Tylenol or Acetaminophen are usually safe for most people during pregnancy. Sometimes, Aspirin is prescribed in higher risk pregnancies, but you’ll want to make sure you provider prescribes this for you before taking aspirin. 

I am not feeling excitement over my pregnancy. Is something wrong with me?

It’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed over a pregnancy, even if it was intentional. Many changes are happening physically and emotionally as your body adapts to pregnancy. Pregnancy hormones can contribute to sleep changes and fatigue, and that can make it difficult to be excited about anything if you are exhausted! If you have any nausea or decreased appetite, you might be frustrated by your inability to eat normally. Your clothes may be fitting a little tighter.  You might have financial worries or fears of how this might affect your relationship with your significant other. All of these things can contribute to a feeling of fear or apathy. 

On pregnancy # 3, when my husband and I found out we were having a girl. I was kind of disappointed. I’m just being real with you. You may think, what is wrong with her? But I was a boy mom. I knew how to be a boy mom. We are having a girl? It was an adjustment. I was anxious. I was worried about what it would be like…having a girl. And I was also a seasoned MaMa. So, if that’s you, it’s okay. In fact, it’s more than ok. Share your feelings with your partner. 

And I want you to know that depression and anxiety can occur anytime in life when changes occur. Even positive events can create stress in our lives. If you have difficulty performing your normal activities, are sad and crying, have difficulty falling asleep at night due to ruminating or anxious thoughts, or these feelings are creating tension in your relationships, follow up with your provider. Counseling and medication are two options you can consider in addition to, good nutrition, Vitamin D and restorative sleep go a long way. 

The benefits of skin to skin for mom is a natural surge of the hormone oxytocin which is helpful for getting your uterus to clamp down. You deliver your baby and then you deliver your placenta, and  the area in your uterus where your placenta was attached  has to scab over. Your uterus has to clamp down to slow down all that blood flow that was happening between your placenta and your baby. Oxytocin is the hormone for that, and evidence shows Moms get an increase in the hormone oxytocin with they hold their baby skin to skin.

Fundal Checks

Another thing, fundal checks.  Your nurse is going to do frequent fundal checks after delivery. Your fundus is the top of your uterus. After you deliver, your OB and your nurse are going to be feeling the top of your uterus very frequently…. as frequent as every 5 to 15 minutes…. to make sure your uterus is clamping down and staying firm. Why? Think about it like this: to shut off the blood flow that was going from your placenta to your baby, a scab has to form. In order for the scab to form, your uterus has to contract and firm up. Some women are really annoyed with these fundal checks . And they wonder, “why is my nurse mashing on my belly all the time? I just delivered a baby. Is she trying to hurt me on purpose?” No, I promise, we’re not! Fundul checks are truly necessary for making sure you’re not at risk for having a postpartum Hemorrhage.  If your uterus is “boggy” when mashed on, there are early interventions to use to firm your uterus up and form that scab. If your nurse wasn’t feeling your uterus, she could miss the early signs of a postpartum hemorrhage, and early interventions wouldn’t be enough to stop the hemorrhage.