New words- Pregnancy and beyond

When I first found out I was pregnant with baby E, I started binge watching pregnancy related/ birth stories on Youtube for hours and hours. Looking back I realised that through out my pregnancy and birth I learned a lot of new words and terms. In this post I’ll share some of them with you.

 Linea nigra 

Who knew the black line on pregnant women’s tummy has a name.

Gestational diabetes 

This is a form of diabetes that some mothers get during their pregnancy and it usually goes away after delivery. There is glucose tolerance test that all pregnant mothers must undergo between 24-28 weeks of pregnancy. The test is you drinking a sugary drink then getting blood tests and monitoring.

Breech

This is when the baby is not head down. Some women have breech birth whereby the baby doesn’t come out headfirst. During my pregnancy I went for a 3d ultrasound. I was so eager to see baby E’s little face however, to our surprise he wasn’t head down yet. In the coming few weeks he turned. I’m so grateful that he did turn at the right time because the hospital I gave birth in didn’t deliver breech babies.

 Doula

Not to be confused with a midwife or a doctor; a doula’s job is to support the mother during childbirth. She is usually experienced and her role is to ensure a good birthing experience. I personally didn’t have a doula even though I really wished that I did.

 Assisted birth

When there is the need of an intervention during childbirth. These interventions include an induction, forceps and vacuum delivery. There is a need for an assisted birth if it is seen medically necessary such as a concern for the mum or baby.

 Induction

This is when hospital kick starts your birth, it is usually when labour doesn’t start naturally or for health reasons such as gestational diabetes where they rather the child is born sooner than later. There are many methods for inductions such a breaking your water, oxytocin, the balloon.

I had an induction with baby E after hours of my water breaking I didn’t have any signs of contractions we decided to take a drip to start my contractions.

 Episiotomy

This is the incision made during childbirth when it is needed and obstetrician sees it necessary. Not all women undergo an episiotomy during childbirth. Unfortunately with baby E being over 4 kgs my OB had to perform an episiotomy

 Meconium

That’s the baby’s first poo, enough said.

Colostrum

That’s the mummy’s first milk and it is usually yellowish however. It is also your baby’s first food.

Cluster feeding

This is when you are breastfeeding and when your baby’s feedings are close together. When my son was a day old he cluster feed for the whole night.

Mastitis

This is an inflammation because of blocked milk ducts. Sometimes you can end up having fever. You might need a dose of antibiotics to clear it because it is painful.

 Power pumping

When you are trying to increase your breast milk supply using a pump. You pump for 20 minutes then rest for 10 minutes then pump for another 10 minutes then rest for 10 minutes. This gives signals to your body to produce more milk because of the increased pumping. I power pumped when I was breastfeeding my son, in case you missed it here is my breastfeeding story.

 Jaundice

This is caused by bilirubin build-up in the baby’s blood and tissue. It is very common especially in Australia when 6 out of 10 newborns are diagnosed with it. It usually disappears in the first 4 weeks or less of the baby’s life and it is diagnosed through the new born screening test that is routinely done. Some babies might need light therapy to treat the severe jaundice and some babies might not require any treatment.

Colic

When your newborn cries uncontrollably and can’t be soothes. Usually the crying is more than 3 hours in a day. Some say that gripe water helps relief colic in babies above 6 weeks old. I’ve tried gripe water and my son seemed to feel better however, I’m still not certain if he was fussy because of colic or gas.

Reflux

Little ones sometimes have spit ups after a feed when the milk comes backup. Sometimes it is not seen as a big problem and I was advised to not to let my baby lay flat for around 30 minutes after a feed.

How many of these terms did you know before you became pregnant and had your baby?Any new terms I forgot to mention? Share them with me

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