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Archive for the ‘pregnancy’ Category

Thirty to forty percent of pregnant women suffer from constipation in pregnancy at one time or another – starting as early as the first month in the pregnancy. Presenting as the inability to take a bowel movement and accompanied with discomfort, cramping and nausea through the abdomen, it can be difficult to make use of conventional treatments for constipation in pregnancy as the mother to be is not able to use many of the medications that are commonly prescribed for the condition.

What causes constipation in pregnancy? Not only do the high levels of progesterone in the body cause the digestion system to be out of whack, but the abdomen is also cramped and therefore natural digestive processes can often be impacted, which can cause the symptoms of constipation to worsen.

Some of the treatment options for constipation in pregnancy include:

Fluids

Ensuring that the body is kept hydrated with fluids like water and juices can help to alleviate constipation through pregnancy. Juices made from apple, prune and pear contain pectin and two types of fiber that can help to soften the stool while encouraging the body through the natural process of digestion and acting as a natural laxative within the body.

Fiber

High fiber foods that are consumed can help to reduce the effects of constipation on the body for the pregnant woman, as well as other people that are suffering with constipation. Foods that contain high levels of fiber include green vegetables, fruits, whole grain rice, brown bread and brown pasta. These foods can help to encourage a bowel movement and relieve the symptoms of constipation that are experienced by pregnant women.

Exercise

Exercise is a great way to ease the digestion and relieve the symptoms that are associated with constipation. Getting out for a walk can be a great thing to get the heart pumping and facilitate easy digestion. Exercise is recommended through the pregnancy as long as the intensity does not surpass the amount that had been experienced pre-pregnancy and can be a great way to maintain optimal health and avoid constipation.

Suppositories

Glycerin suppositories can be used through the pregnancy and are safe to not only soften the stool but to encourage the bowel movement. Suppositories are available from the local drug store as well as being available from the physician but it is important to consult the obstetrician before making the decision to take any supplements or suppositories to ensure that they are going to be safe for mom – and safe for baby.

It is important to research treatment options for constipation as well as learning methods that can be used to avoid constipation. Learning the methods that can be used to avoid constipation can help to avoid conditions like hemorrhoids that can be worsened through constipation and strained bowel movements.
Finding natural ways to deal with the constipation can be helpful through the pregnancy when many of the oral medications cannot be used to treat the symptoms associated with constipation. Suppositories are one of the most effective treatments for constipation and can work within minutes.

Constipation is a common problem during pregnancy. As pregnancy brings joy, hopes and dreams to a woman’s life it also brings constipation very often. A research shows that more than half of the women suffer from irregular bowel movements during pregnancy. The risk of constipation during pregnancy increases as you move further in your pregnancy. The reason of this fact is that as the baby grows uterus puts additional pressure on the lower intestine as a result it becomes a bit lethargic regarding its functions and causes constipation. Other causes of the constipation during pregnancy are the use of iron and zinc supplements prescribed by the doctor for the development of fetus.

Other reason of constipation during pregnancy is the increase of hormone progesterone during pregnancy that slows down the digestion process in your intestine as a result you experience constipation. If a pregnant woman is less active physically or she is on bed rest she can also face such a problem. If you are not well hydrated or eat improper diet during pregnancy you are an easy victim of it. The main problem associated with constipation when you are pregnant that you feel un-well, uncomfortable and extremely gaseous.

There are a number of tips and tricks that you can follow to avoid and cure it. First of all take a look at your diet chart and intakes. A pregnant woman needs about 30 grams of fiber daily in her diet. You can make apples a part of your diet as a normal size apple contains four grams of fiber in it. A pregnant woman must take almost five servings of vegetables and three serving of fruits to meet her fiber needs. Take whole grain breads and breakfast cereals to get essential fiber and hence get rid of constipation.

Increase your fluid intake as fluids resist a lot against constipation during pregnancy. Take 10 to 14 cups of fluid per day. You can take fresh juices, soups, green or black tea as they fulfill your fluid deficiency and keep you safe from constipation. Try to drink prune juice, apple juice, pear juice or citrus juices as they contain natural chemicals and minerals that fight against the constipation.

Do regular exercise during pregnancy if your doctor allows you. Make yourself active through walking, swimming, dancing and other moderate exercises like yoga and light aerobics. Spend 20 to 30 minutes in exercising three days a week as it will stimulate your intestine and your digestive tract and you will not experience constipation during pregnancy.

If you are suffering from severe constipation you must contact your doctor as she can investigate the issue to its core and can suggest you the medication or remedies to get rid of it.

Life is full of surprises, especially when it comes to humans and their physical selves. Both men and women are prone to different sorts of problems, infections, etc. which might not be very treatable, and moreover, they might not even be detectable by a common person unless you visit a physician. One such problem that is highly common amongst women is called, PMS (premenstrual syndrome). Although all women face certain discomforts during their menstrual cycles, however, PMS is very likely to occur too, and this will mean extra discomfort for any woman, who gets them.

Now, if you have been through PMS, or someone in your close circle of women has been through it, you will know that there are certain symptoms, which you can know about beforehand and make your lives a little easy. PMS or pregnancy symptoms can easily be found out, if you pay a little attention to your body and the changes occurring in it.

One of the most common and highly witnessed PMS or pregnancy symptoms is the missing of your menstrual period. Any woman, who has ever missed a period date, has known to have either one of the two things, PMS or pregnancy. However, the fact is that a missed period is the one which has not occurred at all, so what the professional doctors say, and what is really true, is that this symptom is only for pregnancy, and not for PMS.

There are certain small signs, which if known may lead you discover that you have PMS pregnancy. The PMS or pregnancy symptoms can include changing moods, mild to severe headaches, the craving for food (resulting in weight gain), tenderness in breasts and most of all, tiredness. If any of these symptoms has occurred, you must know that you are heading towards early PMS pregnancy, and in that case, it is best to visit your gynecologist.

Now the question is that how you can distinguish between PMS or pregnancy? Well, no one has come up with the most perfect solution to this highly confusing question. The real problem occurs when the PMS or pregnancy symptoms collide. A lot of signs of both the conditions are similar to each other, like headaches, fatigue, nausea, etc. and this puts a lot of women under a lot of pressure when they suddenly find out that they are having any one of these symptoms.

According to the professionals, and what I found for the best is that one must always consult a doctor, in any situation, as you never know, whether or not you are heading in the right direction or not. It might be the case that you the PMS or pregnancy symptoms don’t point to any one of these instances, and in fact, they might be showing you signs for something else, and that can be very scary.

Get prenatal care, so that both you and if in case, you are pregnant, than your baby are safe.

Know your body: If you usually have a stomach ache and head ache when the menstrual cycle is approaching, and if you’re pregnant, most likely, these symptoms will not bother you. However, if you are generally painless go through PMS, and then suddenly dropped out of the harmony for 2-3 days, then it is likely that this was not menstruation. In general, remember how you used to feel before “those” days, and compare these feelings with that are happening now. If you do not find big difference, then most likely it is the duty PMS on the nose. And if there is serious, big difference, then dig a little deeper – for example, do a pregnancy test to understand if it is PMS and pregnancy

Take your temperature: If the temperature of your body is the same, then it probably indicates that there is an approach of next critical days. You, by the way, you can see a slight decrease, and then – an increase in temperature after ovulation. And if the temperature remains high for 18 days after ovulation, it is a sure sign that you became pregnant. However, if you have not kept permanent records of temperature change of your body and do not know how many degrees is the norm for you, it will not help you to know PMS and pregnancy.

Distract. If you will constantly think about will you have children or not, you can be very nervous, cheat yourself that will not make anything good for you in any way. Do not be mad, trying to calculate all the signs and symptoms of PMS and pregnancy. Just accept the fact that the next two weeks you will need to somehow survive, find something interesting for you to do. Wash your toilet with a bath, go on a trip, prepare a cake for friends and family or create a family website. In any case, in two weeks you will have something to be proud of, regardless of test results. Of course, it is very hard to wait. But if you’ll cheat yourself, will engage in self-deception, wishful thinking (or what scared) for real, will do a pregnancy test too early, you will not help yourself.

Of course, you can get a negative answer, if you buy in a drugstore test for the analysis of your urine too early, or you can get a false positive response (and this may be due to the fact that in the blood and urine there is still insufficient amount of hormones) but this will not solve the issue about PMS and pregnancy per se. Just stop the rush and enjoy this uncertainty. After the end of those two weeks you can expect another “surprise”: some bleeding, which can both indicate your pregnancy (and will last 6-10 days, it’s observed in 20% of women), or the beginning of a new cycle.

It then, you will have to go to the drugstore for a test, and if even in this case the answer will be positive, we should go for the official confirmation to the gynecologist. In any case, you should take good care of yourself and relax and do not run around in circles of pointless and dangerous for your health fears and apprehensions.

Missing period is the most obvious one of the early pregnancy signs and it crosses each woman’s mind whenmissing a period. Early pregnancy is often accompanied with other symptoms which are very uncertain and aren’t completely unique to pregnancy.

Even missing period doesn’t essentially mean you are carrying a kid. If you have done a little research over early pregnancy signs and symptoms you pretty much certainly already know there’s not another way to make certain whether you are carrying a child or not than to make a pregnancy test. You’ll be able to find one at any office store and pharmacy. There are plenty of different home pregnancy tests from different makers but every one of them work in a matching principle : you place the end of a dipstick in picked up urine for few seconds and wait for few mins ( according to the directions of manufacturer ) till you see a color change or or minus sign which tells you if you’re pregnant or not. And yes, personal conception tests are loyal if you have queried. According to makers private pregnancy tests are 99% correct. If you have got any doubts you might repeat the test by trying another brand. If your home pregnancy test is positive you must line up an appointment at you medical care supplier. He / she’ll do a blood test or pelvic examination to approve your pregnancy and supply you all the compulsory info about cushty pregnancy.

Morning queasiness indicated by queasiness and barfing is having an effect on more than one 50% of all pregnant women.

Fortunately, early morning revulsion lasts only to about 12th week which isn’t especially comforting if being in 7th week. Because of that severer cases of morning nausea need surgery treatment. Early morning queasiness most sometimes happens in girls who are susceptible to motion illness, girls that have headaches and girls expecting twins or other multiples. considering the overpowering majority of pregnant women can’t avoid revulsion it makes sense to find out how to alleviate it. If nothing helps and if you unable to keep any meals or liquid you want to right away visit you medical care supplier.

Are you expecting twins? If so, you are among the fortunate 2% pregnant women who were “blessed” twice. Twin pregnancy is very rare and according to the statistics roughly 2% of all births in the world are twins, while twin pregnancy happens to three in every 100 pregnant women in the United States. However, double joy also means double trouble.

If being pregnant with twins you better prepare yourself on more intense pregnancy complaints. You will probably experience more severe morning sickness, severer heartburn, bak pain, etc. Twins also require increased caloric intake and greater amount of certain nutrients such as folic acid, iron, calcium and other essential nutrients which means more weight gain and increased discomfort. Twin pregnancy also increases the risks of complications but healthy twins are born everyday and there is no need to upset yourself unnecessarily. However, you will probably have to be more cautious and visit your health care provider to monitor your babies’ growth and development more frequently than if you would expecting only one baby.

Twin pregnancy usually lasts from 37 to 38 weeks, while most twin births require cesarean section which is the least stressful for your babies. Twins commonly require special care after delivery even if being completely healthy and there is no need to worry about your babies’ health and well-being if being advised to stay in hospital a little bit longer.

Twins have the same needs as other newborns with the difference you have two newborns. Caring for twins can be very exhausting and sometimes even stressful and for that reason you will perhaps need more help and support than you have imagined.

All the necessary nutrients for healthy development of your baby can be obtained through food and if eating diversified and nutrient-rich foods you probably do not need any dietary supplements. However, if you do not like particular foods which contain essential nutrients for healthy development of the baby or if you believe you might be short on certain vitamins and minerals it might be wise to consider taking vitamin or dietary supplements to provide your baby optimal conditions for healthy growth and development.

Vitamin supplements can be bought over-the-counter in every pharmacy but before choosing one you are highly recommended to consult with your health provider. Developing baby requires increased intake of vitamins B1, B2, B9 (folic acid), C and D, folic acid, iron and iodine, and the recommended daily dosage of the other essential nutrients such as calcium, essential fatty acids, magnesium, etc. All mentioned nutrients are highly important for healthy development of your baby but you should keep in mind that too much of vitamins can be harmful as well. For example, high vitamin A intake may result in toxicity and cause birth defects. Pregnant women are widely recommended to avoid or reduce consumption of foods high in vitamin A such as liver which means you probably should not use vitamin supplements containing high amounts of vitamin A. You should also keep in mind that dietary supplement are not regulated by the FDA . Consult with your health provider about safety and which type and brand of dietary supplement would be the best for you before starting to take anything.

The closer the delivery date the greater the excitement. Pregnancy is an unique experience but every pregnant woman is looking forward of the day she will be able to hold her baby in her hands. The day of childbirth is by many considered as the best day in their lives but many women are terrified of the pain during labour.

The vast majority of women experience intense pain before and during the labour. Reported pain levels greatly vary from woman to woman, while those who claim having a painless labour are in a very small minority. For that reason many women choose some type of pain control which is either non-medical or medical. Non-medical pain control usually features psychological preparations, mediation, lamaze method, hypnosis, water birth and different pushing positions such as sitting position, crawling position, squat position and side lying position. Mentioned pain control methods do not include analgesic medications and do not represent any risks for the mother nor for the baby but have varying degrees of success. Medical pain control – usually epidural analgesia provide immediate pain relief and more or less painless labour. Pain relief using analgesic medication is generally safe for both the mother and the baby but side effects and complications are not impossible.

You should be very well informed about the advantages and disadvantages of different childbirth pain control methods and techniques as well as about potential risks for the baby before choosing one. All the necessary informations including eventual complications can be found in literature as well as online but you are highly recommended to disguise about different options with your health care provider.

It is probably not necessarily to mention that you should avoid lifting and carrying heavy objects and give up extreme sports during pregnancy. However, that does not mean you just have to rest and sit around all 9 months. On the contrary, light to moderate exercise is recommended for general health and well-being of both the pregnant woman and the baby by all leading health experts.

The majority of health experts recommend moderate physical activity at least 30 minutes most days of the week. By taking walks, swimming and light exercise which does not include jumping and does not represent any risk of falling you and your baby can only benefit. Moderate physical activity during pregnancy does not increase the risk of miscarriage in any way and can help you to prevent many pregnancy complaints and discomfort including back pain, swollen feet and stress incontinence, boost your energy and prepare you on labor. If you have not been physically active for a longer period start with as little as 10 minutes of exercise per day and increase the time of physical activity gradually. Make sure you wear comfortable footwear, tale regular breaks, drink plenty of fluids and that you do not exercise to the point of exhaustion.

You are highly recommended to consult with your health provider before starting any exercise during pregnancy especially if you have a history of preterm labor or certain medical condition.

Pregnancy is one of the most natural processes and billions of women throughout the world gave birth to healthy babies without any special prenatal care and often even without medical assistance. Healthy growth and development of the baby does not require any drastic changes of your diet if you normally eat diversified, healthy and nutrient-rich foods. However, since every pregnant woman wants to provide her baby optimal conditions for healthy growth and development knowing which foods are particularly important during pregnancy can only help.

Healthy pregnancy diet more or less consists of foods which are normally considered healthy: lots of fresh and locally grown fruits and vegetables and proper balance of foods high in carbohydrates, fat and proteins. Especially important are foods high in folic acid (vitamin B9) such as leafy green vegetables, beans, peas, citrus fruits and fortified cereals. Folic acid helps to prevent neural tube defect which is one of the most common birth defects. For healthy bones and teeth your baby should obtain adequate amounts of calcium – good sources are milk and milk products and spinach. Latter is also an excellent source of iron which prevents anemia. Other nutrients which are particularly important for the developing baby are essential fatty acids, vitamins C, D, B1 and B2, magnesium, zinc, cooper and iodine. Usually is also recommended increased intake of proteins – good sources are poultry, fish, peanut butter, eggs and dairy products which promote your baby’s growth.