Midwifery facts and a link

Today I feel like a midwifery post because I got to feel a mommy's belly. I felt baby's little foot and head and back. I took mom's blood pressure and heard baby's heartbeat. So much fun! I only met the mommy today but she was so sweet and such a good sport about it. Maybe I will get to see her birth.

Now some facts.

• Podalic Version is when the midwife turns the baby into breach position. This is attempted when the baby is transverse (laying sideways) and can not be turned to head first (Cephalic Version.)
• Phenylketonurya is the inability to break down phenylalanine which is an amino acid. It is a recessive genetic disease and if a baby is born with it they have to have a special formula and eat foods low in phenylalanine all their life. (Look up the words on howjsay and then you can say them when you want to feel smart)
• Pitocin is just synthetic Oxytocin which is a hormone that a lady makes naturally when in labor or breast feeding.
• Do you know why pregnant women should not clean out the litter box? Toxoplasma gondii. It is a parasite that reproduces sexually only in cats. Normally it only causes flu-like symptoms but if a mother gets it, she could miscarry or have a still birth. If a baby lives there could be lots of problems for him.
• Baby contributes to birth too. He has to rotate the right way for the best fit. First he lays on his side. As his head comes down the birth canal he turns face down and tucks his chin in. Then for his shoulders to be born he turns back on his side. My link has really cool information on this.

http://spinningbabies.com/

P.S. I started this post a week or so ago on the day I actually got to palpate a belly. :)