Pregnancy Lifestyle

Pregnant and in Prison: Shackling Pregnant Inmates During Labor and Delivery

One of the biggest hurdles pregnant women in jail have had to face is securing the right to have a dignified labor and childbirth process. Most have to endure grueling pain while exposed in a room with a law enforcement escort and with their legs shackled together – even as the newborn was exiting the birth canal.

Currently, 13 states outlaw the practice of shackling pregnant state prisoners. Federal law already prohibits prisons from doing this to women inmates. Thirteen other states have introduced bills to ban the practice, as well. Those states include California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.

Should You Buy a Handheld Doppler?

by DP Nguyen 1 Comment

The idea of listening to your baby’s heartbeat in the comfort of your own home sounds pretty appealing. And if you flip through baby and pregnancy magazines, chances are you might run across an ad featuring a handheld Doppler heart rate monitor that you can use at home. But should you buy a handheld Doppler?

Portable Doppler ultrasound devices that you can buy online are pocket-sized, battery-operated machines that are placed on your belly, and they send out high-frequency ultrasound waves. The waves pass through your skin and bounce back. The bounce is translated into a sound that you can hear.

Dopplers are perfectly safe to use over a long period of time. In fact, the British Medical Ultrasound Society issued a statement in 2000 that basically said that there has been no evidence that using ultrasound technology – Dopplers included – will harm a pregnancy. Ultrasounds have been used safely for the last 40 years without any problem.

Pregnant with a Piercing – Now What?

by DP Nguyen 1 Comment

Many pregnant women have a piercing of some kind. You might have an ear piercing, a tongue piercing, or a navel piercing. No matter where you have a piercing, chances are you’re wondering, Now that I’m pregnant, do I need to take out my piercing?

There is no simple answer to this question. Every woman’s skin reacts differently to pregnancy hormones. You may find that your jewelry, which you’ve been wearing fine before you became pregnant, is starting to bother you now. Since it’s common for pregnancy to make your skin more sensitive, keeping the jewelry in may be uncomfortable. If this is the case, you should probably take it out.

If you decide to take out your jewelry, it’s a good idea to contact a piercer for advice on how easy it will be to refit after your baby is born.

Can You Get a Tattoo While Pregnant?

by DP Nguyen 2 Comments

Every pregnant woman likes to commemorate her pregnancy in different ways. Some women make pregnancy belly casts and paint them; others like the idea of getting inked. Tattoos are a creative outlet for some women, but just how safe is getting a tattoo when you’re pregnant? Can you get a tattoo while pregnant? What does the medical community say about this subject?

Doctors and reputable medical organizations, such as the March of Dimes, DO NOT recommend that you get a tattoo while pregnant. They strongly urge all women to wait until after their baby is born before getting inked.

Coloring Your Hair in Pregnancy: Is it Safe or Dangerous?

by DP Nguyen 6 Comments

For many women, hair coloring, dying, or highlighting is part of their regular beauty routine. When you’re pregnant, you have to be more careful about your beauty treatments and the chemicals and dyes that you normally expose yourself to. A developing baby’s system is sensitive, so you want to ask, “Is it safe?” before you expose yourself to anything that could be potentially dangerous.

How Safe is Hair Dye in Pregnancy?

There’s no evidence that hair coloring in pregnancy is dangerous. In general, dying your hair while pregnant is most likely safe, since there have been no scientific studies that have linked hair dye to causing any birth defects. According to the Organization of Teratology Information Services (OTIS), very few chemicals in hair dye are absorbed into your body, which means that the risk to your unborn baby is minimal.

Pregnancy Discrimination and Your Legal Rights

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Pregnancy discrimination is illegal – a law that some employers often forget, but if you’re pregnant, it’s a law that you need to know about.

Although in today’s hard economic times, people are being laid off left and right. But if you are singled out and let go, just because you’re pregnant, this is called pregnancy discrimination and it is against the law.
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