A recent study claims that pregnant women and breastfeeding mums should consume at least twelve ounces of fish in a week to get omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids present in fish & seafood’s should be consumed during pregnancy because it is very important and required by the body like we need minerals and vitamins for normal body growth.
A recent study reveals that — the heavy females are at higher risk of developing number of problems which are related to pregnancy.
The researcher collected the data from nearly 24,000 UK females who delivered their babies from 1976 to 2005, and they discovered that the weight of females before pregnancy counts much, as this can cause a number of risks like high BP, pre-eclampsia and also it can result in premature delivery.
This study gives proof that obesity can cause a number of risks to the mothers and their newly born infants. The lead researcher of the study is Dr. Sohinee Bhattacharya of Aberdeen Maternity Hospital. The researcher told that pregnancy of a heavy woman is always considered to be risky and it is looked on and monitored with utmost care.
The researchers discovered that in comparison to the females, who have normal or ideal weight, the obese females have 50% more chances of having post-delivery bleeding and they are at higher risk of giving premature births at least by twice. They are at greater risk of getting operated for delivering baby due to some emergency complications.
Females who are morbidly obese are at greater risk of having the problem of pre-eclampsia – a medical problem where hypertension arises during pregnancy and also kidney complications.
In opposite to this, the study discovered that underweight females before pregnancy pose to have less chances of developing these complications. These females are like the normal-weight females and generally deliver underweight baby.
The obesity is considered to be a main factor which can raise complications during the pregnancy. And now doctors should start awareness among their patients regarding this issue. In spite of giving best prenatal care, the counseling of the obese females is urgently required to advice them to shed their extra weight before getting pregnant.
The study appeared in an online journal — BMC Public Health.
A woman forgets the pains she goes through the labor the minute she holds her baby in her arms. But, it’s really not easy when she has to go through the pains and doctors administer epidural to the ease the pain and make the process of delivery a comfortable one.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has now offered guidelines to doctors and nurses on how to ease the labor pains. The guidelines say that drugs should not be offered when the delivery is progressing normally even if this means longer labors. The advice is to use water pool as an effective epidural for easy delivery and also advises the mid-wives to constantly smile, talk and reassure women during the delivery.
I would like to see more women using water and fewer women using the types of pain relief that are less effective
Says Dr Julia Sanders, a consultant midwife.
The institute stresses that women should be given information and support to make an informed decision about “where to give birth that is right for her and her baby”. The women may chose to give birth at home if they are armed with the right information and are assured a one-to-one care in labor though the chances of women opting for a home deliver is far less due to the shortage of midwives. Most women feel comfortable with the idea of delivery in a hospital as they are assured of clinical intervention in case of emergencies.
HypnoBirthing is a another unique antenatal program that teaches simple but specific self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques for an easier, more gentle birth that is often accompanied by a significant reduction in pain. HypnoBirthing is not about “training mothers to give birth”-when undisturbed we already know how to do that instinctively; it is about getting rid of fear and allowing our bodies and minds to relax so we can birth our babies gently, according to midwiferytoday.
Relax women, Babies need not be hard work after all!!!(no, not at the moment atleast :))
Plus-size diabetic women are at an even grater risk of delivering big-cesarean baby. Stress, thyroid problem, low metabolism, backache, excess labor pain, high blood pressure, and low self esteem are generally observed in heavy moms during pregnancy.
Study suggests that normal weight women or slim women are likely to have safe pregnancy. They deliver a normal body-weight babies, but bad news for all those heavy moms is that even though they loss excess pounds before their second or third pregnancy, they are at a greater risk of delivering abnormally big babies.
In heavy moms or plus-size women, there is excess stress to loose weight before pregnancy. Heavy moms desire to have a healthy normal baby, but even though plus-size women shed excess weight, they deliver big babies.
Plus-size women sometimes may have normal pregnancy with no complication, but higher percentages of heavy moms are at great risk of delivering big babies.
Prevention and healthy practice is the foremost step in controlling body weight. A good health practice is- Always maintain a normal body weight so as to avoid not only complications during the pregnancy, but also to avoid various other health risks. Regularly do breathing exercises, yogic asana, go for a morning walk, eat a balanced and healthy diet, and avoid junk foods.
A recent survey reports that most of the pregnant women are unaware about which type of food and drinks they should consume during their pregnancy period.
Approximately 60% females told that they don’t know — what foods to eat and what foods to avoid during their pregnancy, and which types of foods are safe to eat.
Eatables which create some sort of confusion are cheese, shellfish, egg, tuna fish and peanuts.
In spite of latest instructions from the Government to reduce drinking or even try not to have the alcohol consumption, 1 out of 10 women replied that they drank alcohol throughout their pregnancy period.
The average increase in weight during pregnancy is 22lb to 33lb and female should raise their diet by about 300 calories per day.
The survey of about 850 pregnant ladies or new mothers through out the nation discovered that 1 in 5 used to get the nutritional advices from their midwives on what type of food they should consume during their pregnancy period. 1 out of 10 females put on full responsibility related to their food intake confusion on their friends, says a report from Organix poll.
Lizzie Vann, who founded - Organix, said that most of the females think about nutrition to a large extent when they become mom and have kids; they are mostly confused about what they should consume during their pregnancy.
Popular foods which create confusion among pregnant women are:
1. Alcohol - The Health Department advises the pregnant females to quit drinking. If pregnant women want to drink, then they should not consume more than 10ml or 20 ml of alcohol, only for once or twice in a week, drinking more than this can adversely affect the health of your baby and can result in fetal damage. Try not to get fully drunk.
2. Caffeine - Caffeine intake to a large amount put bad effect on the health of baby. The Food Standards Agency or FSA suggests that females who are pregnant should not consume over 300mg of caffeine in a day.
3. Cheese - FSA suggested pregnant females to avoid the consumption of soft cheeses. The soft Cheese may be contaminated with bacteria known as Listeria that can result in causing miscarriage and premature births and they could raise the chances of listeriosis. Only consume cheese which are made from pasteurised milk. One can eat hard cheese. Processed cheese, cottage cheese & cheese spreads can be consumed with utmost safety while you are pregnant.
4. Shellfish - Pregnant women should try to avoid consuming oysters and shellfish if it is not cooked properly. In raw condition these eatables may contain dangerous bacteria and viruses, like salmonella & sometimes listeria too. Raw fish and shellfish are source of a parasite known as Toxoplasma which may cause blindness and brain damage in fetus.
5. Tuna - Women should consume almost all types of fish during pregnancy. FDA recommends that women should avoid eating king mackerel, shark, swordfish, and tilefish during their pregnancy. One should try to reduce the consumption of tuna. Don’t consume more than 2 tuna steaks in a week as they have high amount of mercury which might affect the nervous system of your child. Try also to consume oily fish only twice in a week.
6. Nuts - Pregnant women should also try to avoid the consumption of peanuts if there is any family history of allergic problems like hayfever or eczema. The reason is that the baby may be at greater risk of becoming a nut allergic.
7. Eggs - Try to avoid eggs if not cooked properly or if they are raw. When you have to cook the eggs than cook it until both the parts — white and yolk becomes firm, to have protection from salmonella.
In the war-torn region of Darfur, rape is an instrument of war. Women are deliberately targeted to score psychological points over their opponents. Can there be any doubt that it will be the woman assaulted who will decide whether she wants the child engendered by the act of rape.
In Nigeria a woman seeking an abortion, even on very reasonable grounds, is meted out harsh punishment. In many South American countries, a pregnant woman is flatly denied permission for aborting the child even if her medical condition is such that delivery of the baby would certainly kill her.
Matters like these have apparently led the human rights body Amnesty International to fight for the right of a woman to abort her child. But it is not for a blanket freedom to abort. It is to be only under certain conditions -
1. The pregnancy resulted from rape
2. Delivery of the child would risk the mother’s life
3. Pregnancy from incest
All this sounds very fair and reasonable. It must have seemed so to the International committee of Amnesty International which voted unhesitatingly for the proposal in Mexico. It must have seemed right to the US chapter of the world body with 400,000 members when it gave it the green light.
But the traditional supporters and financiers of the respected human rights body– the Roman Catholic Church has criticized the move, saying it had strayed from its commitment for human life.
But rigid dogma of certain people should not impinge on a woman’s fundamental rights.
As Kate Gilmore, the human rights organization’s deputy secretary general says:
We have felt very keenly how passionately people feel on both sides of this debate. But we’re here to do what’s right, whether it’s unpopular or otherwise.
Via: Reuters
With a new case of autism diagnosed nearly every 20 minutes in the United States, one in every 150 children born in the country have autism, which goes with the estimation of approximately 1 million suffering from the brain development disorder.
Astoundingly, every year, 24,000 new cases of autism are diagnosed in the U.S. alone and the researchers all set to decode the cause at the roots, have come up with a surprising, but interesting finding.
This is not only firsthand smoking by pregnant mothers that exposes their foetuses to mental as well as physical health problems, as secondhand smoking during pregnancy does the same, claims a new study.
Before rolling out with this conclusion, researchers monitored a group of children between the ages 7 to 15, all of whom had serious psychiatric problems. Further, these children were divided into three groups:-
1. Children with mothers who smoked during pregnancy.
2. Children with mothers who didn’t smoke during pregnancy, but were exposed to secondhand smoking.
3. Children with mothers exposed neither smoked nor exposed to secondhand smoking.
Finally, it was concluded that kids with mothers exposed to firsthand or secondhand smoking were more susceptible to externalizing behaviors when compared to kids with mothers unexposed to any kind of smoking.
In the words of Gatzke-Kopp:
Children of smokers, as well as of women exposed to secondhand smoke, were much more likely than the offspring of non-exposed women to have externalizing behaviors, which include “acting out, getting in trouble, being aggressive, breaking rules.
Actually, brain possesses a system called, dopamine, which is know to regulate our behaviors, however, exposure to smoking, irrespective of the fact, it is firsthand smoking or second smoking , it effects mental health of an unborn baby startlingly. This confirms the fact that exposure to smoking during pregnancy is quite harmful for the mental health of an unborn baby.
However, it must be clarified here that this is not the first study that uncovers harmful effects of smoking over the health of unborn babies, as several studies conducted earlier have also come up with similar findings. For instance, passive smoking has been linked to miscarriage, even. In addition, threats caused by firsthand smoking during pregnancy can also not be ignored, as they may also result in several forms of health problems in babies, like:-
1. Prenatal Smoke Exposure Results in Teen Attention Problems
2. Chances of Baby Boy May End in Smoke with Smoking
3. Smoking Moms Risk ADHD In Kids
Via: Stuff
If you are living close to a highway during pregnancy, be advised that your baby will suffer some consequences. A recent study has proved that there is a direct correlation between the unborn infants and the proximity to the highway.
If you wish to be a mom, than you should plan your pregnancy for the goodness of your babies. All females can take few steps before they conceive to improve their chances of giving birth to a healthy baby.
Just go through these eight points given below to get help in planning your pregnancy:
1) Every woman should take folic acids. Folic acid is a B vitamin that can helps in preventing birth defects of the brain and spinal cord called neural tube defects (NTDs). Consult with your doctor.
2) If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant than, it is time when you have to give some attention to your immunization history. Check whether all of your immunizations are up to date including the vaccinations against chickenpox and rubella. Both of these diseases likely to cause birth defects and few other complications if a female is attacked by them during their pregnancy period.
3) Try to quit smoking if you have this habit. Smoking may cause difficulty in conceiving. It would be good for your pregnancy if you don’t smoke because smoking can raise the chances of miscarriage and also doubles the chances of having a baby low-birth-weight babies. Also avoid drinking alcohol during your pregnancy period.
4) Always try to have that much weight that suits to your body structure. If you are overweight than it raises the chances of gestational diabetes and various other problems related to pregnancy. You should achieve healthy weight before getting pregnant.
5) By doing exercises you can have full control on your weight and also you can shed few pounds if you want. It also helps in removing stress. If you are pregnant, than consult your doctor that which type of exercises you can do during pregnancy period.
6) If anyone of you have some chronic medical problem, than you should consult your doctor about the risks you can have on your body during pregnancy and also ask him that whether you should still consume those prescription drugs during the pregnancy period. You should also tell your doctor if there are any hereditary disorders in your family history, before you plan to get pregnant. The care by the doctors in the beginning before pregnancy helps to lower the risks to mother and baby caused by few chronic conditions.
7) If you are using any contraceptive and want to be a mom than you should have to stop using it. And one important thing is that before you try for conceiving, you should at least wait for one menses or period.
8) Males should undergo some planning before pregnancy. If any one of you have the habit of smoking or drinking than try to quit it because it puts effect on your fertility and also on your sperm count. One should also try to avoid hot tubs and sauna baths. These may increase body temperature and possibly raise the risk of NTDs.
