Divine Design

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: DIV

Program Code: DIV000006A


00:21 Creation or Evolution, Design or Random Chance.
00:26 They say it all began with a "Big Bang".
00:31 But when we look at the amazing human body,
00:33 the answer is obvious.
00:36 The complexity of the design exceeds anything man has
00:39 ever made. The body, could have only been designed
00:43 by the "Master Designer", we read about in the Bible.
01:05 Hello, I'm Patti Barnes,
01:06 Director of the Midwifery Program at Hartland College.
01:09 In this segment, we are going to discuss the importance
01:13 of prenatal care.
01:14 Prenatal, also called Antepartum is a period of the time
01:19 the baby is developing in the womb prior to birth.
01:22 Several studies have revealed the importance of mothers
01:26 of teen prenatal checkups early on in pregnancy.
01:30 It has been found that proper and early prenatal care
01:33 can help reduce high risk situations,
01:37 and bad outcomes such as:
01:50 These are just a few, but you can see from these
01:52 that there is certainly value in good prenatal care.
01:55 According to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau,
01:58 mothers that fail to receive prenatal care,
02:01 are three times more likely to have low birth weight babies,
02:05 and the chances of their babies dying is increased
02:09 by five times. Child Health USA reports that babies born
02:14 with a birth weight under five and a half pounds,
02:17 and especially a very low birth weight of less than
02:21 three and a quarter pounds are more likely than infants
02:25 of normal weight to die in the first year of life,
02:28 and to experience long range physical and developmental
02:33 health problems.
02:34 These are terrible, yet often avoidable outcomes,
02:38 and it isn't just the physical health we should be
02:41 concerned about.
02:42 In the book Mind, Character, and Personality,
02:46 Volume 1 we read:
03:14 Ok, so when should prenatal care begin?
03:16 The answer is surprisingly enough before pregnancy
03:20 even begins.
03:22 In the book Education, page 276, we find this
03:25 very important council:
03:50 Young people, we cannot stress enough, that you take this
03:56 responsibility seriously, it can make a great difference
04:00 in your lives and the lives of your offspring.
04:03 How sad is it today, that few people understand
04:07 these principles. I like to think of prenatal care
04:11 as the assessment of a mother's:
04:17 needs, and ways of providing for
04:18 those needs. The first visit with your healthcare provider,
04:22 should take place as early as possible in the
04:25 first trimester of pregnancy.
04:27 The gestational period is basically divided into three
04:30 major time periods called:
04:34 Which roughly breaks down as follows:
04:49 At the first prenatal visit, your healthcare provider
04:52 should determine your estimated due date.
04:54 Then go over the health or medical history of you
04:57 and your family.
04:58 Review previous pregnancies if any.
05:01 Evaluate possible risk factors.
05:03 In addition, lab tests are done, including:
05:06 Which checks for the iron level, to rule out anemia.
05:10 Which is your blood type.
05:14 To certain conditions like:
05:23 Then a complete physical exam should be done.
05:26 After the first visit, regular prenatals should be done
05:30 every month until 28 weeks, then every two weeks
05:34 until 36 weeks, increasing to every week up until delivery,
05:40 now, more visits may be needed in high risk cases.
05:44 For subsequent visits, I like to use the acronym, "CHECKUP".
05:53 Edema, that's checking for swelling.
05:55 Checking the urine.
06:06 Let's start with checking the mother's weight.
06:08 It will be important to monitor the weight gain at each visit.
06:12 Why is this important?
06:14 Generally speaking, a healthy mother, will gain roughly
06:18 around 20 to 32 lbs. during pregnancy.
06:22 This can vary according to pre-pregnancy weight.
06:25 One who begins under weight, should gain more during
06:28 pregnancy than one who begins overweight.
06:31 On the average a mother might gain four pounds or less
06:35 the first trimester, and about one pound per week
06:38 through the remainder of the pregnancy.
06:40 If significant weight gain takes place,
06:44 there is a higher risk of gestational diabetes
06:47 or oversize baby, which could lead to birthing difficulties.
06:51 Weight loss could lead to an underweight baby,
06:55 and then higher risk of infant mortality.
06:58 By monitoring the weight gain, the mother's diet, and lifestyle
07:03 can be adjusted to meet the circumstances.
07:06 Let's see where the normal weight gain comes from.
07:37 So we get the sum of 20- 32 Lbs.
07:39 I once had a client that was very overweight for pregnancy,
07:44 along with my backup doctor, we worked with her diet,
07:46 eliminating junk foods, but imp- lementing good wholesome foods.
07:52 At delivery, she had a net gain of a mere 3 lbs.
07:56 The baby was born a healthy seven and a half pounds.
07:59 Subtract that extra weight for the:
08:04 and you can see, she actually lost some body weight.
08:08 Another client who began her pregnancy slightly underweight,
08:11 was determined to maintain a two meal a day diet
08:15 even though I counseled her to eat a third meal
08:19 during pregnancy. The baby was born in the hospital
08:23 weighing only five pounds.
08:25 Such slight weight gain may mean that quantity or quality
08:30 of the food is insufficient to supply both
08:33 the mother and the baby.
08:35 The next item on the check-up list is her:
08:38 and pulse rate.
08:40 The normal blood pressure is around 120/70,
08:45 high blood pressure is said to be anything above 140/90,
08:49 If high blood pressure continues too long, Preeclampsia,
08:54 also known as Toxemia, can develop.
08:57 a condition that can lead to organ damage in the mother.
09:00 If the Preeclampsia is unchecked, it could lead to
09:05 seizures, and a condition called Eclampsia,
09:08 this can be fatal.
09:11 Some signs of Preeclampsia are protein in the urine,
09:14 headaches, swelling in the face, hands, and feet,
09:18 also referred to as Edema, which is the next item
09:24 in our checkup acronym.
09:25 So how do we help prevent this condition?
09:29 The first thing to consider is the elimination of
09:32 certain things from the diet including pork, caffeine,
09:37 and other stimulants. Fried and fatty foods,
09:40 spicy foods, sugar and sugar substitutes.
09:45 But adding good things like fresh fruits and vegetables,
09:49 proper protein balance, fresh lemon in the place of vinegar,
09:53 garlic, parsley, onions, and cucumbers, proper hydration.
09:59 Now we come to Chemstrip Urinalysis,
10:02 at each visit the urine should be analyzed to detect
10:05 indicators of possible problems.
10:07 For example, the presence of Glucose in the urine can be
10:11 an indicator of Diabetes.
10:12 Protein presence can be an indicator of
10:16 Preeclampsic conditions.
10:17 Blood in the urine may be a sign of anemia.
10:21 Or Leukocytes, which is white blood cells, may be the result
10:25 of fighting off a Urinary Tract Infection.
10:27 So you can see the values in having these Chemstrip Tests
10:32 done. Next on the list is Kicking and Fetal Movement.
10:35 Around seventeen weeks is when you might start noticing
10:39 your baby move, and by twenty weeks,
10:41 it should be quite noticeable.
10:43 As the baby grows, you will begin to pick up his regular
10:48 pattern of movement.
10:49 There can be anywhere between ten to one hundred movements
10:53 within a three hour period. Watch for any marked deviation
10:58 from what your baby is used to doing.
11:01 Now we come to the uterus size. At each prenatal session,
11:06 the doctor or midwife will measure what they call the
11:10 Fundal Height to assure that the baby is growing.
11:13 This is the distance between the top of the pubic bone
11:17 which is called the "Symphysis Pubis"
11:19 to the top of the Uterus, or Fundus.
11:22 The Uterus normally grows 1CM/week,
11:26 meaning that at 28 weeks, the uterus should be around
11:30 28 centimeters, or at 32 weeks, it should measure around
11:35 32 centimeters and so forth.
11:37 If the measurement is significantly greater than
11:41 expected, maybe you have twins.
11:45 Finally we come to Palpation and Fetal Heart Tones.
11:48 Palpating, is simply feeling with your hands
11:52 how the baby is positioned, which comes with practice.
11:56 A common technique used by midwives is called
11:59 Leopold's Maneuver.
12:01 A systematic way of palpating the mother's abdomen.
12:05 The fetal heart tones are also checked confirming the position
12:08 of the baby. A Doppler is commonly used to pick up
12:12 the heart tones of the baby starting at around
12:14 eight to twelve weeks. A Fetal Doppler is simply a hand held
12:19 device that aids in detecting the heart tones and simulating
12:23 them as an audible level so they can be heard by everyone
12:27 in the room. The baby's heart rate should be
12:31 anywhere from 120 to 160 beats per minute.
12:34 In addition to the physical benefits of prenatal care,
12:38 there are also spiritual and emotional benefits.
12:41 A mother may be encouraged from the word of God
12:44 and prayer support.
12:46 I once had a client come to me explaining that she was scared
12:50 because the first birth had been a terrible experience.
12:52 As she went into transition, she found herself completely
12:57 unprepared, not knowing what was going on inside of her.
13:01 Panic set in, all she could think of was escaping the birth
13:08 and the hospital. She climbed out of bed and started
13:12 streaking down the hall, with the doctors and nurses
13:15 chasing her. After that experience, she was terrified
13:18 to have another baby, and mortified to think
13:21 she would have to face that hospital staff again.
13:24 I worked with her, giving her childbirth classes,
13:27 and also encouraging her spiritually,
13:30 I had them cultivate and atmosphere of praise
13:34 by singing and playing scripture songs,
13:37 hymns and peaceful music.
13:39 When delivery time arrived, she was an entirely different
13:43 woman, she had one of the most peaceful births that
13:46 I can remember. Not only was she calm and in perfect control,
13:51 but the delivery was smooth and simple.
13:55 In Isaiah 26: 3,4 we read.
14:10 Let Him be your strength today.
14:13 Join me next time for more of Divine Design.


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Revised 2016-09-06