Since you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you are about to join the ranks of parenthood. And that’s probably a good way to say it: “join the ranks of parenthood”. It is difficult to explain the feelings of parenthood to those who have never experienced it. However, it is evident very early in parenthood that one has joined a very unique club. A club whose membership hangs on the successes and failures, ups and downs, pain and pleasures of their offspring.
Your Body During the Puerperium, the Postpartum Period
The “puerperium” refers to both the period of time and the process that your body goes through after the birth of your baby. Technically, it begins with the delivery of the placenta. With the loss of that organ, so vital to your baby’s intrauterine survival, you lose one of the largest hormone-producing glands your body will ever know. The sudden withdrawal of all those hormones initiates a cascade of profound bodily events.
Story about Heather
Dear Family and Friends,
I feel the need to let you know about something. I flew to Chicago last Wednesday where I met Heather and drove back with her to the West Coast.
We arrived home last nite at about 5:30. After being in the car for 4 days, we were anxious to stretch our legs. Heather suggested we take a quick bike ride before dark. Within an hour we were on our bikes heading to the newly completed “Esplanade” along the river. On the long ramp leading down to the Esplanade (a floating walkway on the east side of downtown) she attempted to jump over a crack. The fork on her bike crumpled. Heather went over the handlebars and landed on the left side of her head. I was about 50 yards ahead, and didn’t know that it had happened until a witness starting screaming at me. I looked back and saw her in a lifeless heap about 100 yards back. She didn’t move that entire time I was riding back to her. She was face down and slightly on her side. Her head was at a strange angle, wedged inward toward her chest and resting on her helmet on the left side. Her left shoulder was contorted inward and appeared dislocated and her right arm was limp. She was breathing with a gurgling sound. I thought she’d broken her neck.
Care of the Uncircumcised Penis
Give the new parents one more thing to worry about…. How do you care for your son’s hygiene if you’ve made the decision not to circumcise? The uninitiated (pun intended) have queasy thoughts about yanking back the foreskin and mining smegma with q-tips at every diaper change…..and years ago that was more or less the advice of the “experts” (many of them, circumcised men). So what’s the current recommendation and the reasoning for it?
Intrauterine Growth Retardation
IUGR is a condition in which the fetus does not grow adequately. IUGR may be associated with diabetes, fetal infection, cigarette smoking, hypertension, drug abuse, toxemia, multiple gestation or may be due to reasons unknown. In any case, the fetus is not receiving adequate nutrition or is unable to make use of the nutrition s/he is receiving. Often with IUGR the placenta is small and may contain infarcts (areas of dead tissue).
Multiple Gestation
Our society is intrigued with the idea of multiple gestation. Although twins and triplets rarely evoke much excitement in a time when quads, quints and even sextuplets seem commonplace, the world loves the thought of siblings who share the same birthday. Thanks to “advancements” in infertility management, the world gets a periodic glimpse at what appears to be a wonder of the natural world……fueled by the talking heads of the nightly news and entertainment programs.
Non-infectious Diseases of the Urinary Tract
Non-infective diseases of the urinary tract include pre-existing damage to the kidneys, hereditary disorders, “stones” and anomalies. Fortunately, most of these conditions are rare in young, pregnant women.