Pregnancy - Third Trimester

0:34 my name is Kristen and I’m a first time mom to my daughter Stella who was born just two weeks ago.

0:10 my name is Lisa, my daughter Karen was born 5 months ago.

0:08 My name is Genna Campbell, my son Liam is 8 mo old.

(Lisa) 3:09 the 3^rd tri a little bit of that fatigue starts to come back. Mainly I think because you’re more uncomfortable. Exercise isn’t as easy. That spinning class isn’t a breeze.

(Kristen) 4:16 At 36, 37 weeks I was feeling comfortable. And then, once baby dropped, there was a little more discomfort with sciatic pain shooting down your back or chest randomly. It wasn’t constant. Getting up and moving around - that helped. Eating smaller meals, more napping. Really up until I delivered I was pretty comfortable.

(Genna) 3:24 the 3^rd of course you’re starting to get antsy because you want that baby to be here. But there’s the nerves you’re looking at… as a first time mom, you’ve never been through labor, don’t know what to expect.

0:13 my name is Michelle, I’m a labor and delivery nurse manager

2:36 it’ s most important things are to know what signs to look for that you may be having trouble with your pregnancy.  Contractions that happen, those are things you’d want to call about. Excessive swelling, headaches, those are signs that you may be having trouble in your pregnancy. Contractions – you want to make sure not to disregard those. Get some medical advice about how to handle those.

3:28 I think the really important thing to know is that unless there’s a medical indication, we don’t want women to deliver before they’re 39 weeks pregnant. Sometimes we get anxious and want to rush things, but really, babies need to be 39 weeks unless there’s a medical reason not to.

(Genna)507. My due date came and went, and Liam was still not here.  I never thought of the fact that he could be late. A week went by, almost two weeks went by, and baby Liam was still not here. When you go that far past your due date, they hook you up to a baby monitor to make sure everything is OK.

[Text: How will I know if I’m really in labor?]

(Michelle) 3:49 Women have many signs that labor has started. Some have back pain; some have pain coming down their legs. Some feel like they have gas so sometimes it’s hard to tell at first. The real sign is that the contractions you’re having are longer stronger and closer together.

[Text: Genna, Lisa, and Kristen all delivered healthy babies]

{nat sound of Genna and Kristen with their babies}

[Text: Did you feel overwhelmed when you got home from the hospital?]

(Lisa) 4:25 I think every new mom experiences being overwhelmed. The first one, I’d say it’s the fear of am I doing this right. The baby’s crying, is there something I should be doing? The 2^nd one, it’s more overwhelmed with, how do I balance this with 2 now? How do I keep everyone happy, including myself?

(Kristen) 6:03 Post-partum.  It’s hard.  You go home and think I’m not going to have the baby blues.  But then you go home and something overwhelms you and you just start crying. And it’s nothing big, but you have lots of hormones and emotions going. You have this brand new baby you’re bringing home and you think are you sure I’m OK to bring this baby home. It’s a little human and you’re totally responsible.

(Genna) 6:32 he would eat every 15 min and just cry non stop. The first 2 weeks I don’t think I slept for more than 30 min at a time. Even then it was… I don’t really remember the first two weeks. Then he turned a corner. And he slept 3 ,4, 5 hrs at a time. It steadily got better.

8:23 post partum depression isn’t something that’s here and there, a lot of women go through it. I think having that support group around you – your providers, friends, family, that really helps.

[Text: Did you rely on lactation consultants for help?]

(Lisa) 6:43 I still do. My daughter is 5 months old. I needed lactation consult because my son was tongue-tied, had a hard time nursing. Through tips and tools from the lactation product companies I was able to continue nursing him. With both children, I’m not one who’s a high producer of milk. Working with lactation consult def helps understand control your nutrition take supplements if needed to increase your milk production. And keep it up when you go back to work.

(Kristen) 6:41 I would call the lactation consultants almost every day. They would answer my questions and reassure me. My mom, mother in law, friends. Everyone I came across assured me I was doing it right.

[Text: Bonus tip: exercise]

(Kristen) 3:52 stay active. I know it’s hard. But push yourself. I wasn’t doing anything crazy. Even just walking. Toward the end it was something helping me get my heart rate going and helped me into the labor process.

[Text: Bonus tip: find a support group]

(Lisa) 5:01 And I belong to a moms group that occasionally gets together to do fun stuff with the kids. In groups like that there’s a natural support mechanism where you can say, “I’m having trouble with this, or I’m looking for help with that.” Sharing things to make motherhood a little easier.

[Text: Bonus tip: plan ahead]

(Genna) 7:49 I had a lot of support. And definitely if you’re thinking about having a baby, think about what kind of support you want after baby is born. If you have it lined up ahead of time, you’ll survive.

[text: The information provided in this presentation is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult with your doctor for specific health care needs, treatment or medication