THE BABY GAP

Is it easier to give birth if you have a shorter gap between babies? That is, do things ‘stretch’ more easily? SAMCL midwife Anne Whyte and obstetrician Alec Ekeroma answers our question.

Answer

No. How much you “stretch”, and how quickly you recover, depends on your genetic make-up, what happened during the last birth, or earlier births, and other factors like healing of tissue and your physical and mental fitness prior to the birth. And your relaxing levels, which increase during pregnancy and make you “stretchy”, are usually back to normal within six weeks. As a general rule (which is often broken!) second babies are shorter in labor than first babies, and third babies will take longer than second babies, but not as long as the first. The reason subsequent labors are often shorter than the first is that the uterus contracts more effectively (it has been schooled as they say) and the vaginal tissue resistance is less. However, it has been observed that labors tend to be long again in women who have had a gap of more than 10 years between children, and older women tend to have longer labors than younger women. Other factors may also lengthen a labor – such as the baby settling into a pelvic position that limits your muscle co-ordination.

Keep cool this summer

Coping with the heat of summer can be a real trial when you’re heavily pregnant. Here are ideas from other mums about keeping yourself cool on those humid days. • Wear loose, thin cotton clothing • Fill a spray bottle with water and squirt yourself • Find a hand fan and flap yourself cool • Rest. The heat can tire you out. Find a cool place for a snooze with the windows open to let in a breeze or the fan going. Better still, nap under a shady tree with the sound of the sea in the background • Take to the water. The weightlessness of being immersed will feel blissful and the coolness of the water will perk you up. Or jump under a cool shower, the garden sprinkler or join the kids and wallow in the paddling pool. • Try a footbath of tepid water with a handful of sea salt. Get your partner or a friend to give you a deep leg and foot massage with an oil or lotion. • One mum told us, “I’d go for a swim as often as possible, then wrap a sarong around my wet togs and keep them on until they dried.”