"Every
birth stirs to life a new ripple in the
universe..."
Anon.
Welcome to Baby's Bounty
At long last the endless months of pregnancy are behind you. That each minute you endured was well worth the wonderful reward---the miracle of bringing new life into the universe---is beyond question. Baby's Bounty wants to help with meeting your needs as a parent, and with all those requirements involved in raising a happy and healthy baby. Baby's Bounty offers a huge and diversified selection of resources for moms, dads, and infants. Included in our webpages are relevant articles, tips, advice, forums, shopping resources, and a large database of links. Enjoy!
| Articles-Tips-Advise-Information |
More Resources
|
Dump EXPENSIVE Cable TV
|
Today, women have more choice with respect to the birthing process. It is now possible for women to decide when they wish to give birth thanks to better birth control methods. The list below includes some of the options that you as an expecting mother have as to how you wish to give birth. Hypnobirthing This is quickly gaining popularity amongst women who want to experience labor naturally. Pregnant women who are taught self-hypnosis tend to have peaceful, calm births. Their labors tend to be shorter and they are less fatigued. The hypnobirth technique is most successful when taught by women with a background in both hypnotherapy and chidbirth education. Birthing Chairs This is a specially designed chair that can support a pregnant woman in a sitting or squatting position. This allows for assistance from gravity during delivery, thereby speeding labor naturally. Also, the squatting position helps during the pushing stage. Lastly, many women like birthing chairs because it allows them to see more of the delivery process than conventional birthing methods. Leboyer Births Leboyer births follow the theory that the birthing process should be as tranquil as possible. It aims at making the child’s transition from uterus to the world as non-traumatic as possible. This may involve soft lights, soft music, a warm bath for the baby, not slapping the newborn to stimulate breathing, not cutting the umbilical cord immediately, etc. Water Birth A water birth theoretically eases the baby’s transition from the womb, into another warm, wet environment before entering the real world. Once the baby is born, it is pulled out of the water immediately and placed in the mother’s arms. There is little risk of drowning because breathing doesn’t begin until the baby is exposed to air. Your spouse can join you in the tub or hold on to you to provide support. This is really only an option for low-risk pregnancies; however, many women find that the water also provides relaxation and even helps with the progression of labor. Home Birth Home births are growing in popularity as more women choose this option over going to the hospital. A home birth allows you to labor in the comfort of your home, surrounded by people who mean the most to you. And right after you give birth, there's nothing more rewarding than snuggling up in your own bed with your newborn beside you!
|
When their first few maternity days are over, many working mothers are faced with the tough decision of continuing breastfeeding or switching to formula feeding. Breastfeeding is essential for both the mother and the baby. But it could cause some difficulties if you are an employee of a company. Still though the advantages that breastfeeding will give one's child makes it the more recommended and preferred route of feeding a baby. Breastfeeding is very important for a newborn baby. There is ample evidence of it's benefits over formula feeding.
Some basic differences to to remember between breastfeeding and formula feeding using cows milk:
Doctors do not recommend cow milk for
babies till the age of 10 to 12 months.
Cow milk is not as nutritious as breast
milk.
It is much more harder for an infant to
digest cow milk, at times causing a break down of the digestive
system.
The main difference between breast milk
and cow milk is antibodies.
Breast milk contains antibodies, which
are essential to develop a baby's immune system.
The immune system is responsible to help
fight against virus or bacteria entering the body.
If you decide to use the breastfeeding method (as one should), you may need to purchase a breast pump and learn to use it. Though breast pumps may have some temporary difficulties, it is used in various ways and for various reasons. If you'd just like to get some rest, then a breast pump gives your baby the benefit of your milk. It gives an experience of breastfeeding to the mother. It also ensures that her baby receives breast milk, which is best for it.
Normally breast pumps are used for mother-baby separation. A breast pump is easy to use and comfortable too. They give nursing mothers more freedom. There are many kinds of pumps are available in the market.
Some are hand-operated; some use batteries and yet others are work on electricity. The design of breast pumps vary as well. There are many models and types available for a mother to shop. The frequency of separation will help decide which type of breast pump one should use.
Some breast pumps protect a mothers breast milk from bacteria and viruses. There are also some manual pumps, which give the performance of an electric pump. There are many models that are pretty affordable, and then there are those that are quite innovative, high-end and branded that promise to give a natural feeling. Choose one that you think best suits you.
TYPES of BREAST PUMPS
There are many models of breast pumps available in the market. They fall under two main categories:
Manual Breast Pump - operated by hand.
Electric Breast Pump - operated by battery-power or
electricity.
Many mothers use both types. A manual breast pump is preferred when one plans to go for short trips.
There are two types of pumping:
Single pumping
Double pumping
In single pumping you can express milk from one breast. Some pumps allow for double pumping. They can express milk from both breasts simultaneously, if you require frequent pumping. Double pumping is more useful than single pumping, because it reduces pumping time by half.
Now, we'll take a close look at the types of breast pumps.
1. Manual breast pumps
These are popular for their simplicity and small size. Many mothers prefer
manual pumps to electric pumps. They give a feel of a baby sucking. This
is closest to the natural feeling of breastfeeding. The mother can manually
control the suction. The strength of the hand or arm muscles is used in manual
breast pump for single pumping. There are some manual pumps that use the
leg movement and foot muscles for double pumping. Many things are considered
while designing a manual hand pump.
The major advantage of manual hand pumps are:
More Affordable
Smaller
Lighter etc…
Less noisy
You can pump on one side while your baby is nursing on the
other.
2. Electric breast pumps
The electric pump is very easy to use and gives higher efficiency. If a mother wants to increase the production of breast milk, then she must use the electric or battery-powered pump. It is the natural choice for a mother having twins. An electric pump is very useful when the mother wants to pump both breasts at the same time. An AC adapter powers the pump or a direct outlet is used in conjunction with the plug. Electric breast pumps are used for double pumping and it is designed in such a way that you can use it frequently. The disadvantages are, that an electric breast pump can be noisier than most of the manual pumps, though some models are surprisingly compact and quiet.
3. Hospital-Grade breast pumps
You can also purchase hospital-grade quality breast pumps. They are most efficient and easy to use. Hospital-grade breast pumps are also available for rent. They are powered by electricity and designed for double pumping. Depending on your budget you can choose to either rent or purchase them.
SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT BIRTH in the UNITED STATES
More than 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, and the details of how, when, and where they arrive are constantly shifting. The big news from the latest report on birth trends put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is that women and men are waiting longer to start families, and fewer people are having babies — the U.S. birth rate slid to an all-time low in 2002, the most recent year the CDC examined. (They're compliling data from 2003 now, but the final numbers aren't out yet — and the big trends haven't changed.)There's good news: More expectant moms are avoiding tobacco smoke and seeking early prenatal care. Numbers of high-risk multiple births are declining as fertility treatments improve. Teenage pregnancy rates are plummeting. For all the details, read on.
When and where babies arrive
Super Tuesday: The most popular day for babies to make their entrances? Tuesday, which boasted more than 12,500 births on average. That's 66 percent higher than on Sunday, the slowest day of the week for new babies (in part because doctors don't schedule c-sections and inductions on weekends).
Some (babies) like it hot: More newborns arrived in the late summer months of July, August, and September than any other time of the year. Paul Sutton, a demographer for the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, says it makes sense if you think about what happens nine months earlier in most of the country — the weather gets colder and people spend more time indoors with their sweeties. Also, some people plan births to coincide with summer vacations, especially teachers and other folks who get summers off. November had the fewest birthdays: about 320,000.
Go West: The country's population as a whole is shifting westward, so it's not surprising that the six states showing significant increases in births between 2001 and 2002 (Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Wyoming) are all west of the Mississippi. Utah's birth rate beat every other state in the Union, with 21 babies born for every 1,000 people. Lowest birth-rate states were Vermont and Maine, with just ten babies born for every 1,000 folks.
All about moms
Waiting longer: First-time moms were about 25 years old on average — an all-time high in the United States. In 1970, the average age for first-time moms was about 21. How old were you when you had your first child? Take our poll.
Midlife mothers: Birth rates for women ages 35 to 39 were higher than ever (moms in their mid to late 30s accounted for more than 450,000 babies). The number of moms in their 40s also increased — the birth rate for women ages 40 to 44 has gone up 51 percent since 1990, mostly because of fertility treatments.
More unmarried moms: More than a third of all babies were born to unmarried women, a record high.
Weighing in: Moms-to-be gained 30.5 pounds during their pregnancies, according to the median. (That means that half of moms-to-be gained more than this, half gained less.) This number has stayed constant since 1990.
No-smoking zone: The number of moms who smoked during their pregnancies decreased to about 1 in 10. That's a decline of 42 percent since 1989, when this data was first collected. If you're trying to quit, get tips on kicking the habit from moms who've been there.
Birth and delivery
Most favor MDs: The vast majority of moms in the United States give birth in hospitals (99 percent) with the help of a physician (91 percent). But women are increasingly choosing other providers — midwives attended 8 percent of births, up from less than 1 percent in the mid-'70s.
C-sections soaring: Cesarean deliveries increased 7 percent from 2001 to 2002. They made up 26 percent of births, the highest rate ever reported in the United States.
Early arrivals: More babies were born prematurely — 12 percent for twins and other multiple births and 7 percent for single births.
Double delight: The number of twins born in the United States continued to rise, increasing to 31 pairs of twins for every 1,000 babies. This rate's skyrocketed 65 percent since 1980.
Dip in triplets: The rate of triplets and higher multiple births dropped slightly to 184 for every 100,000 live births, continuing a three-year decline due in part to improvements in fertility treatments. Still, multiple births have increased by more than 400 percent in the past 20 years.
The men and the boys
Boy power: Boys outnumbered girls among new babies, with 1,048 males for every 1,000 females. (That ratio's remained almost the same for the past 50 years.)
Father time: Like women, men are waiting longer to become parents. The median age for new dads is almost 30.
(c)All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2005
Rhapsody in Blue Enterprises
90307 SW Princeton Lane
Salem, OR., 97451
Webmaster - PBrax@ampheek.com
Disclaimer: Statements and opinions expressed in articles and elsewhere on this site are not necessarily those of Rhapsody in Blue Enterprises and should not be considered facts. The information published on this site by Rhapsody in Blue Enterprises/ Baby's Bounty is without any warranty of any kind, express or implied, and is not liable for its accuracy, for mistakes, errors, or omissions of any kind, nor for any loss or damage caused by a user's reliance on information obtained from the site. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified healthcare provider.
