Medical Questions & Answers » child birth

Lactating mother diet

medicalquestions — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:00:45 +0000

Question: Is a special diet necessary for the lactating mother? Is there anything particularly harmful?
It is not necessary for a lactating mother to have a special diet. An ordinary, middle-class vegetarian meal with the daily consumption of 3 glasses of milk is good for the health of both, the feeding mother and her sucking infant. Various communities all over the world are rife with superstitions and beliefs regarding food requirements of delivery and breast feeding — avoid sour food, take less ghee, take more ghee, avoid cold drinks and many others. Certain substances in the mother’s diet enter the milk and thereby reach the child’s stomach. Keeping this in mind, it is beneficial to take dill seeds, bishopweed seeds, garlic and dry ginger over and above regular meals. These, indirectly exert a good influence on the child as well.
Any food which causes indigestion and gas or does not suit the mother’s system may, similarly affect the child and, cause diarrhea, stomach ache, cold and other ailments.
In short, a routine, square meal with fair amounts of pulses and vegetables, in addition to adequate consumption of milk ensure proper lactation and prevents weakness. It is the practice in many families to give porridge, gruel and similar preparations to the feeding mother. It’s fine to take these if possible. Remember, any medicine taken is going to reach the child in greater or lesser proportion and should not be taken without medical advice.

Milk Bank

medicalquestions — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:00:36 +0000

Question: What is meant by a milk bank?
It is the practice in many hospitals to store excess breast milk in sterilized glass bottles and preserve it in a refrigerator.
A mother who has delivered a still-born child may add her milk to this store. Mothers who need to extract excess milk before feeding the child so as to prevent hardening and engorgement of the breasts may also similarly donate the extra milk. Just as extra money is saved in the bank, so extra milk may be stored in a milk bank.
A mother who does not lactate satisfactorily or is in a serious condition following a Caesarean or for any other reason, or has undergone sterilization surgery simultaneously with the delivery could, instead of taking recourse to top milk (cow milk, buffalo milk or milk powders) give human milk stored in the “bank”. This milk can also be given to premature babies or very weak infants who need to be tube-fed.

Relief of Pain in Labour

medicalquestions — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 06:00:57 +0000

Means for relieving pain should be made available to every mother in labour. No mother should hesitate to ask for relief and it should be given to her when required, although always within the limits of safety to her and her baby. Many who achieve a truly natural birth will not need such reliefs.
The aim of pain relief in childbirth is always to give the maximum relief to the mother with the minimum of harmful effect on her and on the baby. This is by no means an easy problem, since everything given to the mother tends, to pass over to the baby to a varying extent. Numerous agents have been used to relieve pain in childbirth and new drugs and methods are continually being discovered and invented. It will, therefore, be possible to mention only a few and consideration will be confined to those at present in general use.
The agents used can be divided into three main groups; these groups overlap each other to some extent, but it is important to define the nature and uses of each group. The first group is sedatives.

Spacing Between Children

medicalquestions — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 06:00:40 +0000

Two to three years spacing between one child and the next is considered necessary both for the health of the mother and the well-being of the child. The mother thus has time to recuperate from her pregnancy and can devote all her attention to the growing demands of the child.
If the next pregnancy occurs too soon, the mother has hardly any time to recuperate before she has to start preparing for the next baby. Your doctor will advise you regarding the form of contraception most suitable for you.

Stages Of Labour

medicalquestions — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 06:00:15 +0000

The first stage of labour lasts twelve to twenty-four hours with a first baby and usually less with subsequent children. During these hours the contractions of the uterus increase in strength and come more frequently until by the end of the first stage they may be occurring every three to five minutes. The cervix or neck of the womb undergoes several important changes. First it is drawn up so that it no longer projects into the vagina; then it gradually opens or dilates. By the end of the first stage the opening in the cervix is large enough to allow the baby’s head to pass into the vagina. The cervix itself is now almost non-existent and the uterus and vagina have been converted into one continuous cavity. In the majority of labours the membranes rupture and the waters escape towards the end of the first stage, though they may rupture much earlier, and in a few cases they do not rupture before the birth of the baby. The baby may then be born completely enclosed in the membranes or “caul,” an event which was once thought to be an omen of great good fortune.