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Pregnancy & Childbirth
Chapter 8: Pregnancy & Childbirth
Kalah T. Benjamin
Contemporary Health II
Rowan University
1
Pregnancy & Childbirth
Kalah Benjamin
2
Project One
Professor Tucker
Contemporary Health II
02/23/2016
Chapter 8
Pregnancy & Childbirth
Having children is a beautiful thing! It’s the most amazing experience for a woman to know that
she could create something so special from her body and bring more life into the world. For me, I chose
to do this topic because I am a mother. I have been through everything that this book describes and
from first-hand account can admit that it is challenging but nothing else in life compares to seeing you
baby’s face for the first time or actually physically holding their hand. Now the book gives the systematic
approach to pregnancy and childbirth. In regards to it lasting roughly 9 full months in duration, the 3
stages of childbirth, the different types of pregnancy complications, and of course the 3 major methods
of childbirth, they’re all accurate. But ever woman is different and ever pregnancy is different so its not
so easy to confine them into these general constraints. The first thing the doctor will tell you when it
comes to pregnancy and childbirth is that anything can happen!
First, a woman must ovulate in order to become pregnant. Ovulation is the process by which the
ovaries release a mature ovum. When unfertilized, it travels to the uterus and causes the endometrium
to breaks down and expel from the body; menstruation. However when fertilized, when sperm meets
the ovum, the pair then travels through the fallopian tubes and embeds itself into the uterus wall and
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begins the process of pregnancy. This process is usually identified as conception. Once attached to the
wall, the now zygote begins the journey to becoming a fetus. In the first trimester of pregnancy is when
this all occurs, as the weeks progress, the zygote will transform into an embryo that will have started
developing its nervous system, fingers, toes, eyes, nails, and major organs. This period of pregnancy
lasts from conception to 12 weeks. Shifting into the second trimester, the embryo is now a fetus and
growing even more. The fetus’ bone begin to harden just a bit, urine forms, and its genitals become a
little more apparent and indicate the sex of the baby. Lastly, a woman transitions into her third and final
trimester. Here the fetus’ system are formed as much as they possibly will be before birth, and begins
to position itself differently so that it may travel through the cervix and down the vaginal canal for birth.
Child birth begins with the rhythmic contracting of the uterus that helps move the baby down.
While this is in progress, the cervix dilates until at least 10 cm is reached for the baby to safely pass
through. This is termed Early Labor and lasts until it is time to push. Active labor then begins as the
mother pushes to expel the baby. Lastly is the Transition Phase which includes the after birth of the
placenta. This timing of childbirth is different for every woman and can last from just a few hours to a
few days depending on the body’s ability to transition through each of these phases. This method of
childbirth is used for vaginal deliveries either with the assistance of an epidural or natural vaginal birth
without the assistance of pain medication. The only other alternative to these two methods is a
Caesarean or C-Section in which the lower abdomen is cut and the baby is pulled from it. However this
method is only used in situations where it is necessary.
Healthy People 2020 increases the chances of having a healthy mother before she even
becomes pregnant. Pregnancy is beautiful but can be quite unpredictable and scary and if a mother is
already in an unhealthy state before the baby, can cause even more complications with her pregnancy
or even childbirth. Like I previously stated, I’ve been through this experience. And as a woman who in
the future would like to have more children, I see the importance of taking care of my body more than
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ever. There are consequences for every decision we make in life and I do not want any of the decisions I
make for myself and my body to affect my children in any way. A mother’s job is to protect her children
and that starts with me and my habits.
References
Insel, P. M. & Roth, W. T. (2016). Connect Core Concepts in Health. (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Education. (ISBN: 978-1-25-9285646)