Archive for July, 2008

Do you have the condition of excessive bleeding after the delivery? This is the condition of postpartum hemorrhage.

Up to 4% of women experience postpartum hemorrhage and it more likely occurs with a cesarean birth. Usually, hemorrhage will occur before or after the placenta is delivered.

In vaginal delivery, the amount of blood loss is about 500ml, but in cesarean birth, the amount of blood loss is 1,000ml.

Most of the times postpartum hemorrhage occurs immediately after the delivery, but sometimes it can occur later also.

Once after the delivery, the uterus continues to contract and expels the placenta. After the delivery of placenta, the uterine contractions help to compress the bleeding vessels at the region where the placenta was connected.

If there are no proper uterine contractions, then the blood vessels will freely bleed and finally results in postpartum hemorrhage. If any minute pieces of placenta remain attached, then also bleeding continues.

Some of you are at greater risk of postpartum hemorrhage when compared to others. Here are some conditions that can lead to postpartum hemorrhage:

• Multiple pregnancies: The condition in which more than one placenta exists and also over distension of your uterus.

Drastic changes in diet boost a woman’s chances of giving birth into her 40s and 50s, it is claimed.

Alterations from cutting out alcohol and sugar to eating more organic foods allow women to hit the ’snooze button’ on their biological clocks, maximizing their chances of having a baby, says a new book on fertility.

Sarah Dobbyn, a nutritionist and author of The Fertility Diet, said the influence of diet on fertility is often overlooked in an age in which IVF often seems the only answer to pregnancy problems.

She said: ‘Huge amounts of money are being spent on assisted conception techniques by hopeful couples who do not know that alcoholic and caffeinated beverages are liquid contraceptives, sweeteners can prevent ovulation and seemingly innocent foods such as peas, rhubarb and soya all inhibit fertility.’

Aimed at those trying to conceive naturally, as well as those going through IVF, The Fertility Diet sets out a diet and lifestyle plan which should be followed by both partners.

The most comprehensive guide of its kind, it advises cutting out smoking, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, caffeine and soya in the first month. Peas and rhubarb are also banned, following studies linking them to infertility.

Placental abruption is an uncommon but the most serious complication of pregnancy [Pregnancy Complications] and needs immediate medical attention.

The peeling of placenta away from the inner walls of the uterus before delivery either completely or partially is known as placental abruption.

This condition leads to insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients to your developing baby and also causes heavy bleeding. If the condition is left untreated, then it will be very serious for both you and your baby.

Effects of placental abruption on you:

• Blood transfusion and staying in intensive care after the delivery are essential due to large loss of blood or hemorrhage.
• Improper uterine contractions can lead to the usage of drugs to help the uterus to contract.
• You will encounter the problem of blood clotting for some days.
• The condition leading to severe shock can affect other organs of your body like kidney, liver and pituitary gland.
• If your blood does not clot at the time of cesarean section, then various transfusions can lead to disseminated intravascular coagulation. At this time, your doctor considers hysterectomy.

Effects of placental abruption on your baby:

• Due to the separation of large amount of placenta from the uterus, your baby will be distressed until the delivery.

The increase in the rates of cesarean sections reported by many countries appears to be associated, in part, to more and more women deciding to have children later in life, according to a report in the current issue of PLoS Medicine.

In the study, laboratory testing showed that as maternal age increases, the ability of the smooth muscle of the uterus to contract slows down, which is thought to slow the progression of labor, thereby increasing the likelihood of c-section.

“These findings clearly indicate that the association between advanced age and poor outcome in labor is likely to reflect a biological effect of aging on the uterus,” lead author Dr. Gordon C. S. Smith, from Cambridge University in the UK, said in a statement.

Smith and colleagues base their conclusions on an analysis of data from 583,843 women entered into a Scottish database from 1980 to 2005.

During the full study period, the proportion of women having their first birth at 30 to 34 years of age increased threefold, the proportion of women 35 to 39 years old increased sevenfold, and the proportion of women 40 years of age and older increased tenfold.

This is one of the first stages of pregnancy that can give vital information about the sex of your baby.

Though it is not 100% accurate, the pregnancy ultrasound examination can give results related to your baby’s sex within few weeks.

You will know whether the child inside you is a boy or girl. Also, you will come across various changes during this week.

What are the physical changes that occur in your body during pregnancy week 15?

You will feel that your ligaments are stretching in your stomach. Whenever the uterus expands, the ligaments that hold the uterus stretch to accommodate its growth. This process can lead to cramps, twinges and pulling sensation on one or both sides of your lower abdomen. Warm bath can help to relieve from the symptoms.

Your uterus starts growing past your hip bones any moment from now. Also, you can feel this at three to four inches below the navel. Your doctor will measure the “fundal height” in order to ensure that your baby is developing adequately and consistently. Fundal height is the space between the top of the uterus and the pubic bone.

Symptoms that you will experience during pregnancy week 15:

Normally placenta attaches to the walls of the uterus. But, during some conditions, placenta attaches itself too deeply to the walls of the uterus.

Usually, this condition is called as placenta accreta or placenta percreta. Generally, this condition is based on the severity and deepness of the placenta attachment.

Normally, one in 2,500 pregnancies has a chance to occur placenta accreta, percreta or increta.

What conditions result in placenta accreta?

Generally, the exact cause behind placenta accreta is still unknown. But, according to some experts, this condition is related to placenta previa and the previous cesarean deliveries. Placenta accreta can be observed in 5-10% of pregnant women with placenta previa.

Usually, cesarean delivery raises the chances of placenta accreta in the future. The more the cesarean deliveries, the greater the chances of occurrence of this condition. Multiple cesareans exist in over 60% cases of placenta accreta.

What are the risks associated with placenta accreta to your baby?

The major concerns with placenta accreta to your baby include premature delivery and consequent issues. Bleeding during the third trimester of pregnancy is the common indication that placenta accreta exists and when this condition occurs, it generally results in premature delivery.

Maternal obesity has been associated with diabetic complications in the resulting offspring, according to experiments in mice reported recently by researchers at the University of Louisville.

Obesity is presently a worldwide health issue, and it is commonly considered a risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

When a pregnant woman is obese, her children can be affected by malformation, functional abnormalities, obesity, and type II diabetes.

Since, presently, over 18% of American women are classified as obese, and between 18 and 38% of pregnant women meet this criteria, it is an important issue in maternal and child health in this country.

However, very little is known about the mechanism of the link between maternal obesity and diabetic effects in offspring.

To investigate this association, Dr. Jianxiang Xu and Junying Han of the University of Louisville first established a viable animal model to function similarly to maternal diabetes might in humans.

Female mice, genetically predisposed to obesity and further marked with a yellow coat color, were mated with normal mice, whose offspring could then be classified by coat color for this obesity gene.

The obesity prone mice were obese between 6 and 8 weeks of age, but maintained normal blood glucose levels.

What does it mean to induce labor? This is the question which comes in all the minds of first time moms to be.

If your labor does not begin on its own, then your doctor uses the medications or some other techniques to induce the contractions. This process is known as inducing labor.

The doctor uses some of the same techniques to enhance or accelerate the labor process if it stops for any reasons.

According to the experts, they confirm that more than one in five births is induced in US.

Main reasons to induce labor:

Your health care provider will suggest the induction when the complications of waiting for labor to begin on its own are greater than the complications of the methods used to get your labor going. Situations to induce labor are:

• When breaking of water takes place and your labor doesn’t begin on its own. During these cases, you will be induced to lessen the risk of infection to the uterus and also to your baby.
• You will be induced if you have experienced the condition of preeclampsia. This is a serious condition that can harm your health and restricts the blood flow to your baby.

The growth of your baby is very fast in pregnancy week 14. There is so much to happen inside you, then why don’t you connect with the life inside you.

Everyday try to spare few minutes with your baby. Experts suggest that being with your little one during the pregnancy aids in creating a special parent-child bond.

Just keep your hands on your belly and think about your little one, which makes a great difference.

What are the physical changes that occur in your body during pregnancy week 14?

If you experience little gas or any kind of odd bowel obstruction at this time, then this is actually your little one pushing you to say hello. You will become more familiar with the sensation because of the increase in intensity and frequency.

During the second trimester of your pregnancy, you will experience some of the following symptoms, but not all. They include: back pain, headaches and dizziness. Similar to the morning sickness during the first trimester of pregnancy, these symptoms present if you already have them in your previous pregnancy.

If you feel back pain at this time, then it will become more severe as you gain more weight till the end of the trimester.

Fertility and diet goes hand in hand. You can find various foods that improve your chances of becoming pregnant and also there are some foods that can decrease your chances of conceiving.

Foods you need to include in your fertility diet:

Consuming a healthy diet is essential when you are trying to conceive. You need to consume healthy and well balanced meals and it should contain foods from every food group.

Whole meat, organic foods, fruits and vegetables can greatly help you to increase the chances of becoming pregnant. These types of foods consist of various vitamins and minerals, which are the main key for conception and good fetal development.

Consuming protein sources like poultry and meat can greatly help to maintain healthy iron levels. Insufficient iron levels at the beginning of your pregnancy greatly increases the risk of raising the postpartum anemia.

Also, fruit and vegetable diets are healthy for your body, but sometimes there is a need of iron supplements in order to reduce anemia when your fertility diet lacks of dairy and iron. Vitamin B12 and calcium are the supplements that your health care provider suggests.