In my opinion, the biggest benefit of fetal/prenatal education is that it offers a head start of parent-child bonding.

Fetal/prenatal education series | August 22, 2011 2:23 pm | Comments (0)

Beginning today, July 29, 2011, I am entereing the third trimester of this pregancy. During the latest routine check-up, the doctor measured my tommy and informed me that my tommy was as big as the size of a singleton pregnant woman in her 36th week.

Pregnancy | July 29, 2011 2:47 pm | Comments (0)

According to Chinese zodiac*, 2011 is the year of rabbit. Therefore my twins, who are expected to come in late September this year, are both rabbits, the 4th animal of the 12 animals of Asian astrology.

So what does the symbol rabbit associate?

Chinese zodiac | July 20, 2011 1:59 pm | Comments (0)

Ancient Chinese believed that a human being is formed sometime between conception and birth, if not at conception itself. The Chinese conception of gestation emphasizes the gradual process of transformation from conception to birth and even beyond.

Fetal development was seen at not only physical growth, but a spiritual component—named variously as “soul” or “spirit”—was added or “infused” at a particular time during pregnancy.

Fetal/prenatal education series | July 5, 2011 2:21 pm | Comments (0)

Only one decade ago, talking to a baby in the womb or playing music to it still sounded ridiculous or unrealistic. Nowadays the powerful connections between fetal/prenatal education and memory and learning in utero have been revealed in formal experiments, scientific researches, publications, parental observations, and first person reports.

Fetal/prenatal education series | June 17, 2011 1:29 pm | Comments (0)

Fetal education, sometines called prenatal education, refers to improving an unborn child’s full potential through outside influence on the womb, such as touching/rubbing the surface of belly, reading/talking to the fetus, playing music to the fetus, and etc. Some researchers in the field believe that it is possible to boost a fetus’s intellectual, emotional, and behavioral development via prenatal stimulations or “education”.

I practiced fetal/prenatal education on DD beginning the fourth month of the pregnancy (see Fetal/prenatal education in 4th month). Now she is growing up into an exceptionally healthy, highly intelligent and remarkably beautiful three-year-old.

She has excellent personality: naturally kind-hearted, happy, optimistic, generous, passionate, considerate, and even humorous. She is bit of stubborn, but knows when to yield and compromise; she is bit of aggressive, but understands the rules of sharing and co-play; she is bit of too independent, but calls for help when she needs it (I know, I am bragging about my baby, like any parent in the world).

Overall, DD is the perfect and dream child so far, in my opinion. She lights up my life and brings me enormous joy and enlightenment.
I cannot say all of these DD’s good qualities result in the fetal education. But I do believe that any practice of fetal/prenatal education, such as reading to the fetus or playing music to it, is actually not a waste of time.

I am beginning a new series on the topics of fetal/prenatal education. Today, I want to talk about what is fetal/prenatal education, based on the research I have done and my own understanding and practicing.

Fetal/prenatal education series | May 26, 2011 1:45 pm | Comments (0)

Yesterday I went to visit the genetic specialist to consult on Down syndrome and PAPP-A. She reassured to me that the risk calculation was based on my age, the situation that I am carrying twins, and other factors. Therefore, the first trimester screening was not diagnostic and the risk percentage was just an estimate.

Also, she pointed to me, even for baby B (baby A was even better), the rate of him/her having down syndrome was only 0.3367%, which meant 99.66% of chance he/she would be perfectly healthy.

| April 29, 2011 8:14 am | Comments (9)

Last Tuesday, I went to conduct the first-trimester prenatal screening or Nuchal Translucency Test. By late Friday afternoon, I received a phone call from the prenatal image center that the risks of my babies to have Down syndrome and Edwards and/or Patau’s syndrome (trisomy 18, or trisomy 13) were within normative range (see My first trimester screeing was negative!).

Today, I stopped by the prenatal image center to get the copies of the first trimester screening report. By surprise, I found out the risk percentage I was told last Friday was only for one baby, baby A.

There was a separate report for the other baby, baby B. And his/her risk percentage of Down syndrome was slightly higher than the cut-off (but still higher than risk percentage before screening). Therefore, baby B might be at the increased risk of Down syndrome.

Pregnancy | April 21, 2011 5:05 pm | Comments (0)

This later afternoon, I received a phone call from prenatal image center that the risk of my babies to have Down syndrome and Edwards syndrome was within normative range.

The risk percentage was not as good as three years ago when I had DD (see The first trimester test), but it made sense considering currently I was categorized as “older woman” and carrying twins.

Still, it made me happy and relieved to know that my babies passed the first-trimester prenatal screening or Nuchal Translucency Test!

Healthy Pregnancy | April 15, 2011 7:23 pm | Comments (2)

“I don’t feel any sickness. Sometimes I was wondering ‘am I really pregnant?’” I told the nurse, during my first checkup for pregnancy.

“We are going to find it out!” she smiled.

After a while, the doctor came in. She was kind and patient. She gave me a physical and then an ultrasound.

“Your baby looks beautiful”, after measuring its size and verify the due date, she smiled at me.

I was about to get up.

Then, “wait a minute…. I see…” she stared at the screen, “another one!”

Another one?!

| March 24, 2011 6:50 am | Comments (0)