You have it all planned out. You are going to have this baby naturally. No pain relief for you-you laugh at the thought. You tell your husband, no matter what I say, DO NOT let me get any pain medication. Then labor hits-you have been in labor for 12 hours and only at 4 centimeters dilated and the pain is not like any pain you have felt in your life. You beg your husband, nurse, and anyone else that will stop long enough to listen for some relief. They give you pain medication and you are able to enjoy the rest of your labor. But what about your birthing plan? What about not using any medication? Did that just make you less of a woman? In one word-no.

There is nothing wrong with using pain medications during labor and childbirth. They can help give you relief and allow you to relax and dilate more quickly and help make the whole childbirth experience wonderful. Before going into labor, you should know all your pain medication options and discuss them with your husband and have a plan ready for if and when you decide to use pain medication.

The various types of pain medication for childbirth are:
Demerol or Nubain and Stadol: they are given in an IV or injection and start working within the 15 minutes and provide relief for 2-4 hours.

Nitrous oxide or other inhaled analgesics: They are a mix of oxygen and gas that is inhaled through a face mask as you need it.

Epidural: A narcotic or anesthetic that is injected into the space between the sheath surrounding the spinal cord and the bony vertebrae of the spine. It numbs you from the waist down, providing complete relief in 85% of women, pain relief in 12% and no relief in 3%. It usually takes effect within 15-20 minutes.

Spinal: It?s injected into the spinal fluid in your lower back. A spinal numbs your from the waist to your knees. Takes around 3-4 minutes to take effect and you may have to lie flat on your back for several hours after delivery to avoid a post spinal headache (although with medical advances, this complication is becoming rarer).

Paracervical block: Is a local anesthetic that is inserted into the tissues around the cervix to numb the pain caused by dilation.

Pudendal block: An anesthetic that is injected into the nerves of the vaginal area and perineum. A pudendal block does not ease uterine discomfort.

Caudal block: Is an anesthetic that is injected into the spinal area around the sacrum, numbing the vaginal area and perineum.

Local anesthetic: It is injected into the tissues of the perineum in preparation for episiotomy or is given prior to placing sutures after delivery.

When you hit between 35 and 37 weeks of pregnancy; your doctor will perform a test on you called Group B streptococcus screening. Your doctor will either do a vaginal or rectal swab to try and detect if the group B strep bacteria is present. Even though the mother is usually without symptom of the bacterium even being present; in the newborn, it is quite a different story. If left undetected; the group B strep bacteria can cause life-threatening infections in newborns and also can cause mental retardation, impaired vision, and hearing loss. The group B strep can be found in nearly 30% of healthy women. If the culture comes back negative; then you have no worries and nothing needs to be done. You can have a successful and normal natural delivery. But, if the bacterium is found to be present, you will be given antibiotics (usually penicillin or other antibiotic if allergic to penicillin) during labor and then the baby will be able to be delivered naturally.

With all the news headlines and FDA warnings regarding over-the-counter medications; OTCsafety.org is a wonderful resource for parents, parents to be, seniors and even healthcare professionals. OTCsafety.org goal is to help families safely and effectively use OTC medications. OTCsafety.org shows you recommendations for dosing over-the-counter medicine for children, pregnant and nursing moms, and seniors. OTCsafety.org is a wonderful site that is backed by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA). It has many resources and tips for safe dosing for children for every kind of medication ranging from allergies to upset stomach. It also has a section for reading and understanding the labels for OTC products; free downloads for you to keep to refer to when your child is sick so you know how to safely dose them.

This site has information for every symptom and every over-the-counter medication you could possibly use. Even though they are not affiliated with OTCsafety.org; they have also included a resource section on their site so that you can click on other healthcare resource links to help answer any other possible questions you may have. I have saved this site in my favorites and I highly recommend this site to every parent and every parent to be. This site contains valuable resources for safely treating you and your child with over-the-counter medications.

January is Birth Defects Prevention Month. Birth Defect prevention is not just something that should be thought about just in January or just something a woman is concerned about when she is pregnant. Birth defect prevention begins with taking folic acid. Folic acid is not just something a woman should take while she is pregnant; folic acid should be taken months before even thinking of conceiving a child. About half of all pregnancies are unplanned pregnancies; so sexually active women should also pay critical attention to their diet and take a multivitamin daily that contains folic acid and they should also consume folic acid-rich foods every day to also help prevent against birth defects, too.

March of Dimes recommends and urges that all women of childbearing age should consume 400 micrograms of folic acid each day beginning before pregnancy and continuing into the early months of pregnancy. Daily multivitamins are not the only way to get the folic acid you need. As a matter of fact, the FDA has now required that all flour products, such as breads, bagels and buns be fortified with extra folic acid. Other natural sources of folic acid include: green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans and citrus fruits and many breakfast cereals are now fortified.

Folic acid consumption before pregnancy is crucial because birth defects of the brain and spine known as neural tube defects (NTDs), such as spina bifida, can occur in the very early weeks following conception, often even before a woman knows she?s pregnant. In an effort to promote awareness and increased consumption of folic acid among women in their childbearing years, the March of Dimes and the Grain Foods Foundation have created a new Folic Acid for a Healthy Pregnancy seal that will be featured on select products to help women quickly and easily identify grain products that are enriched with folic acid. Folic acid has no known toxic level. You cannot consume too much folic acid and pose a health risk to you or your unborn child. With consuming the recommended daily dose before and during pregnancy; there will be hopefully more healthy babies born each and every year. For more information, you can contact www.marchofdimes.com, www.nacersano.org or www.grainpower.org.

When you think of head lice-you never think that you or your child could get it. ?I wash their hair everyday, there?s no way they could have it!? you say. But the reality is that head lice love clean hair and that anyone can get them. Head lice do not discriminate against dirty or clean, rich or poor, girl or boy, young or old. Head lice are easily spread from person to person through close contact or shared hats, brushes, combs, scarves and clothes.

The most common sign of lice is itching. People with head lice usually cannot stop itching and scratching their head. Head lice may not cause symptoms at first-itching of the scalp may start a few weeks or even a few months after lice have spread. Lice live off human blood and as they bite, it causes a reaction in the skin that makes it itch. Over-scratching of the skin makes the skin raw and the raw skin may ooze and crust over and possibly get infected. Lice can generally be treated by using an over-the-counter shampoo, which usually takes more than one treatment to work and kill the lice; then you may need to contact your physician to prescribe a pill called ivermectin. It is also extremely important to wash clothing, bedding, brushes, combs, and hair ties in hot water to help make sure that all the eggs are dead. There are no home remedies to cure lice; the only using nonprescription shampoos or presricption medicines can get rid of lice.

It is important to treat lice as soon as possible and as directed. Lice will not go away on their own and if left alone could cause serious health problems. If at any time you are in doubt of whether you or your child has lice or how to treat it; please contact your healthcare professional.

What is it about being pregnant means that every stranger, family member or friend you come in contact with has to touch your pregnant belly? What is it about it? Is there a magnetic field in the uterus that automatically draws their hand there? Sometimes you don’t mind it. Sometimes having someone touch the miracle you’re growing is welcome; but with pregnancy hormones being what they are-there are times when you would just like to slap them for even attempting to touch.

It’s not only that they touch it without invitation; but they have the nerve to say, ‘Your belly is getting so big!’ ‘Yes, I know my belly is getting so big. I am creating a life. What productive thing have you done today?’ you think in the back of your mind, but instead, you just shrug it off and simply mutter an unsuccessfully cheerful, ‘Thank you.’ As you walk away, you try to psych yourself back up telling yourself that it is all baby weight and you are really not big-you’re a mom under construction and soon the pounds will just fall off.

How do you stop this epidemic of unwanted baby-belly-touchers? I have seen creative little shirts trying to help give the hint; but that doesn’t mean that they will read it or that they will even get the hint. How can you get others to respect you and your privacy and leave your baby-bump alone? Just flat out tell them NO! But you can try to phrase it tactful and respectful so you don’t hurt their feelings. You can say something like, ‘Please, excuse me, but I just do not feel like being touched at the moment.’ Hopefully they will get the hint and just move along and resist the urge to touch. If they don’t-you can always forget the nice, tactful approach and just tell them do not touch and I’ll bet they will think twice before reaching over and copping an uninvited feel.

It?s 2 a.m.; you wake up with your stomach as hard as a rock. It releases, but does it again a few minutes later. It?s 2:05 a.m. and you?ve had two contractions. Could this be it? Could you be in labor? You?ve had two more contractions and it?s now 2:30. Worried that this could be it; you wake your husband up. Sleepily, he suggests waiting an hour before calling the doctor and he goes and gets you a glass of water. You drink the glass of water and roll over to your left side and wait. After consuming the water and relaxing-your contractions have subsided. This wasn?t it-you weren?t in labor. It was a ?false alarm?.

So how do you know what is ?true labor? or ?false labor?? According to healthcare professionals, ?true labor? shows these certain characteristics:

The contractions should come at regular intervals. You should not have 2 a few minutes apart and then go 15 minutes before having another. As time passes; the contractions should get closer together.

The contractions should continue whether you stay in the same position, lay on your left side or getting up and walking around.

The contractions should get increasingly stronger. With each contraction; they should hurt just a bit more than the last.

The contractions most likely start in the lower back or thighs then move to your abdomen. True labor often symptoms pain in more than just the front of you stomach.

Other true labor symptoms include: Pressure in the pelvic or vaginal region; menstrual-like cramping; any bleeding; loss of fluid (could feel like a gush or a trickle); or flu-like symptoms (nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea)

?False? labor characteristics often include:

Irregular contractions; when you walk around or change position-they stop or become more infrequent.

The contractions get weaker and do not gain any strength. They may start out strong; but as they continue-they weaken.

?False? labor contractions are usually only felt in the front of your abdomen and usually do not move into your back or thigh regions.

With ?false? labor contractions; you really do not need to take any action. Just try to relax or drink some water or juice; grab a healthy snack or take a walk. They should usually cease upon doing one of these actions. But if at anytime you are in doubt of whether it is ?true? or ?false? labor; be sure to contract your healthcare professional. It?s always better to be over-cautious.

Albuquerque News has reported that a 6-year-old Gypsum, Colorado boy died Saturday night after a television set fell over and killed him. The boy had been climbing up trying to reach for ice skates when the incident occurred. Both parents were at home; although there was nothing they could do to save their son.

My kids are mischievous–always trying something when they think we’re not looking. I could easily see my son doing this exact same thing. He is my little dare-devil; always jumping off stuff and climbing up things. So, I started looking for ways to best secure our television. When I first started looking on the internet; I found many mounting kits for the new flat-screen televisions. I haven’t made it to the new flat-screen age yet, so I begin to dig deeper for mounting sets for the more standard models. I was truly, truly amazed at what I had found.

There is quite a wide variety of television mounting solutions. They have ceiling mounts, wall mounts, swivel and cabinet mounts, pole mounts, truss mounts, and wall and ceiling plates. They even have VCR and DVD mounts to help keep them secure also. I believe that I would go with the swivel mount for our television and am quite pleased with the price as it is pretty reasonable–and most models include free shipping! Also on this particular site I was on; they have the instructions right with the view of the product and I could see how to install it and it seemed simple enough that I can do it on my own instead of needing a degree in engineering to try and figure it out. Free shipping and easy to follow instructions are a major plus for me so I believe that I will order from them.

I thought that since my kids are now 8 and 6; that I wouldn’t have to really worry about ‘baby-proofing’ or securing things down in our house anymore for them (but when our new baby comes in February, everything will have to nailed down or put up on high shelves all over again)-but I guess it just goes to show that you never know what hidden dangers are lurking right in your own living room.