Monday, 9 July 2012

How to Choose Best Foods during Pregnancy?


Getting pregnant does not mean to eat more but in fact it means to eat more wisely. There are number of ways for having nutritious diet like eating parental supplements of vitamins and minerals, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and many more.
How to choose best foods during pregnancy? Your health care practitioner may give a list of best foods but it is best to seek guidance from some nutritionist. Eggs are good source of proteins and vitamins and must be present in the pregnancy diet. For more than twelve vitamins and minerals are present in an egg. Every cell of baby is made up of protein so its need is more than usual. Salmon is a source of omega 3 fats. Unlike other fishes, it contains less or low quantities of methyl mercury. This is the name of the compound which could be dangerous for the nervous system of the baby. Healthy eating for pregnancy also includes beans which are enriched source of proteins and are packed with fiber inside. Pop corns and whole grains are also good as they contain fiber, selenium, vitamin E all these help in protecting developing cells. Omega 3 fats are present in rich quantities inside walnut which is important for the growth of developing baby’s brain. Leafy and dark green vegetables are loaded with nutrients, vitamin A, C and K and folate inside.
Spotting is one of the complications of pregnancy and one of its causes is poor diet. By improving diet, spotting during pregnancy can be cured as sometimes it may lead to miscarriage when it is heavy. Women who are pregnant are at higher risk if they are already with certain complications like infections in the tubes, previous experience of ectopic pregnancy, and pelvic surgery in the past. Spotting during pregnancy first trimester is normal but if it exceeds to second and third trimester then it is not normal. In ectopic pregnancies, bleeding is one of the main sign or symptom. Other signs include, pain in the area of abdomen, reduced levels of HCG, and vaginal bleeding.
Routine blood tests during pregnancy can be helpful in knowing the accurate cause. Blood tests of first trimester must be done in order to catch any of the complications at its earlier. Rh factor test is being conducted in order to know either baby is positive or negative. If baby is positive then antibodies form and would attack red blood cells. Injections of immunoglobulin are inserted at twenty eight weeks of pregnancy as it helps to prevent the condition to happen.  Iron levels of baby are also checked as if they are low then it is the sign of anemic condition. Also, rubella tests are administered in order to measure the immunity. If you are not vaccinated from rubella or German measles then you need to get vaccinated.  

Wednesday, 4 July 2012

Importance of Eating Nutritious Meals during Pregnancy


The importance of eating nutritious meals cannot be underestimated as almost all of the pregnant women need more protein, vitamins and minerals like folic acid and iron. If you are pregnant and having a poor diet then you need a transition in your diet plan.
According to an estimate, for about three hundred more calories are required to be taken in daily pregnancy diet during first and second trimester. In the third trimester, the need even rises up to 450 calories. If you are overweight or an underweight then the ratio may vary and the best way to determine the number of calories intake is to consult your health care provider. Avoid having unpasteurized milk, cheese, alcohol, caffeine, high mercury fish and raw or undercooked meat. In diet for healthy pregnancy, add prenatal vitamin supplement as they meet all of the nutritional needs of the baby and the mother. They must contain folic acid, choline, iron and calcium. If you cannot swallow vitamins then you can switch to chewable supplements.
The health of the baby can be determined by taking certain tests in the first trimester of the pregnancy. You can keep having routine blood tests during pregnancy but they are vital in the first trimester to be administered. They are part of antenatal care and must be done before there raise any complications. Mainly they are done to know your blood group and either you are Rh positive or negative. Other tests include hemoglobin tests for determining the level of hemoglobin in the blood. Rubella test for checking the immunity to diseases, hepatitis B and HIV tests are also done in order to check either baby is at risk of these viruses or not.
If you are eating healthy diet and still bleeding or spotting during pregnancy then it could be the sign of certain complications. It depends on number of factors as well; if there is light spotting during pregnancy then it is all normal because of placental implantation. This means embryo is getting implanted into the uterus wall lining. Active blood spotting during pregnancy is not a good sign as it may lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or preterm birth of the baby. Majorly, bleeding or spotting is the sign of miscarriage.
Consequently, eating healthy is good which can prevent from number of health issues and one of which is spotting. Sometimes diet is not the cause of spotting but it is one of the causes that can be settled. Routine blood tests are best way to determine the health of the fetus and the mother.  

Sunday, 1 July 2012

Importance of Healthy Eating during Pregnancy


Healthy eating during pregnancy means to eat well balanced diet. Along with healthy diet, pregnant women must avoid usage of those foods which are contagious like raw meats, unpasteurized milk and all those foods which are contaminated with Listeria.
Pregnant women must be concerned for her diet as what she eats and what she drinks affects development of the baby. Pregnancy diet must not encircle raw meat or undercooked meat, fish with high mercury, unpasteurized milk and cheese as all these are the possible source of bacteria namely known as Listeria which causes listeriosis.  Taking prenatal supplements which contain vitamins and minerals are really good source of fulfilling the nutritional needs during pregnancy. Make sure that the supplement you purchase contains folic acid inside. Lack of folic acid leads to many of the birth defects especially which are associated with brain and spinal cord. Healthy eating during pregnancy means eating three to four meals of fruits and vegetables, two portions of fish each week which is low in mercury, and two meals of dairy products in a day.
One of the main benefits of eating healthy is that it prevents from the risk of low birth weight baby. If the baby weighs 2.5kg at the time of birth then such babies falls under the category of low birth weight.  One of the reasons is premature delivery which means delivery before thirty seven weeks of pregnancy. If a mother is expecting twins then there are high chances that she will have low birth weight babies. Maternal diseases or any of the chronic diseases from which expecting mother is going through also lead to birth of low or reduced weight baby.
Nausea during pregnancy is more common in the first trimester of the pregnancy. If a pregnant women is eating healthy then the condition of nausea would do no harm if she is already with weak immunity then the condition of nausea may persist even after first trimester which is unusual. How to stop nausea during pregnancy? It can be done by sniffing green lemons. Make slow moves and avoid sudden change in posture or movements. While having a rest, try to keep pillow under your head and under your legs. Ginger tea is often advice by medical experts as it helps in reducing the nausea.
Therefore, healthy eating is one of the good habits not only during normal routine but also during pregnancy. Pregnant women must only eat healthy food and avoid those which are affected by bacteria like in raw meats, eggs and undercooked foods. Poor diet is one of the causes for low birth weight.   Not only this, nausea may persist if healthy diet is being neglected by the expecting mother.  
For step by step pregnancy guide: http://www.stepbysteppregnancyguide.com/

Thursday, 28 June 2012

Is Weakness and Unconsciousness normal during pregnancy?


Most of the pregnant women feel weak and extreme fatigue when they get pregnant. You might also be one of those and must be concerned about its treatment. The first thing you need to know is that these symptoms are of anemia during pregnancy.
Mild or moderate symptoms of anemia are just normal and experienced by twenty percent of the pregnant women. If these symptoms grow into chronic ones then it needs to be treated. Anemia is the name of the condition in which the pregnant women get deficient of the iron which is being desired by the body. Why it happens in pregnancy? It happens just because the baby draws in all of the quantities of iron from her mother leaving mother anemic. Anemia during pregnancy is all normal in the first trimester but you need to take care if you start feeling unconsciousness. This shows that your condition of anemia is turned into chronic one. How I get to know that I am anemic? This might be the concerning question but the simple answer is that the given symptoms of weakness, fatigue and unconsciousness are sign or indicator of anemia. You can get prevention by adding iron rich food into diet.
Bleeding during pregnancy may lead to ectopic pregnancies. This means pregnancy which is out of uterus or in the fallopian tubes.  Bleeding during all stages of pregnancy is not normal except the early one or two months. If a pregnant woman bleeds heavily then she might get unconscious as well and there might not only anemia to be the cause behind. Is bleeding during pregnancy normal? Bleeding could be considered normal if it is light and in the first trimester of the pregnancy. Placental implantation takes its place which is the reason of light spotting during pregnancy. Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy if get active and heavy then don’t try to stop it by inserting tampon into your vagina.
Braxton hicks contractions are the false labor pains which starts appearing in the second or third trimester of the pregnancy. Why these contractions appear? These contractions are natural and a healthy sign but it could not be normal if these contractions are too frequent. This means if you start feeling these contractions more than four in an hour then it is not normal. Do seek the advice of your midwife. Some of the features of these contractions are: infrequent, irregular, non-rhythmic and unpredictable. Braxton hicks contractions feel like after having sex or if you are suffering from the condition of dehydration.
For more details: http://www.stepbysteppregnancyguide.com/

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Chromosomal Abnormality behind Pregnancy Miscarriages


What do you understand by miscarriage? Miscarriage in simple terms is the loss of the baby before completion of twenty weeks of pregnancy. There are different types of miscarriages and their treatments vary as well. The most important thing is to share your complications with your health care provider as he or she can guide you in the best possible way.
Chromosomal abnormality is one of the reasons behind the pregnancy miscarriage. What does it means? This means there must be something wrong with the chromosomes of the baby. Why it occurs? It occurs when the eggs or the sperm cell get damaged by any means. It might also due to zygote division process which might go wrong. Not only chromosomal abnormality but there could be much more other causes of miscarriage. Hormonal problem or infection, wrong or improper implantation of egg in uterus, maternal age and bad lifestyle habits are some of the causes.  Pregnancy miscarriage symptoms include vaginal bleeding, cramps in the stomach, or pain in abdominal area.
The terms of pregnancy and miscarriage have a strong relation as certain complications lead to miscarriage. Sometimes it is inevitable to avoid miscarriage and it has been seen that most of the miscarriages occur in the first thirteen weeks of the pregnancy. Vaginal bleeding is one of the first sign that a pregnant women suffers from. If a woman bleeds heavily then it might be the sign of miscarriage but not always. Light or heavy bleeding might be the sign of placental implantation of embryo into the uterus lining.  The chances of getting miscarriage are quite high in those women who are above thirty. According to one of the estimates, twenty to thirty percent of the chances of miscarriages are present in 35 to 45 years of pregnant women. 
Routine blood tests during pregnancy are compulsory to be done. The reason is that they help in determining number of factors. The count of red blood cells is done by conducting blood tests in the first trimester of the pregnancy. Usually, mother gets anemic during pregnancy and their blood count gets lessen. The potential risks which might be linked with the pregnancy are indicated by these tests. The tests also measures the pregnancy hormone hCG in the pregnant women.
Sex during pregnancy is safe from miscarriage if a pregnant woman is going through healthy pregnancy. The layer of the uterus is quite thick and sex does not harm fetus development or brought any risk. Most of the males avoid doing sex as they are of the view that sex might be harmful but in real it is not if pregnant women are without any complications.