DREAMY HEALTH: Make Your Pregnancy A Healthy One

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Losing Weight After Pregnancy

You could be lucky. I was - just once. When my middle daughter was born I actually weighed 10 pounds less than I had when I'd conceived her. That's not something you can count on, though, and I can tell you that from experience as well. Most women start their lives as a new mom with an extra 8 to 15 pounds that they didn't have pre-baby.

There's a very good reason for that. God designed our bodies with nurture in mind. Part of that weight that you put on during pregnancy was meant to nurture your baby AFTER birth. While your body requires an extra 300 calories a day to keep up with the nutritional demands of your baby during pregnancy, a breastfeeding mother requires at least 500 extra calories a day to produce enough milk and remain healthy. Your body stores up a little extra nutrition for after the birth just in case there isn't enough food for its needs when it's time to feed the new little critter.

If you're breastfeeding, that's part of the good news. You'll automatically be burning an extra five hundred calories a day - which will make it considerably easier for you to lose the extra weight. In fact, you may not need to do anything special at all to lose weight. Just focus on eating a normal, healthy, well-balanced diet. If you're not breastfeeding, you won't find it quite as easy. Your focus should still be on healthy eating, with moderate exercise to burn extra calories.

Here's more good news for new mothers. Exercising is easier. Actually, that's not quite right. Burning more calories is easier. Walking alone for an hour burns 200 calories. Walking while pushing a stroller ups that figure considerably. Push a stroller uphill, and it's even higher. You'll get extra duty out of things you never thought of like lifting the stroller and car seat in and out of the car, carrying the baby up and down stairs and just plain carrying the baby.

Still. If you find yourself with stubborn pounds that simply won't come off, exercise and a moderate reduction in calories is the way to go. Just like pregnancy isn't the time for weight loss, just after pregnancy isn't the time to stress your body further with severe dietary restrictions. Aim for losing about a pound a week, though chances are you'll find it coming off faster than that. Being a mom is a high-energy proposition!

Make Your Pregnancy A Healthy One

Congratulations! You're pregnant! Now, let's get down to business. According to the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC), everything you do in the next nine months, from what you eat to what you drink to how physically active you are and what you weigh, has the potential to affect your child's current and future growth.

In fact, a new report by NWHRC explores the growing body of research that finds conditions in utero (i.e., while you're pregnant) have the potential to affect your child's health even decades down the road.

For instance, one study found that women who drink during pregnancy could increase their child's risk of alcohol addiction later in life, even with just one drinking binge. Other studies suggest significant correlations between a mother's nutrition during pregnancy and her child's risk for being overweight and developing diabetes and heart disease later in life.

The message? Eat right today and prevent future health problems for your child.

There are two components to "eating right" when you're pregnant. One is the type of food you're eating, and the other is how much weight you gain.

For many women, pregnancy is the first time in their lives when gaining weight is a good thing-but don't go overboard. You do not need to consume any more calories than your normal daily intake during your first trimester. After the first 12 weeks, you may consume up to 300 extra calories per day.

If you are of normal weight when you get pregnant, you should gain between 25 and 35 pounds. Limit weight gain to no more than five to 10 pounds in the first 20 weeks, and about a pound per week for the remainder of your pregnancy.

Doctors strongly suggest, however, that if you are overweight, to try and lose some weight before you get pregnant. Women who are overweight have a higher risk of emergency cesarean, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and miscarriage. There is also a greater risk of delivery complications.

Your health care professional will help you determine where you fall on the weight scale during your first prenatal visit.

As always, talk to your health care professional about any special dietary concerns (if you're vegetarian or vegan, for example).

Maternity Clothes: Dressing For Your Pregnancy

Are you a mom-to-be? You must be relishing the life of a baby inside you. You must be the happiest woman on the earth right now!

But now, is the issue of maternity clothing nagging you constantly? Are you wondering what clothes can I wear, and what types of maternity clothes are available in the market for me? Relax! There are dozens of maternity clothes that would keep you comfortable and stylish during your entire pregnancy period.

Not satisfied yet, and want to know much more about the maternity clothes? Ok! Read on to know more about the maternity clothing available.

A wide of variety of special maternity clothes are available online as well as in the retail stores near your home. You don’t have to forcibly fit yourself into ordinary clothes and feel uncomfortable all the time. In fact there is a never ending list of maternity clothes available for you. You can pick the clothes according to your preferences and occasion. Maternity clothes are made to provide much needed comfort for your expanding belly.

Intimate apparels

Now pretty lingerie is most women’s desired wear. It has to be comfortable as well as pretty. During pregnancy comfortable lingerie is a must for you. You don’t have to wear your regular size and feel stuffed and stilted at all. A wide range of comfortable, yet attractive underwear is available for expecting mothers now.

Cotton nursing bras are the most comfortable bras for you during this period. They are stretchable and are also available with multiple hook options so that you can wear them according to your requirements. These bras can also be used after the pregnancy period, as they are stretchable and are available with hooks for making the right adjustments for breast-feeding.

Maternity thongs are also available quite readily in the market. These sit comfortably below your belly. They are made super stretchy and soft. They allow your panties to grow for the nine months, giving you an appropriate fit. Maternity thongs are available as 3 pack seamless thongs and 4 pack seamless thongs as well.

Bikini panties are amongst the must maternity apparel buys for a mom-to-be. These are made up of cotton and are available in fresh colors. These maternity panties are available in floral, striped or solid prints of panties. These provide you with essential comforts for your underwear.

Maternity T shirts

Wearing T-shirts gives a sense of comfort and relaxation for every mum-to-be. You can also buy and wear T-shirts during your pregnancy. Now you don’t have to sit and gaze at one of your lovely T-shirts just because it doesn’t fit you anymore. You can buy dozens of lovely maternity T-shirts for yourself.

You can buy a ¾ sleeve ruched T-shirt, which allows you to look smart and leave you feeling cool. Long sleeve T-shirts with branded bottom and scoop neck would fit you just fine. V neck tees, short sleeve crews, short sleeve tees, polo tees and sleeveless v-neck Ts are available in maternity sizes for you to choose from, So wear them out and about and feel good about your new life role.

Jeans

Would you get jitters, if you were asked to wear jeans, during the maternity period? Does it sound too absurd to wear jeans with a huge belly? And you also think that it is too uncomfortable to be worn during the pregnancy period? Not any more. Jeans as maternity clothes are made for your comfort.

You can wear these specially designed jeans and feel confident as well as comfortable. These maternity jeans include an all around stretch panel and come in all cuts and sizes. They are available as panel free waist jeans with boot cut leg. Tab waist stretch crosshatch jeans are also comfortable options for you.

Skirts

Skirts are women’s most sought after apparel. Maternity skirts are available readily in the shops and you can pick the one of your choice from the internet as well. So wear maternity skirts without any hesitation. You can pick the one from the readily available options such as long denim skirts, denim button fly skirt, dark denim knee skirt or contour waist short stretch denim skirt.

How to buy maternity clothes?

So now you know that you can wear all types of clothes during your mom-to-be phase. But hold on. You need to consider some aspects before you start shopping for maternity clothes

You should buy maternity clothes which give you extra room. The primary comforts should focus on belly and bust. You should even consider plus size maternity clothes if you are expecting twins. You should buy your basic items made up of stretchable fabrics.

It is advisable that you only buy one or two bras at a time. This is for a reason that your size will increase during the course of nine months. You should buy nursing bras during the final months of your pregnancy. The fitting of these bras should be perfect.

If you find it too uncomfortable to be out shopping during this stage, you must check out the maternity wear available on the Internet. The net is the best place for you to get the right kind of maternity apparel for all occasions without having to leave the comfort of your home.

Maternity Clothes Trends

For most women, the most stylish maternity clothes solution is to wear stretch classic jeans and a man’s white oxford shirt. However, the day comes when they face the inevitable: the visit to a maternity clothes store, either for a special occasion outfit, or to browse the plus size maternity clothes section in search for the most flattering solution to their style dilemmas. So what exactly should an expecting mom look for in maternity clothes, either regular or plus-size ones?

For the first few months most women can get along with the wardrobe they already have. Slightly bigger breasts and increased waistline will make them sexier, not bigger. But when regular clothes do not work anymore, most women prefer to forget about fashion trends and cocoon themselves into shapeless dresses or high-waist slacks paired with voluptuous sweaters.

First of all, don’t try to hide your condition. It’s chic to be pregnant today, and young Hollywood stars happily get pregnant whenever they want – and remain fashionable and glowing till the delivery. Today it’s much more flattering to show off your belly than to hide it under layers of clothes. The most current maternity outfits are sleek numbers that let your curvy silhouette show.

Happy Hippie. You will be perfectly stylish in free-flowing ethnic skirts, kaftans and yoke dresses that accommodate a growing belly. Airy tunics and patterned blousons look equally great with oversize cardigans, perhaps with a wide belt under the belly, or on their own, with a tiny capelet for warmth. This trend also embraces the wide empire-waisted and baby-doll dresses that can be worn over the maternity pants and jeans. Best designers working in this style: Alberta Ferretti, Anna Sui.

Bold Accessories. Keep the visual details on top. A scarf, a capelet, a bolero jacket in contrasting colors, virtually anything that accentuates the shoulders and bust line are very flattering. Layering with ponchos and shawls will complete the look, if you go for a loose bohemian style. Halter-type necklines are also very flattering, because in most women their neck and arms look the same even if the rest of the body grows at enormous speed.

Skip Underwires. When your bust is growing, a thick shelf bra is healthier than a bra with metallic wiring underneath. The sports bra will also do the trick. It will allow more room and support while you grow.

Wear Jeans. Today denim designers offer maternity versions of their most popular models. Citizen of Humanity, Seven For Mankind and Earl Jeans have maternity lines, as well as Juicy, in a variety of denim washes. Wear your maternity jeans low-slung, embroidered and slimming with contrasting washes.

Multifunctional Suits. With modern maternity suits you can easily switch from day to night, as they do double duty. You can dress them down with a t-shirt for a day or add a silk blouse or tunic for the night. The most charming maternity suits are made of wool and cotton, with blouses made of charmeuse and chiffon. Menswear plaids and pinstripes also look charming on pregnant women. Choose the size wisely: if you can stick two fingers between the waistline and the fabric of your new skirt or pants, it’s too big and will stay so, even when you grow.

Don’t Bare Too Much Skin. Revealing the growing belly may do the trick for Britney Spears, but not many women can do that with flare. Pregnancy is the beautiful period of life, but wearing too skimpy clothes will just look tacky.

Maternity Leave Challenges in the US Today

Although 163 countries provide guaranteed paid maternity leave for new mothers, the United States does not. In fact, this maternity leave statistic puts the US in the same boat with Lesotho, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland. Australia is the only other industrialized nation that offers no paid maternity leave for new mothers, but it does offer 12 months of unpaid maternity leave. So what does the US offer new moms today?

Let us examine the laws for pregnancy and maternity leave up close. The first federal law that you should be aware of is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This Act makes it illegal for employers to fire, refuse to hire, or deny a woman a promotion because she is pregnant. However, it provides no job protection to new parents on maternity leave.

The second federal law that you should be aware of is the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides millions of workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected time off for maternity leave or recovery from illness.

If you happen to be so lucky, your company also may offer paid short term disability to help with your maternity leave and recovery from childbirth. Some companies are stricter than others in allowing a new mom on maternity leave to qualify for this paid benefit. Ask your HR representative if this is an option for you.

While most of us can depend on FMLA to guarantee us a return to our jobs, some workers cannot. FMLA only applies to businesses with over 50 employees. The FMLA protects working women and men who have been with the same employer for at least one year and have worked for at least 1250 hours over the course of that year. 40% of workers do not fall within these boundaries. Still more workers who are eligible for FMLA coverage simply cannot afford to take maternity leave without pay. In one survey, 78 percent of workers who needed FMLA but did not take it said they could not afford the unpaid leave. So what does this mean for your maternity leave?

It means that you may have to end your maternity leave before you are ready to leave your baby. To avoid this scenarios, start considering your options before you go on maternity leave.

Job Sharing: You share your job with another person, cutting your hours to half of what they once were. This allows you to spend more bonding time with baby, while giving you some income.

Telecommuting: Working from home may be a possibility if you have a computer, good Internet connection, and a telephone - at least while on a partial maternity leave

Staying Home Full Time: Can you rearrange your budget to stay home - at least temporarily?

Start Your Own Business:There are so many possibilities out there from starting your own childcare business to selling goods on e-bay.

The US has a long way to go to protect working moms. Many families simply can’t afford to live on dad’s income alone, and many of us are single moms as well, with no choice but to work. With a little creativity and some luck, you may be able to work around the system, so you’ll have more bonding time with your baby and a longer maternity leave.

More Women Now Choose Pain Relief During Labor

More women are opting for some type of pain relief during their labor and delivery, according to a study by the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.

A survey of 378 hospitals showed that only 6 percent to 12 percent of women did not request pain relief, compared to 11 percent to 33 percent nine years prior.

Regional analgesia, including epidural, spinal or combined epidural-spinal techniques, accounted for 76 percent of the anesthesia services provided in the larger hospitals and for 57 percent in smaller hospitals.

There are two types of regional pain-relieving drugs - analgesics and anesthetics. Analgesia - pain relief without total loss of feeling or muscle movement - is typically administered to women in labor. This treatment blocks pain by numbing the nerves around the spinal or epidural space that encases the spinal cord. Anesthesia blocks all feeling and movement.

In the past, doctors debated the safety of using an epidural during early labor in first-time mothers. But newer research shows that those who are concerned about receiving pain relief during early labor may be able to rest easy.

Spinal-epidural analgesia during early labor does not increase the cesarean delivery rate in first-time mothers, according to a study by Dr. Cynthia A. Wong, associate professor of anesthesiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

This study also found that analgesia via combined spinal-epidural techniques resulted in better pain relief and a shorter labor when compared to pain medications administered by other routes such as intravenous or intramuscular injections.

"Mothers have come to expect the kind of pain relief provided by regional techniques," said Dr. Brenda Bucklin, associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. "With recent studies showing that having this type of anesthesia early in labor will not increase chances of a cesarean delivery, I think their popularity will continue."

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Morning Sickness : Causes and Cures

Morning sickness is often the first sign of pregnancy, as it can start as early as 2 weeks after conception. Despite the name, the sufferer can feel ill at any time of the day, although as an empty stomach is thought to be one of the triggers then mornings are a common time for it to appear.

Not every pregnant woman will experience morning sickness, although most do to some degree, and it can vary from a feeling of mild nausea or queasiness ranging up to feeling truly dreadful and unable to keep any food or liquids down. The severity of the effects seems to be greatest in women with a history of migraine or travel sickness.

It's not known exactly what causes it, but most doctors agree that the changes in hormone levels that pregnancy triggers are the most major factor. One of the effects of these hormones is to change the way your digestive system works, which can lead to higher levels of acid.

Another possible cause is that many women experience a heightened sense of taste and smell while pregnant, which can make nausea feel worse when unpleasant or strong odours are around.

Finally, tiredness and stress play a part, and most pregnant women are tired and stressed a lot of the time!

Morning sickness can occur over the full range of your pregnancy, but most women find that it more or less disappears by around 14 weeks as hormone levels in the body stabilise.

There are dozens and dozens of traditional 'cures' for the feelings of nausea, with every mother having an opinion on the subject! The fact is that every woman's body is different and so no single thing will work for everyone. However, there are some simple things to try which can help most feel better.

As previously mentioned, an empty stomach can be a cause, so snack little and often to keep hunger at bay, and keep a couple of biscuits by your bed for if you wake up during the night.

Sucking on an ice cube can help, as can fizzy drinks. Fresh ginger is reputed to calm the stomach, so making a tea from crushed root ginger or even chewing on a piece can be worth a try.

Remedies for travel sickness can also help, so it might be worth trying the magnetic wristbands you can buy, but you should never take any medication while pregnant without consulting your doctor.

Morning sickness is a natural part of pregnancy and will not harm your baby in any way, but in severe cases you may be unable to keep any food or fluids down and if this continues you could become dehydrated, which is very dangerous for your baby. If your urine starts to become very dark in colour this is a sign that your fluid levels are too low, and you should speak to your midwife or doctor.

Finally, when you're in a bout of morning sickness, don't worry too much about what you're eating - getting enough energy is more important than a balanced diet at that moment, so if chocolate makes you feel better then go for it! You can always stock up on healthier foods when the sickness has abated a little.

Now’s the time to reclaim our childbirth skills

Consider this. In the US, 3,680,000 women give birth each year, in the UK 700,000 do, Melbourne, Australia 58,000 and the same in New Zealand. Where Common Knowledge Trust is located 1,000 women give birth. New Zealand is unique. In 1995 midwives became autonomous, lead maternity carers. Direct entry 3 year educational programs were set up, they are paid by Government to provide antenatal, delivery and post-natal care within the concept of continuity of care. Women can choose to give birth at home or in hospital with the same midwife. There is no shared care. Over 85% of all pregnant New Zealand women have a continuity of care midwife. Women choosing to birth in hospital, even when referred to a specialist, will have team midwifery care. Ideal isn’t it? Since 1995, the caesarean rate has doubled to over 27% nationally. What’s wrong with the picture?

In modern societies where blame, shame and guilt are raging emotions often associated with birth, changing the system doesn’t seem to have worked. It’s so easy to ask ’so who is to blame?’ Gotcha.

I want a new blue car to drive. I’m planning chicken, salad and apple pie for dinner. When my husband and I have sex this weekend, I want to have the most delicious orgasm. I’ll breastfeed. These sentences have two elements. The most obvious are the choices. The less obvious are the skills. Driving is a learned skill, so is cooking, making love well and breast feeding. Within these skills are some that relate to natural physiological human urges: hunger, sex, breastfeeding. Somehow we know that we have, or haven’t or need to develop skills around these natural physiological experiences. Birth is no different.

Common Knowledge Trust is located in New Zealand, yet all The Pink Kit Method for birthing better™ resources that are and will become available developed in the US in the 1970s when ‘choices’ for expectant couples opened up possibilities unheard of for our mothers and grandmothers. Little focus has been on the skills birthing women and coaching partners need, although Lamaze, Bradley and Birthworks have offered couples tools and skills to work with the birth plans or choices couples are making.

There are so many choices for modern women and such a focus on individuality that we have lost sight of something very important. We are all one humanity. Every woman throughout Time or Place on this planet has given birth out the same hole. Birth is essentially the same process: one contraction following another until something comes out our vagina. We share the same body and can prepare our birthing body the same way. We discovered this in the 1970s. Stick to the shared body and share a common language. This is The Pink Kit Method for birthing better™. and every expectant couple can teach themselves in the privacy of their own home, along with whatever they are doing to plan or prepare for childbirth. The skills adapt to your individual situation, because they are your skills!

Many birth plans have been foiled by the unexpected. Birth plans are about choice. Birth is about reality and what is happening now. Couple our own skills to the choices we make. When the unexpected happens we have the skills to take into whatever situation we find ourselves. The reason we have so often heard ‘There’s no way to prepare for birth’, is because the unexpected is common place. We do not know what our labour will be like, if we’ll birth on our due date or go over 4 weeks, whether our water bag will leak for 2 weeks, our birth professional be sick, the hot water didn’t work to fill the pool, our baby turned breech and we’re faced with a c/s and on and on. We learned in the 1970s with skills, we can use them in all situations. Nothing has to stop us. We adjust.

The Pink Kit Method for birthing better™ can become the common knowledge skills for expectant couples worldwide. This will happen because you make the resources available in your local community. We don’t need another professionally trained group to teach us about our birthing body, we can do it ourselves at home. We (both mother and father) can all learn how to Map the pelvis, know what positions keep us open, to relax inside The Pelvic Clock, to do Kate’s Cat, Hip Lifts, Sit Bone Spreads, use a common language and common touch at any birth. And there’s more!.

Five years of statistics show that couples who learn and use the skills have about 7% c/s. Some of those couples said they did the work, but really didn’t and gave up in labour. This is compared to the 27% all having access to midwifery car, childbirth education, natural therapies etc.

Childbirth can change, one labour at a time, one contraction at a time in even around all the assessments, monitoring and procedures being done. If women wanted natural birth, they’d go bush. We take aspirin for headaches, antibiotics, immunise…the normal and natural is no longer. If birth was so natural, why are direct entry midwives trained for 3 years? Birth is natural. It will happen at the end of pregnancy. If you’re planning a labouring birth, then become skilled. If you’re planning or needing a non-labouring birth then treat yourself to becoming skilled and use the skills in the birth of your child. Every expectant parent can become involved in birth preparation and have a more positive and fulfilling birth. Don’t expect perfect.

Odds Of Getting Pregnant And Age

The odds of getting pregnant decline with age. The odds of getting pregnant are the greatest for a woman in her early twenties and then slowly decline with the passing years. Here are some numbers related to the chances of getting pregnant and age:

1. For ages early to mid-thirties - a woman in general will be about 15-20% less fertile.

2. For ages mid to late thirties - fertility will generally decline by up to 50%.

3. For women ages early to mid-forties - fertility declines by over 90%.

Why do the odds of getting pregnant generally decline as the woman gets older? Studies have indicated the reasons for fertility decline are related to the quality of the woman's eggs as well as the quantity. A woman in her lifetime will typically produce about 400 fully developed eggs (usually one per month) that are capable of becoming implanted in the uterus and causing pregnancy. As these eggs get used up over thirty years or so and estrogen production slows so that the uterine and vaginal linings are no longer properly stimulated, pregnancy becomes less and less likely.

And what about the male's role, age and the odds of getting pregnant? Studies have found that the probability of causing pregnancy for a man in his late thirties declines by about 40% from the probability during his twenties to mid-thirties.

How does a woman increase the odds of getting pregnant? Here are some tips:

• Know your fertile time - ovulation generally happens about 14 days before your next period begins. For women with cycles of 28 days, that could make day #14 your most fertile for getting pregnant (day #1 being the first day that your last period began).

• Monitor your basal body temperature - the slight elevations in your body temperature upon awakening each day will signal your most fertile time.

• Monitor your cervical mucus - ovulation will cause a change in the appearance and consistency of cervical mucus. Check yourself each day and you'll be able to see the 'egg-white-like' vaginal discharge that indicates ovulation and your most fertile time.

• Adopt a healthy lifestyle - the odds of getting pregnant increase the more healthy you are. Healthy living includes a sensible diet, nutritional supplements, adequate quality sleep, managing stress, some exercise and weight management.

Planning to start a family, getting pregnant and pregnancy can be exciting, frustrating, fulfilling and without any certain outcome. Improving your health will add to the likelihood that you can become pregnant and have a healthy baby.

One Important Reason Why you should Consider Choosing the Sex of your Baby

All of us have at some point in our lives wished that we could decide with some certainty that we would have the boy or girl of our choice. Gender selection of offspring has been a quest of mankind for ages, not just from the time of the Greeks and the Romans.

Western countries are believed to have spent over a billion dollars in research of this kind. Old wives’ tales and folklore have thrived on our desire to have the baby of our choice. The ancient Chinese are reported to have devised a system that was some 65 percent accurate.

But first, why would anyone want to choose the gender of one’s baby?

Any baby, boy or girl, is a gift of nature, and should be welcome as such?

Over the years, different reasons have been given for preferring a baby of a particular gender.

The most important reason, and the one which I strongly support, for trying to influence the gender of your baby at the time of conception, is medical. Many disabilities are now known to be transmitted across generations through genes. Many of these disabilities are gender specific. For example, a woman herself may not suffer from a gene-linked illness, but she will convey the disease-causing gene to her male children who will then be affected by the disease.
There are about 350-plus X-linked disorders (diseases that only male children inherit), some of them fatal, such as hemophilia, muscular dystrophy and X-linked hydrocephalus, and gender selection is almost a compulsion for such families. If the woman is a known carrier of an X-linked disorder, sex selection is the one way to try and prevent passing on the disease to a male child.

Some may accuse these couples of playing God. But couples attempting gender selection usually have practical reasons for doing so. Quality of life becomes an issue for both parents and child. For instance, will the child be so handicapped that he is in perpetual discomfort? What will happen to this child if the parents are no longer able to care for him? Can the parents' marriage weather the stress of raising a boy who will need constant nursing and who will never live a normal life?

The same argument of “playing God” can be used against contraceptives and abortion?

One must make the choices in life that one believes are necessary. Sometimes gender selection, attempting to improve the odds in favour of conceiving a boy or girl as desired, is a choice one must make.