There are few things in the world as exciting as feeling your baby move inside your belly! This movement is called “quickening.” Although your baby has been moving and kicking for many weeks, only at about 16 weeks can you really start to feel those wiggles. Some women report feeling that little person in there much earlier, while others don’t notice the movements until 20 weeks or later.
Here’s how a few moms-to-be described those baby kicks:
It feels very, very gentle, and it’s like someone pushing your abdominal wall from the inside. It’s becoming quite recognizable and pretty easy to distinguish from gas. I hope I’m not fooling myself but I think that’s really it! I’m so psyched! – Alisa
I did not think I was feeling anything with my daughter until we were at the ultrasound and the lady said, “You don’t feel that?” I said (feeling stupid), “Well, yes, but I just thought that was gas!” – Dawn
I was on my way to Starbucks and the baby kicked me good and hard for the first time. It was weird; I got this overwhelming feeling like everyone just saw what happened. It was pretty strange — but fun. - Monique
Some factors that determine when you will feel your baby include how much “padding” you are carrying (aka fat), the baby’s position, the placement of the placenta (which might muffle the kicks), and — very important — whether or not you recognize what you’re feeling. At first, your baby’s movement won’t feel like much! Early fetal movement may feel like the flutter of a butterfly, a tickle with a feather, or even like a gas bubble.
One thing that holds true for almost every woman: Baby’s kicks feel like… one of the best things in the world.
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If you have bugs on or around you — whether it’s ants looking for a picnic to crash or mosquitoes wanting to go all Twilight on you — can you still whip out a can of bug spray to get rid of them? How unsafe is basic insect repellent, anyhow?
First, you have to remember that many bug bites are more than simple annoyances: Insects can carry a variety of diseases, including West Nile Virus, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. On the other hand, it’s also known that most pesticides are chemical poisons — and the less exposure you have, the better.
So what should you do?
To start, your best bet is to find some safe natural methods of pest control, and try some time-tested avoidance basics, like avoiding trips to trouble spots, staying indoors at certain times of day, using window screens or mosquito netting, as well as wearing long-sleeve shirts, pants and high socks to minimize your exposure.
If you need more protection, the next step is to weigh the risk of using a repellent versus the risk of not doing anything extra to keep bugs at bay.
When your options are limited, Ohio Ob/Gyn David Barrere, MD, FACOG told us, …
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So do you really need to wear a seatbelt during pregnancy? They aren’t very comfortable, they can be awkward to use when your belly is huge, and seem to don’t fit very well — not to mention that a lot of pregnant women worry that the belt itself could injure the baby in the event of a car crash.
But doctors, researchers and accident investigators all agree: The best way for a pregnant woman to protect her baby in utero is to protect herself. So when you’re on the road, wear your seatbelt every time — and that means throughout your entire pregnancy (and even if it’s a little uncomfortable sometimes).
Is it really safe?
A group of researchers led by Dr Stacie Zelman from Wake Forest University examined a national database of over two million injured patients, and found over 2,400 pregnant women injured in car crashes. Women wearing a seat belt, having an air bag, or both were significantly less likely to have pregnancy-related complications than women with neither a seat belt nor an air bag. (Not surprisingly, the combination of a seat belt and air bag resulted in the lowest rate of complications.)
There is no evidence that safety belts …
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The experts have spoken: Pregnant mamas need to both wear seat belts and leave the air bag switch on — that’s because the two systems work together to protect both you and your unborn baby in the event of a crash.
But because deployed air bags have been proven very dangerous to babies and kids — which is why you never ever put a carseat in the front seat — there’s been concern that airbags might also injure unborn children, noted University of Washington researchers.
The Washington study (reported in Obstetrics & Gynecology during December 2009) found, however, “that pregnant occupants of motor vehicles with air bags were not at increased risk for pregnancy complications,” such as …
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In a word, yes — unless it’s the only doctor within 50 miles or or you’re due within a month or so. (Even then there are options, but it will be a lot more complicated.)
Will it be easy, though? That’s not as simple to answer.
First, you need to work out what you want in a caregiver, and then look at what your current physican does or doesn’t offer. Usually, for a woman to want to get a new caregiver partway through pregnancy means that she and the doc have a pretty major difference of philosophy.
For example, you may want a VBAC, and he’s completely against the idea. Or maybe you don’t want to have your labor induced, but your doctor says you have to because the baby’s getting “too big.” Could be even simpler: you don’t like his or her schedule (you’re always waiting), his gender (you’d rather have a woman examine you) or in other ways you just aren’t comfortable.
When looking at another caregiver, the number one priority is …
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