A normal pregnancy will take around 9 weeks before labour, this is the time you should be making preparations for labour and giving your Queen a little extra attention.

Make sure that she is well fed and has plenty of fluids, a quiet area to rest and try to handle her as little as possible. Your queen may become a little agitated and restless, but she will find herself a rest place and try to relax as much as she can.

It is common for nest boxes to be used and should be placed where your queen opts to rest. This will become more apparent as the pregnancy matures. I tend to opt for a layer of towels for her to lay on which allows the queen to stretch out and relax whilst also allowing space for me to be at her side and aid her if needed at the birth.

When she is ready to give birth you will notice that your queen will become more restless, will pace and start to pant, she may also try drawing your attention by crying and pacing near you until you follow her to her nest site. Labour can last several hours so patience is important. You may notice a thin filmy mucus near her vaginal area and she will begin to have contractions.

Birthing time varies from queen to queen, a kitten can be born every 15 minutes or so or can take several hours, it is also important to note that up to 40% of births are breech and are considered normal and although it is a stressful time as long as the queen is comfortable and is not in distress the birth should be normal.

The kitten is born in a soft and delicate sac which encompasses the placenta which is born either along with the kitten or separate. When the kitten is pushed through the birth canal the queen will immediately start to lick the kitten around the mouth and nose tearing the thin sac and expelling the yellowy fluid inside. This washing stimulates the kitten and it should start to cry and breath, she will then proceed to chew through the umbilical cord leaving a small piece attached to the kitten before eating the placenta. Do not worry if your queen does not do this do not worry, all queens are different. The placenta is said to contain nutrients valuable to queen in her first days of nurturing her kittens. However if the queen does not start the licking process automatically then take a warm damp cloth and gently wipe at the sac then around the nose and mouth area yourself, take the kitten gently with its head resting in the fork between your fingers and rub with a towel to warm, dry and stimulate the kitten.

Some take the kittens as soon as the queen is settled and place the newborn in a nursing box, I tend to leave the kittens with the queen until they are all delivered unless there are complications as the kittens nursing can sometimes stimulate contractions for the next kitten to be born.

When all the kittens are born place then gently in a snug nursing box and ensure the queen knows where they are being taken. I tend to place the nursing box as close to the birthing area as possible so that the tired queen does not have far to go to be with her kittens and is less likely to take them to a new area. It is important that the queen remains with her kittens so that they can be kept warm and well fed. If however your queen does not do this, microwave a towel so that it is gently heated but not hot and place under the box, this will temporarily keep the kittens warm until the queen enters the box.

The kittens will feed until their bellies are full and will sleep and eat for the first few days without much movement. The kittens are born blind and will not open their eyes for several days, until this time the queen remains with her kittens and keeps them warm and safe leaving only for food and to litter. During these first few days the queen will wash the kittens and will clean up after their messes herself.

If at any time during labour or during the first few days after the birth you notice any complications do not hesitate to contact your local vet who will be able to offer advice and support.

Cerianwen is an author of poetry, children’s stories and articles. She has an interest in and has four cats with many years experience of caring for and breeding.
This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.

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Chuck, an active ten-year-old boy, was fidgeting as he was sitting in the large gold reclining chair. His busy hands and feet were moving constantly, and his eyes were reflecting his fears. Chuck did not want to be in my office but his mother, Pat, thought it was important for him to resolve his problems, and insisted that he come in for one counseling session.

Pat sat upright on the couch as she told me about Chuck’s angry outbursts, his desire to kill animals, his willingness to follow his destructive friend blindlyeven when he knew the behavior was wrong, his hurtful aggression to his younger brother, and the complaint he received from his teacher about his bad attitude in class.

I immediately began to build trust and rapport with Chuck by asking him questions about his favorite hobbies and subjects in school, and how he felt about his problem. When Chuck was convinced that I was really listening without judging him, he agreed to allow his mother to leave the room.

Then I told Chuck that he had all the answers to his problems inside of himself. Therefore, I was going to ask him to close his eyes so that he could go inward to find them. I said, “Chuck, I am going to guide you, and I want you to know that you are in control. Please tell me how you are feeling, and if you don’t want to do something.”

Confident that he was safe with me, Chuck closed his big brown eyes and began to relax. I first guided him to his safe place which was in the woods behind his home. As Chuck was imagining that he was in the woods, he spontaneously took a deep breath and relaxed some more. His hands and feet finally ceased their continuous movement.

Then I asked Chuck to rate how much he liked himself by seeing a number from one to ten, with ten indicating high self-esteem. Chuck saw the number five.

I continued by saying, “Chuck, imagine that you are in a theater, and that you are visualizing the white movie screen. Now see on the screen an image of a person you are angry with.” He replied, “I see my dad.” I continued, “Chuck, allow yourself to tell your dad what you are angry about. There are no consequences since he is not here and I won’t tell anyone what you say.”

With my continued encouragement, Chuck told his dad how angry he was at him for yelling and slapping him, and for ignoring him. When I asked Chuck what decisions he was making about himself from his dad’s behavior, he told me that he believed he must be bad and unimportant.

Knowing that those negative thoughts about himself were the key to his acting out behavior, I asked Chuck to say, “Dad, what you say or do is a reflection of you and not of me. No matter what you tell me or how you act towards me, I am okay. I’m a good person even when I make mistakes. I’m important whether you spend time with me or not. I imagine that you are doing to me what your father did to you. I’m sorry that you didn’t get the kindness, patience, and attention you needed from your father. You must be in a lot of pain to treat me like that. I understand that you love me and don’t mean to hurt me. I forgive you.”

After Chuck repeated those healing words to his father, he sighed with relief and his face looked more relaxed. He told me that he was feeling much better.

With further exploration, Chuck realized that even though he hated his dad’s aggressive behavior, he was becoming just like him. Chuck also had a bad temper, and was yelling at and hitting his younger brother. Chuck’s desire to hurt animals was his way of releasing the angry feelings that he had towards his dad. Chuck was misbehaving in school in order to get the attention he wasn’t receiving from his father. He was also trying to be noticed more by his mother who he felt was favoring his older sister. With further introspection, Chuck realized that because he did not like himself very much, he was willing to take abuse from his friend and do what he said just to be accepted.

Finally, Chuck admitted that he was hurting because his parents were not getting along. On some level, he felt responsible for their unhappiness (something children often mistakenly do). After I helped Chuck realize that he was not responsible for his parents’ pain and upsets, he felt even better about himself.

I concluded the session by asking Chuck to evaluate his progress by once again seeing a number that represented how much he liked himself. This time, Chuck saw the number eight. He was very pleased with himself, and I acknowledged him for his courage and wonderful work.

It was then time to call his mother back into the office. With Chuck’s permission, I told Pat all that had transpired in the session. I emphasized to Pat how important it was to resolve her issues with her husband, and to make sure that the children are told that they are not responsible. I also expressed to Pat that often one child acts out the pain of the family, and Chuck seemed to be the one who was unconsciously doing just that.

Pat was very grateful and willing to pursue counseling with her husband. She realized that I was speaking the truth when I told her that she and her husband were the foundation for the family. With a loving relationship, constructive communication, and good parenting skills, the children were likely to have high self-esteem and be healthy and successful.

The following week, Pat called to inform me that Chuck’s teacher was pleased with the improvement in his attitude, and that he was able to break off his friendship with his destructive, demeaning pal. Chuck was acting much kinder to his brother, and no longer talked about killing animals.

Obviously, the once-aggressive Chuck was becoming the loving being he truly is. How wonderful it would be if everyone overcame their destructive behavior, and expressed their love which is their natural state. What a wonderful, peaceful world this would be.

Helene Rothschild, MS, MA, MFT, is a Marriage, Family Therapist, intuitive counselor, author, speaker, teacher and workshop facilitator. To empower people, she developed a unique process, HART: Holistic And Rapid Transformation. She offers phone sessions, teleclasses, a self-help on-line program, inspirational books, e-books, tapes, cards, posters and independent studies. http://www.helenerothschild.com

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Okay - so you know young people, right? You’ve raised
kids. You’re hip and up-to-date. Then why is it so hard
to reach that 17-year-old student in prenatal class?

1) She is tired. She is not used to having classes or
meetings at nighttime. She has school tomorrow. She had
school all day. Don’t waste any of her time.

2) She is not thrilled about being a pregnant goddess. She
feels fat, ungainly and ugly, not luminous and beaming with
glorious motherhood. Even IF she is wearing hip, tight
maternity clothing and looks fabulous to you.

3) She was not trying to get pregnant. She may not have a
supportive partner. She may be living at home with her
parents. She may not have money for trendy baby gear. She
probably feels isolated at school from her peers and
definitely from her pregnant, suburban peers at prenatal
class.

4) She does not talk about “gross” intimate stuff with her
boyfriend or anyone. Pooping while pushing, mucous plugs,
breasts, vaginal exams, “discharge” will either make her
giggle with embarrassment or wish she were dead.

5) She thinks your carefully chosen, expensive videos and
resources are hopelessly out of date and full of old, funny
looking people. Sorry!

So what can you do?

Acknowledge the above points, in your approach, your
language and your interaction with these moms. It is a
fine line to navigate, but try to avoid the pitfalls of
being either patronizing, preachy, or worse, painfully
“hip” and with-it in your approach. You know what I mean.

She doesn’t need to think you are cool. She probably won’t.
You probably aren’t. It definitely doesn’t matter. You
want to be the one who gave her non-judgmental support and
information: about her body, her abilities and her power.
That is what she’ll treasure you for.

Acknowledge that the videos might be boring. Try to avoid
the parts with long interviews with moms wearing those big
80’s eyeglasses. Stick with the birth scenes themselves as
much as you can. Try to have a few births with young
looking moms. Women giving birth are timeless.

Don’t expect her to participate in class or throw out
questions or comments. She is used to a different kind of
education. If you are friendly, non-threatening and
willing to spend extra time, you just might find that she
is one who lingers after class to chat. She might be the
one who calls with her birth story. She might be the one
who borrows the “Active Birth” book. And she’ll probably
be the one that gives you the glowing evaluation. Maybe.

Sarah Hilbert-West is a Childbirth Educator, Birth Doula, Breastfeeding Counsellor and Post-Partum Depression Support Group Facilitator. She owns and operates http://www.birthwares.com, offering birth stools, unique teaching aids and useful resources for childbirth educators, doulas, parents, and midwives.

http://www.birthwares.com - the site for YOU!

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