Week 1 blog
To be a mom was something I had
dreamed about for years. When the
time came that I learned I was pregnant, I had never been happier. I gave up caffeine, ate healthy foods, and exercised. The day finally arrived to give birth to a
beautiful little girl, who we didn’t know was a girl until she entered the
world. She arrived being five
pounds. I was not worried when I heard
her weight. I knew my mother had had
small babies and I thought everything was fine.
When the next day the doctor came to visit and checked the baby’s weight
again, she looked at me very accusingly and said, “I guess you smoked during
your pregnancy.” Being 27 years old and a very quiet person I looked at her and
said, “No why?” She continued to say that there had to be a reason the baby was
so small at full term. I told her I had
never smoked and that I tried to do everything right. I really felt like I was a failure. I look back on this and feel that genetics
had played a role in my daughter being born small (5pounds – not that small)
However, the Doctor seemed to think only that teratogens were to blame. As a 38 year old mother, I now believe I would
have responded to the doctor in a different way.
Through my studies this week I have
learned about skin to skin contact with mother/child. South Africa uses this method and I have
learned that this is a practice that has now been used for about 35 years. It is called Kangaroo Mother Care. They began using this for premature
infants. Being a mother that delivered
in the states, the common practice is to wrap the children in a blanket right
after birth. The skin to skin contact
does not happen. After I have thought
about this practice, I am trying to understand why this is not common practice
for every mother giving birth. It seems
so natural to me. I gave birth 13 and 10
years ago. I feel that my children and I
both missed out on such an important bonding moment. I have found myself telling my pregnant friends
about this practice. We were all talking
about this in the lunch room the other day and it was like a light bulb went off
and we said this makes total sense. I
feel this has changed my thinking and I will promote this practice.
