36 weeks at the Birth Center

Rachelle at 36 weeks in the nursery

We are now only 4 weeks away from our daughters delivery date!  Rachelle has had even more Braxton hicks and her body has started preparing even more for delivery.  We started our morning with an appointment in the OB/GYN office with Dr. Tami Michele.  Our normal doctor, Dr, James Patenge, was off this week which allowed us the opportunity to meet with someone else. 

Today she preformed a Group B strep test and also tested for any leaking amniotic fluid.  Rachelle had higher than normal blood pressure this morning, the nurse was nice enough to give her a little snack to help it.  Dr. Michele did not see any dilation of the cervix yet.  Baby’s heart rate was 154 bpm and she is currently head down.  After checking her blood pressure again, with only a little change, we were admitted to the Family Birth Center triage room at Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial for further testing and evaluation.  Currently Rachelle is hooked up to a monitor watching baby’s heart rate, contractions and her blood pressure.  They are also testing some blood work and checking for pre eclampsia.

Check back for updates as our day progresses!

 

How our baby’s growing:

 

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She’s shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

Week 36

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she’s in a head-down position. But if she isn’t, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an “external cephalic version,” which is a fancy way of saying she’ll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

 

 

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Babycenter.com information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby’s development.

 

10 Questions with Dr. James Patenge – Part 1

 

The following is the part one of a two part series.  I gathered information on what questions new parents most frequntly ask their doctors.  I was then able to have our doctor, James Patenge, DO, OB/GYN, answer each question.

Why did you become an OB/GYN?

I was working as an engineer when our first child was born.  We had a wonderful experience.  At that time I was not happy with my career choice

Dr. James Patenge

so I looked into a career in medicine.  As a medical student you spend time in all the different medical fields and I seemed to always gravitate to OB/GYN because it allowed me to care for patients in general health as well as surgery.  I always enjoyed surgery and this gave me a good mix of office and surgery time throughout the week.  As an engineer I spent most of my time sitting behind a desk.  OB is the happy part of medicine for the most part.  Patients look forward to their appointment and its fun being part of such a big event in their life.

How many babies have you delivered in your career?

My last count was summer 2011 and I had just over 3000 deliveries.

What is the difference between a DO and Midwife?

A doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) or doctor of medicine (MD) OB/GYN is trained through a medical school and fulfills residency training for the full spectrum of women’s health, including surgeries like tubal ligations, laparoscopies and hysterectomies.  A DO is also trained to do manipulative medicine to help with musculoskeletal pains which MD is not exposed to in training.  That gives us one more tool in our doctors’ bag to help with different ailments.  A Midwife can range from no training other then helping with many births, called a Lay Midwife, to a Certified Nurse Midwife who has completed training in prenatal care and childbirth.  They will sometimes work in people’s homes or in a hospital setting.  A midwife is not trained to do surgery.

Is it important for new mothers to take child birthing classes?

Child birth classes are a very good idea for new moms and dads.  Many things are explained in more detail then can be explained in the office

during a visit.  It takes away some of the anxiety by knowing what new mom’s and dad’s can expect to happen during the pregnancy.  They will see some of the equipment that is commonly used and what they are used for.  They will also discuss epidurals in detail and what to expect if a c-section has done.

What normal aches and pains should woman expect while pregnant?

Mild aches and pains are normal during pregnancy.  Some women note mild cramping early in pregnancy and then low back and hip pain in the last trimester.  Round ligament pain, which is a sharp shooting pain into the groin from a ligament stretching as the uterus grows, is common.