News

The birth of your baby is a moment that you anticipate for nine long months. Consider creating a birth plan as a guideline of what your wishes are for the big day. And try to keep in mind that birth plans are there to be an outline of what you are striving for, so make it flexible to ensure that you will have a beautiful and memorable experience. https://youtu.be/Zj1KDFmRmDw Here are important things to consider when making a flexible birth plan. What Happens During Labor? Vaginal Birth When you arrive at the hospital, a doctor or nurse will check you to see how far your labor has progressed. Once you are admitted, you will be taken to the room where you will likely remain for the rest of your hospital stay. This is where you will be able to unpack, get comfortable, dim the lights, play music and get comfortable. Depending on the progress of your labor and risk factor, the hospital may or may not administer an IV. If you have a low risk labor, then you will most likely be encouraged to move around to help your labor move along. Most hospitals will hook you up to fetal monitoring upon arrival, if your baby’s heart rate is normal and labor is progressing with ease, you can ask to have the fetal monitoring be administered intermittently. Pain management will come into play as labor intensifies. Be sure to learn about your options ahead of time. If you are planning for a unmedicated birth, have your props and support team ready to go as you will likely need to move around and find comfortable positions to manage the pain on your own. If you prefer to have an epidural, get the necessary education to know when to ask for it and how to handle labor while medicated Sometimes, labor has been known to stop progressing. Be ready to know what you would like to do in case it happens to you. Some of the options include, breaking the amniotic sac, administering labor inducing medications and even the simple option of walking around. When the time for pushing arrives, the medical team will advise you on when to bear down and push, however, many women prefer to follow their body’s natural flow and push when it feels right. Most hospitals are quick to administer episiotomies when the perineum begins to tear. Learn about this natural effect of birth and decide whether you want to have an episiotomy or allow your body to tear naturally and heal without stitching. During some births, Doctors opt to assist in the delivery with the use of forceps or a vacuum device. Learn about these options ahead of time to know if these are methods that you agree with for your own delivery. C-Section For a number of reasons including high-risk pregnancies and repeat c-sections, some women and their doctors opt to do planned c-sections. Also, in some cases when a natural labor is not progressing after a significant amount of time or if the fetus is at risk, an emergency c-section will be necessary. Once the decision has been made to proceed with a c-section you will be placed on a fetal monitor, an IV will be inserted to your arm and you will be prompted to sign some documents. Following the first steps, you will be transported to the operating room where your birth partner will have to wait outside while you are prepped for surgery. During prep, you will be sat down leaning forward and an anesthesiologist will administer a spinal block or epidural. Both types of anesthesia allow you to remain awake during the c-section so you can experience your baby’s birth. Learn about these options so you can ask for the one you agree with most. You will then be laid down on the operating table, your arms will be strapped down for safety reasons and a curtain will be placed in front of you to block your view from the operation. At this point your birth partner will be allowed to join you in the O.R. Once the c-section is underway, your heart rate will be monitored and medications will be administered if necessary. Learn about these options ahead of time. Once the doctor is ready to bring the baby out of your uterus, your birth partner will be given permission to take photos/video and the curtain will be pulled down slightly to show you your baby. At this point your baby will be set aside to be cleaned up and wrapped up. Once the baby is wrapped and warm, she will be placed on your chest so you can meet for the first time and take a photo. Once you’ve met your baby, you will be separated while your incision gets stitched up and you are taken to the recovery room. Be sure to plan with your birthing partner so that they may go with your baby to the nursery. You can opt to have another birth partner stay by your side during the end of the surgery. Once you are transported to the recovery room, you will be asked to tell the nurse when you begin regaining feeling in your lower body. When this happens, pain medication will begin to be given to you. When your condition is stable, you are ready to see your baby again. Once your baby is out of your womb, let your doctor know if your partner wants to cut the cord and if you will be banking your baby’s cord blood. Upon birth, you can ask for all the necessary testing and measuring of the baby to be done in the same room so that you are not separated from your baby. Bathing and measuring can be done at a later tie so that you may have time to bond with your little one. At this point, most hospitals administer recommended vaccinations to the baby, if this is not something you want, you will want to include this in the birthing plan and will likely be asked to sign a waiver. Some hospitals take the initiative to feed formula to newborn babies, you are not required to do so and should make it known to them if this is not something you want. Lactation consultants are available to help you get started on breastfeeding if you wish to get some help. Recovery Abdominal Binders come in All Shapes and Sizes - Bellefit has 4 Styles designed for specific body types, vaginal deliveries and c-sections. When the birthing process is complete, you will begin your postpartum recovery. It is imperative to know how you will handle your recovery and which tools you will use to reduce pain and increase comfort. postpartum recovery garments such as Compression Girdles are excellent tools that aid in a speedy recovery while allowing mom to move about, hold her baby and still breastfeed comfortably, all without experiencing pain. Be sure to make plenty of copies of your birth plan and give them to your doctor, nurse, birth partner and even post one on the door of your room. Be flexible in knowing that plans change according to a variety of situations that arise for women during labor and delivery. Bellefit Girdles

Throughout your pregnancy you’ll often think about what life will be like once your baby is born. Here are 9 things you can do to be ready before your baby arrives. https://youtu.be/xVQ8XZIsLy4 Birth Plan Having a birth plan is a must if you want your birthing crew to know what your wishes are for a good birth experience. We all know that it’s not always realistic to want to follow a birth plan to the tee, but it’s good to have a guideline. Check out this helpful article about Making a Flexible Birth Plan. Car Seat The only way to drive your baby home when you are discharged from the hospital, is in an infant car seat. So be sure to have it ready to go and properly installed in the car that you will be going home in. Not sure how to install it? Don’t worry, the friendly hospital staff is trained to help you install your car seat and get you and your adorable newborn on your way. Hospital Bag for You and Baby When you head to the hospital to give birth, you will need to be equipped with some essentials such as toiletries, nursing gown, clothes, a recovery garment, slippers or stretchy slip on shoes, lots of underwear, nursing bra, nursing pads (yes, you might start leaking colostrum or breast milk early on), clothes for your baby and a nice outfit to go home in. Have your bags ready to go ahead of time so when the time comes, you simply need to grab the bag and head out. Crib or Bassinet Sleeping arrangements are an important decision, and if your family is opting out of co-sleeping, then decide whether you will be using a bassinet or starting right off the bat with a crib. Bassinets are a small portable bed and usually have a rocking option. They are great for having your baby in your room, but are only a temporary arrangement and babies usually outgrow them within the first month or two. Cribs are a more permanent bedding. The mattress height is often adjustable AND most cribs nowadays can be easily converted from crib, to toddler bed, to twin be overtime. Breast Pump There are many benefits to breastfeeding, and for many moms, having the option of going back to work or even running errands while knowing that their baby can still be fed breast milk during moms absence is a huge plus. Breast pumps are a great tool that help enable this by allowing moms to express & store their milk for their baby to consume at a later time. There are many different types of pumps both manual & electric. Do some research to see which pump is right for you. Prepared Meals Having prepared meals ready-to-go in your fridge/freezer will be a huge lifesaver. When you get home with your newborn, life as you know it will be completely different and time will be a precious gem that you wont have much of. So take the time to prepare your favorite meals and label & store them properly. When life with baby begins, you will simply have to pull them out, heat them up and enjoy! Schedule Help Most of us like to think that we can handle everything on our own, but give your loved ones a chance to lend you a hand with your baby. Perhaps you are exhausted and your sister can watch the baby for an hour while you take a nap. Or it might have been days since you had a proper shower, ask your friend to come by and stay for a bit so you can freshen up. Whatever it may be, consider that a little bit of help for a new mom, goes a long way. Recovery Garments Who wears a Girdle after Pregnancy? Women recovering from a C-section or Natural Childbirth need to feel supported while caring for their baby. Be prepared with a good supply of maxi pads, nursing pads, nursing bra, nursing gowns and a postpartum recovery compression garment to help you heal more efficiently. Plenty of Diapers & Wipes Diapers and wipes will soon take over your life! These items may just be what you use most and go through the fastest. Get your coupons ready and purchase a nice supply of either disposable diapers or reusable diapers and baby wipes. Lots of Laundry Detergent Between your garments, spills, leaks, spit-ups and doodie, you will be doing a whole lot of laundry. So stock up on your favorite laundry detergent and get ready to wash, wash, wash! While it’s true that having a newborn baby is a lot of work, getting organized and being prepared in advance can be a big blessing. So get ready, you will be glad you did!

In this day and age, women can manage the many ins and outs of pregnancy with the touch of a button. No longer do you have to scramble through note pads and papers to try to remember Doctor’s appointments, keep track of pregnancy progress or even manage your contractions. With the introduction of iPhones and apps, staying organized (and well informed) during pregnancy is easier than ever before. Here are some of our favorite apps to use during pregnancy: What to Expect ‘What to Expect’ is one of the most complete pregnancy apps available. Heidi Murkoff, author of the world’s best selling pregnancy book, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, brings moms a day-by-day and week-by-week guide through their pregnancy. The app is easy to navigate, user friendly and offers a variety of features such as: Daily tracker shows your week and day of pregnancy, baby’s development measured in fruit sizes, and countdown to your due date. Weekly videos, personalized tips, and week-by-week information help you understand your changing body and your baby’s development. Active and supportive community makes it easy to meet Moms due in the same month as you. Photo journal to capture moments each week that create a visual memory of baby’s journey. Weekly inspiration and shareable milestones make it easy and fun to celebrate your little one’s progress with family and friend. The only app that tracks your pregnancy as well as your other children in one place. Syncs photos, content, and preferences across your devices. This app is available for iPhones, iPads and best of all, it’s free! Click here to get the app. My Labor Bags This app has been called ‘The ultimate bag preparation tool for your family’ and it really is! It is a complete guide and tracker to help you get yourself and your family ready for the big day. My Labor Bags is extremely flexible and easy to use with 3 primary labor bags: Mommy’s Bag, Daddy’s Bag & Baby’s Bag. Some of its features include: Pre-loaded with nearly 100 of the must-have items preloaded to help get you started! 2 full sets of labor bag databases. (Default & Custom) 3 Individual Labor Bags: Mommy’s Bag, Daddy’s Bag, & Baby’s Bag. Convenient “All-Bags” button allows you to manage all of your labor bags in one view. Manage any item’s Description, Location, Cost, Quantity, Packed Status and Notes! MyDueDate, the powerful due date information extraction tool provides, Day of Week, Time Remaining in Weeks & Days, Pregnancy Week, & Trimester. This app is available for iPhones, iPads and it’s FREE Click here to get the app. Contraction Master The Contraction Master app is the easiest and most accurate way to time your contractions. Just tap once at the start of the contraction and tap again at the end. Contraction Master automatically keeps track of the start time, duration, strength, and frequency of each contraction. At any time, you can switch to the History screen to see a log of all contractions that have been timed. When contractions are close enough together and long enough Contraction Master will automatically alert you that it’s time to go to the hospital and even display a button you can tap to call your Ob/Gyn! If you want to share your contraction history with your doctor or nurse, Contraction Master makes that easy by allowing you to email it at anytime. This app is available for iPhones, iPads and it’s $1.99 Click here to get the app. Baby Names by Winkpass Baby Names by Winkpass is one of the best baby name apps out there. It has a simple and intuitive interface and includes a massive database of more than 25,000 names along with their meanings and origin. You can easily browse names by origin, popularity, alphabetically and by gender. You can also save a list of your favorites and share it across your Social Media. This app is available for iPhones, iPads and it’s absolutely free! Click here to get the app. Positive Pregnancy The Positive Pregnancy app is a guided meditation audio program intended to help expecting mothers become deeply relaxed and focus on a positive and successful pregnancy. It can be listened to at any time during your pregnancy and its relaxation techniques, visualizations and positive affirmations ensure you have a more comfortable, natural and enjoyable pregnancy. Benefit associated with guided meditation during pregnancy include: Boosting your energy and well being. Deepening your sleeping patterns. Reducing physical discomfort. Building a connection with your baby. This app is available for iPhones, iPads and it’s $2.99 Click here to get the app. Baby Kicks Monitor From about 28 weeks or when you feel your baby’s kicks regularly, your doctor may suggest that you keep track of the kicking daily to make sure that your baby is doing well. Baby Kicks Monitor will record the start date, duration and times of kicks of each test with an easy to use interface. When the kicking reaches 10 times or the time reaches 2 hours, the kick session will stop automatically. If you wish to redo the test or end the test, you can press the X button in the upper-right corner to stop it. Other great features include: Share sessions or one individual kicking test with your doc or friend by email. Continue the kicks counting where you left off in the condition that you make a call or play other apps while doing the kicking session. Input your last menstrual period, Baby Kicks Monitor with show your Delivery Due Date and the days remains to that big day. Help documents to provide you more information about fetal movement. This app is available for iPhones, iPads and free for a limited time. Click here to get the app mPregnancy – For Men With Pregnant Women Men tend to be a little sensitive to the realities of pregnancy that their partner is going through. This app is created to bridge that gap and keep men in the loop in terms that they can relate to. mPregnancy contains useful facts for men of before and during pregnancy, not only about the baby but also about what is going on with your partner and yourself. Men will learn about making their partner’s pregnancy a pleasant experience. It contains great illustrations of how the baby develops and describes the size in terms that men understand, e.g. similar to the size of a football, or a bottle of beer. Other great features include: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) which among other things lists foods that are not safe to eat during pregnancy A Gestational Age Tracker trimester Days Left of Pregnancy Tracker And explanations of all the weird counting tricks that are used during pregnancy This app is available for iPhones, iPads and it’s only $2.99 Click here to get the app. Having a healthy and safe pregnancy is something that all expectant moms want. The apps we suggest above are to help you stay organized and have daily insights to your journey through pregnancy. You should always consult with your doctor about your prenatal care, decisions and advice in regards to your pregnancy.

There are many differences between having your baby vaginally and having your baby via c-section childbirth: The method of delivery is the most obvious difference. During a vaginal delivery, a woman births her baby through her vagina, pushing in accordance with her contractions. During a c-section childbirth, a woman births her baby through a surgical opening in her abdomen. Emergency C-Section C-Section Scar C-Section Bandage C-section childbirth deliveries were once reserved for emergency situations or situations in which a mother would not be able to have her baby vaginally. In the past twenty years, the number of Cesarean births has been rising. Graph Credit: http://pattiturner.com/c-section-rates-nurses-play-role/ Regardless of the underlying reasons for such a rise, women must be prepared for a Cesarean delivery more than ever before. C-Section Procedure taking place in the operating room. C-Section is considered major surgery. How does C-Section Childbirth Work? A c-section childbirth delivery occurs in an operating room. The mother is typically awake for the surgery, but she must be anesthetized from the chest down. The obstetrician makes the c section incision right above the woman's pubic bone. The incision is typically four or five inches across. From there, the doctor pulls back the skin, moves the abdominal muscles aside, and makes another low cut across the uterus.Then the amniotic fluid is suctioned out of the uterus, and the baby is delivered. The baby is then suctioned by the nurses in the operating room and cleaned up a bit. The placenta is removed by the doctor as well. Then the new mother gets to see her baby. During this time, the obstetrician is stitching up the uterus, replacing the abdominal muscles, and stitching up the skin. If she desires it, the mother may nurse her baby in the recovery room. The road to recovery after c section begins here. Vaginal Delivery and Recovery Times Vaginal Delivery of Baby A vaginal delivery is more active for the mother. Once she goes through labor and is fully dilated, she will feel an urge to push her baby out. Typically she will push with her contractions, eventually pushing the baby down and out through the vagina, followed by the afterbirth, including the placenta. Depending on the speed of the birth and the size of the baby, the mom may experience some tearing around the perineum. These wounds will need to be stitched up by the doctors. If the mother desires, the baby can be placed directly on her chest after being born, before being whisked away to the warming table to be cleaned and weighed. Though some women who experience vaginal deliveries have major complications, they are usually easier to recover from than c-sections. Because a c-section is major abdominal surgery, new mothers will likely need additional support from their partners, extended family, and friends to accomplish many chores, including driving and household activities, such as lifting laundry baskets. All new mothers, however, need a great deal of support and understanding from their loved ones during the postpartum recovery period. Does wearing a Postpartum Girdle help Women Recovery Faster from a C-Section? After Birth One of the best ways to ease your discomfort after a c-section childbirth is to use an abdominal binder or compression girdle. Some OB/GYNs will recommend a corset or girdle to new moms when a c-section has been scheduled. Compression is a post-operative option for many types of surgery because it speeds the healing process. By increasing circulation to the area under compression, the damaged tissues experience a better immune response and receive more blood, nutrients, and oxygen. According to Bellefit reviews, the abdominal binder speeds healing, it also supports the lower back by holding in the abdominal wall. This improves a woman's posture, which can be very poor during the initial postpartum period. Bellefit offers a medical grade compression garment that is perfect for postpartum recovery after c section. Sometimes the pain associated with recovery can interfere with establishing successful breastfeeding, too. Women Wearing Postpartum Girdles After C-Section Although there are a few situations in which c-sections cannot be avoided, it is best to try to prevent the surgery and allow your body to give birth the way nature intended. Watch Kristen, Mom of 4, Share her Postpartum Recovery Bellefit Postpartum Girdles & Corsets

Home Birth More and more women are turning to home birth as well. Some home births are attended by midwives, while others are just the laboring mother and her birth partner. The woman is, theoretically, in complete control during a home birth.She is free to move about in the comfort of her surroundings. Such an environment is beneficial for many women; because her surroundings are so familiar, there is little to distract her from the work of labor. https://youtu.be/Be3ISaDTfI4 At the same time, there are no medical interventions available for laboring women at home. Women can certainly reduce their discomfort during labor by spending time in the tub or shower, having their partner use massage to manage tension, or by simply practicing their own laboring techniques.If you are experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, home birth is probably not for you. In the end, however, it is the job of the mother and her partner to decide where to give birth. Pregnancy is a special time for women. Despite the discomforts and challenges you may be feeling, there is no denying the magic of the little person developing inside you. During pregnancy, it is sometimes easy to focus your attention on your changing body and the baby’s development and forget about how and where the baby will be born. Though most mothers still give birth in a hospital setting, more and more women are electing to have their babies in birth centers or even in the comfort and privacy of their own homes. The decision of where to have your baby is a highly personal one, and it is a good idea to explore your options. Even if you decide on the traditional hospital setting, understanding the benefits and drawbacks of each birth environment will ensure that you’ve made the best decision for you and your family. Having a baby at a hospital is clearly the most common birth setting for most women. The benefits of a hospital birth are many. Most women see OB/GYNs for their prenatal, birth, and postpartum care, and most OB/GYNs have privileges in hospitals rather than in birth centers. There Are Two Major Types of Hospitals A teaching hospital has the most up-to-date equipment and part of their mission is to teach the next generation of doctors and nurses about medical care. In a teaching hospital, the birthing mother may be asked if interns and other medical students can watch or assist with the labor and birth. Smaller community hospitals are more likely to have a more intimate feel. They are less likely to have medical students helping care for patients. All hospitals provide opportunities for pain management for laboring women, from local anesthetics to epidural and spinal blocks. What a hospital lacks in comfort and privacy it makes up for in access to emergency care. Women with complicated pregnancies or babies with special needs will benefit from neonatal care found in hospitals. This Article was brought to you in collaboration with Bellefit, the makers of the best postpartum girdles Founded in 2008 Bellefit® is the most mom-trusted and awarded brand of postpartum girdles & corsets for recovery after c-section or natural childbirth. Bellefit® girdles come in five designs made using proprietary compression fabrics. Their unique design features triple-layered reinforced front and back support panels. As a woman-owned company, Bellefit® is no stranger to the challenges new moms face during and after pregnancy. The company helps women feel supported and confident in their changing bodies. Bellefit Girdles