Katharine was very concerned that she might develop eclampsia during labour, which can lead to convulsions or seizures. In fact, as I explained to her, this is a rare condition that is unlikely to occur when pre-eclampsia has been diagnosed. Due to her high blood pressure and the weight of the baby (estimated at about 9 pounds/4kilograms), Katharine agree to be induced when she was two weeks overdue.
THE LABOUR
Although it was long (17 hours), labour went relatively smoothly for Katharine. She was induced at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, and at 1:00 p.m. felt relaxed enough to send her husband Adam to her mother’s for lunch… on the condition that he bring her back some of her favourite cake. Katharine used a TENS machine, which is supposed to stimulate natural painkillers through the transmission of electrical impulses. She was put on it late, however, so she’s not sure whether it helped or not. At midnight, 15 hours later, she asked for an epidural – something she had sworn not to do – and after that everything was all right. At 1:45 A.M. on Tuesday she was given an episiotomy (which she didn’t feel at all), and about ten minutes later forceps were used to pull Natasha out.
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Your baby’s weight, head circumference, and length will be measured to give an indication of her maturity and development. These measurements can be used as a baseline for her future development if necessary. Although routine measurements are inevitably compared to “the average,” don’t worry about this too much. An average is just an arithmetical calculation, so the “average child” is only theoretical and doesn’t exist.
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Because the experience of childbirth is so focused on the mother, it is common for the father to feel neglected or excluded. It is important for father and baby to bond, too: touch, smell, and sound are good ways to do this. If at all possible, her father should hold her against his skin soon after his baby is born; this way his baby will come into contact with his specific smell and over a period of weeks she will learn to associate this with comfort and reassurance. The father should also speak to his child so she will become familiar with his voice.
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For the first three days after your baby’s birth, your breasts produce not milk, but colostrum, a thin, yellow fluid that contains water, protein, sugar, vitamins, minerals, and antibodies for protection against infectious diseases. During her first few weeks of life, colostrum helps protect your baby against infections. To stimulate your breasts to produce milk, you need to feed her frequently; the sucking action of the baby stimulates hormones that, in turn, stimulate milk production. Even if you do not intend to breast-feed, it is a good idea to suckle your baby as soon as she is born, because the colostrum will be beneficial to her and the act of suckling will help you bond with your baby.
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After an initial outburst of crying, you may not be able to hear anything more from your baby because it can be difficult to hear a newborn’s light breathing. In same cases a baby may even stop breathing entirely for a few seconds, but this isn’t abnormal. All babies make strange noises when they breathe – usually a noisy snuffling sound – and their breathing is often irregular.
Your baby’s lungs are still immature, which means her breathing is naturally much shallower than yours or mine. This is nothing to worry about, as her lungs will gradually mature.
