Articles » Pregnancy Tips
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Taking a Brief Look at Maternity and Women’s Health Care
History has not always been kind to women. More than a century ago, the issue of maternity and women’s health care was at a terrible condition. In the early 1800s some women saw uninterrupted pregnancies as the way of life for the female gender. There were also some however who began to see this traditional female role as a terrible curse.
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When Pregnancy Sickness Becomes Far Too Excessive
Women whose pregnancy sickness is normal but includes regular vomiting tend to lose some weight during the first trimester. At what point should a woman become concerned that she has too much pregnancy sickness? If she loses more than 5 percent of her body weight (for example, if she weighed 120 pounds before pregnancy and drops below 114 pounds) she should alert her OB/GYN or midwife.
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You don't need to explain morning sickness to most women who have been pregnant. Just mentioning the term brings back all the miserable sensations. The primary symptom is nausea that may or may not be accompanied by vomiting, cold intolerance, and fatigue. Despite the name, morning sickness can strike any time of the day or night. In severe cases, called hyperemesis gravidarum, the severe vomiting can cause dehydration, imbalances in electrolytes, high ketone levels in the urine, and other potentially life-threatening disorders that require hospitalization.
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Warning: Avoid Large Doses Of Vitamin A During The First Trimester
Vitamin A in large doses is a potent teratogen (causing abnormalities in the fetus). Women who take mega doses of it during the first trimester greatly increase their risk of delivering babies with a suite of defects. Two prescription drugs on the market are synthetic analogs of vitamin A, and they are teratogenic, even when taken at their prescribed doses. These drugs are isotretinoin (brand name Accutane), which is used to treat severe acne, and etretinate (brand name Tegison), which is used to treat psoriasis.
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Using Uterine Stimulants To Initiate The Labor Process
Uterine stimulants are used to initiate or augment the labor process. They are used for a variety of reasons, such as to induce labor, to offset the effects of postmaturity on your baby, for blood incompatibilities and fetal-growth impairment, and to strengthen uterine contractions in long labors.
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Medically known as a "spontaneous abortion," for most couples a miscarriage normally happens only one time. The cause is usually an isolated chromosomal abnormality that occurs when fertilization involves a randomly defective egg or sperm. The condition, known as a blighted ovum, means the embryo is simply too weak to survive. When this type of conception occurs, all the usual hormonal activity associated with pregnancy takes place, causing the body to feel and act as if a normal gestation is in progress. But while the placenta begins to grow, making you "feel" pregnant, the defective embryo does not.
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The Importance Of Getting Enough Iron During Pregnancy
Iron is an essential mineral that merits special attention as part of your diet before and during pregnancy. Iron is essential to the formation of healthy red blood cells, which are responsible for carrying oxygen through your blood to the cells of your body. Almost two thirds of the iron in your body is found in hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to your body's tissues.
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The Dangers That Smoking Has On Your Unborn Baby
The dangers of smoking are well known. Because 20 to 30 percent of women of childbearing age smoke, let's concentrate on the effects of smoking on your baby. Smoking causes your blood vessels to constrict, decreasing the blood flow carrying nutrients and oxygen to the baby, who won't get full rations throughout pregnancy. Smoking inhibits your ability to utilize certain important vitamins and minerals. If you aren't absorbing nutrients, neither is the baby.
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Should You Call The Doctor For Everything That Comes Up During A Pregnancy?
Two kinds of women drive doctors crazy: those who call for every little twinge and those who wouldn't call even if they were staked to a bee's hive because "I didn't want to bother you." Here are some hints to help you avoid falling into these two categories.
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Questions You Must Ask The Hospital & Insurance Company When Having A Baby
If you are planning on having a baby, be sure to do your research before you plunge ahead to find your doctor and insurance company. Give some thought to your birth preferences. If you have some very specific plans for your birth, such as epidural or single-room maternity care, keep in mind that most doctors limit their practice to one or two hospitals. If you find that your chosen doctor doesn't practice at the hospital which offers these options, you'll have to decide between your doctor and your preferences and what your insurance allows. The same tedious research goes for your insurance company as well.
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Prenatal supplements (PNVs) are specialized vitamin and mineral supplements that women can take even before pregnancy to get all of the essential nutrients they need during pregnancy. Studies have shown that the use of prenatal supplements before and throughout pregnancy can benefit a healthy baby.
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Once pregnancy has been confirmed, your prenatal follow-up will begin. The types of tests done from this point on are highly individualized.
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Many women begin pregnancy with preexisting problems, such as diabetes. In fact, about one in every 100 women of childbearing age has some form of diabetes. This includes Type 1 (insulin dependent) and Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetes. In either case, most women with diabetes can have a successful pregnancy and healthy baby if the condition is well controlled.
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Learn About Amniocentesis: A Prenatal Test
Amniocentesis is done by withdrawing 1/2 to 1 ounce of amniotic fluid from one of the pockets of amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby in the uterus. An ultrasound examination with the amniocentesis shows the doctor precisely where the baby, placenta, umbilical cord, and pockets of fluid are located.
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Keeping Up Calcium Requirements For The Lactose Intolerant Mom-To-Be
If you are pregnant and suffering from lactose intolerance, you must avoid or decrease your intake of milk and milk products. The concern here has to do with the essential nutrients that you may be missing. The main nutrients in milk and milk products that may be of concern include calcium and vitamin D.
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Giving Birth At Home Takes Extremely Careful Planning
The rate of home births is decreasing. Midwives are licensed in 11 states. While most births are uneventful, a small percentage experience unanticipated threats to mother and baby. Previous screening helps to identify some but not all problems in advance.
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Fetoscopy: A New Procedure Used To Monitor The Fetus
Fetoscopy is a relatively new procedure, available only in a select number of specialized obstetrical-care centers. The instrument used to perform the test, called a fetoscope, is a telescope or narrow tube about the diameter of a large needle, with a light at the end of it. The fetoscope is inserted through the abdomen in order to view the fetus. The physician is also able to obtain fetal skin or fetal blood samplings through this very fine instrument.
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Fatigue: A Common Experience For All Pregnancies
If during the first trimester you feel as though you are running on fumes rather than a full tank of supreme, you're not alone. Nine out of ten women feel tired to flat-out exhausted during the first few months of pregnancy. Many are tired from the moment they open their eyes in the morning, and often rest does little to energize them. Most of these women have never experienced fatigue until now. The good news is the fatigue is usually followed by a burst of energy during the second trimester.
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Devices Used To Monitor The Fetus
Today, most women delivering in urban North American hospitals will be exposed to some type of monitoring device. Most hospitals will have you monitored electronically as soon as you are admitted to the maternity unit. There are various types of devices, all with a similar objective of assessing either fetal well-being or uterine contractions. The two most commonly used devices are the fetal stethoscope and the electronic fetal monitor. There are two types of electronic monitors - the internal and the external monitor.
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Developing Insomnia During The Last Trimester Of Pregnancy
Irregular sleep habits, an inability to fall or stay asleep, and frequent awakenings are all symptoms of insomnia, which can develop in the last trimester of pregnancy. Your abdomen has grown so large that a comfortable position is hard to find, plus the anticipation of the new baby might keep you awake at night. Pregnant women are most likely to have trouble falling asleep and are likely to wake up more frequently in the middle of night, often because of the increased need to urinate.
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Contractions: The Signs Of Labor
Whether you're having your fifth baby or your first, deciding whether or not you're in labor can be confusing.
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12 Common Reasons Why Having A Cesarean Might Be Necessary
Whether you are a high-risk mother or not, it is a good idea to be prepared for the possibility of having a cesarean, because surprises do occur. Emergency cesareans are done only after a definitive diagnosis is made. A woman will have an emergency cesarean if there is pelvic disproportion (the baby is too big to fit through the birth canal), fetal distress (for example, due to the umbilical cord wrapping around the fetus's neck, placental insufficiency, low oxygen, or infection), maternal distress, such as abruptio placenta, maternal heart problems, or toxemia of pregnancy.
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9 Ways You Can Relieve Achy Back & Legs That Occur During Pregnancy
Backaches and leg aches can be very common later in pregnancy, as the baby begins to grow larger. By the second and third trimester, the weight of the baby on the pelvic bone can compress your sciatic nerve and result in pain along your back and legs. In addition to the weight of the baby and uterus, other causes of common aches include poor posture, hormonal changes (which can cause a loosening of the ligaments), and weak abdominal muscles. It is important to practice good posture with your pelvis tucked in and your shoulders back to relieve some of the pressure.
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9 Tips To Help Keep The Swelling Down (Edema)
Moderate swelling or retaining of water in the hands, face, legs, ankles, and/or feet, known as "edema," is very normal in pregnancy. Edema is caused in pregnancy by the increase in blood volume and other fluids needed for the baby as well as from an increase in hormones. Ankles and feet tend to swell because the size of your baby and uterus can put pressure on the return circulation to your legs. The key is to get the fluids moving and to maximize the output of the kidneys. Edema can happen at any time during pregnancy, but it tends to begin around the fifth month and increase in the third trimester.
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5 Ways To Help You Cope With Food Cravings During Your Pregnancy
Though there is no agreed-upon explanation for them, food cravings are extremely common during pregnancy. There will be foods you can't seem to stomach, and there will be foods you just can't get enough of. Some experts blame raging hormones. Just as some women crave certain foods during their menstrual cycle due to hormones, the same thing happens during pregnancy.
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Placenta Previa: Placenta previa occurs when the placenta attaches somewhere in the lower segment of the uterus and completely or partially obstructs the cervix or lies in the lower segment near the cervical opening.
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Pregnancy - Your Delivery Options
Some women understandably wish from time to time that a baby could be delivered by Fed Ex. After nine months of hormonal changes, carrying extra weight and reduced movement many will want to just get it over. But the race is won at the final leg and Lamaze, Bradley or other options can help carry you over the finish line in optimal shape.
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For centuries giving birth was strictly an affair between the pregnant woman and a midwife. Though not always present, a mid-wife would frequently aid in the birthing process. The role was often performed by an older woman who had previously experienced birth herself. She gave comfort, medical knowledge based on real experience and a second pair of hands at a critical time.
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Pregnancy - What To Do When Labor Arrives
It can be difficult to know exactly when labor begins in earnest. But some signs are unmistakable. One such occurs when your new baby's head exerts pressure on the amniotic sac and it breaks. When your 'water breaks' (the liquid isn't just water, but amniotic fluid), labor is imminent.
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There are a variety of tests that an expectant mother can have performed to gain information about the health of her growing fetus. Some, like amniocentesis, have been around for over 100 years. Ultrasound was introduced in the 1960s, though early tests had limited value. Modern tests are much clearer, some even in 3-D, many showing motion.
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Pregnancy - What is Amniocentesis?
Inside the uterus, surrounding your growing baby, is a liquid called 'amniotic fluid'. A long needle is inserted through the abdomen to extract a small sample of that fluid. Using it, doctors can perform tests that indicate potential problems and provide information about the health of the gestating fetus.
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As many couples know, becoming pregnant is not simply a matter of having intercourse near a selected date. Fewer than two-thirds of couples trying to conceive succeed within six months. Fortunately, 90% of women trying to get pregnant do so within 18 months.
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Pregnancy - The First Stage of Labor, What to Expect
Once labor begins, you'll need to prepare yourself mentally for the day. For some women, especially after a first child, this is a very easy task. For others, anxiety builds and builds. The best way to relieve that tension is to find out what to expect on that golden day.
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Proper Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy
Any expectant mother will want first and foremost to optimize her health and that of her growing baby. Proper nutrition is a major key to that effort.
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Post-Natal Depression IS Treatable
Anywhere from 5-25% of women who give birth get some form of post-natal depression. One reason for the wide range in the numbers is the difficulty of pinning down exactly what it is. But women who have had it know too well what it feels like.
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Pain Control Options During Pregnancies
Mothers report that few things are as painful, or as rewarding, as giving birth. How much pain, for how long and when varies enormously among individual women. But expectant women, especially when giving birth the first time, may want less pain in order to better enjoy the reward. For them, there are many choices.
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Pregnancy - Labor, Signs and Actions
Expectant mothers, especially those pregnant for the first time, often have doubts about when labor begins and what it feels like. That's natural. Only experience can inform a woman exactly what it is, and even then one childbirth will vary from another. But being prepared by acquiring guidance can help ease concerns.
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Many women enjoy a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise and a good diet. It can be tough to maintain that lifestyle when she becomes pregnant, especially during the later stages. But it is possible, and in fact preferable, to maintain an exercise regiment at least up until the last month.
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Pregnancy - Delivery, What to Expect
Once the first stage of labor is passed, the placental sac has broken, the cervix has dilated and contractions are regular and frequent, the second stage of labor - actual delivery - begins. Of course, there's no bright line dividing the first from the second. Where one leaves off and the other begins will vary from woman to woman and birth to birth.
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Pregnancy can be uncomfortable in many ways throughout the nine months period. But some aspects are within normal range, others can signal serious issues. Only your physician can provide you with definitive answers, but knowing some of the common risk signals can help mothers decide whether to seek professional advice. Always err on the side of caution.
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Common Gastrointestinal Complaints During Pregnancies
Everyone is familiar with the nausea and other conditions that sometimes accompany pregnancy. How common are they, and is there anything an expectant mom can do to relieve them?
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Pregnancy - Choosing a Physician
Making the right choice of doctor to deliver your baby is one of the most worrisome things for any newly pregnant woman. But you can reduce that anxiety by dividing your questions into two sets. One list will involve objective factors, the other will cover issues that are not so easy to quantify.
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Vaginal childbirth, in which the new baby emerges through the uterus and vaginal opening, has been the most common method of childbirth for millennia. But Caesarean sections - delivery by creating an opening through the abdominal wall - has been used for centuries, too. But no matter how long each practice has been used, every new mother will wrestle with the same issues, both physical and emotional.
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Pregnancy - Body Image and Expectant Moms
Pregnancy involves a range of issues, both physiological and emotional. Though complex, dealing with physical issues is very well understood. There are hormonal changes that have been thoroughly studied and medical technology is up to the task of maximizing the odds of a good outcome. Dealing with the psychological issues is less straight forward, but just as important.
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Pregnancy - A Time of Radical Changes
Pregnancy presents a time of big changes in every dimension. There's the obvious weight gain and changing shape. Over time, it will be more difficult to maintain a regular exercise regimen of the same type as before pregnancy. Less obvious changes are taking place, too. Estrogen and progesterone levels are increasing. All those, and many more, carry both physical challenges and emotional implications. And, all this at a time when expenses are going up.
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In days past it would often take weeks to get the results of a pregnancy test, after a visit to your doctor. Today, you can have the answer in minutes.
