05 March: Avoiding the supine, and other vocab words. (Jen)

First of all, does anyone ever use the word "layette"? I, for one, had never heard it until I started reading about preparing for babies. I googled it and found: A layette is a collection of clothing for a newborn child. The term "layette set" is commonly used in the United States to refer to gift sets of baby clothes. Nice; one down, many to go. At our last visit, our midwives gave us a large manila envelope of info pertinent to pregnancy. One of the booklets is about pre-natal fitness and yoga. This booklet, as well as many other books and websites, warns not to do anything in the "supine position". Why not? Well, it's the vena cava. Well, that's really helpful, ain't it? Oh, and when you sleep, you want to avoid the supine, as well. Same reason. I kept trying to make sense of these warnings without actually looking up the definition of the word -- surely, eventually, I'd be able to guess it from context. Nope. So Ben googled it: lying on the back; antonym: prone. What a fancy word for such a boring thing! Now, the vena cava... I got out our copy of Gray's Anatomy and did lots of reading (and looking at pictures). Wow. I think most of the knowledge in that book was gained from dissecting cadavers -- most of the illustrations show where the skin was folded back or cut open in order to reveal the organs studied. It's cool and creepy at the same time -- were some of those bodies illegally dug-up way back when?

 

Anyway, more of Gray's Anatomy to come. Until then, the (inferior) vena cava. This is a major vein (it carries de-oxygenated blood back to the heart) which runs parallel to and just inside the spine, or "vertebral column". It is primarily on the right side, I guess, so pregnant women are supposed to lay -- and try to sleep -- on the left side. Under Pathologies associated with the IVC, Wikipedia says "unconscious pregnant females should be turned on to their left side (the recovery position), to relieve pressure on it and facilitate venous return. In rare cases, straining associated with defecation can lead to restricted blood flow through the IVC and result in syncope (fainting). Occlusion of the IVC is rare, but considered life-threatening and is an emergency." Well, there are a lot of vocab words in that short snippet, but it's time for me to head to bed, where I'll avoid the supine (this might explain why I sometimes wake up with my hands or arms asleep, I guess. Good thing I now know what to avoid.). But now you know, if you find an unconscious pregnant woman in the supine position -- especially if she's on the floor in the bathroom stall next to you -- just turn her on to her left side and maybe consider dialing 9-1-1 if she doesn't seem to wake up after a reasonable time. Her enlarged womb probably just occluded her inferior vena cava, which blocked the flow of de-oxygenated blood from her lower body (and her babe) back up to her heart. Maybe, if turning her to her left side doesn't work, you should try elevating her legs above her heart -- but don't put her in the supine just to do that...