Your Pregnancy: Week 38

Advice from Dr. Shari E. Brasner

Most pregnant women have a pretty good understanding of the process of cervical dilation that needs to take place during delivery, but they seem to have a less firm grasp on the concept of effacement. And from a doctor’s point of view, effacement is a much more meaningful indicator than dilation. In the case of a woman having her first baby, effacement often precedes dilation, and indicates that progress is being made. In my opinion, effacement is the hardest part of the labor process. I’m happy to see some of the work done prior to the onset of true labor. For instance, if a woman’s cervix is totally closed but 90 percent effaced, then I feel pretty certain she’s going to have a nice, short labor. I’ve seen it happen time after time.

But obstetrics is funny. I’ve often examined a woman in the final weeks of her pregnancy and gotten the sense that the cervix is still firm, uneffaced, and that the head is still high in the pelvis. And yet when labor starts, the baby simply flies through in record time.”

Babble recommends Dr. Brasner’s pregnancy book, Advice from a Pregnant Obstetrician.

Mom-To-Mom Advice: When The “Circumcision Conversation” Never Ends

The choice of whether or not to circumcise is a relatively new one on the ever-evolving landscape of parental choices. As recently as a few decades ago, circumcision in America was so common many parents weren’t even consulted about it. Now, we are asked what we prefer. This is respectful, and it’s always great to have a say in such matters. But this new choice brings with it some hard-to-answer questions. Circumcision has a lot of facets: personal, cultural, medical and sometimes religious. Pulling together these various strands into a neat pro-and-con list can be really tough.

From a medical point of view, it doesn’t seem to matter much. According to the American Academy of Pediatricians, your son will be just fine either way. The risks of increased this and decreased that are small enough to be statistically insignificant. This can actually be at the root of the indecisiveness. The personal elements of the decision are sometimes even more complex. But it can also be reassuring.

If you’re finding that your decision is getting harder over time, consider limiting your input on the subject. Particularly problematic are the extremist websites, which are largely built on propaganda and horror stories. Sure they might help cement an opinion, but if you’re on the fence, the emotional manipulation can be troubling. Words like “mutilation” and “unclean” are tossed around.

Studies are often used only when they support a strong point of view. It’s easy to become disgusted with both options when viewed in this context. But a choice must be made, so forget this stuff and head to a more reasonable and balanced assessment (Babble has one here). And realize that you may be second-guessing your choice for a while. This doesn’t mean you’ve made a bad decision; it just means that the issue is complicated.

Babble recommends From the Hips, by Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris.