Awooo!!

I was picking up a prescription at the pharmacy yesterday.  My pharmacist (who is awesome) was surprised I hadn't had my baby yet.  Among other things she reminded me that last night was a full moon.  I had heard a couple of times before that supposedly more women go into labor during the full moon than any other night of the month- in fact, supposedly some maternity wards staff more nurses during full moons.   I was a little hopeful, though not fully convinced so I did some "research" (i.e. I ran to Google) and came across no "scholarly" articles to help me.  The one below is interesting, though still not convincing.

Did you know that some maternity units actually have more staff available during periods of full moon?  I’ve always been fascinated by the moon’s effect on nature, so when a friend’s wife conveyed to me what her midwife had told her during the birth of their daughter, I decided to find out more about childbirth, full moon and a possible link.

On speaking to various medical staff involved in natural childbirth, the first thing I learned was that expectant mothers often experience false signs of labor during full moon. Contractions known as “Braxton Hicks” — sometimes noticeable to the mother and sometimes not — become more pronounced and many travel to the maternity unit in the belief that “it’s time”. Disappointed — or perhaps relieved — they return home, the pains having subsided with no dilation of the cervix.

While these expectant mothers visiting the clinic with their mistaken signs of labor are part of the reason why extra staff are needed, the major difference is found in the number of women whose amniotic sac — the water — breaks.

Just as some women experience false labor pains, in cases where the water breaking marks the start of childbirth, full moon is the time when it’s most likely to happen. In order to discover for myself whether this could be true, I asked several female friends how their births had started. Those who responded with “the water breaking” were then asked the date of the birth. On checking this against a moon phase chart, I discovered that almost all had given birth on, or very close to, a full moon.

The theory is that the moon’s gravitational pull effects the amniotic fluid in much the same way as it effects the water in the sea, rivers and even the water that’s otherwise found in our bodies.

“There are published works that show that there is such a relationship. One study looked at 5,927,978 French births occurring between the months of January 1968 and the 31st December 1974. Using spectral analysis, it was shown that there are two different rhythms in birth frequencies: –a weekly rhythm characterized by the lowest number of births on a Sunday and the largest number on a Tuesday and an annual rhythm with the maximum number of births in May and the minimum in September-October. A statistical analysis of the distribution of births in the lunar month shows that more are born between the last quarter and the new moon, and fewer are born in the first quarter of the moon. The differences between the distribution observed during the lunar month and the theoretical distribution are statistically significant.” – Source: Full moon, Gravitational Pull and Childbirth, Birthsource.com

As a woman’s body prepares for natural childbirth, the amniotic sac becomes distended so the point where it will easily burst if put under pressure. Under normal circumstances, the pressure of labor contractions bursts the sac. During a full moon, the pressure caused by the moon’s effect on the water inside the sac can cause the same things to happen, but without the accompanying contractions.

When this happens, natural childbirth doesn’t always move forward and with no other signs of labor present, the obstetrician may decide to induce the birth. During my own study of this phenomenon I found that of 8 women whose births started with the water breaking at full moon, 5 of them had no accompanying contractions. A coincidence? Perhaps. But surely midwives wouldn’t prepare themselves for an increase in natural childbirth activity if there wasn’t some truth in this?

One midwife told me that when it comes to planning childbirth, full moons should always be looked for around the time of the expected delivery. If there’s one within a few days either side, the chances are your baby will be born on that day.

 You'd think if a full moon would "work", it would work best on someone who is 9 days "overdue", but alas, I'm still pregnant!

Get out, get out, get out, GET OUT!

No wories, I'm mostly just mimicking Rachel from Friends.  To pass some more time I decided to watch the last few Friends episodes of season 8 where Rachel is pregnant (I am a huge fan of Friends and have every season on DVD).  In the second-to-last episode Rachel ends up going at least 8 days overdue (more I think, but I'm not sure how far).

The opening scene shows the crew sitting on the sofas in Central Perk.  In response to attending Joey's movie premier Rachel says:

Well obviously I won’t be able to come, for those of you who haven’t checked their calendars today is my due date. Well y’know, I just want to take a moment and thank you guys for how great you’ve been during this time. I really couldn’t have done it without you. And I have loved these last nine months! And even though I am so looking forward to the next part, I am really gonna miss being pregnant.

(Sound familiar?)

Next scene: (Sorry, you'll have to click to watch, I couldn't find any videos that would allow me to embed them here.  Hold "Ctrl" while you click the link to open it in a new window)

That's right, still no baby

If you want to enjoy more funny scenes from the episode there is a longer clip here:

I have to pee.  If I don't come out in 5 minutes it's because I've choked on the potpourri stink.

Patience and Trust.... Part 3??

As my dad put it on Facebook, from country singer Clint Black.... "this killing time is killing me"!

Who knew I'd be here? Just short of a week overdue?  I didn't!  I tried not to listen to co-workers and friends telling me I'd never make it to my due date.  I tried not to pay attention to the fact that my mom was early (10 days and 7 days) with both her pregnancies.  I tried not to listen to the doctor when they told me I was already 1.5 cm dilated at 38 weeks and that if she had to guess she'd guess he'd be early.....

But I did.

And now I'm impatient.

I'm trying to be patient and trust that God has a plan and that this baby will be born "on his birthday" meaning when he is supposed to be born.  6 days overdue is really not bad.  Apparently the "average" for first time moms is to go about 10 days over.

But 10 days over means my dad and sister won't be here any more.  They have to leave on Friday (8 days over). I can't even explain how badly I want for them to be here.  How I want for them to be some of the first people to meet and hold our little Floodling. How I don't want for them to have to come back later and meet him after everyone else has.  It hurts.

On top of worrying that he won't arrive before my family leaves, I have the doctors hanging over my head too.  I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but basically I have a "time limit" before my doctors will induce.  Two of my doctors are a little more open-minded and are willing to let me go to 42 weeks (you aren't technically considered "overdue" until you are 42 weeks), but the doctor I saw this past Monday went ahead and "tentatively" (by booking it with the hospital!!) scheduled an induction for next Tuesday (not even 2 weeks over yet).  When the receptionist called to tell me it was booked I was more than a little miffed and told her I would likely be canceling (she wouldn't cancel it for me, she said I have to talk to my doctors on Monday).

And even on top of that I'm simply bored to tears!  I normally go on vacation during summer break, but I can't do that right now. I normally clean and organize between those vacations, but all that's done! My to-do list is complete, and I have nothing I want to get started on.  I don't feel much like going out to do things, and we don't have the money to spend anyway.  A baby sure would give me plenty to do! :P

But babies make their own schedule.  And as much as I can try to encourage it along, Floodling will come when he is ready.

I actually just read yesterday that stress is a labor inhibitor.  Stress produces chemicals in our bodies, including adrenaline, which actually slow down or prevent labor. Why? So we don't give birth in an unsafe situation.  A woman can actually regress from 9 cm dilated to 6 cm dilated, for example, if under stress.  It makes sense, what if you were giving birth and suddenly you saw a tiger? You'd have to run for it! Well, our bodies are built to deal with that. 

I keep thinking now that all the stressing I did over my job situation probably didn't help move things along.  I'm over it (for now) and putting it out of my mind, but I've found that overall I've been in a "funk" and I think I need to get out of it.

So, I've decided that I'm going to enjoy my last little bit of time and I'm not going to worry about getting this baby here anymore.  I'm not going to feel guilty over being lazy and putting my feet up every once in a while (gravity can't help anything if you're feet are up!).  I've put it in God's hands.  Though I've been eating pineapple and basil, walking, bouncing on balls, and trying plenty of other things, I'm starting to think maybe the best thing I can do is simply relax to let my body know that I am ready, happy, and "safe"!