Questions about a proper diet were on the minds of several callers to the Deseret News/Intermountain Health Care Hotline on Saturday.
Nurse midwives Lynn Atwood and Sandae Bonare fielded a number of questions about proper nutrition before and during pregnancy. And they emphasized the need to limit caffeine and make certain that folic acid is part of the diet. Lack of folic acid can lead to serious birth defects.The midwives reported that a number of women seemed to know very little about their own bodies or what kinds of tests had been run so far in their pregnancies.
That's not completely surprising, according to Bonare. In their eight-midwife practice, which is also linked to the perinatology department at LDS Hospital, they treat a lot of women -- and in many cases, teenage girls -- who don't know much about what's involved in having a healthy baby.
"I see women who have gone through numerous pregnancies who don't know the proper names of their body parts," Atwood said.
Part of that, they believe, is an embarrassment factor. Women don't talk about private body parts and functions, even with their doctors and midwives.
"We have a lot of printed information we leave out" in the office waiting room, said Bonare, "because people don't want to ask."
They debunked the idea that nurse midwives always deliver babies at home. "I've been a nurse midwife for a long time," said Atwood. "And I've always delivered babies in the hospital."
They also discussed some of the pain-control options available to women during delivery. The nurse midwives have licenses from the Drug Enforcement Agency that allow them to make available the same pain-management options that a patient would have from a physician.
"We have every choice in the book," said Bonare.
Over the years, they've seen many women who thought they wanted a natural delivery change their minds. And they've seen women who planned on using an epidural or other medication who decided to deliver without pain medication.
The health hotline is conducted the second Saturday of every month, focusing on a different health topic each time. Calls are confidential and anonymous.