Jill Wodnick is a dynamic communicator using her words to inspire and empower. Jill has years practicing as a certified birth doula, holistic childbirth educator and creator of women’s rites and rituals for pregnancy and birth. She has trained women’s health professionals at Expectant Head Start, the Black Infant Mortality Resource Reduction Center as well as hundreds of expectant parents! read more

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child birth expert   Thread Posted by Replies Views Date   33 weeks and scared Question i am 33 weeks and i am contracting and i am at least 2 cm dilated the last time i checked but that was a couple days ago and i am swelling really bad also i have lost my mucus plug and i think i have a slo leak in my water what could i do to stop this so me and my baby boy are allright or will everything be ok Answer turkie88 1 403 6/22/08 11:16 pm   27 weeks, dropped, and stress bad all in one Question I am 27 weeks and I am under alot of stress Being a single mother of a 7 yearold and now 6 months pregnet again I am unemployed at the time and living with mother and afraid of losing all my home items soon and my car from not having a job of income I just set a whole yard sale up by myself and had to lift some heavy boxes I couldn't go with out doing it I have noticed I have dropped and not sure if I could have this baby early from the stress and all the hard activty I have done lately I don't want to go to the ER only if I have to but I don't have a  Dr now had to change states so my medicaid has not came into afect so no Dr apointments for a while What should I do just go by what I think my body is telling me I am ok but I am swollen real bad Just wore out and can't sleep at night anymore I am just misrable What do you think I have had one daughter and know what to expect when the time comes but I didn't drop that early with my first Is that ok Do I have anything to worry about  Do I need to go to the Dr to day   Answer jenn007007 1 365 7/27/08 1:23 am   AFD level 2.58 Question My Dr says my child has ntd I'm afraid and she wants me to get an anmiocetes done I'm 24 weeks the test was taken at 22 weeks The Dr could not  tell me the seriousness of this matter has reffered me to get counseling and reffered me to another ob/gyn please give me some insight while getting numerous ultrasounds at various labs they have always told me everyrhing is fine Could there be a problem with his spine Answer saydasbabyshower 1 425 4/25/08 12:15 pm   Traumatic birth Question Dear Jill I delivered my daughter 6 months ago and I am slowly processing what turned out to be a somewhat traumatic and disappointing labor/birth experience   I am at the point now of wondering if the interventions that I received were truly necessary or simply hospital protocol   I went into labor 1 day before my due date   My water broke at home and I labored there for about 2 3 hours   Once I arrived to the birthing center triage at my local hospital I feel I was immediately judged (in a negative way) because I planned on having my baby (my first) without an epidural or any other routine medical interventions including an IV placement   The nurses were not supportive (perhaps they were ill prepared to support a woman experiening labor w/o drugs)   When my daughter's heart rate dropped to the 60 70bpm range I was immediately given IV fluids oxygen and an internal fetal monitor was placed   The IV and monitor stayed in place until she was born   This of course limited my range of movement (which was a technique I planned on using to help me during my labor)   I felt trapped in my bed unable to move and sadly my CNM did not offer many suggestions to assist me through the contractions   When it came time to push I was so exhausted and felt like I no longer had any say in my labor or birth   When I screamed my CNM told me to "stop it "   I never felt the urge to push   I was put in a semi reclined position and was instructed (by about 8 staff members ) when to push   At this time my daughter's heart rate dropped again and the OBG on call came into the room and told me that I either had to have an emergency c section or delivery by forceps   I choose the forceps and pushed my baby out in less than 20 minutes   I had significant tearing   The doc tried to stitch me up there in the room but it was very painful   So they gave me morphine which of course made me so drowsy that I didn't get to experience my beautiful baby in the state I had hoped for   Sadly the tears were back very far so I was told that I had to go to the OR to be sedated and stitched up there   I was away from my precious baby for the first hour of her life   I don't feel like I'll every truly get over that   I was so excited about my birth before this experience   I cried for weeks aftewards even thinking about how it had turned out   I want my next birth to be different (I plan on having a doula present to start )   Anyways thank you so much for this online service   And again I'm wondering if all of the interventions that took place were truly necessary for the safety of my baby   Answer Jess 4 476 4/23/08 3:49 pm   Mucous Plug and cramping Question Hi I am expecting my third child and my due date is in five days I have dropped and am dialated to a 3 Yesterday after walking for an hour I experienced cramps and then I believe I lost my mucous plug and it was tinged light pink I thought for sure I would go into labor last night but no such luck This morning I am feeling fine Is this any indication that I will go into labor soon I was late with my last one which was horrible I am doing eveything I can to be early or on time this time around Thanks for your help Answer jewel3308 1 416 4/17/08 11:46 am   6 months pregnant, strange discharge Question I'm in my 26th week with first child and this morning i had a clear mucous like discharge I'm slightly worried Any ideas Answer mammabear2008 1 305 4/17/08 6:13 pm   painful hemroids Question I've tried everything for hemroids From witch hazel prep h soaking in the tub laying down  eating fiber and drinking plenty of water   My hemroids don't itch they are very painful Any suggestions PLEASE HELP Answer tabset 1 297 4/16/08 12:54 am   Tell me about Vacuum delivery Question I am 34 years old I gave birth to my 1st born in 2006/10/25 I had a very difficult labour and my baby was born after 12 hours of labour by vacuum delivery When he was born I could not hold him immediately as he was taken to be put in an incubator immediately He was born weighing 3 9kg He was monitored but the doctors found out that he was healthy and there was nothing wrong with him We were both released from hospital after 24 hours Now he is almost 18 months and is a beautiful active and happy baby Although his health is excellent in general that birth experience has worried me I often wonder if he won't have any side effects later on in life because he was born that way I don't know anything about vacuum delivery Thanks Answer Lolly 2 338 4/10/08 12:01 pm   Spotting Question I am currently 38 weeks prgnant with my first child and i have been experiencing some spotting not enough to fill a pad On Saturday I was concerned because the spotting was very bright I didnt call my doctor because i wanted to see if it continued and thank God it didnt   Could this be a sign that i am dialating or i will be going into labor soon Answer annieo 1 293 4/8/08 4:51 pm   about me and baby Question how much dilated do i have o be to know that its time also how many weeks am i if my dueate is may 20th Answer nilsa 1 304 4/12/08 3:33 pm   about my pregnancy Question around what week is it safe to give birth and how do i know that the baby is on the way if i didnt feel any pains with my other two babies Answer nilsa 1 264 4/12/08 3:26 pm   are these signs that my body is getting ready for labor? Question ok for the past 4days ive had the following happen i had a lot of abdomanal pain and contractions that were very painful and would wake me up when i did finaly fall asleep then the baby has dropped and is lower then before i can breath now and ive been in the bathroom a lot more haveing to pee and had a lot of loose stools the last 3 days witch isnt normal for me and ive had pains in my vagina and back that make it hard to walk or move this is my 2nd pregnancy but my first one was far from normal i had preeclampsia and hellps and my son was born at 29 weeks so being 34 weeks and 4 days i dont know what is normal and all   thanks for any help   Answer babydoll28 1 414 4/2/08 5:12 pm   epidural Question my doc explained that having an epidural may actually decrease chances of a c section because it allows the mom to relax and possibly progress faster because she is relaxed   Is this true Also if you are given and pitocin does that cause swelling in your body   The first time i gave birth I looked like a puff ball afterwards Or was that from the pushing Answer kim 1 375 2/28/08 2:09 pm   BABY Question IS IT SAVE TO LET THE BABY LISTING TO MUSIC AND CD WITH LEARNING THINGS ON IT LIKE ABC AND 123 WILD IT'S STILL IN THE BELLY Answer JAMEST 1 266 3/17/08 1:59 pm   baby breech Question Hi I am 33 weeks    I am due 4/11/08   I went to the doctor today and she said the baby is breech She said not to worry this might change However I am worried   Can I do anything to change the babies postition Answer lrr 1 342 2/13/08 8:52 pm   Ready for labor Question I am ready for labor is there a safe way to speed up going into labor Answer Ally 2 411 1/6/08 10:03 pm   Cervix length and Cerclage Question Hi I am currently pg with triplets and was originally told that I would need a cerclage due to a second trimester miscarriage last year and my history   At 18 weeks my cervix was still holding strong at 4 5 but an u/s today showed my cervix had already shortened to 3 0   I am 20 21 weeks currently   I will talk to my OB about this but my appt is not for another 4 days so I am doing as much research as I can   I do see a perintologist but I live 365 miles away from him and have to fly there to see him   Any insight would be great   Thanks Answer animasters 1 334 1/22/08 2:59 am   38 weeks and ready to go Question I was due a couple days ago and my son has not arrived yet I think I am just anxious for him to get here But I am also ready to drop the load Is there anything I can do to make him come My doctor is talking about inducing when I dialate I really don't want that to happen But he says that my baby is growing and he doesn't want to deliver a 10 pound baby The way that sounds it kind of scares me Answer happymomma 1 483 12/13/07 9:28 pm   stomach cramps Question i am 39 weeks pregnant and i am having stomach cramps that feel like i am starting my period   is this normal Answer mandy 1 386 12/14/07 2:14 am   i need to know about dialating and mucus plugs Question Hi this is my 1st child a girl and am 38 weeks and 4 days   The some doctors say my due date is the 24th others say the 14th  However I had a dr s appointment this week and I was told that I dilated 1 cm   In lamens terms please tell me around how long and how far do I have to dialate to be ready   I was told this over and over but for some reason I tend to get side tracked on some pain or another            PLEASE HELP FAST Answer geturowns 1 437 12/8/07 4:37 am   Please Help Me Question Hi I am 30 weeks pregnant and I don't go throu pregnency easily I am 24 years old and I feel missriable I feel heavy fat ugly my back is killing me and I wish everything was over But dosen't matter with that My question is how will I know what to do during labor or when to go to hospital I am poor and I don't have money for child birth classes Maybe you can tell me some sighns of labor being started I know you have pains like menstrual ones etc I have read it on internet But maybe you can be more spoecific And besides that I am afrraid that something will go wrong The doctor said that my baby is very big but we will try natural birth prabobly I am afraid that we will start natural and baby will be stuck in canal and then what Besides I had only one USG done around 22 week I don't know why the doctor don't order more Sopously the baby stomack is 2 weeks biger then the rest and he doesn't seems to care and I am scared for the baby Please help Answer Tweety 3 344 11/30/07 7:44 pm   triple screen Question HI MY NAME IS KIYONNA I AM 28 YEARS OLD AND HAVE TWO DAUGHTER 5 AND 8 WITH KNOW KIND OF HEALTH PROBLEM I GOT MY TRIPLE SCREEN OR QUID SCREEN LAST WEEK SOMETHING MAYBE WRONG DO U THINK EVERY THING IS OK ME NOR THE FATHER  HAS A HISTORY OR BIRTH PROBLEM HELP HELP Answer kiyonna 3 328 11/25/07 11:39 am   working Question I am currently 34 weeks and still working full time I work 12 hr shifts and I am on my feet for about 3 4 hrs at a time then take 5 10 min breaks in between with 1/2 hr lunch I am having a hard time at work Im getting slower & slower and have lots of hip and pelvic pain after a few hrs when I walk My Dr said it is up to me if i feel i need to work shorter shifts or take my leave early but everyone at work keeps telling me that people work up until their due date now as long as they dont have complications and I dont have much longer to go so i should just put up with it until then I dont want to upset my boss or co workers for requesting shorter shifts and I dont think they will accomodate that so i will probably have to take an early maternity leave so what do you recommend Answer jenniej4026 1 359 11/19/07 7:35 pm   Could labor be soon? Also... Question I am 35 weeks and have recently lost my mucous plug I am also having braxton hicks contractions Last night they lasted for about an hour Also if she were to be born now what are the chances of her being able to come home with us Answer 1 339 11/24/07 9:11 pm   health care for conceiving Question Hi I wanted to know if any special health care is required to conceive I have arthritis problem Thanks                 function RP Callback Helper(str strCallbackEvent splitSize func) var event null;if (strCallbackEvent) event document createEvent('Events');event initEvent(strCallbackEvent true true); if (str && str length > 0) var splitList str split(' ');var strCompare str;if (splitList length splitSize)strCompare splitList[splitSize 1];var pluginList document plugins;for (var count 0; count < pluginList length; count ) var sSrc '';if (pluginList[count] && pluginList[count] src)sSrc pluginList[count] src;if (strCompare length > sSrc length) if (strCompare indexOf(sSrc) 1) func(str count pluginList splitList);break; if (strCallbackEvent)document body dispatchEvent(event); function RP Coord Callback(str) var func function(str index pluginList splitList) pluginList[index] RP Coord Callback str;pluginList[index] RP Coord Callback Left splitList[0];pluginList[index] RP Coord Callback Top splitList[1];pluginList[index] RP Coord Callback Right splitList[2];pluginList[index] RP Coord Callback Bottom splitList[3]; ; RP Callback Helper(str 'rp js coord callback' 5 func); function RP Url Callback(str) var func function(str index pluginList splitList) pluginList[index] RP Url Callback str;pluginList[index] RP Url Callback Vid splitList[0];pluginList[index] RP Url Callback Parent splitList[1]; ; RP Callback Helper(str 'rp js url callback' 3 func); function RP TotalBytes Callback(str) var func function(str index pluginList splitList) pluginList[index] RP TotalBytes Callback str;pluginList[index] RP TotalBytes Callback Bytes splitList[0]; ; RP Callback Helper(str null 2 func); function RP Connection Callback(str) var func function(str index pluginList splitList) pluginList[index] RP Connection Callback str;pluginList[index] RP Connection Callback Url splitList[0]; ; RP Callback Helper(str null 2 func); Answer JGill 1 265 11/21/07 7:14 pm   VBAC Question I am 26 wks pregnant with my second baby My first was two weeks late and after a stressful/disasterous attempt at induction I ended up with a c section I have to admit I was already very agitated about being "late" and found myself feeling impatient and not in touch with my body After the c section I felt like such a failure for not being able to give birth naturally and I still feel like I have unanswered questions about why I didn't go into labor on my own and why the induction didn't work Although I have to admit I recovered very well/quickly and did not have any problems breastfeeding And my baby was very healthy so all my unanswered questions were brushed aside and remained unanswered until now So now with this pregnancy I want to know how much of an indicator is my first experience for what will happen this time My doctor recommended a scheduled c section 2 weeks before the due date I told him I want to try a VBAC and he was fine with that but said he recommended only going to 41 weeks And induction is not an option In my heart I believe a big part of my not going into the labor on my own was because stress/fear What can I do to help ease my tensions this time And what are my odds for having a successful natural labor the second time around Thank you Rebecca Rebecca 0 278 11/25/07 1:06 am   Just Curious Question I am exactly 31wks pregnant and i'm trying to figure out exactly why I hurt so much with this baby cause with my other child that is now 12 yrs old i didn't feel this way when i was carrying her and now i'm hurting very badly and i just feel very tired and drained all the time is there anything that i can do to try to make myself least feel bck to normal while these pains are hurting me everyday Answer mommyc 3 378 8/27/07 9:29 pm   Labor after lose mucus plug/small baby Question Hi there I am 37 5 weeks along and lost my mucus plug about 3 weeks ago   So far I am being told my baby will be small most likley around 6 pounds (my first was 5lbs 10 oz)   I am concerned that since I lost the mucus plug so early I won't go a full 40 weeks and the baby could be around 4 5 pounds   Is it possible to lost the mucus plug around 35 weeks and still go to 40 weeks Anything I can do to help keep the baby around longer or help him grow larger   I am already having a serious decline in my appetite Thanks very much newmom 0 309 11/19/07 11:36 pm   Types of birthing processes?!?!?!? Question I am not currently expecting but I may become pregnant soon I had a question about the birthing processes Which methods are better Epidural vs no drugs Scientology type (non talking calm) vs natural home birth vs hospital birth etc Thank you Answer CNSmith2006 1 354 11/5/07 12:24 am   Should i be scared? Question i am now almost 8weeks pregnant with my first child when i first found out i was pregnant i wanted to be healthy for me and especially for the baby   i haven't walk much before so i decided that i would start walking everyday for some excersise Then after a week i woke up this one morning and my left side muscles were very painful   It was a sharp pain in my left side that start to strike but didn't last for more than 3 minutes i felt  more sore the more i touched that side and that spot became to harden it happende through my day a lot but now i am scared of losing this baby is this normal or should i be scared Answer Tasha 1 374 10/22/07 10:19 am

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