All posts by admin

All About Doulas: We’re Doctor’s Daughters Too!

By Rebecca Schiller, Doula UK Spokeswoman, Co-Chair Birthrights, blogs at hackneydoula.co.uk   I have a confession to make. I am also a doctor’s daughter. My father even won the gold medal in Obstetrics whilst at university, though claims he never actually delivered a baby and the prize was won solely on his ability to write poetry. Suffice to say he is now a Cardiologist not an Obstetrician. But, just like the doctor’s daughter who runs this brilliant website, I have become increasingly interested in all things pregnancy, birth and baby related through my own experiences of motherhood. Despite a few […]

Miscarriage, positive pregnancy test?

Hi. I had a chemical miscarriage at 5.5 weeks. I did a pregnancy test last week (4weeks to the day I had a miscarriage) and it was positive. Does it mean I am pregnant or should I wait a couple more weeks. How long does it take for the HCG hormone to leave your body? What are the chances of a recurrent miscarriage?   It may take up to 6 weeks for HCG to leave your body after a normal pregnancy but less than that after an early miscarriage. Could you be pregnant again? Recurrence of miscarriage is no more […]

UTI – need antibiotics, worried for safety of baby

I had my first appointment with a midwife last week where I gave a urine sample-there was some traces of blood unit so they sent it off for tests. I called today and gave been told I’ve got a UTI- I am terrified of the effect this may have on baby and need for anti-biotics- please advise. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are surprisingly common in pregnancy, due to the way that the kidneys and bladder respond to the hormone and physical changes of pregnancy It is not unusual for infections in the bladder to be discovered on routine testing without […]

Can I use an “intimate” wash when pregnant?

What intimate wash to use in pregnancy? I have recurring infections as one doctor told me to stop using Femrfresh. Femfresh is safe in pregnancy but has no particular benefits ( pregnant or not) If you have an offensive discharge then please see your doctor or midwife and ask to have a swab taken to see if there is any infection Vaginal douching is not recommend in pregnancy

Astigmatism – can I give birth naturally?

My left eyesight is quite bad, I think I have 4.5 diopter on my left eye and astigmatism. I heard this means I would not be able to give birth naturally as it is too much pressure. Is this true and if yes, what would I need to do for NHS to accept that? On the information you have given there appears to be no reason why you should not be able to have a normally managed labour and delivery Astigmatism is not in my experience an indication for avoiding labour or pushing Unless your Opthalmologist has advised against it […]

Scared about alcohol consumed during first trimester

I hope this doesn’t sound too ridiculous but I ate a beef stew cooked with beer this evening without really thinking and had assumed that all the alcohol is driven off in cooking.  Later on I suddenly started questioning my assumption and have worked myself into an anxiety state over it.  The stew was probably cooked for at least one and a half hours and contained I think roughly 750ml Speckled Hen (roughly 5% vol?).  It was cooked in a large casserole on the hob with the lid on and I would have eaten less than half of it.  Please can you […]

Low Lying Placenta at 20 Weeks

Following my 20week scan a low lying placenta was discovered (‘abutting’ according to the sonographer) and so a rescan has been booked for 32weeks… My concern is as follows : We are due to fly to the Caribbean 4.5.13 (30+1day) for a week.  – Is my pregnancy now classed as ‘high risk’ ? (Airline issues !!) – Would I be wiser not to fly ? That is, am I at a higher risk of bleeding ? Premature delivery ? We are literally across the oceans from any hospital : no hospital on the island… – I have been told my […]

2 Vessel Umbilical Cord and Congenital Heart Block

I have recently been in touch about my baby having a 2 vessel umbilical cord…which I didn’t think was proving to be too much of a problem,  but I have just found out he also has heart block to which his heart is beating at 80-90bpm. This scares me to death! We are seeing a paediatric cardiologist next week but in the meantime, can you help us understand what this might mean for our little chappy? Congenital heart block is a rare condition affecting approximately 1 in 20000 pregnancies. Detecting a fetal heart rate of 80-90 is not as serious […]

Does having sex in late pregnancy bring on labour?

Does having sex in late pregnancy bring on labour and avoid induction? After years of advising women in late pregnancy to have sex to try and bring on labour and possibly avoid induction , it appears that doctors and midwives may need to change their message. A recent study of 1200 women in late pregnancy were allocated randomly to either behave normally or encouraged to have sex as a safe method to start labour and to avoid induction. The analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in the timing of labour or the chance of […]

Does Secondary Smoking Legislation Affect Prematurity Rates?

Well , it would appear that it does . A recent article looked at the incidence or premature delivery across the whole of  Belgium in the ten years up until 2012. It  looked particularly at the effects of the 3 government interventions on smoking in public places. In 2006 , smoking was banned in the workplace. One year later , it was banned in restaurants , and three years later , in all bars serving food. During the early part of the study (from 2002- 2006), the level remained fixed at 7.4% . This figure includes spontaneous early deliveries as […]