My baby sister was 35 years old and pregnant with her first child. As a family, we were ecstatic. The family was expanding, and I was about to be an aunt for the third time. She was in her 3rd trimester and very pregnant, but she was up there in the choir singing and dancing her heart out at a memorial concert. I, along with many others, was shocked at how energetic and agile she was that far into pregnancy. However, when the concert was over, I looked at her feet and they were very, very …
The Baby Blog: Mom's Health Conditions
Navigating Constipation During Pregnancy: A Comprehensive Guide
Dealing with constipation can be challenging, and the struggle intensifies during pregnancy. The struggle is real, and I know it firsthand! I have struggled with constipation ever since I was a teenager. But once I started college, the stress of my day-to-day life intensified my symptoms which led me to suffer from chronic constipation. Once I found out I was pregnant, I knew it was only a matter of time until I experienced the discomfort, pain, and bloating all over again. But I knew that, …
Birth Defects vs. Chromosomal Abnormalities: What’s the Difference?
Sara contacted us on the MotherToBaby live chat service after being referred by her OB/GYN who had told her that the Paxil (drug name paroxetine) she was taking could cause a heart defect. She was 14 weeks along and wanted to learn more, but was confused because all her genetic testing results had come back normal. She asked: “How could my baby have a heart defect if my non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) was negative?”During pregnancy, there are many tests done to check on the health …
Balancing Act: The Importance of Medication Dose in Pregnancy
By: Kirstie Perrotta, MPH and Becky Spencer, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC, IBCLC, PMH-C, FILCAShannon was newly pregnant and had been referred to MotherToBaby by her doctor. She was taking 50 mg of sertraline per day for general anxiety and her doctor thought that she may need to wean off the medication now that she was 5 weeks pregnant. Shannon had been taking the medication for 3 years and was feeling great on her current dose, so she had some concerns about this plan. On the MotherToBaby website’s …
Don’t Stress Me Out: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Pregnancy
These were the sentiments of pregnant individuals going through the pandemic. It was an unprecedented event and as MotherToBaby Specialists we were challenged with dealing with the anxiety of expectant parents as they tried to get reliable information and deal with their fears, anxiety, and frustrations. Fortunately, as time went on, the infection did not appear to increase the chance of birth defects but now there is a question of the emotional toil it put on pregnant women.Post-traumatic …
