Questions about Class 102: Adjusting To The Changes

There is nothing inherently unsafe about airplanes during pregnancy. However, most airlines put restrictions on pregnant women in the last month of pregnancy, so check before you buy your tickets. Also, if you are traveling late in pregnancy, consider the possibility of going into labour at your destination. Is this acceptable to you? Having a baby in a foreign country, especially the USA, is very expensive. Be sure to check into insurance, and ask specifically whether care related to your pregnancy will be covered.

Unless advised by your caregiver not to have sex during your pregnancy, it is safe.

It can be quite overwhelming to go shopping for baby stuff, as stores have so many different products and choices. Without the help of someone who has been through it, you could easily spend your whole budget in one short trip. Keep in mind, while there is an extraordinary amount of baby stuff available to buy in the stores, most people only really need a small proportion of it. Many baby products available are not recommended for safety reasons, so check out the chart below for ideads of products to avoid. Everyone will have different needs, depending on their circumstances; however, the chart below should give you some ideas:

Clothing	Furniture & supplies	Bathing & body care
Cloth diapers (3 to 4 dozen) Plastic pants, pins or disposable diapers Undershirts (at least 3 to 4) Sleepers (at least 3 to 4) Sweaters (1 to 2) Hat and booties or socks Receiving blankets (3 to 4) Baby blankets (2) Bunting bag or snow suit	Crib and mattress Crib sheets (2) Quilted crib pad (waterproof) Plastic diaper pail An approved car seat Diaper bag Stroller Digital thermometer Laundry bag or basket for soiled clothing	Mild soap and shampoo  Towels and washcloths

 

Things not to buy:

Item	Why not?	Instead...
Clothes with buttons	Buttons are a choking hazard for babies	Stick to clothes with snaps or zippers
Bumper pads for crib	Bumper pads cut off the flow of air into the crib, and post a suffocation hazard for babies. Later, baby can use them to climb out of the crib	Cribs should be quite bare
Quilt for crib	Heavy quilts are best left out of the crib. They are too heavy, and baby can suffocate underneath them	One light blanket is all baby needs. If baby is cold, add a layer of clothes instead of more blankets
Fluffy pillows, soft mattress, stuffed toys for crib	All of these items can interfere with baby's breathing	One light blanket, no pillow and a firm mattress are all baby needs
Education movies and DVDs for baby	Babies do not learn anything from watching television. These programs do not improvie your baby's brain development	You are baby's best toy. Baby learns from interacting with people, being held, cuddled, talked to and loved

There is no evidence that colouring your hair when pregnant is unsafe for you or baby. Some women find that the results are slightly different than normal, because the pregnancy hormones have affected their hair.