Pregnancy

Your rights

Did you know that whenever you receive health care, your rights are protected? Know your rights: check out the Health & Disability Commissioner Code of Consumer Rights. Here’s the short version, and here’s the long version. If you believe that your rights have not been upheld by a health professional who has been involved in your care, you can make a complaint. In the first instance, if you can, you should talk to the person directly. If you feel that you can’t do that, you can talk to the Health & Disability Commissioner, or, if the health practitioner is a midwife, a useful starting place is the New Zealand College of Midwives’ Resolutions Committee, who will help you decide what steps to take.

Decision making

At various stages of the maternity journey, there are lots and lots of diagnostic and screening tests which are offered. Just because they are offered, it doesn’t mean you have to have them. So how do you decide what’s right for you and what’s not? You can use your BRAIN! Ask: what are the Benefits, Risks, and Alternatives for this?  What does my Intuition have to say? And what would happen if I choose to do Nothing?

Scans in pregnancy

Today there is an expectation that scans are a normal part of pregnancy. Of course, this was not always the way. One woman I met suggested that “if we are meant to see inside, there would be a window in my belly”. While we tend to take the safety of commonly-used technology as a given, scientific evidence does not back this up. Here is some food for thought from Beverly Beech about ultrasounds in pregnancy. Also consider Jim West’s book 50 human studies, in utero, conducted in Modern China, indicate extreme risk for prenatal ultrasound: A new bibliography. As a midwife, I prefer to err on the side of caution, and for this reason I offer to use a pinard instead of a doppler for listening to your baby’s heart sounds, and I do not routinely offer dating scan referrals (that is, there needs to be a good reason).

Support

There are lots of support in the community and online, but how to find the right support at the right time? Here are a few which might be useful:

In Southland

• Natural birth, home birth, birth-pool hire (Invercargill)
• Breastfeeding support – La Leche League or Peer-to-peer counselling or try this comprehensive list of Otago/Southland supports. It’s a great idea to get lots of breastfeeding education before your baby arrives, especially if you never get to see breastfeeding in your usual social circles. Would you expect to easily learn to ride a bike if you had never seen someone else do it?
• Pregnancy Help
• Car seat hire – Plunket or Parent’s Centre or Baby Factory. Child restraint technicians are all around the regions. They can check an existing car seat and advise you what you need to comply with current laws.
• Social support – Awarua or Family Works or 1000 Day Trust or Maternal Mental Health
• Teen and young mother support – Awarua: Mother and Pepi
• Green prescription: Ask your doctor.

New Zealand Nationally

• Home birth Aotearoa
• Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Aotearoa

 

Pregnancy “diagnosis”

There are many ways in which people can tell if a baby is on board. Read Cecile’s story of knowing about her babies’ presences in ““Knowing” the unknowable: pregnancy testing and the gentle art of uncertainty”

Pregnancy discomforts

As ligaments and joints soften in preparation for birthing, it is common for pregnant women to experience discomfort, as the extra weight of the hapuu belly puts pressure on the hips. Belly binding may be helpful to support the body and help with the daily task of getting around. Pregnancy yoga stretches can also be useful for this.

Carpel tunnel syndrome sometimes develops or worsens in pregnancy. For further information and some suggestions for natural remedies which may help, check out this website.