Appyday - Congratulations to you for going right back in there. Can't wait to get results of my scan - should be today!!
Here are guidelines from \link{http://www.sleh.com/sleh/Section004/index.cfm?pagename=Childbirth&PageMD=WOMENS%20HEALTH\St. Luke's Hospital in Houston, Texas}, where DS was born - they're from 2003 though, just FYI ...
Was surprised dh can't stay in room overnight after birth in UK. Really curious as to other differences.
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SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO OB PATIENTS:
- Exercise -Do what feels comfortable, never exercising to the point of discomfort. Walking is good exercise.
You may continue your prior exercise program during pregnancy, however, the aerobic portion should not exceed 15 minutes duration or heart rate greater than 140 BPM. [Note: 140 bpm was not a "workout" for me, so my Dr. just said throw my heart monitor out & listen to my body.]Avoid horseback riding, skiing, scuba diving, motorboat or motorcycle riding and other jarring sports.
- Diet - Try to eat a balanced diet selecting foods from the four food groups. Avoid eating raw or rare meats.
Eliminate as much caffeine as possible (i.e. coffee, tea, chocolate, soft drinks) as well as high-sodium foods and refined sugars. Although there is no evidence of documented fetal abnormalities, we recommend that you avoid food or soft drinks containing artificial sweeteners or Nutrasweet.
- Intercourse -If you and your partner are comfortable during intercourse, you may continue unless otherwise instructed by your doctor. Avoid douching or tampons.
- Alcohol & Smoking -Limit alcohol consumption to 2 drinks per week. No smoking.
- Hot Tubs & Jacuzzi -High temperatures are dangerous to your unborn baby.
- Cat Litter Box -Avoid changing the litter box and use good hand washing after handling all pets. For additional information, refer to the provided literature.
- Medications -Check with the office prior to taking any prescription. For common discomforts associated with pregnancy, the following medication (non-prescription) can be taken any time during your pregnancy without phoning the office for approval:
a. Headaches: Acetaminophen (Tylenol, Tylenol-ES, Datril). Avoid products containing aspirin or ibuprofen.
b. Colds/sinus: Sudafed, Ornex, Coricidin, Robitussin or Dimetapp. A humidifier is also recommended.
Antibiotics are not routinely given except in the presence of temperatures of 101 degrees or greater and presence of greenish drainage.
c. Fever: Tylenol or Datril. Temperatures higher than 101 degrees, call the office.
d. Constipation: Colace, Metamucil, Dialose, Dialose-Plus or Senekot. Daily exercise, plenty of water as well as fiber in your diet will help.
e. Hemorrhoids: Tucks, Anusol, Anusol HC, Preparation H, Preparation H-HC or Wyanoids.
f. Indigestion: Mylanta, Riopan, Calcitrel, Tums or Rolaids.
g. Diarrhea: Pepto Bismol, Kaopectate, Donnagel or lmodium AD.
h. Sore throats: Warm saltwater gargle, Cepacol lozenges, Halls cough drops & Chloroseptic Spray.
i. Coughs: Robitussin plain or Robitussin D.M.
j. Yeast infection: Monistat 7 cream (Combination Pak)
k. Nausea: Try 50mg of Vitamin B6 (2 or 3 times a day), Emetrol or Sea Bands (Acupressure wrist bands). If nausea and vomiting persists, call the office.
FOR THE MONTHS TO COME:
- Your prenatal visits will be every 4 weeks until your 28th week when they become every 2 weeks. At 36 weeks, your visits are scheduled once a week for the last month or until delivery. During these visits, we check your weight, blood pressure, urine, the growth & heart rate of the baby and answer any questions that have arisen during the previous month. The last months’ visits also include an internal pelvic exam to check the position of the baby and changes in the cervix. Blood work is done on the initial visit. At 16-18 weeks of pregnancy, another routine blood sample taken is a trisomy screen, which will be explained to you. Between 24-28 weeks, a blood sample for routine diabetic screening is done. You do not have to be fasting. We will give you a sugar drink and draw your blood sample one hour after finishing this drink. Also at this visit, we will do a cervical culture for Group B Strep. If any of the above blood tests are abnormal, we will contact you prior to your next visit.
- Ultrasound will be done around 20 weeks. Sometimes the doctor may order an ultrasound earlier or more frequently to identify problems or potential problems.
- We recommend childbirth preparation classes to aid your knowledge of terminology and what to expect. We can provide you with any information needed to pre-register for these classes. You may pre-register at the hospital by phoning the admissions office 4-6 weeks before your due date and any arrangements for deposit prior to delivery can then be made. For St. Luke's Hospital, call 791-4372. For Methodist Hospital, call 790-2042.
- If you have special requests for delivery, please mention these for discussion during your visit. We require external fetal monitoring during labor and prefer an IV. A "significant other" is allowed with you during labor and delivery. Regarding Anesthesia, we will assist you in choosing what is best based on our experience and your desires.
- We encourage vaginal delivery and are not aggressive about performing cesarean sections. Some common reasons for delivering your baby by C-section include: baby being positioned in such away that you are unable to deliver vaginally or the pelvis is too narrow to accommodate the baby.
- Please let us know when you have selected a Pediatrician. The hospital will notify your Pediatrician upon delivery of your baby. If you need help selecting a doctor, we will be happy to provide you with a list.
- If you plan on having your baby circumcised, let us know soon after his birth. This will usually be done before you leave the hospital.
- The decision on how to feed your baby is yours and your Pediatricians. We will be happy to give you breast feeding information, if desired.
- For those of you employed full time, your company will have specific guidelines regarding maternity leave. We will help you with any paperwork or other communications necessary. Except for specific medical indications or problems, it is very difficult for us to make exceptions to your company policy. We do not want to jeopardize your job by trying to make exceptions that could then be rejected by your company or its doctor.
WHEN TO CALL US:
When you call 713-797-1144 after normal office hours, an answering service will pick-up your call and sometimes the line will sound dead. Please hold for a minute and they will take your call. In the event of telephone service interruption, please direct all emergencies to St. Luke's Labor & Delivery.
- 60% of all women at some point in their pregnancy will have some spotting or bleeding. If this occurs, contact our office.
- Fetal movement will change during pregnancy. Call us if there is no fetal movement in 12 hours or if you notice a significant decrease in movement from one day to the next.
- If you plan on traveling a distance greater than 150 miles after your 7th month of pregnancy, we advise you to come in for a pelvic exam as a safety precaution.
- If this is your first baby, call us when your contractions are 5-7 minutes apart lasting 45 seconds- 1 minute for an hour. Call sooner if you are more than 45 minutes away from the hospital, have had previous deliveries or a history of fast labors.
- If you think your bag of water has ruptured or is leaking, call the office. You will need to be seen.
Please feel free to call us with any problems or questions. We try to return non-emergency phone calls during the lunch period and at the end of the office hours. All emergencies will be handled as soon as possible.
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