Pregnancy Help & Info

Dressing up during your pregnancy can be an expensive affair.  You won’t need any of those clothes once the baby arrives which makes spending too much on them pointless and a waste.  Between doing up the nursery, stroller and crib shopping and all the other umpteen expenses that pregnancy can rack up, you might not want to push costs up further with an expensive wardrobe.   

Dressing up fashionably during pregnancy however is not just easy, but also don’t have to cost you a packet. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look. Here are some ways you can scout around for cheap clothes: 

Take stock of your own closet.  Many of the clothes you have right now will probably work fine well into your fifth month.  Jeans with elastic bands or stretch pants can accommodate a few extra inches with ease.  Now’s the time to pull out those large oversized never worn T-shirts and tops. 

Raid your friends’ closets. They probably have similar fashion tastes as you do, so their old maternity clothes will work just great.   

Raid your man’s wardrobe.  Those large sized shirts and trousers are perfect to accommodate a growing tummy.   

Head to your neighborhood thrift shop.  If you can muster enough patience to sort through the piles of junk, you’d be amazed at the steals you can find. 

Consignment stores are another terrific source of maternity wear at discount rates.  Often you’ll find quality clothing and even name brands at throwaway prices. 

Look through newspaper classifieds for lightly used maternity wear. 

Flea markets and garage sales can provide another avenue for affordable pregnancy clothing. 

Finally, check online stores or auction sites to get your hands on maternity wear that doesn’t cost a bomb.  Mic’s Maternity has a range of affordable fashions that you can check out here - http://www.micsmaternity.com/ 

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Exercise during pregnancy is recommended not just to maintain optimum fitness levels to help deal with the impending labor, but also to reduce the risk of gestational diabetes.  It’s a great way to work off stress, improve stamina, and build energy levels (that you’re going to be sorely in need of once the baby arrives!).  Plus, you’ll sleep better, strengthen your back muscles, and notice an improvement in posture.  A woman who exercises during pregnancy can look forward to lesser weight gain and a quicker return to her normal physical self post delivery.  

Most general exercise programs can also be followed by pregnant women.  Check with your doctor before beginning any exercise schedule.  The following tips are applicable to all pregnant women who are in general good health.  

If you’ve been sedentary before your pregnancy, build up your exercise levels slowly.

Always warm up for at least 10 minutes before you begin your workout.

Don’t let your heart rate shoot up too high.

Avoid weight bearing exercises.

Avoid exercises that require bouncing or jumping.

Avoid contact sports or other activities where there is a danger of falling.

Drink lots of fluids.

Remember to cool yourself off after each session.

Avoid any exercise that causes pain or excessive tiredness.

Never exercise to the point where you are breathless.

 Dress right.  Wear layers of comfortable clothing.  Wear a supportive bra. 

About 30 minutes a day most days a week is the ideal exercise schedule for a pregnant woman.  Swimming, walking, aerobics, stationery cycle, yoga, and Pilates are tolerated by most women.  Consult your doctor and choose a program that works for you.   You can also try stretching exercises and dancing to add variety to your program. 

Check out http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Pregnancy_and_exercise?OpenDocument for more detailed exercise moves and things to avoid during pregnancy. 

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

We all know that eating the right nutrients is a vital part of our life in order to stay healthy. Pregnant women face an even bigger challenge, eating enough nutrients for their own bodies to stay healthy and to replenish the nutrients that the baby growing inside you needs as well.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Safety should be at the top of your list for preparing your expected baby’s nursery for their arrival.  It won’t take long for your baby to start moving around so it’s best to take care of all sharp corners on any of the furniture you have decided to put in the nursery now, instead of waiting for an accident to happen.  The furniture you will using should be stable so that your baby won’t be able to pull it over when they get a bit older and start moving around.

When deciding on a covering for the floor, make sure to choose one that is non-skid to safely last throughout the toddler years, keeping your new baby safe for years to come. 

The windows should have bars installed if the nursery is located above the first floor to ensure they won’t be pushing out the screen and plummeting to the ground below them.  It is also a good idea to make sure your baby’s window is equipped with locks for extra security measures.  Make sure any cords from mini-blinds or draperies are secure and out of your baby’s reach, to prevent strangulation.

Think ahead for toy storage and make them easily accessible close to the floor so that your little one won’t have to reach to high and possibly knock something over on themselves.

Choose lighting that is mounted to the wall verses a table lamp so that you won’t have electrical cords trailing throughout your room.

And one of the most important things that is overlooked by new parents is the temperature of the room.  You don’t want it to be too warm in the nursery because that is one of the reasons for crib death (SIDS) in babies.  Just keep it the same temperature as the rest of your home to avoid taking a chance on overheating your precious baby.

For a quiz to check on the safety of your baby’s nursery visit http://quiz.ivillage.com/parenting/tests/nurserysafety.htm. 

Filed under: Postnatal Care | No Comments »

A natural childbirth is a technique that utilizes relaxation and breathing to control the pain during labor and childbirth. Expectant parents take a class that lasts about 6 weeks in order to learn these techniques. This is a good class to take even if you plan on using medication during childbirth to control the pain because you will also learn about the different stages of labor and delivery.

Filed under: Labor & Birth | No Comments »

If you have missed your period by at least 2 weeks, and you think you might be pregnant, a visit the doctor’s office for a thorough physical examination is a must at this stage. Make sure you have recalled the date of your last period before going so that they can determine your baby’s expected due date. Think back and try to recall the very first day of your last period by remembering what you were doing on that particular day, if you don’t keep a record of it on your calendar.

While at the doctor’s office for the first time, you can expect for them to record your weight, height and blood pressure. Your breasts, neck, abdomen, thyroid gland, and other body parts will also be examined, so be prepared for that. A stethoscope will be used to listen to your heart and lungs, and they will even examine your eyes with their ophthalmoscope for any abnormalities that might be present. Of course, your pelvic area will be examined so that the doctor can record the size and location of your uterus, along with making sure your pelvis is capable of having a baby pass through it. They will also send samples of your cervical wall to the lab for cancer testing, to make sure you are completely healthy for having a baby. Also take into consideration that doctors are now including a rectal exam with the first prenatal visit, it usually is over with before you know what happened, so don’t worry about this part of it.

The nurses will draw blood from your arm to send off to the lab to check for any sexually transmitted diseases that you may have, along with lots of other tests that can be used to determine whether you have been subjected to certain diseases, like rubella, the German measles.

Some doctors may require that you have an ultrasound to get a better idea of what your expected due date will be, if there are any questions. This is routine and should not worry you in the least if your doctor schedules one right away.

Women who think they are pregnant and have missed their period by two weeks should make an appointment to see their general practitioner in order to get a preliminary test, and they will advise you of a good OBGYN physician who will be able to help you all the way through to your baby’s delivery.

For a great list of things to ask your doctor about on your first pregnancy exam, visit http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/doctor/preg1.shtml.

Filed under: Pregnancy Tests & Symptoms | No Comments »

My doctor has diagnosed me as being pregnant, but he says it’s an ectopic pregnancy, what does this mean?

This means that your egg has been fertilized outside the uterus, either in your fallopian tubes, cervical canal, or in your pelvic or abdominal cavity. This causes a fetus to develop outside of the uterus causing you to test positive for being pregnant. Normally eggs are fertilized in the fallopian tubes and then they make their way to the uterus in order to develop further. This has not happened with your pregnancy. Your egg has either gotten stuck or was traveling to slow due to an infection you may have, causing an ectopic pregnancy.

Can I carry an ectopic pregnancy to full term?

No, sorry, but there is no way your baby will have the environment it will need to sustain life inside of you, and you will putting your own health at risk by trying to do so.

How can doctors be sure it is an ectopic pregnancy?

Doctors might first suspect an ectopic pregnancy if your uterus is smaller than it should be after you have tested positive for being pregnant. An ultrasound will be ordered to confirm the uterus is empty and then the doctor will use a fiber optic tube through a small incision in your abdomen to see the ectopic pregnancy.

How is an ectopic pregnancy removed from my body?

Usually an ectopic pregnancy is removed surgically. If it’s located in your fallopian tubes, the doctor will make a small incision and remove the fetus and placenta.

Can I still have a baby if I’ve already had an ectopic pregnancy in my fallopian tubes?

Well that depends on how damaged your fallopian tubes were from the fetus. If the fetus dies early, your tubes will not be harmed, but if the fetus is partially in the uterus and partly in the fallopian tubes, your fetus could grow large enough to rupture your fallopian tubes and cause internal bleeding. When a doctor surgically removes a fetus from the fallopian tubes, he leaves the incision to heal on it’s own so that there will be no scar tissue to interfere with your next pregnancy.

For other information about ectopic pregnancies visit http://www.ectopicpregnancy.com

Filed under: Pregnancy Tests & Symptoms | No Comments »

During pregnancy, a woman’s body will go through many changes physically. Most of these physical changes of pregnancy will go away after you have delivered your baby.

A woman who is pregnant will notice an increase in their heart rate. This is due to the changes that are going on inside your uterus. The blood supply going to the uterus will increase as the fetus grows, causing your heart to pump faster. It may slow down after the towards the end of your pregnancy because of the pressure of the baby inside of your uterus pushing on veins that carry blood to the heart.

Your breathing patterns will change as well. This is normal as you are now breathing for two. You may be breathing faster, but you will be taking deeper breaths and they will allow more oxygen to pass into your lungs and bloodstream.

Kidneys are forced to work harder during pregnancy due to the increased amount of blood they will be filtering. This is why you will feel the need to use the restroom more frequently while you are pregnant.

You may become constipated from the pressure of your growing uterus on your bowels. This will all clear up as soon as you deliver your baby. Your bowel movements will return to normal quickly.

Heartburn or indigestion are very common because while you are pregnant, food will stay in your stomach for a longer period of time and becomes backed up causing a burning sensation in your throat.

Some women have reported having blotchy skin on their face while pregnant. Melasma, or the mask of pregnancy will show up as blotchy brown spots on the foreheads and cheeks of pregnant women.

Due to the placenta producing hormones used to sustain pregnancy, you may experience mood swings while pregnant. Yes it’s a real physical change in the woman’s body that causes it.

And the last of the physical changes a woman’s body goes through is the obvious, a swollen belly, and possibly stretch marks to go along with it. Using a good lotion daily will help you from getting stretch marks that scar.

Filed under: Labor & Birth | No Comments »

If you are pregnant and have any of the following symptoms, please see a doctor immediately as it could mean that something is seriously wrong with you or the baby you are carrying. Most women expect some discomfort during a normal pregnancy, but if you have the symptoms listed below, it is not normal for a healthy pregnancy.See your doctor if:

1. You have persistent headaches that don’t go away with medicines that are safe to take while pregnant.
2. You have persistent vomiting and nausea to go along with it. (Not just your normal morning sickness.)
3. You experience dizziness for any period of time.
4. You think you are sick or have an infection.
5. Your hands and feet are swelling.
6. You experience strong contractions.
7. Your urine output decreases or increases rapidly.
8. You have trouble seeing, your eyes just don’t seem to work right.
9. You have vaginal bleeding.
10. You are leaking amniotic fluid, or your water breaks completely.
11. You have pain or cramps in your lower belly.

Your doctor will know what to do if you find yourself with one or more of the above symptoms. Talk with your doctor about what is normal to experience during pregnancy and what is not. Doctors may have a simple solution to help you feel better while pregnant, so don’t be shy, tell them exactly how you have been feeling so that they can discuss your pregnancy more in depth with you at each visit. They will want to note how you feel each month so that they will know if you are complaining about something for the first time or if it has been an ongoing event.

Filed under: Pregnancy Tests & Symptoms, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Not many people realize that a water birth is an option when it comes to giving birth, it does has its advantages and disadvantages over the other methods available. In today’s world more and more women are requesting to have water births including some celebrities such as Pamela Anderson and Kate Winslet.On of the main reasons why women are choosing the water birth method is because the water actually works as a natural anaesthetic and helps reduce the amount of pain during the process. It also helps relax the women at one of the tensest and stressful times of their lives as the water provides buoyancy releasing pressure from the back and stomach.Water birthing has its benefits for the baby as well as the mother to be, because your baby has already been in water for the duration of the pregnancy, it makes their initial beginning to life much more easier and helps them take their first breath as they come out of the water. As you may know a natural birth can be very frustrating for both the mother and the baby, with a water birth the water stimulates the womb which makes it more comforting and relaxing for both the baby and the woman.

Filed under: Labor & Birth | No Comments »