Critical Thinking Assignment: Giving Birth To A New Baby
Critical Thinking Assignment
Delivery Methods
I am currently 33 weeks pregnant and will be giving birth to my second child, soon in about three weeks. I have a high-risk pregnancy due to my blood type, which is RH negative, and I also have what is called big c antibodies. I go in for monitoring at least every week and sometimes more then once. So far my baby and I are doing great, but there is still a chance that a blood transfusion may be needed and that the baby still may need to come earlier than 36 weeks, however only time will tell, as for now I am scheduled to deliver at 36 weeks, October 28th 2014. As I mentioned I already have one child, a beautiful nine-year-old boy. Nine years is a long time to wait before having another child but we are excited and looking forward to this new addition. My past experience of giving birth was at a hospital, vaginal and with and epidural. I plan on doing things the same way this time around. I am concerned about the effects an epidural can …show more content…
have on the baby and I but I do not believe I can handle the pain, as in my last delivery even with the epidural I was still in minor pain and it was uncomfortable. All medication used in labor and delivery affects the fetus as well as the mother. Although these drugs enhance some body mechanisms, they usually work to depress most bodily functions, such as respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and kidney function. (Bigner, 2010) Although the drugs have some possible side effect, I still feel it is right for me. Some long-term effects related to an epidural include headaches, the headaches and last for hours, days or even weeks or come in intervals. However it is most common for then to go away on there own. Some may experience loss of bladder control, for an undetermined amount of time. This is due to numbed pelvic floor muscles that strain during epidural administration. Bladder symptoms usually disappear as the epidural anesthetic clears the body. Never damage may occur but is un common and is usually only seen in patients that move a considerable amount during needle administration.
A cesarean delivery is something that I would like to avoid, and has never been an option in my mind.
I fear the fact of being cut open and feel that it is just so un-natural. I do however understand that it is sometimes needed to keep the baby and the mother safe, and if that was my only option I would of course not question it, however it is not something that I would choose without the doctor finding it necessary. Conditions indicating cesarean delivery include diabetes in mother; an extremely large fetus; genital herpes in the mother, which can be transmitted to the infant during a vaginal delivery; an insufficiently dilated cervix; the possibility of severe hemorrhaging by the mother; multiple births; or breech presentation of the fetus. (Ratcliffe, 2007) I am very thankful I do not fall under any of the just mentioned. Although things can change from now until delivery, my doctor does not see that we should have any problems and should be able to avoid a cesarean
delivery.
For myself the idea of giving birth is such an exciting thing, I am excited to meet my little angle but I am filled with emotions from just about every angle. For example the medication used during labor and delivery today are administered with great care, with special attention given to their effects on the well-being of the fetus. Some evidence suggests medication used during delivery have long-range effects on the child (Studd, 2004), such as delays in development progress (sitting, walking, talking). Whether to use these drugs in delivery and to what degree warrants serious consideration. I have considered the risks associated with this type of delivery and feel that although there are risks, the risks are not great enough and do not happen in enough cases to not use an epidural. I also feel that if an epidural helps me with the pain, it will reduce my stress level and if I am relaxed as much as possible it will help the baby and provide for an easier delivery for myself and the baby.
References
Bigner, Jerry J. (2010) Parent-Child Relations An Introduction to Parenting. (8th ed.) Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Ratcliffe, S.D. (2007). Family medicine obstetrics (3rd ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier.
Studd, J.W. (2004) Progress in obstetrics and gynecology. Philadelphia: Elsevier.
Delivery Methods
I am currently 33 weeks pregnant and will be giving birth to my second child, soon in about three weeks. I have a high-risk pregnancy due to my blood type, which is RH negative, and I also have what is called big c antibodies. I go in for monitoring at least every week and sometimes more then once. So far my baby and I are doing great, but there is still a chance that a blood transfusion may be needed and that the baby still may need to come earlier than 36 weeks, however only time will tell, as for now I am scheduled to deliver at 36 weeks, October 28th 2014. As I mentioned I already have one child, a beautiful nine-year-old boy. Nine years is a long time to wait before having another child but we are excited and looking forward to this new addition. My past experience of giving birth was at a hospital, vaginal and with and epidural. I plan on doing things the same way this time around. I am concerned about the effects an epidural can …show more content…
have on the baby and I but I do not believe I can handle the pain, as in my last delivery even with the epidural I was still in minor pain and it was uncomfortable. All medication used in labor and delivery affects the fetus as well as the mother. Although these drugs enhance some body mechanisms, they usually work to depress most bodily functions, such as respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and kidney function. (Bigner, 2010) Although the drugs have some possible side effect, I still feel it is right for me. Some long-term effects related to an epidural include headaches, the headaches and last for hours, days or even weeks or come in intervals. However it is most common for then to go away on there own. Some may experience loss of bladder control, for an undetermined amount of time. This is due to numbed pelvic floor muscles that strain during epidural administration. Bladder symptoms usually disappear as the epidural anesthetic clears the body. Never damage may occur but is un common and is usually only seen in patients that move a considerable amount during needle administration.
A cesarean delivery is something that I would like to avoid, and has never been an option in my mind.
I fear the fact of being cut open and feel that it is just so un-natural. I do however understand that it is sometimes needed to keep the baby and the mother safe, and if that was my only option I would of course not question it, however it is not something that I would choose without the doctor finding it necessary. Conditions indicating cesarean delivery include diabetes in mother; an extremely large fetus; genital herpes in the mother, which can be transmitted to the infant during a vaginal delivery; an insufficiently dilated cervix; the possibility of severe hemorrhaging by the mother; multiple births; or breech presentation of the fetus. (Ratcliffe, 2007) I am very thankful I do not fall under any of the just mentioned. Although things can change from now until delivery, my doctor does not see that we should have any problems and should be able to avoid a cesarean
delivery.
For myself the idea of giving birth is such an exciting thing, I am excited to meet my little angle but I am filled with emotions from just about every angle. For example the medication used during labor and delivery today are administered with great care, with special attention given to their effects on the well-being of the fetus. Some evidence suggests medication used during delivery have long-range effects on the child (Studd, 2004), such as delays in development progress (sitting, walking, talking). Whether to use these drugs in delivery and to what degree warrants serious consideration. I have considered the risks associated with this type of delivery and feel that although there are risks, the risks are not great enough and do not happen in enough cases to not use an epidural. I also feel that if an epidural helps me with the pain, it will reduce my stress level and if I am relaxed as much as possible it will help the baby and provide for an easier delivery for myself and the baby.
References
Bigner, Jerry J. (2010) Parent-Child Relations An Introduction to Parenting. (8th ed.) Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Ratcliffe, S.D. (2007). Family medicine obstetrics (3rd ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier.
Studd, J.W. (2004) Progress in obstetrics and gynecology. Philadelphia: Elsevier.