Articles from December 2009

Weekly Pregnancy Calendar: An Important Record

Considering IVF? Get Pregnant On the First IVF Cycle, Visit: The IVF Success Program.

Pregnancy is a miracle of nature that brings a mother at par with the creator. It is the happiest and a most exciting moment in the life of a woman. Of course the sign of pregnancy causes scary and nervous feelings too since you dont know what is happening in side your body. It is always better to have knowledge of pregnancy and ways to make it better and healthier.

Weekly pregnancy calendar can be fine guide on your journey to motherhood. There are many websites that offer pregnancy calendars for free offloading. They offer a precise knowledge of how the baby grows inside a mothers womb and developing babys weekly milestones.

Weekly Pregnancy Calendar
A weekly pregnancy calendar is a chronological record of the changes a woman and her fetus will undergo during the course of her pregnancy. It describes at length the growth and development of growing baby and expected changes in the mothers body with advancing pregnancy, on a weekly basis. At the early sign of pregnancy, print out one such web weekly pregnancy calendar and put it on a spot where you can see it daily for monitoring your pregnancy progress.

Importance of a weekly pregnancy calendar
A visit to a doctor after experiencing the early signs of pregnancy will confirm your pregnancy. The doctor will calculate your probable due date of delivery. This date is usually about forty weeks from the first day of your last menstruation. A very small number of babies are actually born on their exact due date. Most are born two weeks earlier or two weeks later than the expected due date. This is where the weekly pregnancy calendar becomes important. It helps in keeping the dates of conception, expected due date, track of babys development through various stages of growth per week and monitors mothers health by telling of body changes you will experience every week.

A full term of pregnancy is separated and divided into three trimesters.
First trimester. First week to twelfth week.
Second trimester. Thirteenth week to twenty- sixth weeks.
Third trimester. Twenty seventh week till the date of babys delivery.
As the delivery date draws nearer, there will be more pressure on the pregnancy. In last two weeks the baby takes birthing position and pushes down in the cervical canal resulting in woman experiencing change in balance while walking. During this time a mother provides antibodies to baby for fighting off infections. A mother may experience discomfort and pronounced contractions or false labor. A weekly pregnancy calendar is of utmost importance at this time as it keeps a track of her and her babys progressive developments. It helps in explaining when to contact doctor and when to sleep off the discomfort. Breaking of amniotic sac is the time for notifying medical health care provider for it signifies the end of pregnancy.

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Pregnancy Health Concerns: Effective Remedies For A Happy Pregnancy

Considering IVF? Get Pregnant On the First IVF Cycle, Visit: The IVF Success Program.

If you are concerned with the expanding waistline problem, abdominal pains, groin area pains and thighs and so on, then you should not be surprised, as they are pregnancy health issues that affect your entire body.
Initial Problems, Natural Remedies:

The initial signs of pregnancy health issues are the leak of colostrums during the third month. Colostrum is a thick, yellowish fluid that contains antibodies and protects the newborns from infection. Oozing out of Colostrum from breasts can be quite an embarrassing situation for pregnant mothers and this pregnancy health problem has to be dealt effectively. Wash you nipples regularly and avoid the application of soap. Moisturize your nipples regularly to avoid cracked nipples. The use of maternity or nursing bra is advisable as it provides extra support.

An early pregnancy symptom involves dizziness and lightheadedness and continues throughout pregnancy. Fainting is a very rare phenomenon but do occur even in some healthy pregnant women. This is not at all a serious pregnancy health related concern. At this stage, there is growth of more blood vessels and the pressure of expanding uterus is felt on the growing blood vessels. Moreover, continuous urge for food during pregnancy can make you feel dizzy and giddy.

Effective remedies for such pregnancy health related problems, as mentioned above, mainly require you to stand up slowly, and lay on your left side when you feel lightheaded. Do not overeat but try to have healthy snacks and small means frequently. Change your sitting or standing position continuously as eases the problem of dizziness.

Early sign of pregnancy such as weight gain, dizziness, lightheadedness, cramps, needs to be continuously monitored and consulted. Pregnancy health issues especially to matters concerning weight gain generally depend on how much you weighed before pregnancy. Safe sex is something which all doctors will advise under pregnancy health related issues. Pregnancy increases the sexual urge in some women and vice versa. Incase, you face any difficulty during sexual intercourse such as pain in the vagina, bleeding or leaking of fluid from the vagina, vomiting and nauseatic feeling and so on, you should immediately consult the doctor.

Care For You And Your Child In The Pregnancy Period
Pregnancy Period not only results in the birth of the child but also rebirth of the mother as well. Pregnancy creates one life and recreates the other. Proper rest, regular exercise and healthy food habits during pregnancy are must for a healthy child. Rest and exercise helps the mother to survive the difficulties during the pregnancy period and helps her to stay fit. Healthy food habits ensure that proper nutrition goes into mothers body during pregnancy so that she can give birth to a healthy child. So ensure proper care during pregnancy.

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Heartburn In Pregnancy – Helpful Tips

Considering IVF? Get Pregnant On the First IVF Cycle, Visit: The IVF Success Program.

Heartburn in pregnancy is caused by a muscular weakness. The muscle involved is the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), a ring of muscle between your stomach and esophagus. The LES is designed to relax when you swallow food so that the food can enter the stomach. Once the food is in the stomach, the LES is to tighten, keeping food and stomach acids from flowing back into your esophagus. If the LES always worked properly, no one would ever suffer heartburn in pregnancy.Like many other parts of the body, however, the LES is affected by pregnancy. Heartburn in pregnancy is a frequent complaint.

Common Question about Heartburn in Pregnancy:

When does heartburn start in pregnancy? How soon in pregnancy do you get heartburn? When should I expect heartburn in pregnancy? The question varies, but the answer is always the same. Heartburn in pregnancy usually begins around the fifth month. From that point forward, it may come and go until you give birth.

How do you treat heartburn in pregnancy? Pregnancy Heartburn Treatment
Pregnancy heartburn treatment begins with an understanding of the relationship between heartburn and pregnancy. Why is it that at this time when you are so happy to be expecting, you suddenly have heartburn?

With pregnancy, the placenta produces progesterone, a hormone that relaxes the uterus’ smooth muscles. It relaxes some other muscles, too, one of which can be the LES separating the esophagus and stomach. As progesterone relaxes the LES, it fails to close and/or remain tightly closed. This allows acids to flow back into the esophagus, causing heartburn.

Progesterone also affects the contractions of the esophagus, slowing the wavelike action. This, too, contributes to heartburn in pregnancy.
As your pregnancy progresses and your baby grows, your abdominal cavity will become crowded. The limited space will be taken up increasingly by the growing, moving infant. This puts pressure on the stomach, which in turn pressures the LES to open. Heartburn can quickly result as stomach acids are pushed into the esophagus.

Steps of Pregnancy Heartburn Treatment
Your healthcare provider will warn you not to take medications that might harm the baby. There are steps you can take, however, to treat heartburn in pregnancy.
1. Watch your weight gain. Ask your physician how much you should reasonably gain, and be careful to keep your weight to that limit. Excess weight will place more pressure on the LES and increase heartburn.
2. Avoid tight clothing, especially around your waist and abdomen. Tight clothing also contributes to pressure on the LES muscle ring.
3. When bending, bend at the knees rather than at the waist. Bending at the waist is a common cause of heartburn in pregnancy.
4. Eat several small meals during the day in place of three larger meals. Eat slowly and chew your food well.
5. Have your last meal or snack at least two to three hours before bedtime. Allowing food to digest before you lie down can reduce heartburn.
6. Although you will want to drink eight to ten glasses of water daily, you should Avoid drinking large amounts of liquid during meals. Try to remember that a distended stomach will pressure the LES and cause heartburn.
7. Ward off potential heartburn by chewing gum after eating. The chewing action can help release air bubbles that contribute to heartburn and the gum stimulates the production of saliva, which can help neutralize acid.CAUTION: The author is not a professional physician, and offers this information about heartburn in pregnancy for educational purposes only. Please seek advice from your health care provider.

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Sign of Pregnancy – Keep your Spirits High

Considering IVF? Get Pregnant On the First IVF Cycle, Visit: The IVF Success Program.

It’s important to not let the sign of pregnancy or early sign of pregnancy bog you down. Keep yourself mentally and physically fit to bear up with all the changes. And a weekly pregnancy calendar can help reduce your anxiety a lot.

The moment you notice the first sign of pregnancy like nausea, breast tenderness or the like, you rush to get a medical test done. And when pregnancy is confirmed, you feel unmatched joy. However, in truth, joy is not the only feeling you experience. You are most likely to feel a wide range of emotions , apprehension, anxiety and so on. As a matter of fact, some women may find coping with early signs of pregnancy or the early bodily changes difficult. Here are a few tips on keeping yourself in good temper and mood.

Share Your Joys And Anxieties

Don’t confine yourself after noticing the signs of pregnancy. Rather, even if you are an introvert, try to discuss them with your partner, family members, and friends. Even when your pregnancy is confirmed, share your joy with all the people who are close to you. Speak about the coming days to them and discuss the likely changes and precautions to be taken. This will definitely ease your mind.

Try Meditation

Meditation is a wonderful stress buster. You are likely to need something like meditation because of the raging hormones inside you. Apart from other bodily changes, they also bring on mood swings and irritability. Therefore, try meditation during the very early days, when you first notice the early signs of pregnancy. If you are able to do it even for a limited time, go ahead and make it a routine throughout your pregnancy. It will most likely make those nine months extremely smooth for you. Get a good book on meditation for guidance or browse the net for more information.

Get Mild Exercise

Go for a walk every day. It would help you get some fresh air and cope with indigestion, heartburn, constipation, and hemorrhoids. Also, consult your obstetrician for a diet schedule. However, avoid walking too fast or taking heavy exercise. You can also give yoga a try during pregnancy. It can help you stay fit during your entire pregnancy as well as have an easy labor. Make sure you don’t do it yourself. Get a good instructor for you instead.

Pregnancy Calendar

It’s a pretty good idea to get a pregnancy calendar. It will keep you updated about the status of baby’s growth and various pregnancy symptoms.

Don’t Hesitate To Visit A Psychologist

In case you are unable to cope with the pregnancy related issues, it’s best to visit a psychologist. It’s no use to keep on struggling with what is proving to be too much for you to handle. Leave it to the experts. They will counsel and guide you to deal with it all.

Remember preparing yourself mentally for the pregnancy period should commence as early as possible. The moment you notice the first sign of pregnancy, you must put in all your efforts to have a hassle free pregnancy period.

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Pregnancy Health – Have a Safe Pregnancy

Considering IVF? Get Pregnant On the First IVF Cycle, Visit: The IVF Success Program.

Pregnancy health comprises having good dietary habits before and during pregnancy. Good diet and proper lifestyle during pregnancy can help you cope with early pregnancy symptoms as well as other symptoms of pregnancy.

Maintaining good pregnancy health is extremely important for an expectant mother to ensure her own and her little one’s safety during pregnancy. In fact, steps to keep yourself in good health should begin even before you begin trying to have a baby. There are some lifestyle / dietary habits which can cause trouble even in conceiving a baby. So, pregnancy health begins at the very beginning i.e. when the thought of planning a baby strikes you first. Here are a few tips on keeping yourself in good health before and during your pregnancy.

When You Plan To Have A Baby

For good pregnancy health, both you and your partner must completely avoid drinks high on caffeine like coffee, tea, and cold drinks. Similarly, both of you must refrain from having alcohol and smoking. Ingestion of any of these substances put you at a higher risk for infertility related problems. Secondly, you must visit a dentist well in advance before you get pregnant. Any kind of gum disease would give rise to bacteria in your mouth, which may infect your baby. Bacterial infections can cause you to have a premature delivery. So it is vital for you to maintain good oral health too. Also, both you and your partner must avoid heavy physical exercise while trying to have a baby. Rather restrict yourself to comfortable walks in the morning or evening.

During Pregnancy

First of all you must be careful with what you eat and drink to maintain good pregnancy health. You must eat food that is rich in fiber like fresh vegetables, fruit, cereals etc. Make it a point not to eat spicy / oily foodstuff. It’s best to stick to home-cooked food. You need more calcium during pregnancy, so include food items that contain calcium in your diet. And try to eat small quantities five to six times a day rather than three large meals because the process of digestion is slower in pregnant women. Beverages having caffeine are to be avoided after conception as well. Rather drink lots of water – at least about 8 to 10 glasses of water a day. A rich and balanced diet would help you cope with early pregnancy symptoms like constipation, heartburn, hemorrhoids etc.

For body pains and aches, try applying heat-pads. Your clothing also has to be different from what you normally wear, even before you have a big belly. Avoid tight and synthetic clothing. Go in for cotton clothes that are loose and comfy. Wear padded bras to tackle another symptom of pregnancy – tender or swollen breasts. Also avoid use of soaps. Use moisturizers for your skin.

And yes, it’s safe to have sex when you are carrying. Though pregnancy health is not affected by sex, but if you notice pain in the abdomen or vagina or any kind of vaginal discharge consulting your doctor is a must.

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