All You Wanted to Know About Sex (7 page)

The third phase is the expulsion of the placenta and its associated membranes.

The process of labour is extremely variable from woman to woman, and even in the same woman first, second and third labours may be very different. First birth generally takes longer and is more painful than the subsequent ones.

Myths about Pregnancy

In many cultures great magical significance is given to the placenta and umbilical cord. They hide the after-birth placenta and umbilical cord in case it fell into the hands of evil wishers.

Pregnancy Test

It is a test to check if the woman is pregnant or not. Pregnancy tests work by seeing if there is a certain hormone in urine. It is done two weeks after the first day of the missed menstrual period. If the test result is positive you are certainly pregnant. If the test result is negative and you still haven’t had your period, a week later one more test should be done.

Say No to Drugs

Pregnant women are advised to use extreme caution in taking any drug during pregnancy because medical studies now indicate that many drugs, including alcohol, can cause birth defects.

Thalidomide Babies

In 1953, a tranquilizer was developed in Germany and was marketed as a safe sedative. It was named
Thalidomide
. In animal tests it was found that the drug had virtually no toxic effects in masses doses, and therefore would be a suitable substitute for barbituates because it would be virtually impossible for a patient to take a lethal overdose.

In 1960, it was discovered that pregnant women who took thalidomide were delivered of deformed children with a variety of defects. The most common birth defect was
phocomelia -
born with arms and legs that were extremely short or with parts missing.

In retrospective research, it was found that thousands of women with children so afflicted had taken doses of thalidomide during the fourth week of pregnancy, when the embryonic limb buds were forming. Those who took the drug on days when the eyes or ears were forming gave birth to infants with visual or hearing difficulties, Consequently Thalidomide was taken off the market.

Caesarian Section

The delivery of a baby through a surgical incision in the abdomen is called caesarian section. The purpose of the procedure is to preserve the life and health of both the mother and the child, particularly when delivery of a foetus through the vaginal birth canal is not possible. Caesarian delivery has traditionally been an emergency operation, but in recent years the procedure has become increasingly an elective procedure. The mother is given an
Epidural
block or anaesthetic so that she does not feel any pain.

A contributing factor to the increased popularity of caesarian delivery has been the development of more sophisticated foetal monitoring devices that indicate well in advance that a breech presentation or other type of vaginal or pelvic difficulty may threaten the welfare of the mother or child, or both.

Miscarriage

Miscarriage is the spontaneous expulsion of the foetus before it is able to survive outside the uterus—usually before the 28th week of pregnancy. If a woman has a miscarriage, her baby usually dies. Miscarriages occur in 10 to 15% of pregnancies, and in about 50% of cases, the foetus is found to be clearly defective.

It may happen if the woman’s placenta is not working properly or if she has a weak cervix which opens too early. If a woman has a miscarriage, it does not mean she can’t have another baby. Many women who have a miscarriage go on to have a successful pregnancy next time.

Premature Baby

A baby born before the 37th week of pregnancy is called premature baby. Generally pregnancy is expected to last for 40 weeks. Premature babies may need special medical care during the first few days after their birth, but they usually grow into normal, healthy babies.

Still Birth

When a baby is born dead, it is called still birth. Some babies also die shortly after they are born. Some of the factors that are commonly involved are immaturity of the foetus, syphilis, protracted labour, water in the lungs and strangulation by the umbilical cord.

Stone Baby

A foetus that dies within the uterus without being aborted and is instead preserved by a bone like layer of calcium salts is called a stone baby. The calcium shroud presumably develops to protect the mother from the toxic effects of the dead foetus. A stone baby may remain undetected in a uterus for many years.

Umbilical Cord

Umbilical Cord is the cord that connects the foetus with the placenta and provides a means for the flow of nutrients from the maternal blood supply to the foetus and for the removal of the products from foetal metabolism.

An unborn baby does not eat and breathe like we do. Instead, food and oxygen pass from the mother’s blood through the placenta and down the umbilical cord to the baby. It is about 50 cm long and 2.5 cm thick. At birth this cord is clamped and cut. This does not hurt the baby or the mother. A little bit of cord is left attached to the baby. New skin forms under this bit of cord and after about a week the cord drops off on its own. It forms the navel of the baby.

Placenta

Placenta is an organ of pregnancy that is attached to the inner wall of the uterus and is connected to the foetus by an umbilical cord. The blood vessels in the umbilical cord provide all the nutrients for the growth and maturation of the foetus and carry away the waste of its metabolism. It provides the unborn baby with the food and oxygen it needs to grow and develop. One side of the placenta is fixed to the wall of the mother’s uterus. The umbilical cord comes out of the other side and goes into the unborn baby’s navel. An unborn baby does not eat and breathe like we do. Food and oxygen pass from the mother’s blood through the placenta and down the umbilical cord to the baby. Waste products from baby pass back through the cord and placenta and into the mother’s blood.

Antibodies which help the baby fight infections once it is born can also pass through the placenta from the mother to the baby. So can harmful things like alcohol, drugs and nicotine from cigarette. That is why it is best for the pregnant woman not to smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs.

In a multiple pregnancy there may be more than one placenta. The uterus moves about one pint of blood per minute into the placenta and a slightly smaller amount returns during uterine relaxation. The foetus thus gains a small amount of blood materials in each exchange.

Women have been advised to use extreme caution in taking any drug during pregnancy because studies now indicate that many drugs including alcohol, can cause birth defects.

Sex of the Baby

To a biologist, a pregnancy is first a zygote, then an embryo, then a foetus and only after birth, a baby. But for the hopeful parents a pregnancy is a baby right from the start. Every pregnant woman is viewed as a future mother. Studies reveal that for more than 50% of women pregnancy is unplanned. In our country this percentage is more than 90%. That is the reason why we are producing as many children in one year as the total population of Australia. Many women accept this fact fatalistically.

But more and more educated women are choosing to abort, and in many societies they are supported in their decision. Our Government is also encouraging birth control methods to control the growth of the population.

The unit of fertilization contributed by each parent are called
Gametes
. The male gametes are sperm produced by the testes and the female gametes are eggs, or ova produced by the ovaries.

The sex of the zygote is determined at the time of fertilization since all ova contain an X-sex chromosome. So, the male’s sperm is the determining factor. If it too contains an X-chromosome, the zygote will be female (XX) but if it contains a Y-chromosome, the zygote will be male (XY).

Reason is not known, but though more male zygotes are produced than female, there are more deaths among infant males than among infant females.

The knowledge that it is the sperm of the male that determines sex is being widely disseminated in countries like China and India, where traditionally female babies have been looked on as worthless and wives brutally abused for producing them.

Various techniques are now available for determining the sex of the foetus.

Myths about the Desired Sex

Although there is no simple or reliable method of ensuring that a baby is of the desired sex, yet folk nostrums and quack remedies abound in many societies and cultures because many people would like to choose the sex of their baby. In many cultures, boys are usually preferred to girls.

One such myth is having coitus in a certain position or at certain times of the menstrual cycle. Such myths are prevailing throughout the world.

One of the oldest notion is that one testicle contains sperm producing only girls, and the other holds sperm that produce only boys. But these are only myths holding no truth in them.

Techniques of Sexual Intercourse

Indian love manuals describe a number of techniques for sexual intercourse. The 4th century Hindu classic known as
Kama Sutra
and of 15th century
Ananga Ranga
are full of such descriptions.

Love making does not necessarily begin when the man inserts his penis into the woman’s vagina. This action is just one stage.

William Masters and Virginia Johnson of USA, in their book “Human Sexual Response”, said that the physiology of man and woman engaged in love making can be divided into four phases—Excitement, Plateau, Orgasm and Resolution.

The Excitement Phase

It begins for the man in the form of penile erection and for the woman with clitoral erection. Nerves in the organs cause valves in the erectile tissue to close, trapping blood, producing swelling, and heightening sensitivity. Both men and women experience an increase in heartbeats and breathing rates and an elevation of blood pressure. The nipples of both stand out, swell and become more sensitive.

In women, the labia majora open and spread flat, while the labia minora swell and extend outward. The clitoris steadily increases in length and diameter. She starts to produce more vaginal fluid and her labia begins to feel quite wet and that serves as a lubricant during sexual excitement.

The uterus and cervix pull back away from the vagina, leaving more room for the deposit of semen. The entire length of the vagina expands somewhat, but the inner two-thirds open more to create a channel that is ready to receive the penis. Parts of the female body flush darker in colour especially the labia.

In men, the penis begins to engorge with blood which makes its spongy tissue to expand. It grows longer and thicker and becomes stiff and upright. The nerves in the penis receive further stimulation from the gonads. Another automatic reflex increases the blood flow even more. The spongy mass around the urethra swells and presses against its sheath of skin, stretching the sheath to its maximum. The penis increases in circumference by at least two and a half times. The penis continues to stay just slightly upward until ejaculation is accomplished.

Meanwhile, the testes are pulled in even closer to the body by contraction of the attaching tendons and muscles. The scrotal sack shrinks to maintain this condition for a long period, although the condition may be lost and regained repeatedly without orgasm.

Most penises are equal in action, no matter how large or small they are, the vagina is impartial and recognises few distinctions of the length and breadth of a penis. No man should think himself as sexual superior of his fellowman merely because he is endowed with a greater penis.

The Plateaue Phase

In the plateaue phase, the testes draw still closer to the body as excitement increases and the level of tension develops. There is a specific elevation of both testes towards the perineum. As male sexual tension rises through plateaue phase towards orgasmic phase release, the specific reaction of testicular elevation progresses until the pre-ejaculatory, positioning in tight opposition to the male ejaculation is attained.

The plateau phase is a continuation of the effects of stimulation, with the reaction becoming stronger and more constant. Breathing quickens. The penis increases slightly in diameter near its tip. The opening into the urethra from which the semen will ejaculate becomes more slit like. The tip and the head of the penis change colour to a deeper reddish purple. Finally the erection is intensified to the point of completion, and involuntary nervous tension is so strong that the organ goes into tiny muscular spasms.

The penis provides its own lubrication by releasing small amount of semen containing sperm. Even without physical manipulation the lubricating ejaculate may drip from the penis.