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Pregnancy: How Much Weight is Too Much Weight?

Admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:50:25 +0000

Pregnancy and weight gain go together. There is no such thing as a pregnancy without weight gain. Gaining a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy through a healthy diet ensures that your baby is maturing and receiving all the vitamins and nutrients it needs to develop. Gaining a steady amount of weight throughout your pregnancy can help lower your chance of having hemorrhoids, varicose veins, stretch marks, backache, fatigue, indigestion, and shortness of breath during pregnancy.
Pregnancy is not a time for weight loss. Even if you were obese before you became pregnant, some weight gain is vital for the healthy development of your baby. If you are overweight or obese, or just concerned about healthy weight gain, be sure to discuss a healthy pregnancy diet and a target pregnancy weight with your doctor.
So, how much weight should you gain?
You should gain a steady amount of weight throughout your pregnancy. While many women struggle to gain weight in their first trimester due to morning sickness, and may even lose weight during that time, it is important to begin gaining regularly during the second and third trimesters. Contact your doctor if you experience any sudden weight gain or loss, especially in your third trimester, as it can be a sign of preeclampsia.
Recommended weight gain for women at a healthy weight before pregnancy is 25-37 pounds. If you were underweight before pregnancy it is recommended that you gain between 28 – 40 pounds, and if you were overweight before pregnancy you should try to gain between 15-25 pounds.
The best way to ensure that you gain a healthy amount of weight during your pregnancy is to listen to what your body tells you. If you are hungry, eat. If you are not hungry, don’t eat. It’s as simple as that. By eating healthy, nutritious foods you can be assured that both you and your baby are getting the nutrients that you need, and that you are not going to gain any unnecessary weight during your pregnancy.
Eating an extra 300 calories a day should be enough to ensure a healthy amount of weight gain. Try eating small frequent meals throughout the day. Be sure to include foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals as well as healthy sources of fat and proteins.
Most importantly, love you body! If you gain a little too much during these nine months, it’s not the end of the world. You can go on a post-baby diet when the time is right. Until then, enjoy those bigger breasts and that basketball round belly!
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How To Reduce Your Risk of Stretch Marks in Pregnancy

Admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:10:26 +0000

Unfortunately, stretch marks are so common in pregnant women that between 75 and 90 percent develop them during pregnancy. Despite these odds, there are still things you can do to prevent these angry red marks from disrupting your clear skin.
Try to maintain a steady weight gain. Eating a balanced and healthy diet will not only keep your weight gain within the recommended range of 25 to 35 pounds, but this good nutrition is also essential for your baby’s development and the health of your skin. Controlling your weight gain will also allow your skin to stretch at a steady rate.
Using a wash cloth or body brush, massage the areas where you’d like to prevent stretch marks from appearing, or where some have already appeared, improving circulation in those areas.
Hydrate yourself and take your vitamins. Drinking enough water and ensuring you’re getting all your vital nutrients are critical for your own health and that of your baby’s, plus they are necessary for healthy skin.
Moisturize, moisturize! Make sure to keep your skin moisturized from the beginning of your pregnancy until you’ve lost the pregnancy weight. You can use an oil or cream geared to prevent pre-natal stretch marks, which help retain the elasticity in your skin. Using vitamin supplements, these creams help enhance the production of collagen, retaining the skin as it becomes thoroughly stretched.
Also, keep in mind that genetics do come into play on whether you’re predisposed to stretch marks or not. If your mother had them in pregnancy, you’re more likely to get them as well. But don’t give up; following the guidelines above can help.
And don’t forget to keep up these habits during your postpartum period too. Shedding all your pregnancy weight during this time can cause stretch marks as well, and you wouldn’t want to get through the whole pregnancy stretch mark-free only to have them appear once you’ve recovered!

Pregnancy and High Blood Pressure

Admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:08:36 +0000

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common condition affecting many women during pregnancy. While some women with high blood pressure may not suffer from any associated symptoms, hypertension during pregnancy can be serious if left untreated.
If hypertension is associated with protein in the urine and/or swelling due to fluid retention, it could be a sign of Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension (PIH), also called Toxemia or Preeclampsia which can be a serious condition, and requires careful monitoring and treatment.

Risks of complications due to high blood pressure during pregnancy include:

1. Increased risk of low birth weight due to decreased blood flow to the placenta.

2. Placental abruption caused by the placenta separating from the uterus. This can result in heavy bleeding in the mother as well as causing the baby to be deprived of oxygen and nutrients.

3. If the risk of serious complications due to high blood pressure is high, a premature delivery may be required.

4. In some cases, even if a women’s blood pressure returns to normal after her pregnancy, she may be at risk of developing hypertension later in life.

What you can do to prevent complications:

1. Make sure not to miss any prenatal appointments. These are your opportunities to regularly monitor your blood pressure and discuss any changes with your doctor.

2. Taking medication to reduce your blood pressure—you can buy Benicar or Cardizem to help—can reduce the risk of complications. Speak to your doctor about medicines that will treat high blood pressure.

3. Get plenty of rest and a healthy amount of exercise.

4. Keep to a healthy, low sodium diet. Make sure to take your prenatal vitamins.

5. While weight gain is important in supporting your baby’s development, too much weight gain can cause additional stress on your heart. So be sure to regularly monitor your weight.

6. Avoid or quit smoking, alcohol and illicit drugs.

Morning Sickness and Heartburn

Admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:48:04 +0000

Morning sickness: Either you get it bad or you don’t get it at all. It seems that there’s no one who falls out in the middle. If you fall into the 30% of women who never get nauseated at all, then consider yourself lucky. If you’re like most women and experience nausea and vomiting, however, then it’s likely that you’ve already begun searching for a remedy. You’re also exhausted, anxious about becoming a new mom, and extremely excited—who has room in their emotional repertoire for the angst that accompanies throwing up throughout the day (no, morning sickness does not only occur in the morning).

No one really knows why women get morning sickness during their first trimester (and for some throughout their whole pregnancies), but there are some guesses out there, and there are treatments that can help you.

The most common hypothesis on the cause of morning sickness is the obvious: hormones. Increased estrogen and hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) increase rapidly and sort of throw the body off-balance. This is why you’re always tired, moody, and why your stomach gets queasy.

Also, since your sense of smell heightens during your first trimester, an egg no longer just smells like an egg, but smells like a very, very, very egg-y egg, which can make you want to throw up.

Another potential cause of morning sickness is heartburn. As with everything during early pregnancy, every physical feeling or emotion that normally you only feel a little, you begin to feel a lot. That means that unnoticeable heartburn that you may experience on a day-to-day basis all of a sudden becomes increasingly intense, so much so that you may get nauseated and throw up. To treat acid reflux disease (heartburn) you can buy Prevacid online which should take care of this cause of morning sickness.

If, of course, your morning sickness is totally hormonal and not acid related, then the Prevacid won’t really do any good, so check with your doctor and pay close attention to your symptoms to determine whether it’s intense heartburn (you should feel a burning sensation) or if it’s just plain ol’ fashioned hormones messing with your belly.

Pregnancy and Acid Reflux

Admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:46:39 +0000

For most women, pregnancy and heartburn go hand-in-hand. Most women just assume that heartburn is just another one of those random symptoms of pregnancy, but there’s actually a scientific reason for the increase in acid reflux. Your placenta produces progesterone which relaxes the muscles of the uterus. This hormone serves as a relaxer for other parts of the body as well, including the valve located between the stomach and esophagus. Since it’s more relaxed than usual, it allows acid from the stomach to return back up to the esophagus, causing a burning sensation.

Here are some tips that can help you get your acid reflux disease under control:
•    Avoid consuming caffeine, spicy foods, tomatoes, citrus fruits, chocolate, fried foods, and fatty foods which will exacerbate heartburn.
•    Eat several small meals throughout the day rather than a few large ones.
•    Eat slowly and chew your food extremely well before swallowing.
•    Drink water in between meals rather than during them.
•    Chew gum after a meal. The saliva that’s produced while chewing helps neutralize acid.
•    Sleep propped up in order to keep acids down in your belly, making it harder for them to travel back up.
•    Wear loose clothing, particularly around your waist and stomach.
•    Try and gain weight between the recommended 25-35 pounds. Too much or too little could effect heartburn.
•    Ask your doctor for a good anti-acid medication. You may want to start out with something like Tums and then move on to something more serious if that doesn’t work, like Prevacid. (You can buy generic Prevacid online at discounted rates.)
•    Quit smoking—always good advice, especially for a pregnant woman!
•    Eat at least three hours before bedtime. If you eat too close to bedtime, then your body will be forced to attempt digestion while you’re lying down, which can cause heartburn.

Fertility Calculator: How to get pregnant guide.

Admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:32:16 +0000

Dr Chris Steele discusses with Sian Welby how to work out when you have the best chance of conception. First of course both you and your partner have to be fertile. Check that first. If so then the woman needs to work out when she is at her most fertile. This is 14 days BEFORE the start of her next period. Don’t worry, you can use our handy online fertility calculator to do this at www.thefamilygp.com You should try to conceive 2 days before this date, on this date and 2 days after it. This …

Natural Fertility Boosters

Admin — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:27:32 +0000

If you’re ready to expand your family, you may need a little help (outside of the bedroom, of course!) Watch more fertility-enhancing tips: sexhealthguru.com

Toxic Waters and Male Infertility

Admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:15:31 +0000

I’m sure most of you have heard about the story of Ms. Suleman, who recently gave birth to octuplets (the longest surviving in the US) after having 8 embryos implanted into her womb. This young mother of 6 (now 14) has a great passion for children and wanted badly to have her own large family; she did everything in her power to get it after having no success with natural conception. Yes, in vitro fertilization and infertility are words that you hear about so much these days that you’ve got to wonder, what’s happened to our reproductive health? A condition of the reproductive system that impairs the conception of children, infertility affects about 6.1 million individuals throughout the US. The diagnosis of infertility is usually given to couples who have been attempting to conceive for at least 1 year without success.

There are many theories out there as to the reasons for infertility. Is it the pesticides and hormones in the foods we eat, is it the soy formula that babies drink or maybe a combination of all the above? Well, a recent study from Brunel University, the Universities of Exeter and Reading and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in the UK has published research that may be another piece of the overall fertility puzzle.
Their study identified a new group of chemicals that act as ‘anti-androgens,’ meaning that they inhibit the function of testosterone, reducing male fertility. What’s scary is that some of these are contained in medicines, like cancer treatments, pharmaceutical treatments, and pesticides and the research suggests that when they get into the water system, they may play a pivotal role in imparting feminine effects in male fish. These pollutants are likely to be coming from a wide variety of sources and the findings strengthen the argument that the hormone disruption in fish, may be related to the rise in male reproductive problems. While there is not enough info out there yet for us to conclude, I repeat what I’ve always felt is best: stick to organic food and drink the cleanest water that you can for a clean and healthy body. Your gonads will thank you.