Week 3: Kimberly Kusturin - Pregnancy~Birth~Infancy

Finding out you are pregnant was one of the biggest joys of my life. After the shock subsided, I realized this is it.  I was young and naive.  Not once did it occur to me to be concerned for any of these abnormalities (pg. 57) can happen to me.  I was told I would have a problem conceiving and literally 8 months after those tests, I was pregnant.  I was about 7-8 week when I found out.  I had no symptoms or signs that I was pregnant.  Like I said young and naïve but very scared and excited at the same time.  It really wasn’t till my sister-in-law had her first miscarriage (I was pregnant with my second child), that I became aware of all the bad things that can happen. 

I won’t go in to personal information but my issues began with the fertilization process.  The doctor determined that that was going to possibly become a problem for me (pg. 60-63).  They, thank God, were apparently partly wrong.  I still had the problem but I was not affected by it enough to not be able to become pregnant.  IVF is what was my option.  But this week’s reading and having seen some of these other types of fertility opportunities on tv, I am amazed at how advanced science has become.  A friend of mine had a sister who had issues with conceiving.  My friend gave her sister her eggs that were then fertilized by her husband and through IVF she would bring triplets into their lives.  I find what my friend did amazing.  I know it was her sister but what a gift.  Even though she carried and delivered the babies, I can’t help but think my friend has 5 biological children not the two I know.  I also find that whole process amazing. 

I found interesting the teratogens (pg. 69-70) and other environmental agents that cause birth defects or issues.  Back in the day, my mother was a heavy smoker (pg. 73).  It wasn’t made a big deal when she was having children.  The book states that about 20% of woman continue to smoke when they are pregnant.  My mother had four children.  She smoked for the first two, cut down for the third and was not smoking for quite a few years for the fourth.  Our birth weights went from 6 pounds to 8.5 pounds.  My older brother and I were close but each of her births went up just by cutting down and quitting smoking. It amazes me that with all the scientific information woman today, they still make the decisions to put their children in harm’s way.  I work in special ed.  I have one student who is the product of a mother who was on cocaine for much of her pregnancy.  It has had an extreme effect on this student.  He is slow but can learn.  The reason he is in my class, which is lower than an instructional class, is his behavior.  He has many behavior issues which had caused problems in his learning and will affect his entire life. 

            The birth processes the scariest, at least for me it was.   I was young and naive.  I left my last doctors visit with the doctor telling me that we will induce on Wednesday (pg. 86).  I left and got in my car and realized that in 7 days I will be having a baby.  I panicked.  I also worked Monday and Tuesday.  In a way, it worked out but now, I think back, and wish I would have not scheduled the day.  I never got to experience the labor at home.  I went in at 6 in the morning and at 7AM the doctor broke my water and at 2PM I had a baby girl.  I guess I was in as safe of a place I could be for the whole labor.  I found it interesting and funny that vision is the least developed of all the sensory abilities at birth (pg. 91).  We all talk and do things with the thought our newborn can see us but the ability can take months to fully develop.  I feel touch is very important for both mom and baby.  It is the best way to bond as well as hearing with their baby. Erikson’s first stage of his theory is the sense of basic trust (pg. 32).  That can be easily achieved through the bonding of parents and child. 

Some sort of depression or loss after pregnancy is such a natural part of pregnancy, I do not understand why people make such a big deal about it (pg. 94-95).  I see no shame or nothing wrong with feeling depressed or a feeling of loss after giving birth.  I had my new blessing from God, but I wasn’t depressed but I had a feeling of loss because I loved being pregnant.  And I didn’t think I’d miss it but I did.  I missed the kicks and the moving belly and that was how my husband could experience the pregnancy with me.  I didn’t have the depression as severe as many do 7-17% (pg. 95). 

Chapter 5 starts out with figure 5.1 (pg. 103) showing the infant mortality rates of many countries.  Some of the countries didn’t surprise me but there were many that did.  I wonder why countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland didn’t have much change from 1960 to 2004. There must be something about that part of Europe.   They stayed in the top 6 countries with the lowest mortality rates.  Whereas, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore made some huge strides to jump from 21 to number 1 in low mortality rate. 

Parents should always want the best for their new baby.  There is a lot of help and research and books out there to help new parents know what is best for them and their new baby.  And nothing can beat a great support system of friends, family and medical professionals.  I fully agree that for the best nutrition, breastfeeding is the most natural and best option. Breastfeeding results far outweigh bottle feedings.  There is nothing wrong with bottle feeding but it is proven that breastfeeding results in fewer allergic reactions, stronger bones, more advanced cognitive development, easier transition to baby food, and declined risk of obesity (pg. 105).  I breast fed both of my first child for the first 5 months of her life and I had stored another 5-6 months of breast milk for when I went back to work.  My second child, I breast fed for 8 months and had just a few months stored.  I was lucky enough to become a stay at home mom till my second went to 6^th grade when I decide I was ready to go back to work.  Everyone has their own personal preferences.  This was my only option because this is what was most natural for me.  When I did introduce the bottle, even though it was breast milk, my daughter rejected it and wound up in the hospital on and IV for severe dehydration at 3 months old.  Therefore, I stayed home a couple more months with her and stored as much as I could.  But like I said science has advanced so much that there are formulas that have all the good nutrients that breast milk provides and is nothing to be ashamed of if that is your choice. 

Being naïve as I was, I never considered problems in my daughter’s milestone developments.  But I did keep a journal of her growth and life some of those milestones for the first 5 years.  I missed a few pages here and there but for the most part I was able to keep good records of her milestones.  My mother kept a milestone book for my first year.  I found funny that when I was 7 months old on September 29^th, I began to hold my bottle for the first time on my own.  September 29^th was the day my husband was born.  I was already reaching milestones.