Between reading pregnancy / birthing books and taking classes, I have learned some things about pregnancy and birth that just leave me speechless. The nurse who taught our birthing class said, "I don't know how anyone can do what I do and not believe in God." She gave Him credit for all of the amazing things that happen during pregnancy and birth that can't be attributed to anything other than our amazing Creator. The nurse / lactation consultant who taught the breast-feeding class agreed and mentioned how clever God is to have created our bodies with such care that we (women) are able to provide nourishment for our children and all of the intricacies involved in that. The midwife we saw Friday teared up as she spoke about the miracle of birth, and she's been delivering babies for more than 25 years! She told us that God already knows how our birth will go and reminded us to trust that His way is best. Wow!
These are just a FEW amazing things I've learned that blow my mind.
1. When a baby's lungs finish developing, she releases a hormone that initiates labor in the mother.
2. During labor, a woman's body releases endorphins that are more powerful than morphine.
3. If put on the mother's chest (skin to skin) after a natural (non-medicated) birth, a baby will "crawl" to her breast and initiate feeding within the first 30 minutes to an hour of life.
4. A mother's breast will create the amount of milk her baby requires, however much or little that might be.
5. Amniotic fluid, as well as breast milk, are "flavored" based on what mom has eaten. This introduces the flavors of the house and helps children get used to them from a very early age.
6. Immediately after birth, the mother's chest acts as an incubator. If put skin to skin with her mother a baby begins to learn to regulate her own body temperature. If the baby's temp falls, the mother's will rise. If the baby's temp rises, the mother's will fall. In this way, learning to regulate her temperature can be achieved in 90 minutes. This can also be done with the father if the two are draped together with a blanket. If taken away from the mother (or father's) bare chest within the first 90 minutes, learning to regulate her temperature can take baby up to three days.
How great is our God?!
1 comment:
Isn't it amazing how well moms and babies are designed to work together? I really feel that doctors "mess with" women too much when it comes to birth. In a lot of cases, interventions just make things worse. (Obviously things go wrong sometimes, I'm talking about the vast majority of births...) Remember how I told you they said Claire was "late" when she was actually exactly on time?
You're going to be a great mom. :) See you Wednesday! I have a little surprise for you, I could not resist when I saw it in the store. you'll know why when you see it :D
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