Archive for August, 2007

Have you become pregnant recently? Now, it is the time to have special supplement needs.

So, consult your gynecologist for prenatal vitamin.

Prenatal vitamins are extremely important for healthy pregnancy, as they provide essential nutrients (sufficiently) that are required for you and your unborn child.

Prenatal vitamins (PNVs) are specially formulated vitamin supplements that help nourish and maintain your fetus and your body during pregnancy. It also makes up the nutrients that are deficient in your diet during pregnancy.

It is true that almost all nutrients are essential for pregnant woman. However, there are three nutrients that are vital during pregnancy: folic acid, calcium and iron.

Folic acid is also known as folate. It is a B vitamin (B9) that gives extra blood that is needed for your body during pregnancy. It is rich in green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, pastas, rice, bread and citrus fruits. It is also found in food grains and vitamin supplements.

Folic acid plays an important role in DNA synthesis and protein metabolism as well as in normal growth. It can minimize your chances of giving birth to a baby with severe birth defects called neural tube defects.

Pregnancy refers to the process of carrying a live offspring from conception to childbirth.

If you suspect that you are pregnant, make use of a home pregnancy test kit for confirming your pregnancy.

It is not that home pregnancy test kit can only confirm pregnancy.

However, the symptoms can also confirm pregnancy, but the symptoms develop four to six weeks after your conception. Conception means fertilization of the ovum with the sperm.

The home pregnancy test is very easy to perform. It provides accurate as well as fast results. You can make use of the home pregnancy test kit immediately the day after your missed menstrual period.

Remember that all pregnancy tests are done to identify the presence of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is produced by the pregnant woman after gestation (conception).

The kits for home pregnancy test are available at all drug stores. The kit may be in the form of strip or card. Velocit and Pregcolour are the most popular test kits for pregnancy confirmation. Check the expiry date on the kit before buying it. Remember that the kit can be used only once.

Is it true that your child born early? Giving birth to a premature baby is a depressing and frightening experience.

Premature babies are also known as preemie. The birth of these babies occurs prior to the completion of 37th week of gestation, which is so early than a full-term pregnancy.

The birth of full-term babies will happen thirty eight to forty two weeks after the mother’s last menstrual period (LMP).

In other words, the average length of pregnancy is between thirty eight to forty two weeks. It is found that, in the United States, eight to ten percent of all pregnancies lead to the birth of premature babies.

Premature babies will not develop completely and come across several challenges when compared to full-term babies. In general, the earlier the birth of the baby, the less the developed organs are.

The underdeveloped organs of these premature babies may lead to specific health problems. So, remember that the chances of developing complications increase as gestational age of the baby decreases.

The common health problems of premature babies are:

Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is the most common lung disorder in premature babies. The babies with this condition feel difficulty in breathing.

Molar pregnancy is also known as gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) or hydatidiform mole.

A molar pregnancy refers to a condition where a genetic error during fertilization process leads to development of anomalous tissue within the uterus (womb).

Molar pregnancy is a rare condition. It is found that, in the United States, approximately one out of every thousand women is having a hydatidiform pregnancy.

Molar pregnancy is of two types: complete molar pregnancy and partial molar pregnancy.

In complete molar pregnancy, only placental parts grow without fetus formation. This type of molar pregnancy develops when the sperm fertilizes an empty egg. However, the placenta produces the pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

It is found that approximately 15-20% of complete molar pregnancies lead to gestational trophoblastic disease and a very small percentage of this may turn into invasive cancer. However, almost hundred percent of these invasive cancer cases are cured with appropriate treatment.

In partial molar pregnancy, the placenta develops unusually into molar tissue. Any fetal tissue that grows is about to have serious birth defects. In some rare cases, a partial molar pregnancy occurs when twins are conceived but one embryo develops normally whereas the other grows with mole.

It is true that you may not practice your normal exercise routine when you become pregnant.

However, with few alterations to the existing exercise routine, you can greatly benefit from pregnancy exercise throughout your pregnancy.

Practicing pregnancy exercise regularly can make your body strong and healthy. It also helps prepare your body for labor and delivery.

By practicing pregnancy exercise regularly all through your pregnancy can boost your energy levels, relieve your backaches and improve your self-image.

It also helps you sleep better and lessen the pain associated with pregnancy. You can also have faster recovery after labor.

Walking is the best pregnancy exercise throughout your pregnancy. However, try to practice aerobic, strength, and flexibility exercises.

Dancing, pilates, swimming, water aerobics, yoga, stretching, biking are also good pregnancy exercises. Whatever the exercise may be, always listen to your body signs.

Always avoid sit-ups, weight lifting, jarring, bouncing, leaping, and exercises with backward bending.

Before starting an exercise program, consult your doctor and confirm that practicing pregnancy exercise is right for your health condition and will not harm you or your unborn baby.

Today, in these days, prenatal yoga is becoming more popular and is essentially practiced by pregnant women for its health benefits. It is a way to ensure a healthy and smooth pregnancy.

The term ‘yoga’ refers to a Sanskrit word “union” it means “to join.” The aim of prenatal yoga is to unite the body, mind and spirit through poses, breathing exercises, and meditation.

Prenatal yoga has five fundamental tools: yoga exercises, mudras, meditation, breathing exercises, and deep relaxation techniques.

These tools when practiced regularly can provide benefits to you and your baby’s health as well as increases your ability to have natural and easy childbirth.

Yoga exercises works efficiently on the organs of the reproductive system as well as on the pelvis to make sure a smooth pregnancy and easy delivery. At the subtle level, the prenatal yoga exercises guarantee a good supply of blood as well as essential nutrients to the developing fetus.

Mudras are one of prenatal yoga tools. Mudras are hand gestures with psychophysical stimulation, which provides powerful effects on your reproductive organs when practiced regularly.

Am I really pregnant? This is a common query that rises in women with a missed menstrual period.

However, a missed menstrual period doesn’t always lead to pregnancy.

Pregnancy symptoms can help recognize your pregnancy easily.

Your body is the best indicator to confirm pregnancy because certain hormonal changes occur in the body when you are pregnant. These hormonal changes lead to signs of a pregnancy.

Remember that the pregnancy symptoms of a woman differ from another. In other words, the symptoms vary from woman-to-woman.

Missed menstrual period is the most common pregnancy symptom. Menstrual period with less bleeding than normal is also a symptom of pregnancy.

Constipation is another pregnancy symptom that may occur due to hormonal changes in the body or increase in the uterus size. The increase in the uterus size compresses the bowels and leads to constipation.

If you observe closely at breasts, you may find a change in the color of the nipple. This pregnancy sign can occur within a week after conception and remains for the rest of your pregnancy.

While good nutrition is an essential part of daily life in order to maintain the health in proper condition, it becomes even more essential during pregnancy because you and your baby’s health greatly depend on the intake of right prenatal nutrition.

Therefore, prenatal nutrition is the key for maintaining a healthy pregnancy.

Remember that the diet you maintain during pregnancy is directly related to the health of the developing fetus because all the nutrients that need for the baby’s growth comes from the food or the supplements you take.

As said earlier, pregnant women need more nutrients than other women. Therefore, it is essential for you to follow a prenatal nutrition that can help provide the essential nutrients for you and your developing fetus.

The nutritional needs of your body change during pregnancy due to the change in the body and the requirements of the fetus development.

So, during pregnancy, the need for calories become more and an extra three hundred calories are required every day for enough fetal nutrition and weight gain during pregnancy. The intake of calories increases if you are underweight or carrying multiple babies.

Tubal pregnancy is also known as ectopic pregnancy. It is a pregnancy that develops outside the uterus (womb).

In other words, it is a pregnancy where fully fertilized egg from the ovary simply places itself outside the uterus for gestation.

Tubal pregnancy occurs when the fertilized egg resides in a fallopian tube rather than transferring to the uterus, where it is need to embed. The egg gets stuck when a tube is damaged, scarred, or distorted.

The most common place that fertilized egg places itself is within one of the fallopian tubes, the tubes that transfer the egg from the ovary to the uterus. Tubal pregnancies also take place on the outer surface of the uterus, on the ovaries, or connect to the bowel.

Tubal pregnancy is the major cause of death in the early stages of pregnancy. The risk factors associated with tubal pregnancy are pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility, endometriosis, earlier tubal pregnancy, earlier abdominal or pelvic surgery, and earlier tubal ligation and usage of intrauterine device.

Morning sickness refers to a health condition that usually occurs in the pregnant woman, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy.

With this condition, you feel nauseated, with or without vomiting, upon rising in the morning. It can occur at any time.

Morning sickness is also known as pregnancy sickness or nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP). It is found that 50-95 % of all pregnant women come across this condition.

Morning sickness generally occurs in the fourth week after conception and get worse as weeks pass. The condition where the morning sickness gets worse is known as hyperemesis gravidarum. It is found that hyperemesis gravidarum occurs in one out of every two-fifty pregnant woman.

You may feel relief from the condition by around third month of your pregnancy. In some cases, it can last up to second trimester.

Morning sickness may occur due to hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy. The feelings of nausea and vomiting can result when the hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) rises in the body.

HCG is a special hormone that is produced during pregnancy. This condition may also occur with the rise in other hormones of the body.