Week 20: Cantaloupes and Gender

Week 20...

I don't think I really care what the sex of the little bambino is.  I have swung back and forth between thinking it is a girl, and then being certain that it's a boy.  My friends are pretty convinced one way or another, and although some of them just have a "hunch," most of them have relied on some tried and telling test that their grandmother (or auntie, elderly neighbor or insert some other equally sage advice) relied on.

CNP, 2014

This is how it usually goes down:

A midwife in town: "What's its heart-rate?  Oh, you are having a GIRL!"  Heart-rate over 140 means you have a girl.  At the first sonogram the little bambino clocked in at about 180bpm (remember torturing you with Karma Chameleon?).  Now it has settled down to about 160bpm.  I'm having a girl!!

My partner's best friends:  "You still look great, so it is definitely a BOY!"  Girls steal their mother's beauty, and boys add to it.  Additionally, if you have a ton of acne, you have a girl.  As much as I might complain about being pregnant, I have none of the dreaded 'bacne," cankles, and haven't yet swollen up like a hot air balloon.  I'm having a boy!!

One of my friends at the pub drops a key on the floor.  I pick it up by the round part: "If you picked it up by the narrow edge it'd be a girl, but it's a BOY!"  You get the drift.  I'm not certain where this advice actually comes from.  Do boys somehow influence your behaviors and make you covet round objects and girls long and narrow? ...Ummm, I think I'll leave it at that.  I'm having a boy!!

My mother alludes to the timing of conception: "Before it is a girl, after a boy!"  If the egg is already 'on the premises,' the Y sperm, destined to make a male baby, swim faster and fertilize first.  X sperm have greater longevity and if the egg has not yet been released, they fertilize, making a girl.  Although this technique does seem rather plausible, there is no scientific evidence to support it.  Either way, I am unable to provide data on the exact timing, so I'm having a UNKNOWN!

My sister (the midwife doula): "You are crazy morning sick.  You are having a girl."  Severe morning sickness means you are having a girl.  This old wives' tale does have scientific data to support it.  Women who have severe morning sickness are statistically more likely to be carrying a bambina.  I'm having a girl!!

The Google Machine: "A pendulum circling over my abdomen means I'm having a boy!"  If the pendulum swings back and forth, it is a girl.  In a circle, it is a boy.  This seems similar to the key theory in the circle vs. straight approach.  Either way, I'm having a boy!

One of my best friends: "High and side, it's a girl.  Low and front?  It's a boy." Where and how you carry your child is a good indicator of the sex.   I'm not sure where this one comes from either, but I'm not big enough (wait, I'm not radiant enough) to really utilize this test.  I'm having a...?

According to my research and data collection, and "feeling," I'm having a boy.  My partner and my best friend think we are having a girl (Their reasoning?  Just 'cause.).  According to the results of the sonogram that we just went to, the ultrasound technician is 95% certain that we are having a little baby girl...   Hooooray!!!!  We are having a GIRL!  ...and her name is Eva Constance.

CNP, 2014

This week, the bambino, bambina is the length of a small cantaloupe.  This is the last week that she will be measured crown-to-rump, so don't be surprised next week when she miraculously sprouts about three inches--we'll measure her head to foot from here on out.  Big events in her life this week include chugging lots of amniotic fluid, which she can taste due to her developed taste buds, and beginning to produce tar-like poop called meconium in her intestines.  I'm sure this won't be the last time I talk about it.

Until next week,
Cat

Week 19: Heirloom Tomatos and Paranoia

Week 19...

It is at the 'almost half-way' point of your pregnancy that you get the results back from a rather frightening test--if you elected to get the "maternal blood Quad Screen," that is.  Don't let your first introduction to the Quad Screen be pregnancy message boards, as they are rife with all sorts of women freaking out over their results--pages of statistical risk factors written in five-point-font.  You don't have to take this test or its alternative--the First Trimester Screen.  So, what is this Quad Screen all about?  Should you do it?

The Maternal Blood Quad Screen is a non-invasive test that gives your likely risk of carrying a bambino with chromosomal defects and neurological issues.  Quad stands for "quadruple marker," and the test measures four different substances in your blood: alpha-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin, estriol, and inhibin A.  The levels of these four chemicals then gauge the likelihood of Down's and Edwards syndromes and neural tube defects.

Down's Syndrome is the most common birth defect in the United States--about 1 in 800 children have this condition described by John Langdon Down in 1866.  Children with Down's syndrome may need extra care and services, but have a much longer life expectancy (60 years) after the advent of antibiotics and heart corrective surgery, and lead fulfilling lives.

Edwards Syndrome, or Trisomy 18, is a much more severe genetic chromosomal condition, with only about 5-10% of children with this condition living beyond their first birthday.  It is a lot less common than Down's Syndrome, affecting 1 in 6000 live births in the US.

Finally, the Quad screen assesses the level of risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida--where the fetus's spinal cord doesn't close completely in the first month of development (before you even know you are pregnant).  Dosing yourself with B vitamins, especially folic acid, prevents most of these defects.

It sounds pretty straight forward, right?  Should you take the test?  Do you want to know if your child has these conditions?  Why wouldn't you do the test?

CNP, 2014

Well, for me, understanding the Quad screen test required a comfort with statistical analysis--as it just assesses your risk factor for these conditions--it does not predict, nor specifically tell you if your child has these conditions.  If you are at higher risk (maternal age, obesity, and anti seizure meds are factors) you might want to get more information.  Or you might just want to sit back, have a cup of tea, and just let your baby keep growing, whatever the outcome.  Either way, take a deep breath and don't freak out.

(Author's note: I know that the cartoon this week is really text heavy.  I thought that it might help you feel the overwhelming nature of speed reading three pages of analysis to find answers about your baby's genetics.  Oh--and our baby is in the clear--statistically speaking that is.)

Right now your little bambino is about the size of a large tomato.  Pregnancy books describe him as an heirloom tomato, which is fine with me, as they are more fun to draw anyway.  Like some produce, he is also covered with a waxy coat, in his case to protect him from getting pickled by the amniotic fluid.  Fun fact: it is called the vernix caseosa, or "cheese varnish." Between the downy coat of hair and the cheesy residue, your baby probably doesn't seem too appetizing...

By far though the most incredible milestone is the incredible neurological development and sensory explosion that has been happening.  Neurons are connecting all over the body and brain, enabling kicks, turns, and what occasionally feels like a trampoline circus in my abdomen.

CNP, 2014

Until next week,
Cat