HT

• Parenthood


  The state of being a parent, means being a father or mother of the biological child, a great responsibility or task, not a role which can be successfully played on the chance basis, a status where responsible couple arrive at after making a decision to have a family
• Responsible parenthood


  The will and ability to respond to the needs and aspirations of the family, includes the process of deciding how to choose partners, when to form families, when to have the first child, child spacing, how many children to have in all, and all the decisions we take to ensure the best possible lives for ourselves and our children
• Factors to consider when choosing a partner

  • Age
  • Personality and character
  • Family background
  • Religion
  • Education
  • Occupation
  • Economic standing
• Factors that can lead to "irresponsible marriages"

  • Cultural stereotypes
  • Unhappiness with family situation
  • Arranged marriages
  • Peer pressure
  • Ignorance or false ideas
• Parenthood Readiness

  • Emotional Maturity
  • Health Considerations
  • Resource Management Skills
  • Financial Concerns
  • Parenting Skills
• Resource Management Skills


  • Money
  • Time
  • Skills
  • Energy
• Five Key Steps to Good Resource Management

  1. Set Goals

  2. Identify resources

  3. Make a plan

  4. Put the plan into action

  5. Re-evaluate from time to time
• Galinsky's Stages of Parenthood

  • Image-Making
  • Nurturing Stage
  • Authority Stage
  • Integrative Stage
  • Interdependent Stage
  • Departure Stage
• Parenting Styles


  • Authoritarian
  • Permissive
  • Authoritative
  • Overparenting
  • Uninvolved/Neglecting Parenting
• Benefits of family planning/contraception


  • Promotion of family planning
  • Preventing pregnancy
  • Reducing infant mortality
  • Helping to prevent HIV/AIDS
  • Empowering people and enhancing education
  • Reducing adolescent pregnancies
  • Slowing population growth
• Healthy parenting


  Showing interest and excitement in the child's development and autonomy, meeting the child's environmental needs and personal preferences, prompt response to medical and dental care and illness, spending frequent time with children and engaging in positive interactions, allowing the child to try tasks independently and experience normal cycles of frustration and self-accomplishment, loving and nurturing responses along with the ability to comfort the child, balanced discipline with love, logic, consistency, and fairness, supporting the child's intellectual, spiritual, and social growth
• Unhealthy parenting


  Lack of involvement in the child's development and self-concept, neglecting the child's physical needs and personal preferences, neglecting the child due to parental problems or concerns, overprotective parenting hindering the child's self-confidence and autonomy, extreme emotional responses, lack of comfort, and abusive behaviors, irregular and unfair discipline, lack of mutual respect, and lack of support for education and social growth
• Modern contraceptive methods


  • Combined oral contraceptives (COCs) or "the pill"
  • Progestogen-only pills (POPs) or "the minipill"
  • Implants
  • Progestogen-only injectables
  • Monthly injectables or combined injectable contraceptives (CIC)
  • Combined contraceptive patch and combined contraceptive vaginal ring (CVR)
  • Intrauterine device (IUD): copper-containing
  • Intrauterine device (IUD) levonorgestrel
  • Male condoms
  • Female condoms
  • Male sterilization (vasectomy)
  • Female sterilization (tubal ligation)
  • Lactational amenorrhea method (LAM)
  • Emergency contraception pills (ulipristal acetate 30 mg or levonorgestrel 1.5 mg)
  • Standard Days Method or SDM
  • Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Method
  • TwoDay Method
  • Sympto-thermal Method
• Traditional contraceptive methods


  • Calendar method or rhythm method
  • Withdrawal (coitus interruptus)
• Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy

  • Absence of Menstruation
  • Morning sickness
  • Enlargement of the Breasts
  • Darkening of the areola around the nipple
  • Milk in the breasts
  • Enlargement of the Abdomen
  • Quickening
  • Fluctuation
  • Ballottement
  • Kiesteine in the urine
  • Sounds of the fetal heart
  • Other signs of pregnancy
• Pre-Natal Care for Expectant Mothers


  • Listen to your doctor
  • Make healthy choices
  • Quit your bad habits
  • Protect yourself from abuse
  • Choose your baby's doctor before your baby is born
  • Regular visits with your doctor
  • Protect your baby - get tested for STDs and HIV
  • Ask your doctor about the medicines and vitamins you're taking
  • Don't forget to see your dentist
• Proper Diet and Hygiene During Pregnancy


  • Drink Water and non-sweetened drinks
  • Eat healthy snacks and meals
  • Stay away from foods with "empty calorie" value
  • Stay away from foods that could make you or your baby sick
  • Quit bad habits
  • Avoid harmful drugs
• Ovulation


  1. Egg released from ovary

  2. Egg travels down fallopian tube

  3. Egg may be fertilised by sperm
• Fertilisation


  1. Sperm ejaculated into vagina

  2. Sperm swim up through cervix

  3. Sperm joins with egg
• Implantation


  1. Fertilised egg (embryo) moves down fallopian tube into uterus

  2. Embryo attaches to uterus lining
• Hormones


  Chemicals that circulate in the bloodstream and carry messages to different parts of the body
• Gender


  Determined by sex chromosomes (XX for female, XY for male)
• Trimesters of Pregnancy


  • First trimester
  • Second trimester
  • Third trimester
• Umbilical cord


  Baby's lifeline, carries oxygen and food to baby and waste away
• Placenta


  Attached to uterus lining, separates baby's circulation from mother's, allows exchange of oxygen, nutrients, antibodies
• Amniotic sac


  Bag of fluid inside uterus that baby floats in, breaks during labour
• Body Changes in First Trimester


  • Feeling tired and sleepy
  • Morning sickness
  • Sore and tender breasts
  • Frequent urination
  • Irritability, moodiness, crying
• Body Changes in Second Trimester


  • Breast discharge and itching
  • Sweating
  • Mood swings
  • Mild aches and pains
  • Stretch marks and itching
  • Heartburn
• Body Changes in Third Trimester


  • Frequent urination
  • Swelling of hands and ankles
  • Backaches
  • Constipation
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Aches and pains
• Preparations for Coming of Baby


  • Comfortable clothes for labour
  • Nursing bras
  • Sanitary towels
  • Breast pads
  • Wash bag
  • Snacks and drinks
  • Relaxation items
  • Cooling items
  • Breastfeeding clothes
  • Underwear
  • Outfit to come home in
  • Baby clothes and supplies
  • Car seat
  • Other documents
• Signs of Labour


  • Regular contractions
  • Backache
  • The 'show'
  • Waters breaking
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea
• Three Stages of Labour

  • Dilation of the Cervix
  • Delivery of the Baby
  • Delivery of the Placenta
• Holding your baby


  1. Support baby's head and neck

  2. Hold baby up to shoulder, cradle in one arm, or hold under arm like a football
• Soothing your baby


  1. Never shake your baby

  2. Softly run finger around face

  3. Feed and burp

  4. Change diaper

  5. Offer pacifier

  6. Hold against chest and walk or rock

  7. Swaddle in soft warm blanket

  8. Lay tummy down on lap and gently rub or pat back

  9. Place on back in safe place and check every 10 minutes
• Feeding your baby


  • Feed when hungry, not at set time
  • Breastfeeding: Colostrum is important for immune system, spend time to understand cues and signals
  • Formula feeding: Choose doctor-recommended formula, follow instructions for safe preparation and feeding
  • Signs baby is getting enough: 6+ wet diapers/24 hours, soft bowel movements, weight gain after first week, calm/sleepy after eating and burping
• Burping your baby


  1. Lightly pat or rub back while holding comfortably

  2. Burp in middle and at end of feeding
• Diapering and diaper rash

  1. Clean diaper area front to back

  2. Change diapers frequently

  3. Use diaper rash cream

  4. Let go without diaper to allow air
• Caring for the umbilical cord (belly button)


  1. Follow doctor/nurse instructions

  2. Never pull cord off

  3. Keep clean and dry

  4. Call doctor if signs of infection
• Caring for a circumcised baby

  1. Follow doctor's instructions on cleaning penis

  2. Drip warm water gently over end of penis with each diaper change

  3. Put diapers on loosely
• Bathing your baby


  1. Use sponge for first few days to keep cord dry

  2. Once belly button healed, bathe in small tub or sink with warm water

  3. Always hold baby in or around water, never leave alone