Baby due date accuracy

Since the beginning of my wife's pregnancy I have been somewhat suspicious of how accurate delivery due dates are.

Well, in fact only about 5% of all babies are born on their due dates, with estimates ranging from as low as 2% to as high as 8%. Whatever the number, my wife is not among the few of every hundred women who deliver on their target date.

Expectant Father Survey extracts, part deux

The following are a few extracts from my ongoing expectant father survey.

- Only 23.1 % of expectant fathers who responded think there is enough pregnancy-related information available specifically for dads.


- 38.5% of all respondents were either completely surprised by, or weren't expecting altered or hormonal behavior in their pregnant partners.


- 30.8% of respondent fathers talk to their pregnant partner's belly every day. Another 46.2% do so "every now and then."


When asked what "crazy" behavior expectant fathers had seen in their pregnant partners, one respondent answered:

"My partner pulled a bag of pickles out of her purse the other day while we were riding along in the car. Not so strange, until she pulled out a small jar of peanutbutter to dip them in."

Turkey timer belly button

Nature has an incredibly useful way of letting expectant women know that their pregnancy is coming into the home stretch. As if the bulging belly and inability to go 30 seconds without resting, peeing or eating weren't evidence enough, many women will start to get an extra cue from their belly button.

Much like a pop-up turkey timer lets you know when your bird is done, a pregnant woman's belly button lets you know when your bun is almost ready to come out of the oven, too. As the belly expands more in late pregnancy it presses on the tissue in your belly button and often causes an "innie" to become an "outie". While this doesn't happen for everyone, it is a relatively common occurrence, often starting around the sixth month.

I like to push on my wife's pregnant belly button; it's a little squishy, yet resilient. It reminds me of a little priming pump you find on the side of a gas-powered weed whacker. While hers is not yet a complete outie, it will probably get pretty close at some point in the next three months.

A little fashion tip for pregnant mommies who don't want their turkey timer belly buttons poking through their shirts, use a band-aid or a little bit of tape to keep that bad boy in check.

Free and low cost prenatal and neonatal care for pregnant women

Proper prenatal care, nutrition and appropriate medical attention are imperative for a healthy pregnancy. However with ever increasing health insurance and medical costs, it is incredibly expensive to stay insured or cover pregnancy-related expenses out of pocket. The costs of delivery are staggering and the expense of insurance doesn't seem much better.

Even though these costs can be quite prohibitive, there are resources available which may be able to provide free or low-cost prenatal care. In the US, the Health Resources and Services Administration can provide you with information on prenatal services in your area by calling 1-800-311-BABY.

The American Pregnancy Association also has information on insurance for pregnant women, including government-funded Medicaid and WIC programs which provide dietary supplements and referrals to health care services. The APA website also discusses other options for cost control during pregnancy, like delivering at a birthing center versus a traditional hospital.

You can also find out more about prenatal care by contacting the National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) at 1-800-994-9662.

Gender: When will I see my baby's parts?

I ran into a couple of pregnant friends earlier today and I began running down the usual tick-list of pregnancy questions:

How far along are you now?
How are you feeling?
Do you have more energy?
When is your next ultrasound?
etc., etc., etc.

By the way, a list similar to this is what signifies that you're in the know with the impregnated crowd. It's like a verbose, drawn out hand shake. The more snobbishly detailed your question, the higher your rank in pregnancy hierarchy. Ask enough and you're qualified to deliver a child.

When I got to the ultrasound question, the pregnant mother said she hoped that she wouldn't be able to see its parts yet because they didn't want to know the gender of the baby in advance. This leads to a question that I have been asked multiple times now, when are a baby's 'parts' visible via sonogram?

At our 10 week ultrasound I personally asserted that what the sonogram tech called an 'umbilical chord' was in fact proof that we were having a boy. However, at the behest of medical science, it was not verified until our 20-week ultrasound. So the official answer is that gender is typically verified by ultrasound in the 18-20 week range.

Top 10 pregnancy terms that make men (and women) cringe

Many pregnancy and childbirth related topics have the ability to make men cringe with speeds nearing that of light, myself included. Often times a particular visual may trigger this reaction. The sight of a baby's head crowning during birthing scene in the movie Knocked Up had that effect on me. I yelled "oh!" so loud in the middle of the theater I sounded like Andrew Dice Clay.

Other times a word or two to is all that is require to make a man recoil in fear. Below are ten of the worst offenders. These words are inevitable as pregnant women like to surprise you by suddenly discussing something in mid-sentence that is best reserved for an ObGyn desk reference manual.

Of the following phrases, some sound worse than they are while others are nasty in expression and by definition. These are legitimate, frequently used terms in pregnancy in birth, so I'm just preparing you expectant fathers. I'm not trying to scare you, just preview what is in store for you. I may offer brief, non-scientific definitions for those terms which are sound worse than they are. For others I will make no further reference, not even a hyperlink. If you're so inclined, look it up yourself as I don't want any part of it.

1. Mucous Plug - kinda like an internal baby cork

2. After Birth - look it up yourself

3. Fundus - the top of the uterus

4. Cracked nipples - ouch!

5. Leukorrhea - look it up yourself

6. Perenial tear - a tear in perineum (a.k.a 'taint)

7. Bloody show - occurs within 24 hours of labor, look it up yourself for more detail

8. Membrane rupture - look it up yourself

9. venous thrombosis - a blood clot, typically in the leg

10. Any term with "stretching" or "tearing"

Expectant Father Survey extracts

So far I've gotten some great information from other dads about their experiences with pregnant women in our expectant father survey. I'd like to share a few highlights from current and expectant fathers which I found interesting. They may shed some light on pregnancy from a dad's point of view.

- 50% of respondents were completely surprised by atypical or 'crazy' behavior from their partners.

- 50% of all respondents rated financial concerns as the most significant source of stress during pregnancy.

- 83% of expectant fathers talk to their pregnant partner's belly, half on a daily basis and 1/3 "every now and then"

- Yelling and frequent mood swings were the most commonly reported abnormal behavior reported in their partners.

- Two thirds of respondents felt that information for expectant fathers was "spotty, but out there."

Please keep the responses coming, and I'll publish the full set of results when finished.

Pregnancy Magazines, inexpensive and thoughtful

If you're looking for an inexpensive, relatively thoughtful gift for a pregnant woman, a pregnancy-related magazine subscription is a no-brainer.

A gift like this has multiple benefits:
1. Any gift is thoughtful, this one happens to be useful as well.
2. They are a great informational resource.
3. It is automated gifting; one subscription gets you 6-12 separate little gifts.
4. They are inexpensive, between $12 and $15. One magazine in the store would run about 5 bucks.
5. Each time one arrives, she'll remember how thoughtful you were. She'll probably burst in to tears then.

A couple of magazines my wife reads are Fit Pregnancy ($15) and Pregnancy ($12). Granted, they may be an enticement to her to spend more money, but as long as she finds them a worthwhile read then they've served their purpose.

Pregnancy Information = Pregnancy Interest

One of the best ways for a father to demonstrate his enthusiasm and involvement in a pregnancy is to educate himself about the mechanics of the whole ordeal; stages of fetal development, changes in the mother's body, expert advice, who supplanted the woman with whom you wanted to have sex with this crazy woman from whom you now hide your unprotected testicles.

(One mother recently responded to a question I posted on Yahoo! Answers said that when her husband wiped sweat from her brow during delivery, it made her want "to punch him in the funbags.")

Taking the initiative to study about the changes that your wife and baby undergo shows that you are committed to her. There may be no logical reason whatsoever to suggest that you are not committed to her and the child, but the hormonal influences of pregnancy tend towards highly emotional outbursts rather than logical and collected expression (i.e., punching a husband in his “funbags”).

Reading women's pregnancy books is a great way to learn because you'll know exactly what she does and won't be behind the curve. Buying her a book is a highly suggested because it is not only a sweet gift, but is a source of great information for you. One particular title that has seems to be the bible of pregnancy amongst my wife's friends is What to Expect When You're Expecting($8.37 from Amazon).

Of course, there's plenty of information available on the web. Babycenter.com has a cool pregnancy calendar that shows information about your partner's particular stage of pregnancy based on due date, and will send you or her twice-weekly email updates.

The key thing to remember is that staying informed is a primary method of involvement during pregnancy. Not only does your reading demonstrate interest in her and the baby, the more information you have the better you will be able to calm her fears and understand the crazy mess known as the pregnant lady.