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When your partner is getting ready to give birth for the first time, Dads or significant others may not know what to expect or how to be involved or even wonder how much their being involved makes a difference. Studies prove that when fathers or partners are involved before, during and after a baby’s birth there are numerous benefits to the mom and the baby.

Holly Menino sat down with Hollie Wharton, DNP, CNM, WHNP, a midwife and nurse practitioner at Intermountain Alta View Women’s Clinic on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast. Together, they discuss the important role of partners during and after childbirth.

 Benefits of Father/Partner Involvement

• Mother more likely to have early, regular prenatal care
• Parents more likely to attend pre/postnatal classes
• Mother more likely to breastfeed, continue breastfeeding
• Maternal smoking and alcohol abuse rates reduced
• Reduced anxiety
•  Less perceived pain
•  Greater satisfaction with the birth experience
•  Lower rates of postnatal depression
•  Lower rates of premature birth and infant mortality
•  Father more likely to take an active role
•  Father feels empowered rather than helpless

A childbirth preparation class can help prepare you and your partner for labor and delivery

Intermountain Healthcare hospitals offer one-day options on Saturdays or one evening a week for a few weeks. They can help you know what to expect during labor and what to expect at the hospital and how to prepare.

To find Intermountain childbirth classes, call the hospital where you plan to deliver or visit your hospital’s website or click here.

10 things labor partners can help with:

1.  Help monitor/coach partner thru contractions.
2. Ask mom what you can do to help make her comfortable and support her (distraction, touch, breathing, music, pain relief, etc.).
3.  Be her advocate and get to know the staff – you are part of the team.
4. Understand what she’s going through is hard, exhausting and things don’t always go as planned. Be open to changes that may occur.
5.  Encourage and support her through each stage. Sometimes just sitting next to her can be enough of support.
6. Offer to hold her leg during pushing if necessary.
7. Ask to be involved with process (cutting umbilical cord, helping with delivery).
8. Enjoy the miracle of birth and your new baby.
9. Participate in skin-to-skin with your baby to start bonding.
10. Make sure to ask questions if you have them. We can accommodate you and your partner within reason. Feel comfortable enough to speak your thoughts.

 The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News. 

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Some women may consider genetic testing when they are pregnant. Screening and diagnostic tests can help women find out about the genetic abnormalities of their unborn baby.

Holly Menino sits down with Lauren Eekhoof, a genetics counselor with Intermountain Healthcare, on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast. Together, they discuss how genetic testing is done and when you should meet with a counselor.

How are genetic tests done and what conditions do these tests look for?

Screening tests are blood tests that screen for common conditions like Down syndrome and other extra chromosome conditions. These tests are optional.

Diagnostic tests are more invasive procedures that can provide a diagnosis for chromosome conditions in the pregnancy and typically are done if there is a high risk for a genetic condition in the pregnancy. These tests are also optional.

When might you want to meet with a genetic counselor if you’re pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant?

• women who’ll be over age 35 at delivery
• women who’ve had an abnormal genetic test result
• women with abnormal ultrasound findings
•  women who’ve had a previous pregnancy with a genetic abnormality
•  couples with a family history of a genetic condition

What do genetic counselors do?

A genetics counselor can help you weigh the benefits, risks and limitations of genetic testing and provide information about the nature, inheritance, and implications of genetic disorders to help you make informed decisions.

What are some reasons to do or not do genetic testing?

Most pregnancies are uncomplicated, most babies are born healthy and no test will ensure the birth of a healthy baby.

• Some women may choose not to do genetic testing as this may cause anxiety during the pregnancy.
• Some women choose genetic testing for reassurance or for planning purposes.

How accurate are the screening tests?

It’s important to remember screening tests will never be 100 percent diagnostic.

Each screening has a detection rate for different conditions as well as false positive and false negative rates.

A normal screening result can be reassuring and makes the likelihood of those conditions in the pregnancy low.

An abnormal screening is NOT a diagnosis and requires further investigation which may or may not involve diagnostic testing if a woman chooses.

What are the risks of the more invasive genetic tests?

There is a risk for pregnancy loss of about 1:300 to 1:500 procedures with various genetic tests. Women who choose a diagnostic testing procedure can weigh the benefits of diagnostic results with the possible risks of the procedures and would benefit from seeing a genetic counselor.

To find a genetic counselor or for more information on genetic testing click here.

The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News.

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Anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders are fairly common during pregnancy and postpartum. 1 n 7 women have mood disorders. The disorders often begin during pregnancy, but may not be recognized until the postpartum period.

Holly Menino sits down with psychiatrist Kelly Irons, MD, from the Intermountain Avenues Women’s Center, on this episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast. Together, they discuss the signs and treatments of mood disorders.

 Why might women be susceptible to this during this time?

• Drastic hormone shifts occur during pregnancy and postpartum in the body and can affect the brain
• If you have a history of past behavioral health symptoms
• Life stressors: medical complications for mom or baby, job change, death of a loved one, moving, etc.

Who is at risk?

• History or family history of behavioral health issues
• Traumatic labor and delivery
• Medical complications
• Isolation or lack of support from family and friends

What are the signs of postpartum anxiety?

• Worry more than normal about the newborn (reasonable dose of worry is healthy)
• Terrified of hurting the baby
• Become irrational
• Panic attacks
• Can’t fall asleep or stay asleep
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations
• Numbness in fingers
• Nausea, feeling faint
• Can’t think straight
• Duration of these feelings can be minutes or up to an hour.

It is important to seek treatment, since anxiety can prevent proper bonding.

What are the signs of postpartum OCD?

• Intrusive thought become prevalent and occur often
• Taking action to avoid intrusive thoughts
• Checking things over and over (checking that locks are locked, bath water is not too hot, avoiding picking up dangerous tools)

A wrong, terrible thought it OCD, not psychosis. Psychosis is when thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality. Irrational thoughts become something you see yourself actually doing.

Untreated anxiety or OCD combined with lack of sleep can lead to psychosis. Talk to your OB/Gyn if you have these symptoms and believe you need help. They can refer you to a behavioral health provider.

The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News.

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During pregnancy it is important to eat healthy foods for both you and the baby. Eating a variety of all of the food groups will help you to consume the nutrients that you need for you and your baby to stay healthy.

Holly Menino sits down with Danielle Conlon, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with Utah State WIC Program, on this episode of the Baby Your Baby podcast. Together, they discuss nutrition during pregnancy, weight gain guidelines, and tips for preparing to breastfeed.

 Prenatal Vitamins: Once you become pregnant, your doctor will prescribe a prenatal vitamin for you. The reason why it is important to take a prenatal vitamin during pregnancy is because nutrient needs increase during pregnancy, and prenatal vitamins will help you to meet those increased nutrient needs. Two of the nutrients that prenatal vitamins contain and that are critical during pregnancy are folic acid and iron. Folic acid helps to prevent birth defects, and iron helps your baby grow and develop.

Which Foods to Eat: During pregnancy, eating a variety of all of the food groups will help you to consume the nutrients that you need for you and your baby to stay healthy. General recommendations for each food group include:

•  Eat whole grains such as whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice.
•  Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables each day. These can include fresh, canned, or frozen fruits and vegetables. When buying canned fruits and vegetables, look for “low-sodium” and “no-added sugar” or “canned in water” labels on the cans. These are healthier choices than canned fruits and vegetables that contain high levels of sodium and sugar.
•  Eat 3 servings of dairy foods each day. Dairy foods have calcium, which is essential to make sure that yours and your baby’s bones are strong. Dairy products include milk, cheese, and yogurt. If you aren’t able to have dairy products, soy milk is a great source of protein and calcium that is dairy free. You can also talk to your doctor about if you should start a calcium supplement.
•  Eat healthy fats from oils such as avocados, olive or canola oil, or nuts and seeds.
•  Eat a variety of lean protein foods such as poultry, fish, eggs, beans/lentils, PB, and nuts or seeds. A common question about protein is if fish is safe to eat during pregnancy. Fish is safe during pregnancy as long as the fish doesn’t have high levels of mercury and it is cooked all the way through. During pregnancy, avoid raw fish such as sashimi or sushi that has raw fish, and fish with high mercury content such as tilefish, swordfish, king mackerel, or shark.

Foods to avoid during pregnancy:

• meats, poultry, and fish that aren’t cooked well-done
• unpasteurized or “raw” milk and juice
• raw or runny eggs
• raw sprouts
• deli meats and hotdogs unless they are cooked until they are steaming or reach a temperature of 165 F
• soft cheeses such as feta, brie, or queso fresco

 The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News. 

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During your third trimester, it is time to start thinking about what to bring to the hospital when you go into labor. There are some essentials that mom and dad need to pack ahead of time, but the hospital will also provide you with some things.

Holly Menino sits down with Nurse Diana Jensen from Intermountain Medical Center in this week’s Baby Your Baby podcast. They discuss what you should bring, what you should leave at home and what the baby will need.

 What you should bring to the hospital:

Nightgown (front-opening styles are easier for breast-feeding)

Bathrobe

Slippers

Bras (nursing style if you plan to breast-feed your baby)

Cosmetics and toiletries

Pillow (hospital has pillows, but some patients prefer to bring their own)

Journal, Thank You cards, writing paper, and pen

Phone, camera, film or memory card, extra batteries, and chargers

Clothes for you and your baby to wear home. For your baby, we suggest you bring a shirt, gown, hat, receiving blanket, and a heavier blanket (depending on the weather.) For you, clothes that fit in mid-pregnancy are usually best.

Pacifiers – some babies don’t like the ones from the hospital and it’s always good to have extras

Burp Cloths

Birthing Plan

Car Seat – this has to be installed in the care and checked to make sure the baby is in right before you leave.

Make sure you’re current on your immunizations

Choose a primary care provider for your baby

What you shouldn’t bring:

Any personal valuables, such as, jewelry, credit cards, or cash.

Intermountain hospitals provide:

Diapers, wipes, nasal aspirators, onesies

The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News.