Induced labour Explained

In some countries, a lot of women focus on natural birth and that also means no induction birth, no pain relieve, no assisted birth and definitely no to epitomsy.

However, in Singapore, natural birth is defined otherwise. As long it is a vaginal birth, it is consider natural birth. Mostly all mothers give birth in a hospital than birthing centres; and most babies are delivered by professional doctors, gynaes rather than midwives.

In today's context, having a birth that is induced is very common. Why do we have induced birth? There are varied reasons for doing so and most of them are due to medical reasons.

For most induced birth, you are more likely to need instruments such as forceps or ventose to help deliver your baby. This may be due to the complications of the pregnancy that led to induction and/or it may be due to problems caused by the induction itself. Consider what pain relief you would like if the induction works and makes your contractions very strong and difficult to cope with.

Reasons for inducing:
- Your pregnancy has gone beyond 41 weeks and is considered overdue. You will usually be offered an induction sometime between week 41 and 42.
- Your water bag has broken but labour hasn't started. Most women go into labour within 24 hours of their waters breaking. If it does not happen, there is a risk that you or your baby could develop an infection, so you will probably be offered an induction.
- You have diabetes - provided your baby is growing normally, it is recommended that you induced after 38 weeks of pregnancy.
- You have a chronic or acute condition, such as pre-eslampia or kidney disease, that threatens your wellbeing or the health of the baby.
- Your water level is low.

There are a number of methods your doctor can use to try get your labour to start. Some may need to be repeated depending on individuals.

How to speed up labour
1. Membrane sweep
A membrane sweep often helps to stimulate labour and is now offered routinely to women who are overdue.

The membranes that surround your baby are gently separated from your cervix. The doctor can carry out this procedure during an internal examination.

2. Prostaglandin
Prostaglandin is a hormone-like substance, which help stimulate uterine contractions. Your doctor or nurse will insert a tablet, pessary or gel containing prostaglandin into your vagina to ripen your cervix.

Vaginal prostaglandin is most commonly recommended method to induce labour because it often works better and has fewer disadvantages than other methods.

3. Artificially rupturing the membranes (ARM)
ARM is sometimes called "breaking the waters". Breaking your waters is no longer recommended as a method of induction (unless vaginal prostaglandin cannot be used for some reason). However, doctors may use it to speed up labour.

This procedure can be done during an internal examination. The doctor will makes a small break in the membranes around the baby using an amniohook. This procedure often works when the cervix feels soft and ready for labour to start.

Artificial rupture of the membranes (ARM) does not always work and once your waters have been broken, your baby could be at risk of an infection if labour is too long. If there's an infection, you will be given antibiotics.

4. Syntocinon
Syntocinon is a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin. You would be offered it if your labour hasn't start following a membrane sweep or prostaglandin or if your contractions are not very effective.

You will be given the Syntocin through an intravenous "drip", allowing the hormone to go straight into your bloodstream, through a tiny tube into a vein in your arm. Once contractions have begun, the rate of the drip can be adjusted so that contractions happen often enough to make your cervix dilate without becoming too powerful. As syntocin can cause strong contractors and put your baby under stress, so you will need to be monitored continuously.

For a detailed read, we found another website that is quite extensive that you can go take a look.

Do you understand what do the pregnancy scans means and why they are needed?

Pregnancy is beautiful. In this society, every mother-to-be is scheduled 3 important scans; Nuchal Scan (NT scan), Fetal Anomaly Scan (FA scan) and Growth scan.

These scans are important as it tells a lot of the baby inside you. Here, we repost one of our articles to explain in detail what these 3 scans means.

Generally, these scans are done at the 3 trimesters respectively.

1. NT scan around 11 weeks
2. FA scan around 15-27 weeks
3. Growth scan from 32 weeks

Like us on Facebook at www.fb.com/embassyofbabies.

Oral care during pregnancy

It's a wonderful, beautiful and joyous momemnt to be pregnant. Congratulations. And while having to take note of various issues about being pregnant, the dos and the don'ts, we are sorry that we got to put forth another - pregnancy oral care. However, it's for your own and baby's well being. Hence, it definitely requires a small effort to learn about it.

As we all already know, pregnancy can make a woman feeling very sick or nothing at all. This is due to the hormonal changes occur in our body that alters its normal behavior. This is the reason why it’s important pregnant women to take good care of our teeth and gums. The hormonal changes increase the risk of developing gum disease because it makes gums more sensitive, making gingivitis easier to develop, and this can affect the health of the baby. Pregnancy gingivitis, identified by and uncomfortable swelling, bleeding, redness or softness in the gum tissue.

Fret not actually. We have some tips to prevent that.

And it is best that good practice starts way before pregnancy. However if you are pregnant, just start paying some attention to your oral health.

Before Pregnancy
Visit your dentist regularly at least every 6 months to have teeth professionally cleaned and gum tissue carefully examined. If there is any oral condition, it is better to get it treated in advance of your pregnancy.

During Pregnancy
1. Avoid sweet food as much as possible. The more sweets you eat, the greater chance you have of developing tooth decay. Moreover, the food you eat influences your child's food preferences. Hence, no matter how great your sweet craving is, try to control it. And it good to control especially pregnant ladies need to be wary of gestational diabetes.

2. Avoid dental treatments at specific times during pregnancy. For precaution, during the first trimester and second half of the third trimester dental treatments should be avoided as much as possible. You need to let your dentist know you are pregnant during your routine dental care and checkups. Avoid dental X-rays during pregnancy.

3. Always eat a healthy, balanced diet. This is very important because your baby's first teeth begin to develop around after the third month of your pregnancy.

4. If morning sickness is keeping you from brushing your teeth, change to a bland-tasting toothpaste during pregnancy. Rinse your mouth out with water or a mouth rinse if you suffer from morning sickness and have bouts of frequent vomiting.

5. Pay special attention to any changes in your gums during pregnancy. Visit your dentist right away if there's any discomfort.

6. Maintain a good oral hygiene to prevent or reduce oral health related problems.

If you need more tips on oral health and hygiene, join Steripod Singapore Facebook page.

Pregnancy is not necessarily becoming FAT if you know how to care for yourself

What most women fear…. Being FAT! However, it’s really not posible not to put on weight during pregnancy. Why are some mothers so thin with only a tummy protruding out but some blow up like a balloon everywhere?

By the end of your pregnancy, your extra weight gain should be around 10 to 12kg to be normal.
For practical reasons the pregnancy is divided into three periods:

1. the first period runs from week 0 to 12 where it is normal to gain 1 to 2kg
2. the second period runs from weeks 12 to 28 in which it is normal to gain 300 to 400g a week.
3. the third period runs from weeks 28 to 40 and it is normal to gain 1 to 3kg a month.

It is not necessary to be obsessive about your weight during pregnancy. However, excess weight gain is probably best avoided since most women will want to return to the same dress size within a few months of delivery.


Where do the extra kilos come from?
A baby weighs approximately 2.5 - 3.5kg before birth
The uterus grows to approximately 900g
The placenta weighs approximately 650g
The amniotic fluid weighs approximately 800g
The woman's breasts grow by approximately 400g
The weight of the extra blood is approximately 1.25kg
Water retained in the body tissues weighs approximately 2kg
The layer of fat beneath the skin weighs approximately 1.7kg


How to prevent getting putting on the unnecessary fats and your unborn baby gets the essential food and grows well? You will have to decide for yourself and get your gynae's recommendations.

Eat for 2? True or False?
It is not true that a pregnant woman should eat for two people. What is true is that during a pregnancy, a woman has to provide good nutrition for two individuals – herself and the baby. The growing baby gets all its nourishment from its mother through the umbilical cord, so diet is very important during this stage. If the mother is lacking in any vitamins and nutrients her baby might lack them too.

If a woman has had trouble keeping her weight up or down before the pregnancy, she should make a nutritional plan with the help of her gynae.

How much energy does a woman need during pregnancy?

• A woman who is not pregnant needs approximately 2100 calories per day.
• A pregnant woman needs approximately 2500 calories per day.
• A breastfeeding woman needs approximately 3000 calories per day.

What sort of food should pregnant women eat?
- A well-balanced diet should contain something from all the food groups: dairy products, fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, fat and carbohydrates. A pregnant woman needs to eat something from all these food groups every day in order to get the proper amounts of energy.
- Approximately 10 per cent of calories should come from protein. Protein is mainly found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and beans.
- Approximately 35 per cent of calories should come from fat, which is mainly found in butter, oils, margarine, dairy products and nuts.
- Approximately 55 per cent of calories should come from carbohydrates, which are found in bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, corn and other grain products.

Supplements

• Folic acid

During the first three months of pregnancy (and preferably before becoming pregnant) a woman needs folic acid. This is one of the B-group vitamins and is also known as vitamin B9. It is important during pregnancy for the creation of the baby's nervous system.

It can help prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida and other congenital malformations such as cleft palate or cleft lip.


Sources of folic acid are barley beans, fruit, green vegetables, orange juice, lentils, peas and rice. It is recommended that all pregnant women take a daily 400 microgram supplement of folic acid a day for two months before conception and three months into their pregnancy. The dosage of the supplement should be larger approximately 5mg per day .

• Iron

During pregnancy, a woman's body needs more iron than usual to produce all the blood needed to supply nutrition to the placenta. Good sources of iron are green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, strawberries, muesli and wholemeal bread.
Iron is more easily absorbed if it is taken in conjunction with vitamin C - either as a supplement or in citrus fruit or juice. Tea and coffee can interfere with the body's absorption of iron.

It is often recommended that all pregnant women take an iron supplement every day from the 20th week of pregnancy. This is not necessary if a woman has a good diet and routine blood tests show that she is not anaemic. Iron supplements however may cause constipation.

• Zinc and calcium

The minerals zinc and calcium are also needed for the development of the embryo. However, it is usually possible to obtain enough zinc and calcium by following a varied diet alone.

Remember, the goal of prenatal vitamins is to supplement your diet, not to replace it. Eating a balanced diet is still the best nutrition for your baby. Prenatal vitamin supplements cannot make up for poor eating habits.

What should be avoided during pregnancy?

• Vitamin A

Excess amounts may cause damage to the embryo. Foods containing large amounts of vitamin A include liver, and should be eaten on an occasional basis only.

• Unpasteurized cheeses, blue-veined cheeses

These are not recommended because of the possible risk of transmission of infectious diseases such as Listeria.


Prenatal/Maternal Milk
There are many brands on the shelf that you can consume while pregnant. This milk provides the vitamins needed during pregnancy. If you are already taking in the supplements, always ask your doctor for advice if there’s a need to drink the milk.

Tonics
Chinese herbs have a long history behind them and some people do actually benefit from them. Always consult your doctors before you decide to take them as different women reacts differently to the same kind of herbs due to different health constitute.

Have a wonderful pregnancy.

Apple iphone wonderful applications

Apple iphone no doubt has brought in a new wave in the handphone industry. Nowadays, lots of people are buying iphone and some are still considering purchasing one.

The interesting part of it, not only limited to the phone itself; are the applications written for the phone.

Here are some of the ones the team has tested. And maybe parents, especially mummies can make use of them, as some are actually FREE!!! We will be reviewing more applications. So stay tune…! =)

1. Milestones (Rate : 4)

Use : Records baby’s milestones

Cost : US$4.99

Good : This app keeps track of the weight and height of your baby through the inputs and can plot the information into a chart. You can track and record what your baby can do at a certain month under milestone and moments. What’s more, user-specified milestones can be added if it is not in their list. If you have missed out certain milestones, the program will let you know by highlighting the month range in orange.

Bad : Some of the milestones are not in the list.

2. My Baby (Rate : 3.5)

Use : Finding names for baby

Cost : FREE

Good : You can find names for a boy and girl separately. You can also specify the origin of the names you wish to search under.

Bad : You need to know the name to search. Or input the first alphabet to do a thorough search for that alphabet. It can be quite tedious.

3. Baby HowTall (Rate : 3)

Use : Calculates the height of your baby

Cost : US$0.99

Good : It will be fun to estimates how tall your baby will be when he or she grows up. It calculates the height based on Daddy’s and Mummy’s height and gives a range of the heights your baby might be.

Bad : It might not be accurate and there are no other functions besides that.

4. Breastfeed (Rate : 4.5)

Use : Provides information on breastfeeding

Cost : FREE

Good : It provides general information on breastfeeding. The wonderful part - it covers early breastfeeding management for the time between birth to 48 hours and 48 hours till 2 weeks. It has also includes information on medications and have an FAQ.

Bad : There’s no search function. Hence, mothers may need to read through to get the information.

5. Baby Flash Cards (Rate : 3.5)

Use : Flashcards of items for baby to learn about objects

Cost : FREE

Good : There a wide range of objects ranging from animals, fruits, furniture, numbers and lots more. The program can be set to display either in alphabetical order or random order.

Bad : The graphics are cute but colors are not vibrant enough to attract baby’s attention. There is no music too.

6. Sing Along Lite (Rate : 2.5)

Use : Display nursery songs’ lyrics

Cost : Free, US$3.99 for full version

Good : There are lyrics which you can learn so that you can sing the song to your baby. For the full version, you can also play the music and sing along with your kid.

Bad : The majority of the songs may not be localized, hence, you might never heard of these songs yourself; let alone sing to your baby. For the full version, even when there’s music to sing along with, the music is too soft despite you have put the volume to maximum. Hence, it is not useful in having the music. Just get the lite version.

7. ABC Phonics Animals Lite (Rate : 2.5)

Use : Teaches children on animals, the spelling and its sounds

Cost : FREE, US$1.99 for full version

Good : The colors and pictures are cute. The music/sounds do attract babies.

Bad : The lite version limits the variety of animals displayed. We are too sure if the full version has this restriction.

8. What to Expect Pregnancy (Rate : 4)

Use : Provide information on pregnancy

Cost : FREE

Good : It can calculate your stages week by week using your EDD. The program will also show your gestational period and the trimester you are in. It will also give you an estimate of the size of your baby in your tummy. The information not only talks about your pregnancy, it will also provide information on your baby.

Bad : What we like about this program – you can take a photo of your pregnancy days. However, it could not be stored as a journal in your phone. You need to save the photo to your phone’s photo album.

9. Baby Piano Lite (Rate : 4)

Use : A program with piano keys for playing purposes

Cost : FREE

Good : It has a small piano for playing. It can also be switch to animals’ sounds too. Colors are very vibrant. You can also record 5s of whatever you played on the piano keys.

Bad : Limited piano notes - Do, Re Mi, Fa, So, La Ti….