We can only give you the approximate time of your delivery as labour is expected to start any time after 37 weeks. Your expected date of delivery is at 40 weeks but only 4% women deliver on their due date. Others deliver before or after their due date. Delivery is not a surgery that you can plan precisely when you will get admitted. The more you are flexible about it the better prepared you will be.

Your expected date does not keep changing as pregnancy advances.The purpose of third trimester ultrasounds if done is not to determine your expected date.Expected dates are only calculated from your own dates and ultrasounds upto 12 weeks. if there is a discrepancy of more than a week we go by the 12 week ultrasound or we go by your own dates.The only time your expected date may change is if you develop a complication like high blood pressure or high sugars and therefore we need to deliver you earlier.

Absolutely nothing. Your cervix will release a tremendous amount of white, thick mucus as the pregnancy progresses. It does not mean you are going into labor anytime soon. An unscented panty liner will help keep your underwear dry.

There is no fixed yardstick about when you should reach the hospital. But you are usually in true labour when you have the contraction every 5 to 10 minutes lasting for 30 seconds for atleast an hour or so. But the general dictum is if you are getting regular contractions accompanied with or without blood stained mucoid vaginal discharge you must visit the hospital.

Every female species on earth is naturally endowed with the gift of reproductive instincts. This will help her to understand that she is in labour. Human beings are luckier because they have their mothers and grandmothers to guide them. Elephants are probably one of the few mammals in whom family participation and bonding plays a very important role in labour. In a wild herd of elephants females gain birthing and maternal experience from a very young age through witnessing many births in the herd. By the time it’s their turn they are prepared for the event and have a support structure of older experienced females. The active phase of human labour lasts 6 to 10 hours. This is preceded by a phase of latent labour which may last for 8 to 10 hours. There will be occasional uterine cramping and occasional mucous or brownish discharge in this phase. This may alert you to the arrival of true labour after a day or two. Under natural circumstances you have enough time to reach the hospital even after true labour sets in. True labour is marked by intermittent contractions or cramping coming regularly lasting for 30 to 45 seconds. These contractions start becoming more frequent and intense that is every five to ten minutes as labour progresses. Therefore once you are in true labour the cramping will not stop or taper off and it will be more intense, longer lasting and frequent with time.

The active phase of labour lasts for 6 to 8 hours. This is the time that there are uterine contractions which are perceived as painful intermittent uterine cramps .For some women it may be even shorter. If your active labour continues for more than 10 hours your doctor will take corrective measures or deliver you by caesarean section.

Pain is a very individual perception. If you ask 100 postpartum mothers about the pain they had there will be different perceptions and a large majority will tell you that the pain was moderate to severe but it was not intolerable and they have no regrets that they attempted a vaginal delivery.

First and foremost be calm, everything is under control if you have faith in yourself and your medical caregivers. The faith will create a bond which will help you and the medical team to work optimumly towards a positive outcome. Initially walk around and be comfortable in any position. Have lots of fluids in labour. Once you are in active labour certain postures and jumping on the birthing ball may be suggested to you. If you are comfortable some intramuscular pain-relieving agent may be offered. If you are still uncomfortable and labour is anticipated to be long you may opt for epidural analgesia.

Once you are booked with a doctor, the doctor or one of her core team members will always be there for your delivery. But it is important to understand that labour and delivery are not like surgeries where in a fixed time and slot is allotted for the same and it is done in a stipulated time by the doctor. Labour whether induced or spontaneous requires patience and time. A single person or persons cannot accompany you all the time. Therefore the hospital is equipped with trained labour room medical and paramedical personnel including doctors at all times of the day or night. They work in coordination with your consultant at all times. Your consultant will take all the medical decisions and will be there for your delivery. But over and above that a continuous care needs to be given to you in the birthing room and you will be taken care of by a vigilant and caring team.

Yes we encourage the presence of a supportive family member with you during labour. But just as a positive companion should do wonders for you in the labour area, a panicky nervous person can make things difficult for not only you but also the medical team looking after you. Therefore we encourage your labour companion to accompany you in the pregnancy workshops and try to make him/her understand his role.

This question cannot be answered by your doctor in majority of cases before the advent of labour. Even after established labour we can only periodically assure you that progress of labour is satisfactory. This does not necessarily mean that vaginal delivery is inevitable as in 5% women caesarean section can happen after full cervical dilatation or late labour. So you cannot know the outcome of this test of labour without giving it. Of course in some situations we can suggest that a planned caesarean section is going to be safer for the baby and mother because of a breech baby or a placenta which is lying low in the uterus.

Maternal weight gain is not directly proportional baby’s weight gain. An Indian baby at term is anything between 2.5 to 3.2 kg on an average. So most of the weight gain you have is due to other physiological changes. A baby of weight 2.3 kg may be perfectly healthy if it is a constitutionally small baby. But whether your baby needs to be delivered before term due to growth lag will be decided by your doctor.

There is nothing to panic if you suddenly start leaking. Just use some sanitary pads and reach the hospital. If you are already term the labour contractions will start spontaneously or your doctor will induce labour.

Preterm labour is delivery before 37 weeks. It happens in 10 per 100 women. The baby may have to stay in the nursery or under specialised baby care if you have labour below 34 weeks. Between 34 and 37 weeks the baby is borderline term and majority of times needs only routine care. Sixty percent of preterm labour is idiopathic that is we do not know the cause. Mothers who have twins or have excessive liquor (fluid) surrounding the baby are more prone to preterm labour.

It is very difficult to follow a routine at this time and you have to generally flow with the baby”s wishes.So take rest while the baby is sleeping.It is also important to take lots of fluids and calcium rich foods.You need 500 additional calories and 15 gms additional proteins in the lactation period.Please do not take excessive sweets and ghee which will make you put on unnecessary weight.Pamper yourself when you get freetime by body massages and relaxation.Remember your body has undergone a lot of wear aand tear during pregnancy and childbirth.You could also go for small walks although regular exercises are best started after 6 weeks.

Regular walking for 45 minutes and gradual exercises in the gym can be started after 6 weeks.But simple toning exercises can be started from the very first postnatal day.The physiotherapist will generally instruct you in the hospital.

The baby will generally let you know whether your breast milk is enough.Usually baby will feed every 3 to 4 hours and will sleep in between. Baby usually passes urine and stools 10 to 12 times But remember there is a lot of variation and every baby is different.Sometimes some babies go on feeding for one hour and are stiil not satisfied. This phase usually does not last long and most babies instinctively learn how to latch and suckle faster and settle down.Ocassionally however the breast milk is actually not enough and the baby is not satisfied.In such a situation you may have to give formula feed in consultation with your doctor.Remember the more you latch the more breast milk is produced because your brain which produces the hormone prolactin, is told that more is required.

There is no fixed guidelines regarding how long you should breast feed.But exclusive breast feeding is ideal for the baby for 6 months.Your paediatrician will guide you regarding this.

Traditionally ghee and laddoos are always added as a part of postpartum diet.This was because women did a lot of physical work before they were pregnant and expected do so after 2 to 3 months after their delivery.To quickly bring them back to their usual routine a lot of calories were added to their diet.But remember our lifestyle since then has changed drastically.A lot of women now do only household work or sit at the computer for lonf hours and the work is more mental than physical.Therefore high calorie food and ghee should not be taken in large quantities.

Bleeding after delivery is not like a typical period.The bleeding is more during the first one or two weeks and the gradually tapers off over next two weeks and we call it lochia.When you are exclusively breast feeding you may not get your periods for 6 to 8 months or longer.If you are partially breast feeding it is more difficult to predict your menstrual pattern and you may get irregular periods.But remember there is a wide variation from individual to individual and there may be different bleeding patterns in the first year after your delivery.Always use contraception whatever your bleeding pattern as skip ovulation can lead to pregnancy even if your periods have not started.