The key to pregnancy nutrition is a balanced diet, the foods you eat should be packed with these nutrients.

When you are pregnant, it is very important in your health care for you to take care of yourself not only for your own welfare but also for the welfare of your new baby. There are many websites on the Internet that you could visit in order to get tons of information about the do’s and don’ts of being pregnant.

A very important subject is Pregnancy Nutrition. During your pregnancy, what you put into your body will affect your body during the pregnancy and after as well as affecting your baby because your baby feeds off you.

A main thing to know about Pregnancy Nutrition are the facts about eating fish. Fish is a great source for protein for you and your baby and it helps to promote the development of the baby’s brain but there are some fish that should not be eaten by pregnant women due to the fact that there is a lot of mercury in the fish and this mercury could damage a child’s nervous system.

Fish to stay away from includes swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tilefish. Safe fish to eat includes tuna, shrimp, salmon, pollock, and catfish. The nutrition for pregnant women is a very important subject when it comes to pregnancy.

Other types of Pregnant Nutrition includes the prenatal vitamins that should be taken on a daily basis throughout the whole pregnancy. These vitamins that a woman takes will help to supplement the nutrition that she and the baby need that is not being consumed in the diet.

These pills are formulated with numerous vitamins and minerals along with iron, calcium, and folic acid. The folic acid is especially important due to the fact that it helps reduce the risk of the baby having a birth defect that pertains to the brain and spinal cord.

When it comes to other aspects of Pregnancy Nutrition, a woman should drink plenty of milk for its nutritious value but needs to stay away from unpasteurized milk due to the fact that this could cause a food-borne illness. Caffeine and alcohol should be avoided during pregnancy.

Searching on the Internet for all the information that is provided about the nutrition of pregnancy should be a main component of any woman who is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant. Taking nutrition seriously during pregnancy is very important and learning as much as you can about it will help to make you and your baby very healthy.

Nutrition Before Pregnancy

So you have decided to have a baby and you know that eating well and eating the right healthy foods will ensure the well being of your baby.  Now is the time to plan for the good health of your baby by eating nutritionally sound meals so your baby will have a good health environment to grow in. 

Since you have decided to start a family you should begin evaluating what you are eating to make sure you are getting enough nutrient stored in your body to carry your baby full term.  First thing to do to make sure you have the nutrients you need is to take  a prenatal supplement with the proper amount of folic acid.  Check with your doctor for recommendation of the amount  you should take.  Some of the benefits of Folic Acid are:

• Helps to prevent congenital disorder like spinal bifida
• Helps facilitate proper cell growth
• Helps proper development of the embryo
• Helps reduce risk of neural tube defects
• Helps reduce the risk of recurrent miscarriage
• Helps reduce the risk of preterm delivery and even low birth weight babies.

The importance of a balanced diet is a known part of good health in anyone’s life, but it’s even more important when you are pregnant.  Just remember that the only nutrients your baby gets is through you and what you eat.

Nutrition During Pregnancy

Now you are pregnant it’s essential for you to continue eating as good as you can through the nine months of your pregnancy.  One thing to realize and be careful of within the first three months is how hard it is to eat a balanced diet when you are having morning sickness and food aversions.  Eating junk food is not going to help your baby and give your baby the nutrients they need.

When you eat well during your pregnancy it helps your baby eat well after she/he is born.  Research has shown that what your baby is exposed to when developing like fruit and vegetables will be less fussy when they are growing up.

One of the most important nutrients that you and your baby needs is iron.  Not having enough iron could lead to anemia.  If you think that you are not getting enough iron check with your doctor about taking an iron supplement.

Finally, one of the best things you can do for your baby and yourself for that matter is eating right during your pregnancy.  Just look at the foods in your diet and make sure that they provide the nutrients you and your baby needs.

Nutrition After Pregnancy

Just as important as good nutrition before and during pregnancy is the importance of proper nutrition after the birth of your baby. It should be easy to continue your good eating habits by eating a good-quality diet just as you have been doing.  If you are not going to breastfeed you should eat just the way you were prior to getting pregnant.  If you are breastfeeding you need special nutritional management.

You will have a few problems after the birth of the baby as far as you are concerned like getting your iron back up to normal again, dealing with fatigue, maybe a little constipation here and there but just take a creative approach to your eating habits by choosing the right foods will help.  The secret to post-pregnancy nutrition is to gradually regain a desirable figure, while maintaining or restocking nutrient stores.

It is also important to first consult your physician before starting any physical activity program to start your healing process.  Ask your doctor about any precautions you need to take before you start getting your body back in shape again to prevent any injuries you could experience.

I think one of the most feared part of having a baby is the fear of gaining excess weight over and above what your doctor tells you that you should gain.  How mush weight you should gain would depend on how mush you were prior to getting pregnant and also your body mass index (BMI).  Body Mass Index is a measure of body fat which is based on your height and weight.  BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fatness and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems.

The best thing to do is work with your doctor to determine what’s good for you.  For under weight women you should gain 28 to 40 pounds, if at your normal weight it would be around 25 to 35 pounds, overweight women 15 to 25 pounds and obese women at least 15 pounds.

What’s important is gaining the right amount of weight during pregnancy by eating the right foods because your baby needs all the nutrients to grow at a healthy rate.

Some women think well I have to eat for two now so I need to eat more. Not true, what is true is you generally need to eat ONLY 100 to 300 more calories than you would eat prior to becoming pregnant.

Now the problem is with all the social pressures that’s around pregnancy a lot of the times it’s just not that easy to figure out exactly what your should gain and how to keep off what you don’t need. 

Your eating habits change and your appetite will grow in strange ways.  You start having morning sickness which causes some nausea and vomiting.  Then you start eating things that you never ate before and more of it.  You start to worry about how mush you are gaining, is it the right amount, am I gaining too fast and of course will I be able to lose the weight after the baby is born. 

My daughter had these questions and feared the fact that she would gain 50 pounds and keep it for ever.  She was really getting depressed so I ask around and research the internet and every where I went the most recommended program was a book called "Pregnancy Without Pounds" by Michelle Moss. 

Michelle Moss is an expert diet and fitness nutritionist with 15 years experience teaching, counseling and coaching people on health, eating and exercise.  She’s a personal trainer and has a master degree in both Holistic Nutrition and Psychology Degree.

Based on my finding I ordered a copy, read it, gave it to my daughter and my research was over.  She loved it.

What Michelle has focused on is exposing the TRUTH about why you don’t have to go through pregnancy feeling over weight and unattractive.  She will teach you how to keep your pregnancy weight gain to a healthy minimum.

"Pregnancy Without Pounds" is a best selling 90 page book that comes in 4 parts.

• “Pregnancy Without Pounds” You’ll learn EXACTLY how to avoid unwanted pounds, overcome your food cravings, and much more.
• Exercise Manual which includes a  list of top exercises and stretches with 3 workouts to chose from with pictures, Tired Mama, Moderate Mama, and Fit Mama.

• Exercise Journal will help you keep track of what exercise/activity you’re doing each day/week.  It has Michelle’s suggestion chart, your weekly exercise chart and your daily exercise chart.

• Weight Gain Chart Manager to keep up with your weight gain as you progress through your journey.
• Exclusive Members Forum

I highly recommend "Pregnancy Without Pounds" if you want to control your weight during your pregnancy and lose your weight after pregnancy.  I think Michelle Moss has done a wonderful job putting together this program and has covered everything you need to be successful with your weight concerns.  All you have to do is follow the program.

Get "Pregnancy Without Pounds" Now!

What is pregnancy.

Pregnancy is the term used to describe when a woman is carrying one or more offspring, known as a fetus, inside of her. In most cases, the fetus grows in the uterus. In a pregnancy there can be more than one gestations like in twins or triplets.

One of the most exciting times in a women life is becoming a mother.  Whether you’re considering motherhood, trying to conceive or already pregnant, expectant mothers must be concerned not only with their developing babies health, but also they have to be concerned about their own health.

Even though pregnancy can be a fun and joyous time it can also be a time of uncertainty and in some cases worry in the up coming weeks.

You should prepare yourself for your pregnancy with some good preconception planning.  Finding the latest information on child health care is important.

The first step is to get the knowledge you need to keep yourself and your baby healthy from the beginning.  There’s a lot to learn especially if it’s your first pregnancy.

There are also a number of areas of interest to describe the things you need to learn about from fertilization to the day your baby is born.

Things such as:

• Getting Pregnant
• Pregnancy Test
• Labor and Delivery
• Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms
• Pregnancy Stages
• Pregnancy Types
• Preconception
• Breastfeeding
• Pregnancy Tools
• After Pregnancy
• Cord Blood Banking
• and mush, mush more…

The next thing we recommend is to find a health care professional that you are comfortable with to care for you and your child throughout your pregnancy.  There are many changes your body will go through, like hormonal changes, emotional changes, physical changes and many more.  Your body must change its physiological and homeostatic mechanisms in pregnancy to ensure the fetus is provided for.

The most important two things is to plan from the beginning (even before you get pregnant if you are planning to conceive)  and find your health care professional.  Your health care professional will help to determine your due date and what month or months you are in if you are pregnant.

This website is to help you explore the research in this field and to help answer the questions you have about your pregnancy.  I am not a medical doctor and this information is solely for informational purposes. It is not intended to provide medical advice.

We will attempt to guide you through your fertility time, the early signs of pregnancy and the three trimesters through postpartum. Now that you are pregnant you will have many questions that you will need answers to and we hope you’ll find them here.

Each stage will have something unique to offer and each trimester will have a different effect on you and your baby.

Early Pregnancy Stage

Just the fact that you can create a living being is an exciting thing to most women, but to learn that you are pregnant fills you with excitement beyond anything you could have imaging.  In the early stages of pregnancy you should outline the planning of your pregnancy. Planning your pregnancy is the first step toward having a health you and baby.

In the early stages of pregnancy things can go wrong like spotting or vaginal bleeding and even miscarriage.  That’s why it’s important to be extra careful in the early stages to prevent some of these problems.

First Trimester Stage – What To Expect

The most crucial period of pregnancy is during the first trimester of pregnancy.  Women start feeling sick and exhausted and their body undergoes many changes. Here are some of the most common changes you could experience in the first trimester:

• Many women find they get tired or exhausted.
• Many women get morning sickness causing    Nausea and Vomiting.
• You many see a change in the Frequency of    urination.
• All women will see a weight gain.

By the end of the first trimester the size of your baby is about three inches long and weighs about half an ounce.

Second Trimester Stage – The Most Comfortable Period

For most women the second trimester is a better time because the morning sickness and exhaustion is going away.  In this stage people will start realizing that you are pregnant because you are finally expanding more.  The breasts will secrete colostrum, or milk,and they will also grow larger.

Your rate of growth is nothing compared to the baby’s.  The baby will have more defined features at this stage of pregnancy.  All the baby’s major organs have formed even though they will continue to develop further.  The baby is around 12 inches long now and weight about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds.

Third Trimester Stage – The Final Hurdle

The most exciting stage is the third trimester stage.  This stage starts from the 29th week of the pregnancy.  The mother will experience a lot of changes during this stage. She will start gaining excess weight (about 25-35 pounds) and experience a problem in breathing as well as swelling in the hands and feet .  She could also experience heartburn, indigestion, shortness of breath and tiredness, constipation, frequent urination.

The mother’s emotions may be tested because you may feel nervous and start wondering all kinds of things like if you will be capable of raising a child and start worrying about if the child will be normal. Now it’s the end of the third trimester and you start forgetting about all the pain and discomfort of your pregnancy and start feeling joys of bringing this newborn in the world.

Postpartum Stage

Most women do not know what to expect in the first few weeks after pregnancy. Everything is going though your mind about how you will feel, how long is the recovery, etc. It’s also normal to feel excited, tired, and amazed all at the same time.

One thing very important for mom and her baby is the bonding process.  Things like looking at each other, caressing her leg or arm or just simple touching. Talking to your newborn also helps start a good relationship between the two of you.

Tips to help cope with the postpartum period:

• Eat well to regain your strength and health.
• Drink extra fluids each day.
• Feel good about yourself you did well.
• Accept help from family to take care of the house work, etc.
• Ask a lot of questions when something is not right.
• Limit the visitors to as few as you can handle.
• Get a lot of rest and sleep when your baby sleeps.

This is new to you so it take time getting used to having a newborn baby in the house.  You will make mistakes learning the right and wrong way to doing things so relax and enjoy.

The Benefits OF Regular Exercise While Your Are Pregnant

Pregnancy exercise during pregnancy can help you stay in shape and prepare you for all the upcoming pregnancy stages.

When you find out that you are pregnant it seems like a perfect time to sit back and relax and not worry about what you are eating and how mush exercise that you are not getting.

In the old days pregnancy was treated as if it was an illness and you should rest for 9 months and not worry about exercise until your baby is born.   You need to be physically active during pregnancy.  Today we know that exercising before, during and after pregnancy along with good pregnancy nutrition has many benefits for the mom and the baby.

Most mothers do not realize that pregnancy exercise is so important, and is the key to a happy and healthy pregnancy and birth.  For those that have been following a regular exercise program prior to their pregnancy should be able to maintain a good exercise program throughout their pregnancy.

By continuing your current exercise program you will experience benefits from less fatigue and pain to feeling more emotionally stable during a difficult and emotion driven time in your life.  A guideline to go by calls for women to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise during pregnancy per week and should be spread out over the week.

Exercise will also help mothers during labor, one of the most stressful times during the pregnancy.  Labor is known to progress faster, lowering the risk of medication and possible Caesarian section.  Many mothers will have a shorter, uncomplicated vaginal delivery due to the exercise that they are doing.

Regular physical exercise after pregnancy continues to benefit a woman’s overall health and increase her cardio respiratory fitness as well as helps women achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Taking care of yourself and your baby while you are pregnant is important to avoid and pregnancy complications.  That is why doing pregnancy exercise is one of the most important steps that you can take for pregnancy wellness.  You will see just how easy it is to have a happy uncomplicated pregnancy and labor, simply by adding exercise.

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.

Gestational Diabetes: What it Means for Me and My Baby

What is gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is first recognized or develops during pregnancy. A women loses the ability to control the level of sugar in her blood automatically. This means that your blood glucose is too high.

What causes gestational diabetes?

In pregnancy, the placenta produces hormones to sustain your pregnancy. Theses hormones make your cells more resistant to insulin.  In the second and third trimesters pregnancy complications can occur when your placenta grows larger which secretes more of these hormones.  This makes it harder for insulin to do its job.  
Your pancreas responds by producing extra insulin to fight this resistance. Your pancreas sometimes can not keep up with the higher demand for insulin then the body falls behind in processing glucose and the result, gestational diabetes. 

What are the symptoms and signs of gestational diabetes?

Usually there are no symptoms for gestational diabetes so for good pregnancy wellness you need to be tested for the condition. It’s very important to be tested for gestational diabetes because high blood sugar can cause problems for you and your baby.

If a women has another type of diabetes without knowing it she could have symptoms, they may include:

• Increased thirst
• Increased urination
• Weight loss in spite of increased appetite
• Fatigue
• Nausea and vomiting
• Frequent infections including those of the bladder,  vagina, and skin
• Blurred vision

Beware that having these symptoms does not mean that a women has diabetes.  What you need to do is talk with your doctor and be tested for diabetes.

Will my baby have diabetes?

Babies are not born with diabetes when their mother had diabetes when pregnant.  The most common problem would be if the mothers diabetes was not controlled during pregnancy could cause low blood sugar in the newborn baby.  The baby will have to be watched closely to make sure the babies body adjusts the amount of insulin it makes.

How is gestational diabetes treated?

Gestational diabetes can be treated by controlling your blood sugar level.  You can control your blood sugar level by changing your diet and make sure you get the right pregnancy exercises .  You may need to check your gestational diabetes at home and make sure you see your doctor on a regular basic.  Just do not discard the importance of good pregnancy nutrition.

I have diabetes and want to get pregnant how do I prevent problems to myself and my baby? 

Here are some of the things to look at to prevent problems to the mother and her baby.

• Need to plan the pregnancy – It’s important for a women with diabetes to get her body ready before getting pregnant. 
• Eat Health Foods – A women with diabetes should eat the foods from a meal plan that was made for a women with diabetes.
• Exercise Regularly – A women should be on an exercise program prior to getting pregnant. Help keep blood sugar under control.
• Regular Visits To Your Doctor – Your doctor can recommend the things you need to do prior to getting pregnant.
• Take Required Medications – Very important to take your medications on time.
• Monitor Blood Sugar At Home Regularly – Checking blood sugar levels often can help a woman keep her blood sugar in control.

Do You Know What to Expect When Your Pet is Expecting?

Just like human pregnancy is a very serious issue so is pet pregnancy.  It’s not easy to diagnose if your pet is pregnant, it depends on if it’s dog pregnancy, cat pregnancy or whatever pet you have.  You need to really be experienced in the pregnancy of what pet you have to tell if your pet is pregnant and when they became pregnant.  Some of the  pet pregnancies are  dog pregnancy, cat pregnancy, ferret pregnancy, mice pregnancy, pigs pregnancy, rat pregnancy and of course there are pregnant guiniea, pregnant rabbits, mouse pregnancy, and many more.

It’s best to just take your pet to the vet at the first sign that you think they may be pregnant.  If you find out that your pet is pregnant ask your veterinarian all of the precautions and also the preventive care you should do for your pet to make sure that your pet has a healthy pregnancy.

If you are planning to breed your pet it’s very important to make sure that your pet has good health.

You need to make it top priority during the gestation and nursing period of your pet pregnancy that your pet has all the nutritional needs possible.  You may also think about the quality of her food at this time to make sure the diet is optimal.

There are things you need to make sure of in your pet pregnancy like to make sure there is no deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the diet.  You may need to gradually increase her food servings especially protein to make sure your pet has sufficient reserves when the babies arrive.