Pregnancy and Birthing

Any obgyn will tell you that the recommended weight gain for Pregnancy is 25-30 pounds. Some women will gain more, some will gain less. But how can you tell if you are gaining too fast during your pregnancy. Too much weight gain can increase your chances of a c section and put you at risk for being overweight after.

Some doctors say that if you put on more than 3 1/2 pounds in your first trimester and are of a normal weight you are putting weight on too fast. If you are overweight and put on more than 2 pounds, you are gaining too fast. Keep in mind though that even if you gain a lot in your first trimester, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will gain a lot your whole pregnancy.

Some women gain a lot in the first trimester because morning sickness has them only able to eat carbs and nothing else and still end their pregnancy gaining no more than 25 pounds. If however you find that your weight gain is still not slowing down once you enter your second trimester, there are some tips you can try to help slow it down.

First, start using the principles of holistic nutrition. Change what you are putting in your body. If you are eating healthy foods in moderation your weight gain will slow. It is never a good idea to diet while you are pregnant so make sure you are eating whole foods filled with nutrients and not just empty calories. Apply some basic calorie cutting strategies such as using skim milk instead of whole milk, taking skin off your chicken and grilling or broil instead of frying or sauteing. You will also want to cut out most of your sweets. These are empty calories that are providing no nutritional value to you or your baby. Go to Pregnancy for more information.

Next, cut down on the fat you are taking in. Look at what you are eating and how it may have hidden fat in it. Some salad dressings can be loaded with fat, so you might want to try putting your dressing on the side, or even try just using a little lemon juice instead of dressing. Watch how much oil you use when you are cooking or when you are going out to eat and stick to good oils such as extra virgin olive oil.

Get active! You could be gaining weight faster because you are not active. As long as your doctor gives you the go ahead, start a walking program. Walking is one of the best things you can do for your body and your baby. Not only does it help with your weight gain, but some women and doctors swear that walking through out most of your pregnancy could help ease the pains of childbirth. If you can not walk due to weather conditions you might want to look into joining a prenatal exercise class.

Lastly pay attention to what you are eating. Are you following the ideas of holistic nutrition? If not, you may find the food you are putting in your body, as well as the amount is leading to your weight gain. Stick with healthy whole foods and you will be right on track.

Even though you are pregnant, the old adage of eating for two really is not correct. You need to eat well balanced meals, follow a holistic nutrition plan, and make each mouthful count. Following these steps will help you keep your pregnancy weight gain well within the normal limits. It will also set you up to have healthy eating habits after the baby is born, which will help you take off the weight and teach your new child how to eat well. Visit Pregnancy for further information.

There isn’t anything more stressful than to have something go wrong during pregnancy. It doesn’t matter if it is your first time being pregnant or your fourth. There are a lot of things to be concerned about during your pregnancy and it is easier when you learn what they are.

Vaginal bleeding- This may also be known as spotting, but you want to ensure that is what is going on. There is a difference between actively bleeding and spotting. Spotting is lightly bleeding, kind of like your period, the blood can be red, pink or even brown. If you are bleeding actively with any pain call your doctor, if you can’t get a hold of him go immediately to the emergency room. Bleeding can be a number of things from implantation, ectopic pregnancy, labor, infection or even miscarriage. Always notify and let your doctor know, so everything can be ruled out, you’ll feel better too.

Stomach pain or cramping- While you are pregnant it may be hard to decipher the difference between a growing pain and an actual stomach pain/cramping. However, if you do get a pain of any sort be sure to rest. After a few minutes if it doesn’t subside, call your doctor and explain the pain to him. Don’t worry about it if you find out you only had gas or were having Braxton hicks contractions, at least you know everything is okay with pregnancy.

Gush of liquid- This could mean you are in labor and that your water broke, however if it isn’t close to the time of birth it can be something else. Call your doctor immediately and head for the emergency room.

Dehydration- When you are expecting it is easy to become dehydrated, especially if you have morning sickness or just don’t drink those 8 glasses of water. If you find yourself pale, dry mouth or dizzy, you could be dehydrated and should be seen by a doctor. Dehydration can cause premature labor and/or distress on the pregnancy.

Painful urination - This could be a urinary tract infection, also known as UTI. This can be easily treated with medicine or by drinking plenty of fluids and cranberry juice. A urinary tract infection isn’t something to be embarrassed about, it is actually quite common amongst pregnant women. The growing belly pushes against your ureters and makes it harder for it to flow through. Which of course can cause infection. Another way to find out if you have it is if you have a foul odor when you pee.

Pregnancies can be scary enough, there’s no reason to add to it. If you have a doubt or have a concern discuss it with your doctor. It is common that first time moms are worried about many pains that they feel. Never fear calling because you are afraid of waking the doctor up or because you feel silly. Being silly might just save the baby. While you are worrying, you are only causing stress on you and the baby, find out what’s wrong and relieve your anxiety.

Many women don’t start treatment to prevent pregnancy stretch marks until they are showing. The best time to start is the second you have that positive test. The earlier you start the better prepared your belly and skin will be for the stretch. Learn how to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy today.

Read how to loose weight.

Morning sickness can be one of your first signs that you are pregnant. This doesn’t always mean that you will get sick only in the morning. This can happen, morning, noon or night. It will normally occur in the first trimester or your pregnancy and end by the second, this isn’t the case in all pregnancies though. Some women will have morning sickness during their entire term

Nausea can happen immediately or you may get lucky and not have any morning sickness. No one is for certain what causes morning sickness, it is a change in the body that happens during pregnancy. Many women seem to get sick after taking the prenatal pill, try taking it later in the afternoon. Your physician may even advise you to take some other form of vitamin instead of the pill. Always find out first with your doctor before start taking anything new or taking yourself off medication, even prenatal pills.

There are a couple ways to minimize the morning sickness during pregnancy, but they don’t work for everyone. Try keeping crackers on hand, I prefer saltines for some reason. Try drinking some ginger ale, it calms the stomach down. Dry cereal is another good thing to eat, your stomach may just be a little bit hungry and trying to tell you. Remember to take small portions, that way you know if it is all going to come up or not. Sleeping is another good way to avoid it, however it will wake you up. Keep yourself hydrated, not only can this make your morning sickness come but you can become dehydrated and need to run to the emergency room if you aren’t careful.

Smells is another thing that seems to cause morning sickness. Imagine walking into a restaurant and the first thing you smell is grease. Yes, this can easily set it off. Awful smells and even certain tastes, get the feel for your body during the pregnancy and figure out just what sets it off. Knowing how to avoid it, can make a huge difference.

A few reasons you should go to your physician would be if you start losing weight because you are constantly sick. If you become dehydrated, faint, look pale, confused or throw up more than four times in a day. Your doctor may be able to give something that will stop it.

Try slowing down a bit, sometimes your body is just exhausted from all the errands you are running and it tries to force you to have a break. Listen to your body, take a nap, relax and watch a television show, take some time off. If you are looking for remedies for your morning sickness, you may try buying some pregnancy pops. Or if you would prefer to stay away from the sweets you can wear a bracelet designed to stop morning sickness, they are just like the motion sickness bracelets. They don’t work for everyone but they could work for you.

About 90% of women get pregnancy stretch marks. Did you know that you can prevent pregnancy stretch marks?

Read also about immune system boosters.

You already know it is important to eat a well-balanced diet, but it is even more important when you are expecting. Keep in mind now you aren’t eating for one. Whatever you eat, the baby eats as well. In fact the baby actually takes your nourishments so you must eat enough for both of you. The healthier you eat the better it is for the baby and you.

Never skip a meal while you are pregnant, especially breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and your baby has probably been hungry since he/she woke up in the middle of the night. You may learn that if you wait so long before eating you start to feel sick, this is your body telling you to eat. So do it!

Make sure you are getting enough of the food you need daily. It takes 4-6 servings of dairy a day for a healthy pregnancy, this can include some cheeses, milk, yogurt. This provides the baby with calcium which it’ll need to develop healthy growing bones. Adding more calcium to your diet wouldn’t hurt you either, especially your teeth and bones.

Don’t forget about your fruit and vegetable servings. Eating a lot of green is always a good choice, so are sweet potatoes. Not only will you be giving your body what it needs but you’ll start to have more energy. Try laying off the sweets for a week and replace them with better choices and see how alive you feel.

Foods You Should Avoid While Pregnant

Not all foods are safe while you are pregnant, there are a few things you should avoid eating:

- unpasteurized products- brie

- Certain fish- exotic, shark, swordfish, anything high in mercury
- Raw eggs

- Undercooked meats- lunch meats. If you are buying a deli sandwich you can ask for them to eat the meat up a little.

- Caffeine- soda, chocolate. If you find this difficult you can wean yourself off, but the less caffeine in your system the better it is for the baby.

If you are ever unsure of the foods you can eat you can ask your doctor for a list of items to avoid during pregnancy. They’ll be more than happy to share this with you.

You may also learn that your belly won’t handle certain foods that it usually does. Some of those foods may include foods that contain grease, fast foods, meat, and certain foods that have a strong odor.

Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to avoid all the fun in your life, you can still treat yourself from time to time. Go out and get a frozen yogurt or a smoothie.

While you are making sure you get enough to eat throughout the day, that doesn’t mean neglect your fluid intake. You’ll need lots of water and juices from here on out. The baby will thank you later. Who knows, you may learn that you really enjoy eating healthier and continue it even after the pregnancy.

Did you know that 90% of women get stretch marks during pregnancy. Learn how to prevent stretch marks with an effective stretch marks cream.

Read how to loose weight.

Pregnancy week by week tracking tools or calendars are great tools for keeping track of your babys growth during pregnancy. Also, you can acquire knowledge of different early pregnancy symptoms or signs of pregnancy. Refer to pregnancy for more information.

Most of the pregnancy calendars or guides chart babys growth during pregnancy week by week. Though the baby continues to grow with every passing day, but changes and development of baby usually becomes manifest over a weeks time. Therefore, the complete pregnancy period has been divided into three trimesters comprising 40 weeks. By following the babys growth in pregnancy week by week information and or pregnancy calendars, you can have an idea as to what your baby looks like at a particular point in time. Moreover, if you find something lacking, you can get medical advice promptly. Lets take a glance at some salient developments of your little ones growth during the forty weeks.

The First Trimester

The first trimester of pregnancy week by week covers week 1 to week 14. First 2 weeks of this trimester denote the period from your last menses till conception or till that time when the sperm fertilizes the egg. By the end of week 3, the fertilized egg is metamorphosed into an embryo. During week 4 you begin to feel the early pregnancy symptom of nausea. Week 5 marks the beginning of formation of all major organs of the babys body. In fact this is the week, when the embryos metamorphosis into a baby begins. Come week 6 and your babys heart beats for the first time. Your baby doubles in size during week 7. By week 9, babys sex can be determined and your embryo becomes a small baby by week 10. Week 14 will make manifest another sign of pregnancy enlarging and darkening of the area around your nipples. Go to pregnancy for further inforrmation.

The Second Trimester

The second trimester comprises week 15 to week 26. In the beginning of this trimester i.e. week 15, the baby begins movement of head, lips, and feet. Due to upward movement of uterus, the pregnancy symptom of frequent urination would abate by week 16. Baby begins blinking, sucking, and swallowing in week 17. Due to myelinization of nerves, nerve cell transmission registers a significant increase making body reflexes quicker. During week 20, baby begins to sleep and wake on regular basis. By week 24, babys heart beat becomes so distinct that it can be heard by placing an ear on stomach. And before the second trimester ends, brain wave activity commences for ears and eyes.

The Third Trimester

The third trimester as per pregnancy week by week commences with week 27 and ends with the birth of baby i.e. approximately week 40. Week 27 heralds increased movements of the baby. Senses of sound, smell, and taste develop by week 29. During week 34, babys own immune system begins to develop. Most of the babies are born around this period. By this week, look out for any signs of labor. In any case, your baby is born by the end of week 40. Sometimes, this period may extend by two more weeks.

By keeping yourself updated with the help of pregnancy week by week information, you can keep watch over various signs of pregnancy and your babys growth. If you feel your babys growth is not in consonance with the week by week chart, you can immediately get medical advice. Visit pregnancy for more information.

With all the concerns about exercising during pregnancy, what is a pregnant woman to do? Many people would probably question whether or not the relatively difficult Pilates program could be altered enough to accommodate the special needs of a pregnant woman. The answer is a resounding Yes! Pilates is very adaptable and most Pilates exercises can be modified as your pregnancy progresses and your body and abilities change. The modifications help you keep the intent of the exercise, but adjust the form to adapt to the changes in your body during pregnancy. The majority of women are able to safely participate in Pilates during pregnancy with modifications. Go to pregnancy for further information.

Many people today would be surprised to learn that Pilates during pregnancy is considered to be one of the most appropriate exercise programs for pregnant women. Even more surprising is that Pilates is used for pregnant women to strengthen the core of the body, the muscles of the torso where the abdominal muscles work with the back and the pelvis. What other exercise series could be so perfect for working the muscles that a pregnant woman will need the most during labor and delivery? It is also important to note that Pilates during pregnancy will strengthen and tone the mother’s postural muscles; the muscles used to carry the baby.

The ability to modify exercises so that they work for a changing body and the focus on control, precision, and appropriate levels of exercise intensity all come together to make Pilates a safe choice for exercising during pregnancy. Combined with Pilates principles like, centering, breath and flow, you have a program that can be effective throughout the duration of a pregnancy. With the proper instruction, a Pilates session during pregnancy can be a beneficial use of time for body, mind and the baby too.

Practicing Pilates during pregnancy will help the mother not only carry the baby well, but may also make labor easier and help the new mother speed up the recovery of her figure after delivery. By strengthening the back,the pelvic floor and developing good posture, carrying the baby and giving birth are made a little easier. Also, with better muscle tone, common injuries from carrying the baby and giving birth are less likely to occur.

If practicing Pilates during pregnancy be sure to use a toned-down version of the regular, sometimes strenuous Pilates routines. There are Pilates pregnancy lower-impact workout that can be done from week one of the pregnancy until week 31 or 32 of the pregnancy. Pilates during pregnancy can also be beneficial to the baby because the low-stress exercises help circulate extra oxygen and nutrients to the unborn baby. Also, the breathing techniques learned by the mother while taking Pilates during pregnancy can help ease the delivery.

Furthermore, the exercises that a pregnant woman would do while taking Pilates during pregnancy can help keep them from losing control of their bodies during pregnancy. These exercises also help the mother to quickly get back to her pre-pregnancy shape, with the same or maybe even better flexibility, posture, and muscle tone. Most Pilates pregnancy classes offer something for every pregnant woman, from early to late pregnancy, from the basics to post-pregnancy more advanced classes. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced Pilates student, you can find a Windsor Pilates program to fit your needs.

People that have some small scars on their bodies from accidents that have happened in their past are usually tolerable, but if you have ever had a baby you may have a many of scars that has distorted your skin’s look and it’s elasticity. Pregnancy stretch marks are long scars from the body stretching farther than it’s capacity resulting in ripping of the collagen. This creates permanent marks with only a handful of treatments available for removal.

Having surgery for pregnancy stretch marks is pretty effective and has a good success rate in reducing the appearance of stretch marks after pregnancy, however laser scar removal is fairly expensive. Just the price for the anesthesia alone can grow into the thousands, the bill for the doctor for each treatment is almost unpredictable as you may not know how many sessions are needed for successful removal, and you must also pay for the overhead costs of the facility. If surgery for pregnancy stretch marks is not going to be an alternative for you then you should understand how to prevent stretch marks altogether. Each expecting mother should know that the thousands of dollars that are required for surgery for stretch marks can be avoided with good prevention.

Your bodies skin is able to grow and stretch during pregnancy. The female’s body was made to give birth. Dry skin is not as elastic and will be more likely to get stretch marks and even woman who already have moisturized skin will still need to apply cocoa butter, lotion and pregnancy stretch cream for good prevention during pregnancy. Using a good cream to the problem areas on your growing body will help the collagen stand the stretching of the skin while pregnant.

Using a good pregnancy stretch cream during your 9 months of pregnancy may run you $50-$100.00 instead of the thousands of dollars and hours of surgery and preparation for having surgery for stretch marks afterbirth, not to mention recouping from surgery.

If you really want to prevent having to have surgery for stretch marks you need to be persistent in applying a good pregnancy stretch mark cream to the skin at least two to three times a day for the whole 9 months of pregnancy. If you do this you will allow yourself to walk away without any unsightly stretch marks. It is guaranteed to reduce the appearance of stretch marks, but not guaranteed to prevent their appearance completely. After your pregnancy you should continue to moisturize the stretch marks as they are new and able to disappear with good treatment as long as it is done quickly.

Just understanding how to prevent stretch marks while pregnant can make a huge difference.Try to avoid getting surgery and throwing away thousands of dollars by getting your body ready for the transformation it will have during your pregnancy.

Want to lose 10 pounds, then it is time to read some shocking facts about why you always failed to do that for good.

If you are expecting I’m sure you know there are many things you have to think about and start planning for. You have to start taking your prenatal pills, stop drinking alcohol, make your doctors appointments, but what many expecting mothers tend to forget is to regularly apply pregnancy stretch mark cream. Some women only do it once a day, but it needs to be several times a day because when your skin lacks in moisture, it will rip the collagen much easier when your belly is growing. A stretch marks cream will make a huge difference in the strength of your skin.

Using a pregnancy stretch mark cream can be tedius but you will be happy you did when you notice how few stretch marks have appeared towards the end of your pregnancy and appear after having your baby. Depending on the type of stretch marks cream you decide to use, most creams should be applied in a massaging, circular, motion to the belly, the thighs, the breasts, the back and the buttocks. Apply it at least three times daily or more so that you won’t start to see the skin becoming tight or dry.

Even though most woman don’t start showing or noticing their stomach growing until about 3 months into their pregnancies, it does not mean you should wait until then to start applying stretch cream. The sooner the better because you want your skin to be more elastic and stronger before you start showing. As soon as you find out that you have a baby on the way you should start moisturizing those areas immediately. You might still see some stretch marks beginning to form during your pregnancy even though you are persistently applying the stretch cream, but this is probably a result from gaining weight fast. Also, some women may be predisposed to having many stretch marks but only notice a few if they use the stretch cream regularly.

Your body still needs a great amount of attention after your pregnancy. If stretch marks have appeared, you want to deal with them immediately. The first 12 to 18 months after your pregnancy is the most important time to treat scars with cocoa butter, vitamin E and other ingredients you would find in a good stretch marks cream. You still have a chance at healing and fading your stretch marks healing within the first year after pregnancy. After that, usually the only option left is laser removal. Laser removal can also be quite expensive.

You should make applying a stretch cream a daily routine and do your best to use the cream accordingly and rigorously. Your body needs the moisture and will become stronger and more elastic. Applying a cream and preventing excessive weight gain are your best prevention tools to avoid getting stretch marks. Stretch mark prevention is key.

For the tips about how to lose 10 pounds, read this blog post.

How will you know that you are pregnant? Below are some of the clues and pregnancy basics, so that you can know for sure that you are pregnant. However, please note that pregnancy differs from one woman to another. The symptoms may be less intense or more severe. Refer to pregnancy for more information.

The pregnancy symptoms may occur for a short while or for a long time. They may happen often or they may be rare during the entire pregnancy period. Keeping this in mind, read these important pregnancy symptoms.

Symptoms Of Pregnancy

Missed Period: This is the most important symptom of pregnancy. If you miss your menstrual period, you can be reasonably sure that you are pregnant. However, some women may experience a lighter menstruation instead of none at all.

1. Intuition: Many women get a gut feeling when they are pregnant. This pregnancy symptom is important, as a womens intuition is usually right. You usually know that you are pregnant, when you are!

2. Tenderness Of Breasts: Breasts and even nipples become more sensitive during pregnancy. A feeling of soreness in the breasts persists. In addition, some women may find their nipples darkening.

3. Tiredness: Fatigue is also a pregnancy symptom. You find you feel like going to sleep earlier at night. You may sleep longer in the morning. A little exertion will tire you quickly.

4. More Visits To The Bathroom: Frequent urination is a pregnancy symptom. Though annoying, it might continue up till you deliver your baby. It happens because your swelling uterus puts pressure on your bladder.

5. Nausea And Vomiting: This pregnancy symptom may start within a week of your getting pregnant. Nausea is also known as Morning sickness. However, this sickness usually stops when you enter into the second stage of pregnancy.

6. Dizziness And/Or Fainting: After a little exertion, you feel dizzy or you might even faint. This happens because of low blood sugar. Your baby inside you needs nutrition, so you have to eat more.

7. Craving/Dislike For Food: You find that you start wanting to gorge on some foods. Alternatively, you might stop relishing some foods you liked earlier.

8. Sensitivity To Smells: You find your power of smell has increased. You can sniff out odors, not noticed by others. This happens because of the increasing estrogen in your body.

9. Heartburn or Constipation: Your growing uterus pushes against other body organs, including your stomach. As a result, digestion slows down.

10. Mood Swings: You become more irritable. All this is because pregnancy is changing hormones levels in you.

11. Low Back Pain: This is an important pregnancy symptom. The growing uterus changes your torso-legs balance, leading to low back pain.

12. Implantation Bleeding: You may bleed a little when the fertilized egg begins to implant or move into the uterus. This happens 3-6 days after fertilization. The bleeding is little with pink spots. This does not happen in each pregnancy case, hence it is not a reliable pregnancy symptom.

Please understand that knowing pregnancy symptoms is important to be well informed. To ensure that you are pregnant see your doctor.

Thereafter record your pregnancy week by week and maintain good pregnancy health. Only to know that you are pregnant is not enough. Once you are, you have to nurture your pregnancy to give birth to a healthy baby. Visit pregnancy for more information.