This example came to mind immediately because as I lay there in pain, the doctor was trying to figure out why the baby had so much movement and why this complication was arising, and it was at that moment that the iced-tea, caffeine, factor came up. They concluded that my caffeine intake had greatly affected the baby and I should prepare myself for a very hyper baby. That delivery was difficult, more more so it has been 17 years of very hyper behavior and personality. He had poor impulse control his whole life and I've blamed myself for it his whole life. I'm older now and wiser and realize I was young and naive but I know that I significanly impacted his development and therefore impacted his life. Child development begins that early and I'm sure that in young adults who are first time parents, it's imperative that they understand every aspect of what they do when they are pregnant so they can avoid possible problems in the future.
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When researching about Mommies Do's and Dont's around the world and other birthing practices, I found the following facts to be interesting:
Guatemala: Women in this country, particularly those of Mayan descent, may remain at home throughout their entire nine months because they fear any influential exposure to illness, evil spirits or even the ill will of others.
Inuit: Inflating balloons or blowing bubbles with gum is avoided during pregnancy to prevent premature rupturing of the membranes.
Bolivia: No hand-knit booties for Bolivian babies! Knitting while pregnant is believed to cause the umbilical cord to wrap around the baby’s neck.
China: For the duration of their pregnancies, Chinese women make a conscious effort to steer clear of evil spirits, funerals and sex.
These practices show you that across the world, there are beliefs that may affect child development and women are urged to follow these practices to ensure a healthy baby, just like in the United States, staying away from caffeine is greatly encouraged. I guess my greatest insight is that mommy's everywhere have to follow directions, no matter how crazy it may sound. It's the culture and that's a major characteristic of child development EVERYWHERE!
**If you want to check out more facts about prenatal, birth and post birth practices around the world, click on the link under my references. It's very interesting!
REFERENCES
I agree that it is important to listen to advice while pregnant. Development begins at conception and that means that complications can also begin then. I do sometimes think that too much advice is given to expecting mothers. New research is showing that some things that were considered very bad for a developing fetus can be non-harmful in moderation.
ReplyDeleteOur center used to have a program where pregnant teens came in and worked under our supervision with infants. Many of these girls were under 18 years old. I wonder how many of them struggled to understand all their doctor's instructions, especially since they came from backgrounds where their medical care would have been provided through state health insurance such as medicaid. Often, these girls are seen in clinics, which tend to be very busy. First time mothers of older ages though have expressed to me that they weren't given certain advice because the doctor assumed that at their age it was a given that the mother knew these things. All first time mothers, and mothers in high risk pregnancies, need a supportive relationship with those that provide their medical care to have a successful pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your son brings you much joy! Considering the amount of iced tea I drank from the age of 2 years old, I am here to say that caffeine isn't the worst thing you can give your child. Yes, I am addicted to caffeine (tried to quit once, oh, that was a bad idea!); but I have been able to reduce my need for caffeine.
Wow! Great story about your pregnancy and birth of your son! I realize that caffeine isn't the worst thing that you could have given your son, but it's amazing how is does affect the development of a fetus and infant. One of my coworkers was telling me about the pregnancy of her daughter and how active Ashlyn was in the womb. She couldn't quite figure out why. Then it dawned on her, too, that caffeine was probably causing the hyper activity. She admitted she drank more caffeine with Ashlyn than with the other 2 pregnancies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness, what an eventful labor and delivery you had. I never would have considered that drinking caffeine would have that much of an affect on a growing fetus. I learned something new from your post. Also in labor for 14 hours??? How did you manage? I was very blessed, most of my labor I was sleep lol. I enjoyed reading you post.
ReplyDeleteJeannette,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a great personal story and some myths from around the world. I think the biggest debate one can have is around every belief in pregnancy that does not have a scientific explanation to it. However, pregnancy is such an important experience and parents love the child in the mother so dearly that they would not want to leave anything to pure logic. A large emotional piece goes with every decision to do something or not during pregnancy and reading those various international perspectives was great.
Divya