Blog Posts by Being Pregnant

C-sections are sometimes necessary. Of all the medical interventions that exist, the c-section is perhaps the most important. It's a relatively simple and safe surgery. But it is major abdominal surgery. And it's performed too often.

The World Health Organization has looked at the data and come up with a reasonable recommended cap for c-sections at 10-15%. But in America one in three babies is born via c-section. This means that around 15-20% of all births result in medically unnecessary c-sections.

More on Babble: 5 Reasons to Stay Home During Early Labor

That's a hard number to deal with if you're pregnant and hoping for a vaginal birth. What are you supposed to do with that info? You don't have the time or resources to change the entire maternity care system in this country. You're due in three months! So let's do the sensible thing and table the issue of maternity care for now. Let's focus on you and what you can do.

If you're hoping for a vaginal birth, there are ways you can reduce the likelihood of unnecessary interventions, including a c-section:

More on Babble: Once a Cesarean, Always a Cesarean? Wrong! VBAC Myths Debunked.

Will orgasms during pregnancy hurt my baby?

Last week, Paula over at Strollerderby wrote a piece about "Orgasmic Pregnancy", wondering whether or not such a thing even existed. The post referred to the book of the same name, which aims to get pregnant women feeling good about themselves…and just feeling good in general. Both Paula's post and the interview with the book's author were focused on the idea that pregnancy is often a tough time to feel sexual. I hear that, sisters. But if you can get yourself in the mood (and here's hoping it happens sometime during your gestational career) there are some things that make pregnancy a unique time for orgasm in particular. Some of them might actually be worth making the effort for.

More on Babble: Miracle Labor Hormone Released During Sex and Romance

1. Orgasms are no threat to a healthy pregnancy.

That's true whether they're the result of partner sex or solo sex or any kind of stimulation (including vibrators or other sex toys). The only situations where a woman is advised to avoid orgasm during pregnancy is when she is at risk of a premature birth or placental bleeding.

2. Orgasms during pregnancy can feel better than usual.

Afraid of Postpartum Depression?
The growing awareness of Postpartum Depression is a great thing for new parents (yes, it affects Dads too!). Early diagnosis is important to prevent risks to both parents and babies. A new book by a cognitive behavioral therapist suggests that PPD can be traced to a parent's internal thinking patterns, perhaps even before symptoms of the depression become visible to others. In her new book, After The Stork: the Couple's Guide To Preventing and Overcoming Postpartum Depression, Reproductive health psychologist Sara Rosenquist, Ph.D outlines ways of keeping tabs on your psychological state through the radical transition to parenthood. With that in mind, she offers five potentially problematic ways of thinking that may lead to depression in new parenthood. If you notice yourself feeling this way frequently, you may have the opportunity to stop yourself from embarking on the road to a postpartum mood disorder.
More On Being Pregnant: 25 Things That Will NOT Help a Woman With Postpartum Depression

I've interpreted three of Rosenquist's ways of thinking below, as I think they apply to pregnancy and new parenthood:

1. Global Thinking: Overly inclusive, black-and-white thinking that overlooks nuance and context

In the chaos of new parenthood, it's easy to hang your hat on the idea that there's a right and wrong way to do everything. But there's another side to that coin-one that can leave you feeling like a failure if you don't do things "right". The reality is that there is a huge range of ways of doing things, and your own personal situation should be a factor in your own individual decision. What's right for your family is right for your family, and it's not necessarily right for everyone.

Between the wine and the cheese, the cocktail hour can be a sad time for a pregnant lady.

Pregnant women are usually told to avoid soft, runny or veiny cheeses because they have a higher risk of listeria development. Listeria Monocytogenes is a bacteria commonly found in the farm environment, among other places. It can contaminate cheesemaking equipment, and from there, cheese. The New York Times reported over the weekend that a recent survey of large and small cheese manufacturers found listeria in about 1/4 of the facilities. Yikes! Considering how rare listeria infection is (it affects about 2500 people per year in the U.S) that's a pretty high number. Listeria's not an issue for most of the general population, but those with compromised immune systems can become dangerously ill from the bacteria. And pregnant women have to be especially careful because if the fetus becomes infected, there can be dire consequences. Hence, the soft cheese scare. The reason young cheese is riskier is twofold: the more hospitable environment it creates for bacteria, and the common use of unpasteurized milk in these cheeses. Older cheeses can also be made with unpasteurized milk, but the bacteria cannot live for more than 90 days.

Pregnant cheese lovers, I have good news. There are lots of yummy, fancy, runny, moldy and otherwise off-limits-seeming cheeses that are not out of your pregnant reach. Click on for five delicious pasteurized cheeses anyone would be proud to serve at Thanksgiving, or anytime.

More on Babble: 8 Ways to Safely Indulge in Your Pregnancy Cravings

I will not be having any more children. The last time I saw the two pink lines of a pregnancy test was almost four years ago.

The last time I saw the two pink lines of a pregnancy test was almost four years ago. And there are things I don't miss. I don't miss the alarmist headlines and incessant, ever-growing list of 'things to worry about.' I don't miss heartburn or vomiting or sciatica. I don't miss that smell… what was that smell?? And the prenatal testing. That, I really don't miss.

But I've just had a really crappy week. I've been asking myself hard questions about life and doing a ton of fairly unrewarding, busy work.

More on Babble: What Kind of Mom Do You Swear You'll Never Be

And as I sit here feeling sorry for myself, staring at the blank screen of my pregnancy blog, I've find myself overtaken with pregnancy nostalgia. So indulge me as I remember what I loved most about this time.

1. I miss always doing something even when I wasn't doing anything at

Do you know about the miracle hormone that can bring you happiness? You should.

I am kind of obsessed with oxytocin. And I'd like for you to be, too. Because, if you're pregnant, you're about to get a bunch of it coursing through your body, and I'm kind of jealous. I'm not envious of the contractions oxycotin will cause, but I crave the aftermath- the body flooded with a feeling of love and bonding. I could use some of that.

So what is oxytocin? It's a hormone that causes labor contractions and breastmilk production. It's also experienced in high amounts during orgasm, love, happiness, massage, when the lights are low and you feel safe. Who said women's hormones aren't fun? Actually, men get oxytocin too- the more time they spend with their newborns, the more it flows.

More on Babble: The Pressure is Off: We're Programmed to Care For Our Babies

Today NPR ran a piece about the joys of this particular hormone and how it makes us behave.

Pomegranates, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, molasses, roasted Brussels spouts, arugula with pine nuts?

It all sounds good to me but I'm not pregnant. If I were pregnant, I can assure you that simple list of seasonal foods would set of bombs of revulsion or trigger intense cravings.

But a quick survey of autumnal foods has revealed just how great this season is for the pregnant woman simply in terms of nutrition. There's a whole ton of iron, folate and calcium on the menu this time of year. And I suspect that some dishes that will appeal, even to the most finicky first trimester mothers among us.

If you're bemoaning all the things you can't eat this holiday season, here are some you most definitely can and a few recipes to boot:

The Thanksgiving holiday is all about unrestrained eating. But just as it wouldn't really be Thanksgiving without a gorgefest, it wouldn't really be pregnancy without a few pesky food restrictions.

The chance of contracting a food borne illness from something on your Thanksgiving table is probably about .0013% and clearly, plenty of people eat these foods during pregnancy and are just fine. But as a semi-official pregnancy advisor person, I am obliged to warn you that some popular Thanksgiving foods do carry a risk. The thing about food borne illness and pregnancy is that although the chances of getting an infection from the food you eat is quite small, the risks of the illness are severe. The most dangerous can cause fetal or maternal death. Even less severe infections can be a big deal in pregnancy when the immune system is compromised and treatment is complicated.

More on Being Pregnant: 8 Seasonal Pregnancy Super Foods

The good news is that these risks are relatively easily avoided. All it takes is a trusty thermometer (Bring your own! Have your husband run interference while you surreptitiously poke the poultry!) and a willingness to be called a neurotic pregnant freak by mean-spirited family members.

In that spirit, here are the holiday foods most likely to land a pregnant woman in the hospital (not having a baby):