Pregnancy FAQs: Top Questions on Delivery and Post Delivery Answered

1. I’m afraid I might pee or poo during delivery if I push the wrong way. Is there a proper
way to “push?”

Don’t let inhibition or embarrassment break the pushing rhythm. Do what comes naturally. Push when you feel the urge, unless otherwise instructed. Since you’re bearing down on the whole perineal area, anything that’s in your rectum may be pushed out too; trying to avoid this while you’re pushing can impede your progress. A little involuntary evacuation is experienced by nearly everyone in delivery.   Don’t worry about it. Sterile pads will be used to whisk away any excretion immediately.

 

2. Why do nurses have to push down my diaphragm when I bear down?

The nurses do not push a pregnant woman’s diaphragm. Pushing on the diaphragm is dangerous because it is the largest respiratory muscle. The gentle push of the nurses, midwives, or even doctors is on the fundus or the upper part of the uterus, to help the mother deliver the baby.

 

3. What do hospital personnel do after the baby’s head emerges?

During delivery, once the head emerges, they will quickly suction the baby’s nose and mouth to remove excess mucus, and then they will assist you (and the baby) in getting the shoulders and torso out. Next is clamping and cutting the umbilical cord; your husband may be allowed to do this if he wants to.

 

4. Is my baby given a bath after birth?

Yes, post delivery, after suctioning the nose and mouth for any secretions and giving the newborn an “oil bath” or cleaning the baby with gauze and baby oil, the baby is given his first warm head to toe bath, with mild soap.

 

5. When is the Newborn Screening done?

As provided for by “The Newborn Screening Act of 2004,” all babies must undergo newborn screening at least 24 hours to 3 days after birth. Premature babies and babies that experienced complications may have it on the 7th day of life. Although a 30-day allowance is given for the Newborn Screening test to be performed, this is not ideal.

 

6. I heard there are vaccines that should be given at birth. When should I expect these?

After your baby’s first warm head-to-toe bath, your baby is injected with vitamin K and Hepatitis B vaccine in each thigh and an antibiotic ointment is instilled in both eyes. Aside from Hepatitis B vaccine, BCG vaccine may also be given on the 3rd day of life, depending on the institution or your baby’s attending pediatrician. These vaccines are DOH-directed.

 

Click here to learn more delivery and post-delivery FAQs.

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Here are more delivery and post-delivery FAQs.

 

7.  My baby’s head was odd shaped when he was born, why is this so?

Don’t panic. Wrinkled skin, puffy eyes, or an odd-shaped head are just natural characteristics of a newborn. The infant’s head is the largest part of the body, with a circumference as large as the chest. As the baby grows, the rest of the body will catch up. The head has molded to fit through the mother’s pelvis, giving it an odd, possibly pointed “cone” shape. Just wait a couple of months and you’ll see a cherub in the crib.

 

8. Why do I experience chills after I delivered my child? Is this normal?

Chills post delivery is not that common, but it can be expected. It is usually a physiological or normal reaction to change in temperature (either room or body temperature, dehydration or rapid flow of the intravenous or dextrose fluid). If there is no fever and unusual blood loss, no medical procedure is required except for keeping the patient warm with a blanket, turning off or setting low the cooling unit, and monitor that fluid flow is regulated.

 

9. How long should we stay in the hospital?

For normal delivery, some stay for a day or two, if both the mother and baby are in good health condition. For caesarian section delivery, hospital stay is at least four to five days. This period will allow the mother to recover from the anesthesia, surgery, and the delivery. For the baby, longer hospital stay is required to observe any untoward symptoms and to give your baby the required vaccines.

 

10. How soon can my baby be roomed in?

Some hospitals encourage rooming-in as soon as the mother can cuddle her baby for early breastfeeding. This occurs earlier when baby is delivered through normal vaginal delivery. Rooming-in is the right of the mother, as provided for in Republic Act 7600  (“The Rooming-in and Breastfeeding Act of 1992”).

Read about the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act.

 

11. Will I be able to breastfeed even if my baby stays in the nursery?

Yes, definitely. As stated in the “Rooming-in and Breastfeeding Act,” which includes provisions for rooming-in and breastfeeding of all babies in the hospitals, maternal-child care unit, or obstetric ward must be established in the hospitals where the baby can be roomed in at once. Or the OB ward should be adjacent to the nursery, where there is a designated breastfeeding room.

 

12. How long will I experience a bloody discharge?

This discharge is called lochia, which is composed of leftover blood, mucus, and tissue from your
uterus. It is normally heavy as a menstrual period for the first three postpartum days. And though it will probably seem more copious than it really is, it may total two cups before it begins to taper off. Your discharge will be quite red for two to three days, gradually turning to a watery pink, then to brown, and finally to a yellowish white over the next week or two.

 

SOURCES

• Julia Bulaon-Beltran, M.D., ob-gynecologist
• Teresa Luna, M.D., obgynecologist
• What To Expect When You’re Expecting by Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, and Sandee Hathaway
• Websites: webmd.com; parenting.com

 

Photo from sxc.hu