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Pregnancy Planning/Spacing
HOST ON CAMERA INTRO
Sometimes you can decide when to start a family, and sometimes Mother Nature will do the deciding for you. Even so, many couples wanting more than one child are taking the time to plan the "spacing" of those births. Take a look as we follow the Green family through this process, which has been filled with fun and good fortune.
HOST V/O
Rachel Green is a thirty-something, working mother of two. When she and her husband, Bobby, first started talking about having a family, each had a slightly different idea of the perfect family size.
Bobby Green
"Having lots of people around was always appealing to me and you know, I never thought of myself as someone who would only have one child or even two children. But I think Rachel may have been at one point at the two children stage."
Rachel Green
"Well, I had one sibling, an older brother. So to me, a normal family, an average family, my family should have two children."
HOST V/O
Once the Greens decided to have a third child, Rachel talked to her Ob-Gyn, Marc Kaufman, who practices at Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter, Florida. After a woman has her first child, Dr. Kaufman says she should consider timing before becoming pregnant again.
Marc Kaufman, MD FACOG
"We kind of tell women to try not to get pregnant right away by any means and we generally like six months. Three months or under, we see a higher incidence of potential horrible complications such as still birth, neo-natal problems, growth restriction of these babies and pre-term labor."
HOST V/O
Experts advise that it's best to wait 18 to 23 months before getting pregnant again. Babies conceived less than 6 months or more than 10 years after a sibling appear to have a higher risk or premature birth, low birth weight, or small size for their gestational age. Rachel gave birth to their oldest daughter, Tali, five years ago. They had another child, Jacob, two years later. But they wanted to wait a little longer for baby number three.
Bobby Green
"You know, we had Tali and Jacob only 2 years apart and I think that both mentally and physically, neither Rachel nor I could have handled having a third that quickly."
HOST V/O
Doctors say "planning" a birth and actually being able to conceive on time may present a challenge.
Rachel Green
"The first time and with Jacob also, we got pregnant right away and I assumed that this time it would happen that first month or two also. But it didn't and I was surprised. It did take a little bit longer than I thought."
HOST V/O
As soon as Rachel started trying to get pregnant for the third time, she began preparing by taking prenatal vitamins.
Marc Kaufman, MD, FACOG
"She needs to be having the right balance of iron in her system to make sure that there's going to be enough good, healthy blood flow to the baby. She needs to have certain vitamins and nutrients on board, such as folic acid, which is vital to development of a healthy newborn."
HOST V/O
Whether it's hard work, luck, or both... Rachel has remained the picture of good health throughout her pregnancy. She's kept up her exercise regimen and has stayed well within her recommended weight. But just because this is Rachel's third child doesn't mean there are no anxious feelings.
Rachel Green
"I haven't gone into labor in the traditional way. Either of my last two pregnancies, I was induced both times, so I still have that anxiousness, you know, that first time moms have of when is it going to happen, will I feel the contractions, will I be in the grocery store when my water's going to break... so I still have that bit of anxiety hanging over me."
Bobby Green
"We've had two induced labors and I'm jealous of you know, my brother who calls me at three in the morning when they had their baby, saying the water just broke, we're on our way to the hospital. You know, I want some of that excitement in my life."
HOST V/O
One thing that is exciting, for the entire family is that they already know whether the new baby is a boy or a girl.
Bobby Green
"Before we knew the sex, Tali kept saying how she would be really helpful taking care of the baby, help change the diapers, help give it a bath... as long as it was a girl."
HOST V/O
So during an ultrasound, Rachel and Bobby got two exciting bits of information. Their baby is healthy and...
NAT SOUND
Technician says, "It's a little princess."
HOST V/O
Having the older siblings involved in helping with a new baby, gives them a sense of maturity and responsibility. It's another plus that comes with spacing the children a few years apart.
Rachel Green
"We try to include them in a lot of the decision making. You know, throwing names by them for their approval, asking them things about the nursery so that they feel that they're part of the whole decision making process."
Bobby Green
"You know, I look at Jacob and remember thinking when it was just Tali, how could you love anyone as much as Tali, and now, you know, I'm thinking how can we love Tali and Jacob, but you know you will. And its nice to imagine something that important that's not here yet coming into your life.
HOST V/O
But today, the imagining is over. The Greens arrived at 7 a.m... for induction. They waited patiently and walked the halls. The baby wasn't coming on her own, so doctors helped the process along by breaking Rachel's water. Around 4:30 in the afternoon, the contractions were frequent and their baby girl was ready to be born.
NAT SOUND
Bobby Green says, "She's coming. Oh, here she comes, push honey again. Come on, here she comes."
HOST V/O
Just before 5 o'clock...
NAT SOUND
Bobby Green says, "Push again now, nice and easy."
HOST V/O
Little Maya Gabrielle was born.
NAT SOUND
Baby crying
HOST V/O
And she's definitely a hit with her older sister and brother.
Bobby Green
"Jacob now says that he wants a boy baby after the girl baby."
"I think we're done, but you have to ask Rachel that. I'd keep going, but I have the easy job."
Rachel Green
"Right now I'm not thinking about a fourth. But you never know."
HOST ON CAMERA TAG
Choosing whether and when to have another baby depends on a variety of individual factors for the couple. A good first step for women is to talk with their ob-gyn about any possible medical concerns there may be.
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