contract and if you start wanting an epidural don't let anyone talk you out of it. Primips (1 babies) are often induced, there are varing degrees of induction such as, stirpping membranes, ruptureing membranes, protaglandin suppository (lady partsl) or prostaglandin gel and also pitocin. Do your research and find out what exactly fits your plan of care. This is your experience and you need to own it. As far as diets for low fat I am not sure I would do some research on the net for that. Also try the website babyzone see if that gives any good information. I really hope this helps. Good luck

[33-weeker]

When I was pregnant with my twins, my midwife had me keep a diet diary for a couple of weeks. She reviewed it and told me where I needed to make changes. She also - obviously - supported natural birth. (twin boys, no drugs, 3-hour labor, lady partsl delivery, 36 weeks, 6#2 and 7#0, apgars 9:10 & 10:10).

I suggest you seek out a good midwife and ask her advice about such issues, even if (especially if) you plan a hospital birth. I'm not sure about the gall bladder thing - never had to deal with it, but some digestive enzymes might help. (over-the-counter heath food store stuff) Of course **clear whatever you get for use during pregnancy.** My midwife recommended it for heartburn instead of antacids.

Some good books: Obstetric Myths Vs. Research Realities (Goer), Immaculate Deception (Arms?), Silent Knife (?), Spiritual Midwifery (Gaskin), and Bradley Method Childbirth are a few.

Good luck!

[clhRN2b2010]

Not a nurse yet, but a mother of three. Congrat's on yoru pregnancy! I have one suggestion for you. Your job exposes you, as you said, to mostly pregnancies that go wrong. In your head, you know that is not the norm but the fears grow because it is what you're exposed to. It may take effort, but try to expose yourself to women and birth that goes right. Now would be the time to find a La Leche meeting, or a Bradley or Lamaze birth class. They might say it is too early-pish, posh. Go to your library and get out as many earth mama natural birth books as you can find. Look for Elizabth Davis, Barbara Harper, anyone else in that section that focuses on natural, intervention free birth. You DON"T have to be set on having a drug free birth but what these books WILL do is help to remind you and convince you that your body was designed for this work. It knows what to do and you can trust it. All over the world today the vast majority of babies are growing healthy and strong and will come out of their mama's uterus without assistance-thank you very much!

There are risks, ofcourse. However, those risks should be placed in perspective. It is likely that you got in your car to drive to work today, which is statistically a fairly risky thing to do. It's all perspective, and it may help to purposefully broaden yours right now.

Best wishes and enjoy!!

[BlueRidgeHomeRN]

congratulations!:bby:

i am a mom of 2, gm of 1, and started my nursing life as an ob nurse--but that was over ten years ago, so i'll defer medical stuff to my esteemed colleages still in ob.

first, remember that pregnancy is not an illness--it's a normal experience, which usually ends with tears over joy over a wrinkled, bald little bundle of screaming humanity! i'm sorry you are burdened with the gb issue (which is an illness) making this more uncomfortable for you.

second, for low fat, healthy cooking i'd check out southbeach--only watch how much fish you eat, and add more whole grains and fruits to get enough calories. i am using it to lose weight and lower dh's nasty lipid profile, and it seems very healthy if you add in the above changes. check with your md, first, of course.

i can't address the books, as i am out of that loop. there is a great oldie i love by shiela kitzinger (sp?) titiled "pregnancy and childbirth" or something similarly simple. great pix, sketches, and advice. the medical part may be dated, but the loving the process and learning allyou can parts are timeless (if you don't pee yourself laughing over the 70's hairstyles!!!)

finally, the best advice i ever got while pregnant was to remember this is the only time in your life you can sit in a rocker with a cup of tea and still be totally and utterly productive, helping god make a human being. pretty awesome stuff, huh?

please feel free to pm me if you'd like--love being a doting "surrogate" grandma..

pat:redpinkhe

[jnrsmommy]

First of all CONGRATULATIONS on your pregnancy. :ancong!:

The only suggestion I have to add, as far as the low fat diet goes, why not check w/ the dietician at your facility?

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

Congrats on your pregnancy!

Check out mothering.com. There are many forums to check out there. Check out the one for pregnancy. There is a whole lot of good stuff to learn there about pregnancy issues. Just to warn you, it is an earth friendly and attachment parenting website. Some of the posters are very militant about being natural minded. If you aren't natural minded, there is still a lot to learn there.