TALKING ABOUT HEALTH
OUR FAMILY DOCTOR AVERTED MISCARRIAGE
Her husband telephoned me and gave a sensible and clear message. Half an hour later he showed me up to the bedroom where his young wife was waiting for me.
I had seen her only a week before- and confirmed. to her delight, that she was about ten weeks pregnant.
"I got a bit of backache during the night," she told me. "Not real pain but enough discomfort to wake me. I didn't get out of bed."
In the morning she got up and started losing a little blood. So she had gone straight back to bed.
There was only the one pad. This gave me an idea how much blood she'd lost. In fact the loss was only slight.
I took her pulse and made a note of it, and the time. A pulse taken every half-hour can be a sensitive indicator if real trouble is developing. It was only a little quicker than normal.
Her temperature, too, was normal.
I examined her abdomen carefully but there was nothing abnormal.
Things were not bad. This was only the earliest stage of a threatened miscarriage.
"I think it's going to be all right," I assured her, "but you will have to rest completely for at least a week. That means you'll need waiting on. Can you arrange that?"
She soon sorted this out. Her mother would move in with her.
I gave her an injection to help the womb rest and make her drowsy.
I left a prescription to be taken every six hours. It was a simple sedative to keep her relaxed.
"If there's any pain at all, any increase in the bleeding or any change in your present state, let me know."
Then I raised the foot of her bed a few inches.
She was very good, and she was lucky. The bleeding slowed down steadily and had stopped long before the next morning when I saw her again. I kept her in bed for a full week but reduced each day the dose of the sedative tablets.
After ten days she was fine.
"Take it easy even so," I told her. "No streching or lifting heavy weights. No washing and ironing for at least another fortnight.
"Don't worry," I told her. "There’s no reason why this should have any effect on the baby."
Things worked out just as I anticipated, for at the right time I helped into the world a perfectly healthy 7 lb. boy. Dr. MERIDITH.
OUR FAMILY DOCTOR AVERTED MISCARRIAGE
Her husband telephoned me and gave a sensible and clear message. Half an hour later he showed me up to the bedroom where his young wife was waiting for me.
I had seen her only a week before- and confirmed. to her delight, that she was about ten weeks pregnant.
"I got a bit of backache during the night," she told me. "Not real pain but enough discomfort to wake me. I didn't get out of bed."
In the morning she got up and started losing a little blood. So she had gone straight back to bed.
There was only the one pad. This gave me an idea how much blood she'd lost. In fact the loss was only slight.
I took her pulse and made a note of it, and the time. A pulse taken every half-hour can be a sensitive indicator if real trouble is developing. It was only a little quicker than normal.
Her temperature, too, was normal.
I examined her abdomen carefully but there was nothing abnormal.
Things were not bad. This was only the earliest stage of a threatened miscarriage.
"I think it's going to be all right," I assured her, "but you will have to rest completely for at least a week. That means you'll need waiting on. Can you arrange that?"
She soon sorted this out. Her mother would move in with her.
I gave her an injection to help the womb rest and make her drowsy.
I left a prescription to be taken every six hours. It was a simple sedative to keep her relaxed.
"If there's any pain at all, any increase in the bleeding or any change in your present state, let me know."
Then I raised the foot of her bed a few inches.
She was very good, and she was lucky. The bleeding slowed down steadily and had stopped long before the next morning when I saw her again. I kept her in bed for a full week but reduced each day the dose of the sedative tablets.
After ten days she was fine.
"Take it easy even so," I told her. "No streching or lifting heavy weights. No washing and ironing for at least another fortnight.
"Don't worry," I told her. "There’s no reason why this should have any effect on the baby."
Things worked out just as I anticipated, for at the right time I helped into the world a perfectly healthy 7 lb. boy. Dr. MERIDITH.
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Dr.
Meridith writes on your health in pregnancy in the December issue of
MOTHER, the magazine for modern parents. On sale Thursday, November 26.
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Babies are quick to catch a mother's peace and happiness
A diminished breast supply needn't always mean early weaning.
Babies are quick to catch a mother's peace and happiness
A diminished breast supply needn't always mean early weaning.
THE foundation of successful breast feeding is laid during the first few days of a baby's life. This is when he learns to suck and his mother learns how to hold him correctly, and how to guide her nipple downwards into his mouth, so that he is able to feed easily.
She learns how to support her breast so that his nose is not buried. And to de-burp him during and after feeds, and know when he's satisfied.
But in spite of this good beginning, there are times when a fit and happy mother, with an abundance of milk, turns suddenly into a tired and irritable girl, struggling to pacify a crying baby on a totally inadequate breast supply.
Usually the trouble is that the young mother tries to be too unselfish. At this stage, she doesn't realize that looking after herself is just plain common sense.
Vicious circle
So she crams far too much house work into her tightly packed schedule. She skips meals, too, making do with a sandwich in order to get through her day's work.
The result is tiredness and a diminished breast supply. So now the need to try to comfort a miserable and crying baby is added to her already over full programme. And a vicious circle is set up.
She worries over hr baby. Nothing reduces the supply of breast milk more effectively than worry. So the more anxiously she tries to pacify her child, the less milk she produces.
This is a situation which many a young mother is up against. It's the point at which she is sorely tempted to give up breast feeding and put her baby on the bottle. Yet it's an infinite pity to do so at this early stage. In most cases a little reorganization will restore energy, a satisfactory breast supply and, too, the contentment of mother and baby.
First, she must get more rest. So housework must be cut to bare essentials to allow for twenty minutes' rest mid-morning. And she should have at least half an hour following the 2 p.m. feed with legs up, completely relaxed. After the last feed of the day the rule is straight into a warm bed.
The young mother needs sensible meals, too. A special diet isn't necessary. But plenty of protein foods are essential. Fresh food, too fruit, green vegetables and salads. And extra fluid a glass of' water before and after every feed is a wise rule.
The breasts always need regular stimulation if the supply of milk is to be maintained. Once the crisis is over and it's back to normal, baby takes care of this by feeding from his mother at regular intervals. But till then, a little extra stimulation is needed. This is best given by means of bathing the breasts twice daily. First with hot water and then with cold. After which they should be dried with a rough towel, then gently massaged with greased fingers towards the nipple.
Above all, the young mother must persuade herself to relax mentally; She must refuse to worry. Instead, she should accept this state of affairs as a passing phase. - And quietly persevere, topping up the breast feeds with a little milk mixture when it is necessary. . .
Almost certainly, her reward will be a plentiful milk supply and a baby who has " caught" her renewed happiness and peace, as babies will. JOAN WILLIAMS, S.R.N., S.C.M.
She learns how to support her breast so that his nose is not buried. And to de-burp him during and after feeds, and know when he's satisfied.
But in spite of this good beginning, there are times when a fit and happy mother, with an abundance of milk, turns suddenly into a tired and irritable girl, struggling to pacify a crying baby on a totally inadequate breast supply.
Usually the trouble is that the young mother tries to be too unselfish. At this stage, she doesn't realize that looking after herself is just plain common sense.
Vicious circle
So she crams far too much house work into her tightly packed schedule. She skips meals, too, making do with a sandwich in order to get through her day's work.
The result is tiredness and a diminished breast supply. So now the need to try to comfort a miserable and crying baby is added to her already over full programme. And a vicious circle is set up.
She worries over hr baby. Nothing reduces the supply of breast milk more effectively than worry. So the more anxiously she tries to pacify her child, the less milk she produces.
This is a situation which many a young mother is up against. It's the point at which she is sorely tempted to give up breast feeding and put her baby on the bottle. Yet it's an infinite pity to do so at this early stage. In most cases a little reorganization will restore energy, a satisfactory breast supply and, too, the contentment of mother and baby.
First, she must get more rest. So housework must be cut to bare essentials to allow for twenty minutes' rest mid-morning. And she should have at least half an hour following the 2 p.m. feed with legs up, completely relaxed. After the last feed of the day the rule is straight into a warm bed.
The young mother needs sensible meals, too. A special diet isn't necessary. But plenty of protein foods are essential. Fresh food, too fruit, green vegetables and salads. And extra fluid a glass of' water before and after every feed is a wise rule.
The breasts always need regular stimulation if the supply of milk is to be maintained. Once the crisis is over and it's back to normal, baby takes care of this by feeding from his mother at regular intervals. But till then, a little extra stimulation is needed. This is best given by means of bathing the breasts twice daily. First with hot water and then with cold. After which they should be dried with a rough towel, then gently massaged with greased fingers towards the nipple.
Above all, the young mother must persuade herself to relax mentally; She must refuse to worry. Instead, she should accept this state of affairs as a passing phase. - And quietly persevere, topping up the breast feeds with a little milk mixture when it is necessary. . .
Almost certainly, her reward will be a plentiful milk supply and a baby who has " caught" her renewed happiness and peace, as babies will. JOAN WILLIAMS, S.R.N., S.C.M.
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for expectant mothers STRETCH MARKS
As the womb enlarges during pregnancy, the skin of the abdomen stretches and unless its very supple, stretch marks will result. These blueish pink marks are really scars. And they're caused by rupturing of the dermis, the second or deeper layer of the skin.
The top layer, the epidermis, is none the worse for stretching. There's only one way of preventing stretch marks. That is to make the abdominal skin so supple it will stretch without rupturing, by massaging olive oil or lanolin cream into the tummy and thighs.
It must be done daily right from the beginning of pregnancy. For no treatment will banish existing stretch marks. Though in time they'll fade, until only hardly noticeable silvery marks are left.
As the womb enlarges during pregnancy, the skin of the abdomen stretches and unless its very supple, stretch marks will result. These blueish pink marks are really scars. And they're caused by rupturing of the dermis, the second or deeper layer of the skin.
The top layer, the epidermis, is none the worse for stretching. There's only one way of preventing stretch marks. That is to make the abdominal skin so supple it will stretch without rupturing, by massaging olive oil or lanolin cream into the tummy and thighs.
It must be done daily right from the beginning of pregnancy. For no treatment will banish existing stretch marks. Though in time they'll fade, until only hardly noticeable silvery marks are left.
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* NEXT WEEK: Post-bag problems
* NEXT WEEK: Post-bag problems
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