ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Welcome to the October Q&A! Today we kick things off with the surprising discovery that three Jeopardy contestants couldn’t identify the placenta from the clue “a temporary organ made of maternal and fetal tissue,” leading to a conversation about just how little most people are taught about the placenta.
Then we get into your questions. One mother experienced intense postpartum depression for five or six months after her first baby and now wonders whether having it once makes her more likely to experience it again. We discuss recurrence risk, what may contribute to postpartum depression, and what women can do differently the next time around.
Next, a mother who is eight months pregnant has a history of anal fistulas and previous repair surgeries. Her midwife and colorectal surgeon are comfortable with a vaginal birth, but an OB has suggested an elective C-section. Does an anal fistula make vaginal birth too risky, and what happens if she tears?
Then, a breastfeeding mother hoping to conceive before her menstrual cycle returns wants to avoid an early dating ultrasound. If she conceives with her first ovulation, she’ll have no last menstrual period to establish a due date. How can she determine gestational age, particularly with a home birth midwife who has a strict 37-to-42-week policy?
Quickies this month include precipitous labor happening again, newborn wellness checks, RSV season and the RSV antibody shot, drinking alcohol before knowing you’re pregnant, six dates a day and blood sugar, breastfed babies going days without pooping, whether children need their own bedrooms, spacing pregnancies, newborns who don’t want to be put down, progesterone supplementation, elegant baby girl names, favorite fall desserts, and our favorite (and least favorite) seasons.
Resources related to this week's episode:
Ultrasound: The Research and the Rhetoric
Recognizing Postpartum Depletion
Should I Be Induced? The ARRIVE Trial
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