A mom to two kids, 7 year old girl and a 2 year old plus cheeky little boy (as of 2012).This blog is created to share info and tips on pregnancy, childcare, toys etc.Happy reading!
Most mothers carry their baby to term (90%). If you are at risk, your doctor would know by now and would advice you the necessary. Sudden premature birth happens to unknown factors. But with the advance facilities in new borns that we now have, any baby of 28 weeks can survive.
1. Avail yourself of good prenatal care.
2. Don't smoke. Quit before conception if you can.
3. Avoid alcohol consumption.
4. Eat nutritiously and gain the right amount of weight for you.
5. Avoid illegal drug use and use of over-the-counter medications not approved by your healthcare provider.
6. Avoid chronic, unresolved stress throughout your pregnancy.
Signs you are experiencing premature labour:
1. Your water bag breaks and starts gushing out followed by pain (or trickle).
2. Contraction that you thought were normal but now becoming more regular and intense.
3.Sudden pain on your lower back or pelvic that you never felt before.
As we approach our seventh month of pregnancy, we experience shortness of breath. The expension of uterus limits the lungs ability to expand with each breath.Here are methods for you to breath easily.
1.Change position when you feel breathless. 2.Listen to your body signals. Slow down when you feel breathless after walking up stairs etc. 3.Experiment your sleeping position. I prop some pillows so that I can breath easily. But I also notice that I sleep easily when I am super tired. 4.Practise breathing. Try to stand up with your hand to the side. Take long slow long breaths rather than short panting.Hand up while inhaling and down when exhaling. 5.Seek medical help. If you experience anything to sudden that doesn't subside, get medical assistant. Your blood might clot on your lungs, rare, but could happen.
Can you believe that this is normal? I did not have it during my first pregnancy at all. This time I experience this almost every other day. I get better after a few days and then it all comes back to me. So I did a little research on what natural remedies I can take to keep it away! (by the way, hold your lower tummy when you cough to support your uterus!)
Hot tea with lemon.
Steaming with vicks. Put a pot of hot water and some vicks. Cover your head with towel. Do this 2-3 times a day.
Take honey.
Cut a lemon, put salt and pepper and suck. (Never tried. But sounds ok)
Combination of grape juice and honey.
Gargle warm water with salt.
Mix orange juice with 2 tsp of honey and some lemon.Drink 2-3 times a day.
Vitamin C and some sun.
Try to not cough to hard. Frequent caughing can cause your water bag to break prematurely. Try taking lozenges that would help you ease the cough. Stay away from cold water too!
This is very common for expected moms. You have a lot to worry about, whether you are eating the right food, what can you do and not do, doctor’s appointments, getting the nursery ready, labour anxiety etc.
Insomnia: Almost 87% of women face this problem during their pregnancy. Insomnia is when a person has problems falling and staying asleep.
Reasons:
Awaken by baby’s constant movement or urge to go to the bathroom.
Sleep apnea. Can be caused by weight gain. It is rare in young women, where breathing stops during your sleep.This is often due to swollen nasal passage.
Restless leg syndrome(RLS).Research suggested that this could be caused by insufficient folic acid or iron. What happen is your leg starts to twitch, ache or become uncomfortable at night. Luckily it will go away after child birth.
Dream. Vivid dreams about baby’s wellbeing may disrupt your sleep during pregnancy.
Other possible causes: active baby, back and lower back pain,hunger, leg pain, medication, nausea, toilet visits, nose congestions, uncomfortable sleeping positions.Signals that you are experience sleep disorder:
Excessive sleepiness during day time
Forgetfulness
High blood pressure
Night time sweating
Obesity
Frequent waking
Morning headache
Complication that may occur (yikes!)
Average person needs to sleep 7-9 hours and expecting ladies should be having extra 2-3 hours of sleep. This could affect you and your baby’s health if it happens continuously. These are some complication that could happen:
Hypertension.causing you to get high blood pressure.
Longer labour. If you sleep less than 6 hours you may be in labour for longer hours.
Unexpected illness. With your immune system down, it is easier for you to contract unexpected illnesses.
Cesarean section. Women who don’t get enough sleep are 4 times likely to get a C Section.
Try these tips to make sure you get your snooze at night:
Cut your caffeine – no soda,no tea or coffee.
Avoid eating a full meal or drinking a few hours before bedtime.
Avoid exercising right before bed.
Change sleep positions. In the first trimester, try sleeping on your side, with your knees bent. Sleep on your left as you progress.
Do not attempt to sleep on your stomach at any time in your pregnancy, as the pressure can cut off oxygen to the umbilical cord. Also, don't sleep on your right side, because it can put undue pressure on your liver.
Take a warm bath prior to going to bed to relax.
Join a childbirth class or parenting if becoming and being pregnant is causing you to stay up.
Breast feeding can be a challenge, especially with your first child. It is very heart breaking when you are not able to give milk to your child. I only breast fed my daughter for 3 weeks. After much reading after that, I realised that perhaps my techniques were wrong. I asked around from my girlfriends and I received a lot of feedback.
Do read on this article and how to latch your child properly on to your breast. I found this very helpful and quite accurate to one of my friend's advice who nursed her child for a year plus.Remember to eat properly during this time as all the nutrient is shared by your child.
Here's the article http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T021000.asp
This is a concern for most women who are pregnant. Not everyone will go through it, some experience mild changes and some quite visible and won't fade for quite a bit.
Stretch marks
No one can avoid a little of this during pregnancy.After all your skin is stretched by a few kgs! Some people are super lucky that they have more elasticity in their skin causing them not to have stretch marks while others have thinner skin and will have stretch marks, which will take a while to fade.The only way is not to increase your body weight too quickly and rub tons of preventative stretch marks lotions.
Linea nigra
The line that runs down in the middle of your tummy.They usualy make presence in the second semester and also will take time to fade. What you can do is rub the dry skin off after your pregnancy.
Spider vains
If you are already prone to them, you might have more during this time. You'll have them on your face and leg. To avoid keep from being too hot or cold.
Choasma
Pigmentation on your face, neck and forehead. Its brown patches that appears on your neck, face and forehead. I have a friend who had them during her pregnancy and faded after the baby was born. Wear sunscreen when you're outdoors.
Chaffing
As your body puts on weight, you might get chaffing happening between your thighs or breast. Tell your GP about it. Keep it dry and put on talc if can.
Sensitive skin,rashes,itching
Your regular soap suddenly causes you itchiness.Some experience thrush(vaginal itchiness) and piles (itchiness around your anus). Talk to your GP if it doesn't go away within a couple of days as we would want it to clear up before the baby comes along.
Intense itching
Happens during 3rd trimester where could possibly link to a rare liver disorder which occours during pregnancy, obstetric cholestasis.From my reading it clears up after 3rd week of pregnancy.
A lot of things can happen during pregnancy. My cousin experience mild diabetes during her pregnancy. In my last pregnancy I had to lie down a lot towards the end of my pregnancy due to water retension and possible high blood pressure and yet, they all dissapeared after giving birth.
Weight gain during pregnancy is unavoidable. It also doesn't mean that you could eat anything and everything because you are eating for two. You may have an increase in appetite or not at all. The important thing is to eat healthily for you and your child.
The weight gain is important for your baby's growth. Exercise and eat well may help you to shed your extra weight faster after your delivery.Everyone needs to put on weight differently during their pregnancy due to their pre pregnancy weight.As for me I am underweight, therefore,I need to put extra kilos on to support my baby's development. The minimum weight I have to gain is 12-18 kilos. (My last pregnancy I put on 24kg!)
Check with your doctor on the right weight for you. If you have small bone structure, putting too much might burden your body.
Those who weigh more do not need to gain that much. Some of my bigger friends don't even look like their pregnant because all they need to put on is about 5kg. Some of you are really worried about not shedding off the few kilos. Don't worry, your baby will make sure that you'll lose them because you'll be quite hectic handling you little bundle of joy!
Question: Is air travel during pregnancy safe? I've heard that air travel isn't recommended during the first or third trimester.
Answer: from Roger W. Harms, M.D.
Generally, commercial air travel during pregnancy poses no special risks to a healthy pregnant woman or her baby. Still, if you're pregnant, it's best to check with your health care provider before you fly. Certain conditions in pregnancy — such as severe anemia, sickle cell disease, clotting disorders and placental insufficiency — can increase the risk of problems.
If you have flexibility in your travel plans, midpregnancy (14 to 28 weeks) may be the best time to fly. This is when you're likely to feel your best — and the risks of miscarriage and premature labor are the lowest. Your health care provider may restrict travel of any type after 36 weeks of pregnancy or if you're at risk of preterm delivery.
When you fly:
Check the airline's policy about pregnancy and flying. Guidelines for pregnant women may vary by carrier.
Choose your seat carefully. For the most space and comfort, request an aisle seat. For the smoothest ride, request a seat near the front of the plane.
Buckle up. During the trip, fasten the lap belt under your abdomen and across the tops of your thighs.
Promote circulation. If possible, get out of your seat for a short walk every half-hour or so. If you must remain seated, flex and extend your ankles often.
Drink plenty of fluids. Low humidity in the cabin is dehydrating.
Women who are concerned about air travel during pregnancy often worry about air pressure and cosmic radiation at high altitudes, but these issues aren't usually problematic. Decreased air pressure during flight may slightly reduce the amount of oxygen in your blood, but your body will naturally adjust. And although radiation exposure increases at higher altitudes, the level of exposure for the occasional traveler isn't a concern.
There's a caveat for frequent fliers, however. Pilots, flight attendants, air marshals and others who fly often may receive radiation exposure that exceeds current recommendations. If you must fly frequently during your pregnancy, discuss it with your health care provider.
Just remembered that I am suppose to share about the korjo nausea band whether it works or not. Guess what...it worked well on me!
I had them on from my flight in KL. Somewhere after 7 hours of flight, I thought I'd take it off...and I felt dizzy. I put them back on and tried to sleep and felt better. I basically used it on most of my journey - on the flight from Stansted to Amsterdam and the train back to UK.
Try to make everything as comfortable as you can so that you can have an enjoyable holiday eventhough you are pregnant.
