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Pregnancy & children
Pregnancy
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Conception and early pregnancy :
Getting pregnant
Assisted conception
Discovering you're pregnant & telling other people
Symptoms and feelings in early weeks
Maternity care :
First contacts with services
Advice on health and lifestyle
Maternity care and antenatal visits
Antenatal classes and preparation for birth
Finding information and support
Physical and emotional aspects of pregnancy :
Emotions during pregnancy
Relationships and sex
Sickness and hyperemesis
Pain and discomfort
Bleeding and miscarriage
Other conditions in pregnancy
Rarer complications
Pregnancy with another condition or disability
When something is wrong with the baby
Reflecting on birth choices and experiences :
Thinking about where and how to give birth
Pain and pain relief
Looking back- vaginal birth
Looking back- caesarean birth
Twins and breech presentation
Looking back- preterm birth and special care
Stillbirth and neonatal death
The realities of being a parent :
Feeding and caring for the baby
Emotions and relationships in early parenthood
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Pregnancy
Subject index
Clip
Pregnancy & children
>>
Pregnancy
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Age 25-30
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Interview 29
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Her mother was too embarrassed to talk to her about breastfeeding, but she was convinced it was the best thing to do. (Audio clip in Punjabi)
Recently married woman from Pakistan in her first pregnancy. Would like more information and advice in her own language.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 31-33
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Interview 04
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She had not expected to find breastfeeding so difficult. A La Leche counsellor encouraged her to keep trying.
Normal pregnancy. Breech presentation resolved through successful ECV. Induction at 42 weeks. Forceps delivery. Difficulty with breastfeeding. Importance of managing expectations of pregnancy and birth realistically.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 31-33
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Interview 15
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Other people told her breastfeeding would be hard, but she found it easier than expected. She had a few problems but was determined not to give up.
Confusion in early stages of pregnancy about whether or not it was viable. Unexplained abdominal pain. Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (pelvic pain) in latter stages.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 25-30
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Interview 18
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She chose to bottle feed both her babies, but now wished she had been given more information and encouragement about breastfeeding. (Read by an actor.
Two normal pregnancies followed by two emergency sections. Second one occurred after a protracted labour. Communication with hospital staff was poor.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 25-30
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Interview 19
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She would like the NHS to provide more specialised support for breastfeeding, especially for women having their first baby.
Successful pregnancy after an early miscarriage and blighted ovum. Caesarean due to baby lying breech. Lack of support for breastfeeding in hospital due to pressures on staff.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 31-33
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Interview 12
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She wanted to breastfeed her baby in special care. In trying to support her, staff made her feel under pressure. She changed to bottle feeding.
Normal first pregnancy. Premature labour and birth at 33 weeks. Had to transfer to another hospital because no neonatal intensive care places were available locally.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 31-33
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Interview 04
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She believes there is unrealistic pressure from society and women themselves to conform to an ideal image of birth and feeding. The pressure does not
Normal pregnancy. Breech presentation resolved through successful ECV. Induction at 42 weeks. Forceps delivery. Difficulty with breastfeeding. Importance of managing expectations of pregnancy and birth realistically.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 34-36
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Interview 05
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She panicked when the midwife took her second baby away to give her a rest. The midwife did not understand that this reminded her of being separated f
First child had heart defect detected antenatally and long period of critical illness after birth. Mother had reactive depression in response to his illness. Second child healthy. Mother had postnatal depression related to extreme worry about her health.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 31-33
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Interview 01
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She did not know that having an elective caesarean might affect her milk coming in, but she was happy to change to bottle feeding (including some expr
Normal pregnancy apart from episode of severe pain (suspected ectopic) and high blood sugar. Caesarean birth. Was not able to breastfeed. Recovery from caesarean took longer than expected.
Pregnancy & children
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Pregnancy
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Age 25-30
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Interview 20
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Coming home from hospital and realising she was on her own now was quite stressful. (Read by an actor.)
Single mother. First pregnancy miscarried. Second pregnancy was normal and straightforward. She planned to have a natural birth, but after a long labour chose to have a caesarean.
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