Things to know about the health of you and your baby.

The most important thing you can do when you have decided to have a baby is to take good care of yourself.  The parental period is a time to build a strong foundation for you, your baby and your family.

One of the best things you can do for you and your baby is to eat healthy. Making smart nutritional choices will help promote your baby’s growth and development.

Pregnancy Nutrition

During pregnancy a balanced diet is the most important part of good health.  Pregnancy Nutrition is the only source of nutrients for your baby.  You will need to learn how to make good food choices for you and your baby as well as the nutrients your baby will need.  You have to avoid things that can be harmful like alcohol, drugs,smoking cigarettes.  These things are very harmful to you and your baby.

Emotional Changes

We all think of pregnancy as an exciting time and you think mostly of how your body will change.  Some of us don’t realize the emotional changes that occur.  Feeling sad or worried about every little thing is normal and is usually due to changes in hormone levels.  The following represent some of the most common changes even though every woman’s pregnancy is unique to them.

• Hormones – Mood swings are very common because of these hormone changes.
• Self Image – You will start feeling bad about yourself that you are fat and unattractive.  Instead you should feel proud of the signs of your fertility.
• Anxiety about the health of the baby – You will feel and worry about the health of your baby. Talking with other mothers will help.
• Concerns about Labor – It’s very normal for mother’s to worry about childbirth, the pain, if you will embarrass yourself are common.

Although you will have ups and downs in your emotional crises most will be perfectly manageable.  Just remember that all the emotions you feel are felt by most pregnant women.

Pregnancy Complications

As we have mentioned before how important it is to visit your doctor on a regular basis to make sure you are on top of any complications with your pregnancy.  There are tests done in the beginning stages and some screenings later in pregnancy to help prevent these problems.  It’s important to follow your doctor’s advice so you have a safe delivery and a health baby.

Here are a few complication that could occur:

• Gestational Diabetes
• Ectopic Pregnancy
• Hepatitis B
• Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)
• HIV Infection
• Placenta Previa
• Urinary Tract Infection
• Toxoplasmosis
• Listeriosis
• Fetal Problems
• Premature or Pre-term Labor
• High – Blood Pressure
• Placental Abruption
• Post-partum Depression
• Mastitis

When you get pregnant there are many changes your body will go through.  Your body changes in more ways than you think, and it does not stop when the baby is born.  You need to think about the postpartum care and what it involves, managing all the problems that comes after childbirth.  Here’s are some of the important things to expect after delivery.

Contractions

After the first few days after delivery you may feel contractions called after pains. These after pains (contractions) will occur during breast-feeding and they help prevent excessive bleeding.  The way it does this is by compressing the blood vessels in the uterus. The after pains feel kind of like menstrual cramps when you have your menstruation period.  If they are unbearable see your doctor and they may prescribe pain medication.

Soreness in the Vagina

Some women will have a tear during delivery and this could hurt for a few weeks when you sit or walk.  Some of the things you can do to help is:

• Keep the Wound Clean
• Sit Down Carefully
• Do your Kegels Exercises
• Always looks for Signs of Infection
• Soothe the Wound with ice packs

Discharge from the Vagina

For up the six weeks after delivery you will have a discharge that’s bright red heavy flow of blood for a few days.  The discharge will gradually go away. Use sanitary napkins to reduce the risk of infection instead of tampons.

Hemorrhoids

It’s possible you may have hemorrhoids if you have pain during a bowel movement.  Hemorrhoids is the swelling near your anus which is stretched and swollen veins in the anus or lower rectum.  If bad see your doctor for a hemorrhoid medication.

Having a Problem Urinating

Surrounding the bladder and urethra you may have swelling or bruising of the tissues that may lead to difficulty urinating.  It may help to place a hot or cold packs on the tissue between the vaginal opening and anus.  This could also be symptoms of a urinary tract infection so be sure to consult your health care provider.

Leaking Urine

The connective tissue at the base of the bladder  stretch after pregnancy and birth.  This could cause nerve and muscle damage to the bladder or urethra.  Some times when you laugh, strain, or cough you may leak urine.

Bowel Movements

Sometimes because of fear of hurting your perineum or aggravating the pain of hemorrhoids you may find yourself avoiding your bowel movements.  Something else could happen is the inability to control bowel movements (fecal incontinence).  This happens sometimes when you have an unusually long labor.  Again and always if you have these problem or any problem consult your health care provider.

Sore Breasts

A few days after delivery, your breasts may become heavy, swollen and tender.  This discomfort should not last but a few days.  Feeding your newborn regularly will help this problem.

Weight Loss

After you give birth you may feel  out of shape and in some cases you may still look pregnant and flabby.  Don’t get upset this will not last forever and is perfectly normal.  You should loose ten or more pounds during birth from the weight of the baby, placenta and amniotic fluid.  The next few days you should loose more from leftover fluids.  Sorry after that it’s back to eating right and exercise.  This should get you back to your pre-pregnancy weight.

Mood Changes

Many women after childbirth will have some powerful emotions going on.  This is called the baby blues, mood swings, sadness, irritability and anxiety are common.  The baby blues typically will not last long about seven to ten days.

Hair Loss

When you are pregnant you normally do not loose any hair but after delivery you could sheds the excess hair all at once.  Your hair will be back to normal in about six months.

Changes in the Skin

You could notice small blood vessels breaking during the pushing stage of labor causing small red spots on your face.  Not to worry they should go away in about a week.

Just wanted your to know some of the main changes your body will go through after childbirth.  You should have a postpartum checkup in about six weeks or so after birth to make sure there are no problems with your vagina, cervix and uterus and that they are healing well. Even though what you are feeling is entirely normal you still need to talk to your health care provider about any concerns you may have.

The passageway in the human birth canal  is where the fluid passes during menstrual period and where the baby passes during birth.

The human birth canal is the passageway through which the fluid passes out of the body during menstrual periods and also where the baby passes during birth. 

There is no way to say exactly how long the vaginal canal is during pregnancy without understanding the way it works.  The average vagina canal could be anywhere between 3 to 7 inches deep depending on if the vagina canal is relaxed or aroused.

The average depth when relaxed is around 3 to 4 inches deep.  When aroused it could go as deep as 7 inches and in some cases more. 

When relaxed the vaginal walls are tighter bringing the back of the vagina and cervix closer to the opening.  The vagina also has the capacity to expand letting the baby pass through the canal during childbirth.  Just as it does during intercourse it accommodates the penis expanding the upper two thirds of the vagina to lengthen by forcing the cervix and uterus to ascend.

Because the birth canal will expand only so far, sometimes when you have a very large baby you could end up with a birth injury. A birth injury could occur when the baby passes through the birth canal.

The baby being to large or birth canal being too small could cause a birth injury.  You could have difficulty delivering your baby if the shoulders or to large and could cause the clavicle to break. 

INTRODUCTION

Breastfeeding is the feeding of an newborn baby or young child with breast milk directly from human breasts. You can breast feed your baby directly at your breast or you can also bump your breasts and put the milk in a bottle.  This benefit you when you are not there to feed your baby.

Newborns have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is possible for most mothers to nourish their infant by breastfeeding for the first six months to a year if not longer, without the supplement of infant formula milk or solid food.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommens extended breastfeeding for up to two years or beyond and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends at least one year of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the infant’s life.

The WHO and AAP both stress the value of breastfeeding for mothers and children while recognizing the superiority of breastfeeding, regulating authorities work to make artificial feeding safer when it is not used.

In most situations human breast milk is the best source of nourishment for human infants. Breast-feeding lowers your child’s risk for some illnesses and diseases.  Breastfed baby’s have fewer bouts of diarrhea than babies who are not breast-fed as well as less ear infections, less urinary tract infections.  Breastfeeding can also help later on in life with problems like asthma, diabetes, obesity, eczema, and high blood pressure.

Breast milk is easy to digest and contains antibodies that can protect infants from bacterial and viral infections. Research indicates that women who breastfeed may have lower rates of certain breast and ovarian cancers.

Breastfeeding is also great for the mom as well.  Did you know that you may recover from your pregnancy, labor, and delivery sooner when you breast-feed?  Oxytocin is a hormone released from the pituitary gland in the brain. This hormone is released when a women’s breast is stimulated by the baby suckling or pumping, causing milk to move form the ducts and out the tiny holes in the nipple.  Oxytocin helps your uterus bleed less and return to its normal size after pregnancy.

I think the most important point I’m trying to make is the importance of breastfeeding babies.  Each year more and more scientific evidence is gathered to prove what many people already intuitively know: that a mother’s milk is the best food for her baby.

During their childbirth women are often unaware that they are having high tech procedures used for low risk pregnancies and what those risks are. So why are women being subjected to unnecessary technology?

SOURCE :  Consumer Reports