Seventh month- fetal development

The seventh month of pregnancy is the beginning of the 3rd trimester of the pregnancy. By month’s end, the baby is 14 to 16 inches long and can weigh 2.5 to 3.5 pounds. The organs continue to mature.
If you expose your belly to a bright light you may get a quick reaction. The fetal baby can now inhale, exhale and eve cry. Eyes have completely formed. And the tongue has developed taste buds.
His body fat is beginning to form in preparation for life outside the womb.
If born at this time, she would be considered premature baby and requires special care.

Sixth month- fetal development

I did few prenatal check-ups this week. Most of my patients are on their 5th to 6th months of pregnancy. It is my responsibility to let them know what is going on and how their babies look like.
24th week of pregnancy or 6 months the baby's tender skin is now covered by a waxy substance called “vernix” and the baby to continues to practice breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid in preparation for the big day when she takes her first breath of air.
Her eyes begin to part and open occasionally for short periods of time. Hiccups are not uncommon.
After birth if prefers the mother’s voice because she has been listening to mom filtered through the amniotic fluid. From 26 weeks, babies exhibit a whole range of typical baby behaviour and moods, like scratching, smiling, crying, hiccuping and sucking.

10 babies w/ only 3 midwives

Oh, I could still remember this shift. Only three of us working on 24- hour shift. Only two of us were catching the babies because the the other midwife had a severe back pain. It felt like we were catching babies forever one after the other as in non-stop. It was very exhausting but very fulfilling. Actually there were 10 laboring patients that came in but only 8 delivered. The two other patients were about to deliver their babies but we cannot handle it anymore, so the the people who were on next shift got on shift earlier than usual. After 30 minutes both of the patients delivered. Wow! that was crazy and very hard. I think I slept for 24 hours after that shift.

Child's immunization

Aside from delivering babies, we also do immunization to the babies. It is not easy on our part to inject them but it is our job to do it. We just have to remember that it is for their protection. Even though newborns have protection from their mother and from the breast milk, both are only temporary. At birth the baby should be injected with Hepa B vaccine. The next dose will be after 4 weeks. In the Philippines setting, the baby should be given a BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin) a vaccination to protect the baby from Tuberculosis. It will be given once at 0-6 months but the earlier the better. OPV (oral polio vaccine) will be given at 6 weeks, the same with DPT(Diptheria, Pertusis, Tetanus). Then at 9 months they will be given MMR(measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.

Checking each other's HR

Yes, we are crazy. Very obvious that this time we do not have patients in labor. My friend and I have fun doing crazy things in the birth room like checking each others heart rate. We are very serious and professional though when we have patients. But sometimes we do things that makes the laboring patients laugh. I think it is also helpful to do it sometimes. We know when to throw jokes and when not to. As it is said that laughter is the best medicine.

10cm cervical dilation

When I tell the laboring patient about their labor progress, I am very excited to tell them that they are already 10 cm. Mostly, they are so relieved and more excited than the midwives. 10 cm cervical dilation is the time that the patient will push her baby out. Pushing before 10 cms will make the cervix swell making it hard to open more so that the baby's head can pass through the opening. When the cervix swell it make the labor longer and more painful.

Facial expression

A dramatization of what the facial expression of a laboring woman who is told that her cervix still 1 cm open. Only 1 cm dilated in 4 hours of labor. Usually, when the pregnant woman who is not in labor yet her cervix is closed. Cervix is the part of the uterus that is serves as the first passage way of the baby to come out. As the labor progresses it will dilate more and more to 10 cms before the patient will push her baby out.

happy B-day to me!!!!

Happy Birthday Graphic Comments Today is my brithday!!!!. Happy b-day to me. I am so happy for my family and friends got to celebrate this day to me. I thank God for giving me another year to celebrate His goodness and faithfulness into my life.Even though I made mistakes He still forgave me.
I am excited to know what God has for me this year. . I hoping that He will grant the desires of my heart. I am still 25 years old. I stopped counting my age at the age of 25. So for now, I have not been counting my age for 7 years. lol. I am not getting older but I am getting prettier. just kidding.