Week 18 of your Pregnancy
Who will care for you?
Throughout your pregnancy, delivery, and the months after your baby is born, you will be cared for by one or more experts in helping mothers and babies stay healthy and get off to a good start.
* Obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) are doctors who specialize in the general medical care of women-including their needs during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period-and have been certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Doctors in family practice may also provide care for their pregnant patients.
* Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) are registered nurses who have received special training in caring for women through pregnancy and delivery, have a graduate degree in midwifery, and have passed a certification test given by the American College of Nurse-Midwives. The profession today is a highly modern and skilled one.
* Nurse-practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses with advanced academic and clinical experience. NPs provide routine care-blood pressure checks, measurements, and more-during your prenatal visits.
* Childbirth educators are trained to provide families with information and emotional support. Certified childbirth educators hold classes in hospitals or other settings to help you prepare for birth and parenthood.
* Labor and delivery nurses are there for you once you are in labor and arrive at the hospital. They will monitor you and your baby’s progress, provide comfort and support, and assist throughout your delivery. After your baby is born, postpartum or neonatal nurses, sometimes called mother-baby nurses, will take care of you and your baby, answer your questions, and help you feel comfortable caring for yourself and your baby once you leave the hospital.
* Lactation consultants (LCs) are experts in lactation and helping mothers learn to breastfeed. They can be nurses, midwives, childbirth educators, obstetricians, pediatricians, or La Leche League leaders-anyone who has passed a rigorous certification exam offered by the International Lactation Consultant Association. An LC can help make the learning days of nursing as smooth as possible.
Your Baby’s Development
* The fetal heart pumps 144 liters of blood a day, creating enough percussion to be heard through a stethoscope.
* The skin of the fetus is loose and wrinkled, without yet a layer of fat underneath.
Courtesy: University of Virginia Health System
Tags: gynecologist, week 18
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