Pregnancy is such a beautiful, memorable time in a woman’s life. Having life growing inside of you, feeling the flutters, kicks and eventually punches, can put the largest smile on an expectant mother’s face. With so many advances in technology, it is amazing how much pregnancy has changed over time compared to the days of old. In the early 1900s home births were much more common than today’s hospital births. Midwives were more commonly used to deliver babies than doctors at that time. With the advances in modern technology and medicine far more babies are born healthy. In addition, premature babies have a much greater survival rate than they did many years ago.
Through ultrasounds and a series of tests, doctors are able to detect any problems in the earlier stages of pregnancy. The Quads Screen is done early in pregnancy to determine if there is an increased risk that the baby could have downs syndrome. The true way for a diagnosis to be made is by having an amniocentesis performed. A glucose screening is preformed around 28 weeks of pregnancy to detect if gestational diabetes has developed.
Many years ago doctors were only able to monitor babies through a stethoscope. Now doctors are also able to monitor the baby with a Doppler to hear the heartbeat, as well as fetal monitor. With these advancements, both the physician and expectant parents will be better equipment on how to handle the pregnancy going forward. Our healthcare system has also changed drastically. As a result, woman that may not have been able to afford prenatal care back in the earlier 1900s can now receive care through Medicaid.
Umbilical cord blood donation is a major change in pregnancy today. Years ago the umbilical cord was thrown away after a woman gave birth. However after research had been conducted, there are great benefits to using umbilical cord blood. Mothers can opt to have their cord blood donated to public cord blood banking center which could in turn save a person’s life. Cord blood is remarkable in that doctors can use it for a patient in need of a transplant and other life-threating diseases. For more information on umbilical cord blood banking please go to: http://marrow.org/Get_Involved/Donate_Cord_Blood/Donate_Cord_Blood.aspx. It is remarkable how much technology and medicine has evolved over time, that pregnancy and delivery is far safer than ever before!
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