The toughest bit of the 1st trimester of pregnancy is morning sickness and any woman who has gone through or is going through it, knows the first signs usually develop during the month following the first missed menstrual period, when hormone levels increase. It may range from mild, occasional nausea to sever, continuous, debilitating nausea with bouts of vomiting. In most cases, symptoms may be worse in morning, albeit they can strike day or night.
Despite all advances in medicine, there is no way of predicting how long your morning sickness will last even if you have suffered it before. Generally, nausea and vomiting last till about 12 - 13 weeks of pregnancy. However, some women continue to feel ill beyond their 22nd week as well.
However, some studies show that mild to moderate sickness is a sign of a good pregnancy, and less risk of miscarriage.
There is no simple treatment. The best course of action is home treatment. The following tips work wonders not only when you wake up feeling nauseous but also work when you get that queasy feeling during the day.
Changing what, when and how much you eat coupled with certain changes to the way foods cooked helps.
During morning or for that matter all day sickness, you may find that eating five or six small meals, rather than the usual three large ones, is easier on the body. Make sure each meal contains some protein and carbohydrate, like whole wheat bread with grated cheese and a slice of tomato, rice or wheat preparation with some easily digestible / light cereals, orange juice and a whole wheat biscuit. Be creative; choose low fat health foods you know will tempt your appetite. Aversions to food because of nausea are perfectly normal and understandable.
Try not to kiss meals
Eat small, dry snacks.
Don't jump up out of bed immediately. Lie quietly for a while and ask you husband to bring you a slice of fresh lemon or orange or a dry, bland biscuit.
Avoid large drinks, have frequent small one between meals.
Spicy, fried foods, and fatty foods like very rich sweets, are best avoided.
Avoid excessive consumption of pickles or chutney, which is rich in salt.
Don't spend much time in the kitchen and avoid the strong smell of certain foods when shopping.
Prepare food when feeling least nauseous.
Taking lemon or orange juice in the morning and before meals relieves nausea of early pregnancy.
Suck an ice cube till the nausea passes off.
Sip on cool water.
However, if you have severe, persistent nausea and vomiting, see your doctor. This not so common complication of pregnancy can lead to dehydration and malnutrition, sometimes calling for prescribed medication and in some cases even hospitalization. Although drugs are best avoided in pregnancy, especially in the early months, there are some that have been in use for many years with no apparent danger to the developing baby.
Ashely Farrar also writes on Home Remedy for Kidney Stone. More info: www.symptoms-kidney-stones-treatments.com.
Stress in Early Pregnancy May Boost a Risk of Miscarriage
A new study finds that pregnant women who suffer from stress during the first three weeks after conception are up to three times as likely to miscarry.
"Try to provide yourself with what you consider a good environment. The less stress, the better," counsels Pablo Nepomnaschy, a lead expert and a postdoctoral fellow in the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Nepomnaschy and his colleagues published their discoveries this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The NIH team examined 61 women over 12 months. They were collecting woman's urine three times a week in order to check for pregnancy status as well as levels of cortisol, a hormone that is linked to stress.
"This study is special in the sense that we include cortisol data," stated Nepomnaschy.
He emphasized that they conducted the testing at the early stages of pregnancy because "most pregnancy losses take place in the first three to four weeks after conception."
Of the 61 women that were examined, 22 became pregnant, 9 carried to term and 13 women miscarried. The scientists found that women with boosted levels of cortisol during the first three weeks of pregnancy were 2.7 times more prone to miscarry.
To sum up, miscarriages happened in 90 percent of pregnancies in which the women had boosted cortisol levels and in 33 percent of those with acceptable cortisol levels.
Nepomnaschy said it is obscure why an increase of cortisol level might raise the risk of miscarriage, but his hypotesis is that "the body might interpret that [increased cortisol level] as conditions deteriorating, and maybe that might trigger an abortion mechanism."
All the examined women were inhabitants of a rural area of Guatemala. "This population is more alike than any population in the United States," Nepomnaschy stated, explaining that he wanted to examine a group of females who were similar in ethnicity, culture and lifestyle to eliminate other factors linked to miscarriage. The females ate similar diets, had similar activity levels, and they were all of the same ethnicity.
Dr. Mary Stephenson, another scientist who is an obstetrician-gynecologist and leads the Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Program at the University of Chicago, claims that "It's an intriguing article. Certainly more research is needed. But it is a potential mechanism by which miscarriage may occur."
Stephenson said that other research have investigated the link between cortisol levels and miscarriage. "The results have been conflicting. There are some studies in animals that suggest that stress increased the risk of miscarriage. And doctors have long suspected that stress does the same in people."
Miscarriages occur in about 15 percent of recognized pregnancies, according to the March of Dimes. However, Stephenson emphasized that statistic usually takes into account pregnancies that last at least six weeks. "When you count the ones that occur before six weeks, up to half of pregnancies end in miscarriage," she added.
The best piece of advice for women trying to become pregnant is to de-stress their lives before conception.
"I talk about this a lot with my patients," Stephenson noted. "I recommend that before they get pregnant, they take a serious look at their lifestyle."
And that means getting enough sleep, so fatigue is not an issue. "Fatigue is a type of stress," Stephenson stated.
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Paul Douglas
This article was reprinted from PharmacyCenter.org health blog.
Tips for a Smooth Start to Breast Feeding
Many different sources were used while writing this article; I hope you find it informative and helpful.
There are many ways to plan to be a mother and to breast feed for the first time.
First find out as much as you can, this can involve reading about breastfeeding during your pregnancy, check out our web site there is a mass of information on it, so you will know what to do once your baby is in your arms, attending antenatal lessons and learning `about breast feeding there, or you can even join a support group and enjoy mingling with other mothers who can give you lots of tips and guidance.
During pregnancy, it is very important you take good care of yourself. This ensures when it comes to the time to have your baby, it is as stress free and healthy a birth as it can possibly be.
There are plenty of things you can do to prepare yourself for feeding your baby whilst you are still pregnant; these include ensuring your breasts are prepared for the feeding experience. It's always a good idea to tell your midwife or obstetrician of any breast surgery you may have had as this might influence your abilities to feed your baby. Also check your nipples to see if they have become inverted, this can present difficulties when the time comes for the baby to latch on,
Speak to your friends and family about their breastfeeding experiences, or go to a breastfeeding support group so you can meet and chat to other breastfeeding mothers.
Once your baby has been born, its important that the baby is put to the breast immediately. This is because the suckling instinct in a baby is very strong when they are first born. If you can get your baby to latch on inside those first few minutes of life, it is imprinted on them and subsequent breast-feeding experiences should become a lot easier.
Most maternity hospitals give you the opportunity to let your baby stay in the same room as you overnight. This is a good idea, so make certain you take advantage of it. It will give you that added time to both get to know one another and create the mother and baby bond that is so important.
If your baby does sleep in the nursery it's important that the nursery staff don't feed your baby formula whilst you are sleeping. Insist that when he awakens he is brought to you for feeding from your breast even if it is the middle of the night.
Don't be concerned that you are not producing much milk to start off with, this is normal. The thin liquid that is created just after your baby is born is rich in nutrients and antibodies. It is enough to keep your baby happy until your milk "comes in" a few of days after your baby is born.
I hope you found the above helpful and you have a good experience breastfeeding your baby.
Roger Overanout
To find a host of tips and information on all aspects ofBreastfeeding pay a visit to www.breastfeedingchoice.com
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