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Series Code: DIV
Program Code: DIV000006A
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00:21 Creation or Evolution, Design or Random Chance.
00:26 They say it all began with a "Big Bang". 00:31 But when we look at the amazing human body, 00:33 the answer is obvious. 00:36 The complexity of the design exceeds anything man has 00:39 ever made. The body, could have only been designed 00:43 by the "Master Designer", we read about in the Bible. 01:05 Hello, I'm Patti Barnes, 01:06 Director of the Midwifery Program at Hartland College. 01:09 In this segment, we are going to discuss the importance 01:13 of prenatal care. 01:14 Prenatal, also called Antepartum is a period of the time 01:19 the baby is developing in the womb prior to birth. 01:22 Several studies have revealed the importance of mothers 01:26 of teen prenatal checkups early on in pregnancy. 01:30 It has been found that proper and early prenatal care 01:33 can help reduce high risk situations, 01:37 and bad outcomes such as: 01:50 These are just a few, but you can see from these 01:52 that there is certainly value in good prenatal care. 01:55 According to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, 01:58 mothers that fail to receive prenatal care, 02:01 are three times more likely to have low birth weight babies, 02:05 and the chances of their babies dying is increased 02:09 by five times. Child Health USA reports that babies born 02:14 with a birth weight under five and a half pounds, 02:17 and especially a very low birth weight of less than 02:21 three and a quarter pounds are more likely than infants 02:25 of normal weight to die in the first year of life, 02:28 and to experience long range physical and developmental 02:33 health problems. 02:34 These are terrible, yet often avoidable outcomes, 02:38 and it isn't just the physical health we should be 02:41 concerned about. 02:42 In the book Mind, Character, and Personality, 02:46 Volume 1 we read: 03:14 Ok, so when should prenatal care begin? 03:16 The answer is surprisingly enough before pregnancy 03:20 even begins. 03:22 In the book Education, page 276, we find this 03:25 very important council: 03:50 Young people, we cannot stress enough, that you take this 03:56 responsibility seriously, it can make a great difference 04:00 in your lives and the lives of your offspring. 04:03 How sad is it today, that few people understand 04:07 these principles. I like to think of prenatal care 04:11 as the assessment of a mother's: 04:17 needs, and ways of providing for 04:18 those needs. The first visit with your healthcare provider, 04:22 should take place as early as possible in the 04:25 first trimester of pregnancy. 04:27 The gestational period is basically divided into three 04:30 major time periods called: 04:34 Which roughly breaks down as follows: 04:49 At the first prenatal visit, your healthcare provider 04:52 should determine your estimated due date. 04:54 Then go over the health or medical history of you 04:57 and your family. 04:58 Review previous pregnancies if any. 05:01 Evaluate possible risk factors. 05:03 In addition, lab tests are done, including: 05:06 Which checks for the iron level, to rule out anemia. 05:10 Which is your blood type. 05:14 To certain conditions like: 05:23 Then a complete physical exam should be done. 05:26 After the first visit, regular prenatals should be done 05:30 every month until 28 weeks, then every two weeks 05:34 until 36 weeks, increasing to every week up until delivery, 05:40 now, more visits may be needed in high risk cases. 05:44 For subsequent visits, I like to use the acronym, "CHECKUP". 05:53 Edema, that's checking for swelling. 05:55 Checking the urine. 06:06 Let's start with checking the mother's weight. 06:08 It will be important to monitor the weight gain at each visit. 06:12 Why is this important? 06:14 Generally speaking, a healthy mother, will gain roughly 06:18 around 20 to 32 lbs. during pregnancy. 06:22 This can vary according to pre-pregnancy weight. 06:25 One who begins under weight, should gain more during 06:28 pregnancy than one who begins overweight. 06:31 On the average a mother might gain four pounds or less 06:35 the first trimester, and about one pound per week 06:38 through the remainder of the pregnancy. 06:40 If significant weight gain takes place, 06:44 there is a higher risk of gestational diabetes 06:47 or oversize baby, which could lead to birthing difficulties. 06:51 Weight loss could lead to an underweight baby, 06:55 and then higher risk of infant mortality. 06:58 By monitoring the weight gain, the mother's diet, and lifestyle 07:03 can be adjusted to meet the circumstances. 07:06 Let's see where the normal weight gain comes from. 07:37 So we get the sum of 20- 32 Lbs. 07:39 I once had a client that was very overweight for pregnancy, 07:44 along with my backup doctor, we worked with her diet, 07:46 eliminating junk foods, but imp- lementing good wholesome foods. 07:52 At delivery, she had a net gain of a mere 3 lbs. 07:56 The baby was born a healthy seven and a half pounds. 07:59 Subtract that extra weight for the: 08:04 and you can see, she actually lost some body weight. 08:08 Another client who began her pregnancy slightly underweight, 08:11 was determined to maintain a two meal a day diet 08:15 even though I counseled her to eat a third meal 08:19 during pregnancy. The baby was born in the hospital 08:23 weighing only five pounds. 08:25 Such slight weight gain may mean that quantity or quality 08:30 of the food is insufficient to supply both 08:33 the mother and the baby. 08:35 The next item on the check-up list is her: 08:38 and pulse rate. 08:40 The normal blood pressure is around 120/70, 08:45 high blood pressure is said to be anything above 140/90, 08:49 If high blood pressure continues too long, Preeclampsia, 08:54 also known as Toxemia, can develop. 08:57 a condition that can lead to organ damage in the mother. 09:00 If the Preeclampsia is unchecked, it could lead to 09:05 seizures, and a condition called Eclampsia, 09:08 this can be fatal. 09:11 Some signs of Preeclampsia are protein in the urine, 09:14 headaches, swelling in the face, hands, and feet, 09:18 also referred to as Edema, which is the next item 09:24 in our checkup acronym. 09:25 So how do we help prevent this condition? 09:29 The first thing to consider is the elimination of 09:32 certain things from the diet including pork, caffeine, 09:37 and other stimulants. Fried and fatty foods, 09:40 spicy foods, sugar and sugar substitutes. 09:45 But adding good things like fresh fruits and vegetables, 09:49 proper protein balance, fresh lemon in the place of vinegar, 09:53 garlic, parsley, onions, and cucumbers, proper hydration. 09:59 Now we come to Chemstrip Urinalysis, 10:02 at each visit the urine should be analyzed to detect 10:05 indicators of possible problems. 10:07 For example, the presence of Glucose in the urine can be 10:11 an indicator of Diabetes. 10:12 Protein presence can be an indicator of 10:16 Preeclampsic conditions. 10:17 Blood in the urine may be a sign of anemia. 10:21 Or Leukocytes, which is white blood cells, may be the result 10:25 of fighting off a Urinary Tract Infection. 10:27 So you can see the values in having these Chemstrip Tests 10:32 done. Next on the list is Kicking and Fetal Movement. 10:35 Around seventeen weeks is when you might start noticing 10:39 your baby move, and by twenty weeks, 10:41 it should be quite noticeable. 10:43 As the baby grows, you will begin to pick up his regular 10:48 pattern of movement. 10:49 There can be anywhere between ten to one hundred movements 10:53 within a three hour period. Watch for any marked deviation 10:58 from what your baby is used to doing. 11:01 Now we come to the uterus size. At each prenatal session, 11:06 the doctor or midwife will measure what they call the 11:10 Fundal Height to assure that the baby is growing. 11:13 This is the distance between the top of the pubic bone 11:17 which is called the "Symphysis Pubis" 11:19 to the top of the Uterus, or Fundus. 11:22 The Uterus normally grows 1CM/week, 11:26 meaning that at 28 weeks, the uterus should be around 11:30 28 centimeters, or at 32 weeks, it should measure around 11:35 32 centimeters and so forth. 11:37 If the measurement is significantly greater than 11:41 expected, maybe you have twins. 11:45 Finally we come to Palpation and Fetal Heart Tones. 11:48 Palpating, is simply feeling with your hands 11:52 how the baby is positioned, which comes with practice. 11:56 A common technique used by midwives is called 11:59 Leopold's Maneuver. 12:01 A systematic way of palpating the mother's abdomen. 12:05 The fetal heart tones are also checked confirming the position 12:08 of the baby. A Doppler is commonly used to pick up 12:12 the heart tones of the baby starting at around 12:14 eight to twelve weeks. A Fetal Doppler is simply a hand held 12:19 device that aids in detecting the heart tones and simulating 12:23 them as an audible level so they can be heard by everyone 12:27 in the room. The baby's heart rate should be 12:31 anywhere from 120 to 160 beats per minute. 12:34 In addition to the physical benefits of prenatal care, 12:38 there are also spiritual and emotional benefits. 12:41 A mother may be encouraged from the word of God 12:44 and prayer support. 12:46 I once had a client come to me explaining that she was scared 12:50 because the first birth had been a terrible experience. 12:52 As she went into transition, she found herself completely 12:57 unprepared, not knowing what was going on inside of her. 13:01 Panic set in, all she could think of was escaping the birth 13:08 and the hospital. She climbed out of bed and started 13:12 streaking down the hall, with the doctors and nurses 13:15 chasing her. After that experience, she was terrified 13:18 to have another baby, and mortified to think 13:21 she would have to face that hospital staff again. 13:24 I worked with her, giving her childbirth classes, 13:27 and also encouraging her spiritually, 13:30 I had them cultivate and atmosphere of praise 13:34 by singing and playing scripture songs, 13:37 hymns and peaceful music. 13:39 When delivery time arrived, she was an entirely different 13:43 woman, she had one of the most peaceful births that 13:46 I can remember. Not only was she calm and in perfect control, 13:51 but the delivery was smooth and simple. 13:55 In Isaiah 26: 3,4 we read. 14:10 Let Him be your strength today. 14:13 Join me next time for more of Divine Design. |
Revised 2016-09-06