To Be Mom

Women, grappling with morning sickness that is normally caused by the sudden increase in hormones during pregnancy, may now heave a sigh of relief, as a new study provides evidences that women with symptoms of morning sickness, which includes nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, may be far away from the risk of deadly breast cancer.

Credit to bring these findings to the fore goes to Dr. Jo Freudenheim and her colleagues from the University of Buffalo in New York, who rolled it out at the annual meeting of the Society for Epidemiologic Research after interviewing around 1001 women with recently diagnosed breast cancer, ages 35 to 79.

During this analysis, experts also took into consideration several factors, normally associated with pregnancy like high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, etc. More interesting is the fact that that greater severity and longer duration of the symptoms was associated with reduced risk of breast cancer. And this makes the findings of this study more plausible.

Findings, leaping out of this study are really a balm to the women community, as breast cancer is fast becoming a common problem these days, especially among women. So, pregnant women, facing unwelcoming morning sickness should start taking it not as their foe but as their friend, as it promises their safety against breast cancer.

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Via: Reuters

If you are a diabetic would-be-mom or even have a blood sugar level a bit higher than normal, then be aware - it may greatly risk your newborn! So, get diagnosed with it immediately.

Moms with higher blood sugar levels generally pass on high insulin levels in their newborns, who are also more likely to have low blood sugar levels. Later in life, these problems can lead to obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure problems in baby.

This new finding is of great help for a mom-to-be, especially if she has never got checked her blood sugar level. And, if found to be a diabetic, stricter diet advice or medication can help lower your blood sugar within time, keeping all these problems at bay.

Higher blood sugar levels in new moms may lead to the birth of ‘big babies’. And, large-sized babies risk shoulder damage and other injuries if delivered vaginally, and to avoid these risk factors, more women have to resort to C-sections. However, surgeries always increase health risks for both mothers and babies.

To keep your baby away from later-in-life obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure problems and avoid yourself from C-sections, keep an eye on your blood sugar levels during pregnancies.

To know more on, how to take better care of yourself, for a healthy pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby while having high blood sugar levels, read here...

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Portugal has introduced a new law that will allow women to have an abortion up to the 10th week of pregnancy. However the new law has also imposed a three-day reflection period in which women will have to seek the procedure and grant doctors’ right to opt on moral grounds. The law will become effective from July 15. It is estimated that around 10,000 women in most of the Roman Catholic countries are hospitalized every year with complications arising from failed, illegal abortions.

Portugal had rigid restrictions on abortion as compared to its neighboring countries but with the implementation of the new law Portugal will stand together with most of its European neighbors. For the law the Health Ministry had to really work hard and had spent months drawing up medical guidelines annexed to the law.

As per the new law now the woman who wish to seek abortion will have a meeting with the concerned doctors, where she will be warned of all the possibilities of danger due to the abortion. After a three-day reflection period she can either get the abortion done free of cost at a public hospital or go to a licensed private clinic. After all the medical procedures she must visit a family planning session to get informed about contraception methods.

The doctors are also given freedom to accept or reject the abortion cases and on unavailability of the doctor the hospital will have to give a woman access to a doctor elsewhere.

In the previous law the women could undergo abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy only if her health was at risk and in rape case she was granted through the 16th week. On the other side if there was a case in which it was the only solution left to save the mother then there no time restriction.

The government hopes that the new law will put an end to risky backstreet abortions .

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Source: Yahoo

The pregnant women are always advised to sleep properly because it’s very necessary for the health. During pregnancy there are lots of problems like cramping in legs, pain in back, and urination every now and than so a pregnant lady found it very uneasy to take proper sleep.

Follow some tips given below to get good sleep:

1. Don’t drinks that those fluids which have caffeine in it. If it had become your need and you cannot ignore them, than try to take it during morning or in early hours of the noon.

2. Always consume foods and drinks at least 1-2 hours before going to sleep. Try to consume heavy diet during the daytime and along with this drink plenty of liquids too.

3. Try to make a routine in life but it is mostly required while you pregnant. Make a chart at what time you will get up and at what time you have to sleep. And try to do this regularly.

4. Don’t do exercises just before sleeping; you will get some relaxation by bathing with warm water.

5. Eat lot of calcium pills so that you don’t face the problem of leg cramping.

6. Always do some yoga in pregnancy but after only consulting your doctor. Take admissions in various classes arranged for pregnant women if you excited to become mom.

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According to the scientists — pregnant women should stay away from the hot sun rays, mostly during the first trimester of their pregnancy. A new study has reported that the pregnant women are very sensitive to high temperatures.

The study is conducted by the researchers from the University of Bristol. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have raised this warning on the basis of this new study.

In this recent study, the scientists discovered that if pregnant women are exposed to high temperatures during initial stages of their pregnancy, than it could lead to low birth weight of the baby.

The researchers have raised the warning that as babies grow fast during the first trimester, and pregnant females are very sensitive to high temperatures, and so if they stay out in the sun light this could be harmful for them and make them feel unwell.

Females during the initial stages of their pregnancy period in the summer season should take care of their health and they should also be aware about the risk of temperature rise on their health during pregnancy. Pregnant females should try to stay in the home and avoid sun rays between 10am and 4pm.

Pregnant females always try to wear loose cloths, drink lot water, fresh fruit juices and eat healthy balanced diet in required amount and thus by doing all these they can keep themselves fit.

Pregnant mothers should not stay in sun, always wear loose cloths, avoid dehydration and eat good healthy fresh foods and always do some light exercises so that there is no affect on the body temperature and also it doesn’t put exertion on them.

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Men need to be more supportive to their wives, especially when they are parents of young children - if not anything else, atleast emotional support and a bit care for their children is not just expected but needed from him.

This reduces the risk of mental health problems among women by more than three-times, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles concluded,

If parenting stressors such as those examined here are to be addressed, changes may be required in community support systems, and improvements in relevant social policies may be needed.

It is also found that moms of small children, who face a substantial risk of mental health problems, can eventually influence their child’s health and development in turn.

But, the question arises, if a father’s striving to improve child care quality as well as provide mental support to his wife keeps him away from the mental health stresses!

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Time and again people have stressed the importance of following a healthy, balanced diet, packed with a wide variety of nutritional foods during pregnancy. What the expectant mother consumes may have a bearing on her child’s health.

A recent study presented at the American Thoracic Society’s 2007 International Conference in San Francisco has brought to the forefront the health benefits of eating fish and apples during pregnancy on the child’s well-being. Expectant mothers by way of including apples and fish in their diet could reduce the risk of their children developing allergies and asthma. Scottish and Dutch researchers established these results following a research on 1200 children.

Monitoring the women when they were 32 weeks into their pregnancy and thereafter the children till they were 5 years of age, the researchers concluded that these children were least likely to exhibit symptoms of asthma or suffer from the skin infection, eczema. The researchers did not delve into the exact constituents present in apples and fish that contributed to the health of the children but reported that when weighed against the various risk factors for asthma and allergies, apples and fish proved their merits in plummeting the possibility of children having to put up with asthma and allergies during their growing years.
A little thoughtfulness on the part of the expectant mother to include apples and fish in her diet might just make a positive difference to her child’s health.

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Source: Webmd

The analgesic you might be using to get rid of some minor aches and pains during pregnancy may have duel advantage to your body. While relieving you of that pain, it might also help reduce your pregnancy related problems.

This is blessed by the analgesic ‘Aspirin.’ Might bring a great relief to mothers-to-be, skeptical about taking any medicines during pregnancy, the drug may amazingly reduce risk of giving birth prematurely and of potentially fatal complications, a new research claims.

If you are a mothers-to-be and taking aspirin or other anti-platelet drugs, it may amazingly reduce your pre-eclampsia risk by 10 percent! Pre-eclampsia, marked by a sudden blood pressure increase after 20 weeks, can prove fatal to both the mother and the baby in her womb.

Lelia Duley, professor of obstetric epidemiology at the University of Leeds said,

It is something that pregnant women who are at high risk of pre-eclampsia should discuss with their obstetrician, doctor or midwife.

So, take aspirin, not just to cure any pain, but also if you are high with pre-eclampsia risk or had a history of the disease before.

Oops! This is not recommended for all! Discuss it with your obstetrician or doctor before taking any such dosages.

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Women these days are postponing their plans of starting their family as they get busy in their careers. But, as their biological clock keeps ticking, women worry of conceiving unhealthy babies in their later years.

Now, with new technological advancements, they can get over such worries and conceive at a time when they are comfortable and prepared to start a family. Women are increasingly opting to freeze their eggs and store them in ‘Fertility Banks’ to use them at a later stage to conceive.

A clinic in Toronto offers a service called “Freeze Your Clock” offering a long-term service of freezing eggs and sperms of young and healthy people. Freezing eggs is not a new concept; in fact, it has been used by women who are undergoing treatments for various medical conditions such as cancer and Turner’s syndrome. Since it is not advised to conceive during the treatments, freezing eggs is considered a good option for such women who want to conceive later.

The treatment costing $5000 involves 10 to 12 days of fertility treatments including injections of follicle stimulating hormone to produce multiple eggs, which are then surgically removed, frozen and stored and $300 for a year’s storage. When the women are ready to conceive, the eggs are thawed, fertilized and the resulting embryo is then implanted in the womb.

A new technique called ‘Flash Freeezing Eggs’ makes it possible to protect eggs from getting damaged during the thawing process, giving women chances of higher pregnancy rates.

The clinic claims that they try and dissuade younger clients from undergoing such an invasive and expensive procedure and the clients first meet a psychologist for counseling before they start the treatment.

The health officials are worried as it raises ethical issues such as ‘generation of older parents’ even as more and more young couples are opting for such services. Canadian officials are also contemplating on restricting the number of clinics that are licensed to perform the procedures.

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A major study has revealed that intake of aspirin during pregnancy may ward off the occurrence of fatal condition called pre-eclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a complex disorder that affects 3 to 8 percent of pregnant women. A woman is diagnosed with preeclampsia if she has high blood pressure and protein in her urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Findings are based on the study of more than 32,000 women; data collaborated by the scholars in Sydney. It concluded that cases of pre-eclampsia, which is caused by a defect in the placenta, dropped by 10% on daily consumption of aspirin.

Risks of preeclampsia:

Preeclampsia can prevent the placenta from getting enough blood. If the placenta doesn’t get enough blood, your baby gets less air and food. And this can cause low birth weight and other problems for the baby.

Signs and symptoms:

1. Severe headaches
2. Changes in vision, including temporary loss of vision, blurred vision or light sensitivity
3. Upper abdominal pain, usually under the ribs on the right side
4. Nausea or vomiting
5. Dizziness
6. Decreased urine output
7. Sudden weight gain, typically more than 2 pounds a week

Concerns remain

US experts James Roberts and Janet Catov, from the University of Pittsburgh, said that while some women were so obviously at high risk that aspirin was justified, it was harder to balance whether the potential harm caused by aspirin was a price worth paying in pregnancies where pre-eclampsia was less likely.

Under no circumstances should pregnant women self-medicate with aspirin. While this study suggests that aspirin can have benefits to women at high risk, yet, the decision to use aspirin should only be made in consultation with your doctor.

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