5 fears of future women in labor
Pregnancy is a special period in a woman's life. At this time, changes in the hormonal background take place, which not only affect the work of all organs and systems of the body, but also cause new, unusual emotions. By the time of childbirth, many expectant mothers experience anxiety. Let's talk about those concerns that most often worry women on the eve of childbirth.
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Fetal presentation
Normally, by the 32nd week of pregnancy, the baby stops actively moving in the womb and takes the position most convenient for passing through the birth canal - head down, that is, the so-called cephalic presentation of the fetus is formed. However, it does not follow from this that the child's position will no longer be able to change. If he rolls over again or does not take the correct position at all, the mother is about to give birth with the opposite, breech presentation, that is, legs forward, which happens in about 3-5% of cases.
Some pregnant women begin to panic by the 32nd week of gestation. They are afraid of difficult "abnormal" childbirth, worried about the state of health of the child. But their fears are greatly exaggerated. There are a number of exercises that can be performed to help the fetus in the correct position. Of course, physical activity must be coordinated with the doctor conducting the pregnancy. In addition, most maternity hospitals and clinics employ highly qualified specialists who are able to cope with the situation during childbirth of any complexity.
Braxton - Hicks contractions
Some pregnant women who are carrying a fetus for at least half of the normal period sometimes have a phenomenon called Braxton-Hicks contractions. At such moments, a woman experiences a pulling sensation in the lower abdomen or in the lumbar region. By feeling the abdomen, you can accurately determine the location of the uterus. Each attack lasts about a minute and is not painful. Unpleasant sensations can be repeated several times at intervals of 4-5 hours. Usually Braxton-Hicks contractions go away on their own. It is enough for a woman to lie down for a while or take a warm, relaxing bath for the discomfort to disappear.
For an inexperienced expectant mother, false contractions can be very scary, but there are no real reasons for alarm. The nature of this phenomenon is not fully understood, but it is known for sure that it has nothing to do with the factors provoking premature birth.
The possibility of entwining the fetus with the umbilical cord
The probability of an umbilical cord entanglement of the fetus is quite high: this phenomenon is observed in about 30% of births. However, the risk to the health of the child is exaggerated: with the competent actions of the midwife, the birth of the baby and the entanglement occurs safely.
In most cases, the reason for the anxiety of expectant mothers is attempts to independently evaluate the photographs taken during the ultrasound examination. The fact is that as a result of ultrasound, a flat picture is obtained, according to which even an experienced doctor cannot always determine exactly how the umbilical cord is located. For a woman worried about the health of her baby, an incorrect assessment of such data can cause unreasonable panic.
Gaining excess weight
Towards the end of pregnancy, the expectant mother increasingly feels her body as too bulky, swollen and clumsy. Many pregnant women at this time have a fear of remaining fat after childbirth. Against the background of general anxiety and an inadequate assessment of the situation, there may be a desire to limit oneself in food, the implementation of which is unsafe for the health of the fetus.
A woman needs to understand that it will be much easier to regain her previous figure than to deal with the problems that have arisen due to an ineptly chosen diet. In any case, weight gain during pregnancy occurs in everyone, and the question of whether it is within the normal range can only be decided by a doctor. Therefore, it is much wiser to tell the observing gynecologist about your concerns than to take steps on your own to change the diet.
Error in determining the sex of the child
Many parents express a desire to find out the sex of the future baby long before his birth. As the time of birth approaches, some women start to worry a lot about whether it was done correctly. Of course, in comparison with worries about the successful outcome of pregnancy and about the health of the child, such fear seems insignificant to others. However, it is he who can cause serious psychological discomfort in the expectant mother.
Most accurately (with a probability of 90%), the sex of the fetus can be determined during a routine ultrasound scan, which is performed at the 20-24th week of gestation. An earlier definition (at 12-13 weeks) gives about 50% of errors, and the study, which is carried out at 37 weeks, is generally useless in this sense: the baby is already taking the most convenient position for birth, in which the doctor cannot consider genitals.
Thus, the risk of error in determining the sex of the unborn child is about 10%. Sometimes it is not possible to determine the sex at all, since the fetus "closes" during the ultrasound scan or turns its back to the device. This should be taken calmly: if the baby is long-awaited and loved in advance, his gender is not so important.
An increase in anxiety in a woman going through the last weeks of pregnancy is normal. You need to understand that the expectant mother is not capricious and does not invent her fears: at the heart of her behavior are fatigue, uncertainty about a successful outcome and serious hormonal changes. Therefore, relatives should be especially attentive and benevolent when communicating with her. It is equally important not to show a woman your concern about her condition, to be a support for her, to do everything possible so that she feels the support of others. In this case, she will be able to cope with her anxiety and properly prepare for childbirth.
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Maria Kulkes Medical journalist About the author
Education: First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, specialty "General Medicine".
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