Archive for December, 2008

Does it seem like everything going wrong during your pregnancy?

Most women think that something is going wrong with various changes that take place in their body and suffer with tension headaches during their precious pregnancy period.

However, it is purely your imagination and it is only because of pregnancy hormones effect on your mind.

So, if you are really worried about tension headaches, find effective ways to get rid of tension headaches during pregnancy.

1. Apply cold compress on your face, eyes and also at the back of your neck to get better relief from headaches. This is one of the best ways to get rid of tension headaches during pregnancy.
2. Surround yourself with beautiful things so that you can avoid negative thoughts and as a result you can avoid tension headaches successfully.
3. Go for a walk to visit beautiful places like beautiful gardens, where you can enjoy the awe of flowers, butterflies, kids playing etc. This way you can stay away from thinking negative.
4. You can also apply eucalyptus oil on your forehead, whenever you feel extreme discomfort with tension headaches.

Performing chorionic villus sampling (CVS) for prenatal diagnosis may lead to an increased rate of blood vessel malformations called hemangiomas in infants, according to a review in the November Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.

Dr. Lewis B. Holmes of Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, reviews past research on the possible link between CVS and the development of hemangiomas, limb defects, and certain other malformations.

According to Dr. Holmes, the findings suggest but do not prove some possible ways in which CVS might lead to “vascular disruption defects or hemangiomas.”

Chorionic villus sampling is a frequently performed prenatal test in which a small sample of the placenta is obtained early during pregnancy to look for evidence of genetic diseases. The procedure is generally considered safe.

However, in the past decade, several published reports have suggested “occasional fetal effects” in infants undergoing CVS, including an increased rate of hemangiomas.

Hemangiomas are common blood vessel malformations, caused by abnormal growth of the cells lining the blood vessels (endothelial cells). They range from small birthmarks to large malformations causing serious deformity.

Read more at Medical News Today

The weeks from 37-41 of pregnancy period are considered as full term pregnancy times.

During this time, labor pains are perfectly normal and desirable. Some changes that will occur during this week in you and your baby include:

What are the physical changes that occur in your body during pregnancy week 37?

Regular prenatal checkups are very important during this time. Your doctor or midwives will assess the possibility of where you are relative to your upcoming birthing process. Now you are in the phase that can turn into labor at any time.

The indicators such as loose stools, ejecting the mucus, increased Braxton-Hicks contractions, and a dilated cervix are all the signs that warn you about the labor. For some pregnant women, infamous water breaking may or may not be the first signs of labor. But, water breakage takes place only in 15% of the pregnant women.

If the labor does not begin during this week or next week, then remember that only 4-5% of the pregnant women actually deliver on their expected due date. If this is the first pregnancy for you, then you can suppose to be somewhere from two days to two weeks late. Keep track of the fetal movements and reassure that all is going well with your little one.

Do you want to prevent unwanted pregnancies? Are you aware of birth control myths?

It is very essential for you to be aware with birth control myths to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Here are few of most common birth control myths.

1. Breast feeding women will not get pregnant

This is very common myth related to birth control, which most of you commonly think. However, it is absolutely false perception regarding birth control. The reason is quite simple. Your ovulation process doesn’t stop, even if you are breastfeeding. As long as your ovulation process continues, you can certainly get pregnant.

2. Missing 1 birth control pill can increase your pregnancy risk

Most of you may actually have fear of getting pregnancy if you miss 1 pill. But there is no need for you to get tensed. If you skip a pill today, you can take 2 the next day.

3. You took shower after sexual intercourse, so you can’t get pregnant

This is another common misconception related to birth control and pregnancy. In reality, even if you take shower or douche after sexual intercourse, one lucky sperm would obviously enter into your uterus and already find its way to egg. So, you can certainly have chance to get pregnancy.

Know more about other birth control myths and clarify your doubts regarding birth control from health care provider to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

A new study published online in The FASEB Journal shows that the equivalent of one dose of caffeine (just two cups of coffee) ingested during pregnancy may be enough to affect fetal heart development and then reduce heart function over the entire lifespan of the child.

In addition, the researchers also found that this relatively minimal amount of exposure may lead to higher body fat among males, when compared to those who were not exposed to caffeine.

Although the study was in mice, the biological cause and effect described in the research paper is plausible in humans.

According to Scott Rivkees, Yale’s Associate Chair of Pediatric Research and a senior researcher on the study, “Our studies raise potential concerns about caffeine exposure during very early pregnancy, but further studies are necessary to evaluate caffeine’s safety during pregnancy.”

To reach their conclusion researchers studied four groups of pregnant mice under two sets of conditions for 48 hours. The first two groups were studied in “room air,” with one group having been injected with caffeine and another injected with saline solution.

The second two groups were studied under conditions where ambient oxygen levels were halved, with one group receiving caffeine and the other receiving saline solution.

Vitamin D deficiency greatly increases a pregnant woman’s likelihood of having a Cesarean delivery, U.S. researchers report.

During the two-year study, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center researchers examined the relationship between vitamin D levels in pregnant women and Cesarean section.

Of the 253 women in the study, 43 (17 percent) had a Cesarean section.

The study found that 28 percent of women with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH) D] less than 37.5 nmol/L had a Cesarean section, compared to 14 percent of women with 25 (OH) D greater than 37.5 nmol/L.

“In our analysis, pregnant women who were vitamin D-deficient at the time of delivery had almost four time the odds of Cesarean birth than women who were not deficient,” study author Dr. Michael Holick, director of the General Clinical Research Center, a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics, and an assistant professor of medicine, said in a medical center news release.

He noted that previous research has linked vitamin D deficiency with proximal muscle weakness and suboptimal muscle performance and strength, which may help explain the findings.

Source: Yahoo News

If you are experiencing extreme emotional stress during labor, you may be suffering from emotional dystocia.

When you experience extreme stress during your delivery, the catecholamines in your body tend to rise to higher level.

This excessive level of catecholamines will reduce the circulation of the placenta and uterus, which can lead to ineffective contractions.

If these ineffective contractions become consistent during labor, your doctor may recommend an induction which necessarily raises your chances of C-section.

To avoid the chances of C-section, try to identify the signs of emotional dystocia and prevent them as early as possible.

Signs of emotional dystocia

1. If you are showing any signs of fear and anxiety during labor, it could very well be a symptom of emotional dystocia.
2. A mother who is fearful during delivery or uses common words like scared, panic, and losing control may also be experiencing emotional dystocia.
3. If a pregnant woman behaves out of control during contractions and starts doing things like screaming, throwing things, not responding to questions or suggestions, it is pretty certain that she is under extreme emotional stress.

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy is clearly linked with an increased risk of cleft lip in newborns.

Genes that play a role in detoxification of cigarette smoke do not appear to be involved.

This is shown in a new study published in the journal Epidemiology.

Oral clefts are one of the most common birth defects. Closure of the lip occurs about 5 weeks into pregnancy, followed by closure of the palate at week 9.

If this does not happen, a cleft lip and/or cleft palate are the result, requiring surgery.

The researchers wanted to see if smoking or exposure to passive smoking play a role in these defects and whether genes influence the oral cleft risk through the way toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke are processed.

The study is based on an extensive Norwegian case-control study on oral clefts with collaborating researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, University of Bergen, Rikshospital, Haukeland University Hospital and the National Institutes of Health in USA.

Between 1996 and 2001, 676 babies born with oral clefts were referred for cleft surgery, and of these, 573 took part in the study. 763 babies born during the same period in Norway were randomly selected as controls.

Repeated miscarriages and hormone treatment for infertility give an increased risk of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women.

This comes from a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. More than 20,000 first-time mothers from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) were included in the study.

Normal risk

• First-time mothers who had not miscarried or had problems getting pregnant had a 5.2 % risk of pre-eclampsia.

Risk after miscarriage

• Women who had three or more miscarriages had a 50 % increased risk of pre-eclampsia compared with women who had not miscarried.
• Women who had one or two miscarriages are not thought to be at higher risk.
• Among women who had both miscarriages and treatment for infertility, the risk for pre-eclampsia was 13 %.

Read more at EurekAlert

Pregnancy week 36 does not have much of the excitement to offer.

The most important tasks that you need to do at this time are registering with an institute for the delivery, decorating your baby’s nursery, buying the necessary needs for your child and collecting the list of baby names.

What are the physical changes that occur in your body during pregnancy week 36?

Welcome to the last month of your pregnancy. By this time, you will find yourself very hard to get a comfortable position. Sleeping on side by placing a pillow between the legs and one at your back may be comfortable.

Still if you find difficulty in sleeping, then drink a glass of milk, or sleepy time tea. Taking a warm bath will also ease your discomfort.

This month, you will notice great fluctuations in your energy levels. Most of you will experience fatigue, but in this month, you will find that fatigue alternates with periods of extra energy.

Till now, you will gain the weight of 25-30 pounds and you need to consume about 2400 calories per day.