1. Pregnancy, Lab
or and Birth
Chapters 15/16
By: Emilie Merron

2. Pregnancy
 It takes a total of nine months in the womb for a baby to be
born
Within those nine months, a women’s body undergo many
changes—both physically, mentally and emotionally
 Organ systems adapt
 Heart grows as it pumps more blood
 Digestion patterns change
 Hormones change
 Ligaments soften
 Breasts grow

3. Beginning of Motherhood
 Throughout the nine months of pregnancy
a mother begins to develop a relationship
with her baby
 The first sound of the heartbeat all the
way to little kicks the mother may feel
during the later months gives the mother
a sense of connection with her little one
before he/she has even been introduced
to the world

4. Motherhood Cont.
 When it is finally time for a baby to be
born, hormonal signals between a mother and
their child trigger the labor process
 Shortly after birth, a mother continues to share
this connection with their child by giving them
safety and comfort (skin to skin
contact/breastfeeding etc.)
 Becoming a mother involves the greatest
transformation of them all—your whole
identity changes as your life and world
around you change as well

5. Preparing For Birth
 Prenatal care is one of the most important
factors while being pregnant
 Choosing the right “fit” for you and your
pregnancy/birthing experience all depends
on how you feel and your comfort levels
 Recommended are high quality women
centered care as well as birth settings
supporting safe, healthy and satisfying birth
experiences

6. Choosing the right “fit” for you
 There are many different providers to choose
from for a woman’s birthing experience
 A provider is a part of a group practice that
will be attended at birth to whichever
provider is on call
 These include:
 Midwives-Trained to provide women with
prenatal, labor, birth and follow up care
 Physicians (Family Physicians-Medical doctor to
provide all basic care, Obstetrician-Gynecologists-
Medical doctor providing all maternity care)

7. Birth Places
 Birthingplaces are particular special for a
mother and their needs.
 Environment, culture and routine can
affect these needs
 Such places can be:
 The home
 Birth Centers
 Hospitals
 Birth Centers in Hospitals

8. Women deserve the best
 Prenatal care is one of the most important
factors within the entire pregnancy
 Consists of three interrelated elements:
 Regular visits from midwife or doctor
 The care you give to yourself
 The care you receive from your
friends, family and other support people

9. Labor and Birth
 Women’s experience with labor and birth
vary from women to women
 Labor is influenced by different factors
 Size, position, health of baby, mother’s
health and medical history, mother’s
expectations and feelings, support and the
place in which you give labor and birth in

10. Vaginal and Cesarean Labor
Two different ways of giving birth include:
Vaginal (Most Common)- When the vagina
begins to dialete and the head of the baby is
pushed down deeper into the pelvis. Eventually
the baby’s head makes it way through and out
of the vaginal opening.
Cesarean- In the United States today, 1 and 3
women gives birth by cesarean section. This
involves surgery to the mother stomach, while
the mother is still awake.
More risks and complications involved

11. Labor Cont.
 Although labor can be quite the exhilarating
and life changing experience, it can also be
quite painful
 Many different methods can be used for the
mother’s pain in a more natural way
 Movement, positions and rhythm
 Water
 Breathing
 Hypnosis
 Touch
 Heat and cold

12. Use of Medications
 Injectable or Intravenous Opioids
 Most common systematic medicine given to
relieve pain during labor
 Morphine is used only in early labor to help
women with sleep
Advantages- Systematic medicines are short-
acting. They can be used only for a time needed.
Example-morphine is used for women who are
exhausted in early labor
Disadvantages-The use of narcotics during labor
has been found to have a limited effect on
controlling women’s pain

13. Epidurals and Spinals
 Epidurals and spinals cause complete
numbness below the level of the back at
which they are placed
 Advantages- They take away the greater part
of pain women experience in labor and while
giving birth.
 Disadvantages- Some epidurals fail to work and
need to be repeated and also come a long
with many other complications that involve the
health of the women and the labor and delivery
process

14. Finals Stages
 The birth of a child a woman has been
carrying for the past nine months is such a
great accomplishment that one may feel.
 A mother may feel overwhelmed with a
sense of different emotions
 Another life is now in the picture and
needs all the time, attention and love a
mother can give them

15. One quote that “jumped
out” at me!
 Chapter 15—Pregnancy and Preparing for Birth
 “As a women who struggled with so many body image
issues and an eating disorder as a younger woman, my
first pregnancy was an exercise in body acceptance.
Watching my stomach and hips grow and change in
ways I could not control, I felt an alternating sense of
disgust and amazement. When I began to look
obviously pregnant, something changed. I was able to
inhabit my body proudly, touching my hands to my belly
knowing my child needed this body to grow, develop
and give him life—never did I feel such love and pride
about my physical body, and it was pure magic!”

16. Discussion Question
 If a women receives a test during pregnancy and
has just found out that her baby that she has been
carrying has some kind of genetic disorder and
she feels as though she is incapable of giving the
proper care it needs, do you feel she has the right
to abort the baby?
 (The reason I am asking this is because I have
heard of women doing this once finding out that
their baby has some sort of genetic disorder. Many
people believe tests should not be performed
during pregnancy to limit the amount of abortions
due to this.)