We'll start with the Doctor's visit as Week 39 continues on. On Thursday, Antoinette had her weekly checkup. They weighed her and tested her urine for bladder and kidney infections, diabetes, dehydration, and preeclampsia. She passed all tests with flying colors. The next step was to have her in for her measurements and checking the baby's heartbeat. Antoinette's belly measured 37.5 inches, which is right on schedule. The baby's heartbeat was in the 155 beats per minute range, also right on target. The last part of the visit was a physical exam in which the doctor determined several things. For one, Antoinette has begun to dilate. She's now at 1 cm. This is a sign that the process has begun, but not a good indicator of how much time is left. She could also tell that Antoinette's cervix had not begun to thin out, which is generally a prerequisite to full blown labor. The baby is in the proper head down position still and Antoinette has space between her cervix and the baby's head, indicating that water breakage could result in a bit of a flood, since Billy's head is not blocking the opening. Finally, she made a prediction based on Antoinette's physical test, her lack of contractions, and this being her first full pregnancy, and decided that Antoinette probably would go to full term, which is in 11 days.
All in all, great news on this doctor visit. But then the action started. On her way back to work, Antoinette got out of her car and turned to walk toward the sidewalk when she lost her balance, tripped, and ultimately fell on her belly. Obviously in total shock, she sat on the ground and became pretty emotional. After calling the doctor, she was advised to head to the birthing center of our local hospital to make sure everything is OK. Then she called me and and I met her at the hospital. As a precautionary measure, they hooked Antoinette up to a fetal monitor and some other monitor that detected uterine wall contraction. Antoinette stayed on this machine for about an hour and then was released. Prior to release, the staff explained the charts we were seeing. Billy's heart rate was fluctuating from 125-175 beats per minute, which is perfectly healthy. The doctor likes to see that sort of peaking, as it is a sign of a Baby that is reacting to its environment and while Antoinette had a couple minor contractions which showed up on the machine, she was unable to feel them. Overall, the doc said that if they could draw a graph of what this would ideally look like, they could've used Billy's on the computer screen. See that? He's tough already...
Turns out that pregnant women falling is a very common thing. Especially in late term pregnancy when the center of gravity moves forward of the typical center, causing instability. There is also a hormonal imbalance that can effect reflexes for the worse. For women, their pregnant bellies are like giant shock absorbers. A thick uterine muscular wall, a belly full of shock absorbing amniotic fluid, and the baby's own skeletal system all act in unison to immediately reduce the impact of any falls. As a general rule of thumb, a woman should have major concern if a fall results in her being significantly injured, if there is bleeding, or if the baby stops moving. Otherwise, they are common place and not a major concern, although you should visit the hospital as a precaution.
Long story short, Antoinette's belly is a little sore today, but she's none the worse for wear. The baby is healthy, she is healthy, and I can breath easier.
This weekend, we'll wrap up the final preparations. We'll prepare the dog related items on our list and produce a sort of delivery checklist to run through when Antoinette's contractions begin so that after one hour of timing them up, I just need to load her into the car in order to split.
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