I usually don't use my blog as a forum, mostly just a super delayed update of our lives. :) However, we have been learning OB/GYN in school recently and I've learned a lot of things that I think anyone getting ready to have a baby should know. Actually, mostly just one thing.
GO SEE THE OB BEFORE YOU GET PREGNANT!
The main theme for our lectures has been that there are a lot of problems that can occur in pregnancy, but tons of them are also preventable. However, it gets tricky to fix these problems after you're pregnant. For example, let's imagine you find out after you're pregnant that you're actually not immune to Rubella, despite having the vaccine as a kid (it can happen). So you need the vaccine... EXCEPT you can't get it after you're pregnant. So now your baby has a 1/4 chance of really serious birth defects if you were to catch rubella. The same goes for a bunch of other diseases that cause congenital defects. There's a blood panel that your doctor can draw to find out if you are protected against the main offenders. This concept holds for any other health problems that you might have. Everything is easier to fix pre-pregnancy.
Another fun fact you might not have known: start taking prenatal vitamins a few months before you're pregnant, especially folic acid. By the time most people start taking them, it's already too late. You need to have an excess beforehand in order for it to be beneficial for your baby.
I definitely don't claim to be an expert on pregnancy, but I thought these were two things that I never really considered, but that could be important. Better safe than sorry, right?
I promise to post Christmas details/pictures sometime in the near-ish future. We are going to Orlando this weekend to see the fam (especially new baby Eliza) and attend a wedding of a good childhood friend. We are excited!
GO SEE THE OB BEFORE YOU GET PREGNANT!
The main theme for our lectures has been that there are a lot of problems that can occur in pregnancy, but tons of them are also preventable. However, it gets tricky to fix these problems after you're pregnant. For example, let's imagine you find out after you're pregnant that you're actually not immune to Rubella, despite having the vaccine as a kid (it can happen). So you need the vaccine... EXCEPT you can't get it after you're pregnant. So now your baby has a 1/4 chance of really serious birth defects if you were to catch rubella. The same goes for a bunch of other diseases that cause congenital defects. There's a blood panel that your doctor can draw to find out if you are protected against the main offenders. This concept holds for any other health problems that you might have. Everything is easier to fix pre-pregnancy.
Another fun fact you might not have known: start taking prenatal vitamins a few months before you're pregnant, especially folic acid. By the time most people start taking them, it's already too late. You need to have an excess beforehand in order for it to be beneficial for your baby.
I definitely don't claim to be an expert on pregnancy, but I thought these were two things that I never really considered, but that could be important. Better safe than sorry, right?
I promise to post Christmas details/pictures sometime in the near-ish future. We are going to Orlando this weekend to see the fam (especially new baby Eliza) and attend a wedding of a good childhood friend. We are excited!
I'm soooo jealous! I can't wait to see Eliza. Haha, I was actually jealous of my son who got to see her before I did, and he probably didn't even know who she was! Give her a hug and kiss for me!
ReplyDeleteOoo, something I heard that I am doing, is never stop taking prenatals until you are done having kids. Take them through breastfeeding and take them as a multi-vitamin even after. You never know...