pregnancy

Natural child birth is not just a normal delivery without the need for medical intervention or drugs. It is a continuing process of good health in the mother, whose mental attitude to pregnancy and child birth is one where fear has been reduced through adequate preparation.

The preparation should begin before the child is conceived and continue with a good understanding of all the changes physically, emotionally and physiologically that are going to occur throughout pregnancy, delivery and the first weeks following the birth.

For a healthful living during pregnancy, a general rule which can be followed with benefit by pregnant women is for them to carry on their way of life, but to do it with moderation. They should avoid all kinds of excesses, even excesses of rest.

Symptoms

Elevated blood pressure is the first symptom a pregnant woman can note, second being oedema (swelling) of hands, feet and face. The third sign is the appearance of protein in the urine.

These are the warning signals, and if they are not heeded convulsions (fits) may occur, fortunately rarely, strokes and death of the mother have happened. The toxaemia has then become a more serious condition known as eclampsia.

"Women often adopt healthier habits before and during pregnancy, like stopping caffeine use. This study suggests that adding exercise to that list may be icing on the cake," said Dr. Robert Welch, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan.

Regular exercise: a key to keeping the baby size normal
In order to measure the effect of exercise on the newborn’s weight, the Norwegian researchers analyzed data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study which included information on nearly 37,000 women.

However, though the exact cause behind birthmarks is still not known, scientifically, birthmarks are believed to be a result of an overgrown blood vessels or pigmented (color) cells.

Types of Birthmarks
Broadly, birthmarks can be differentiated into two categories on the basis of their causes:

• Vascular (blood vessel) birthmarks: These are caused by an over abundance or tangling of blood vessels. Vascular birthmarks can be further classified into Macular stains, Hemangiomas and Port-wine stains.

Breastfeeding evades negativity, harbors positive energy
It is seen that post natal stress or post-partum depression (PPD) is a common clinical illness in new mothers.

Studies report its prevalence rates among women from 5 percent to 25 percent and, in first time fathers from 1.2 percent to 25.5 percent.

Symptoms of post natal depression include sadness, fatigue, change in sleeping and eating patterns, reduced libido, crying episodes, anxiety, and irritability.

Details of the study
4941 pregnant women, all of whom were participants of a multi-ethnic population-based study, were picked up for the current study.

Researchers gathered information detailing each woman’s pregnancy and post-pregnancy feelings.

Information on complications encountered during pregnancy and childbirth was then matched with the risk of postnatal depression for the various complications, including pre-eclampsia (pregnancy induced high blood pressure), deep vein thrombosis, poor fetus growth and fetal distress.

An understanding of what emotional swings to expect, why they occur and how to react to these changes will help you brace yourself against any potential harm they might cause on the overall wellbeing of both you and the baby. Here is a list of factors responsible for these emotional highs and lows:

The condition is more likely to occur in young children or older adults above 65 but can be cured with appropriate medical treatment.

Study details
To reach this conclusion, researchers from the Queens University in Ontario, Canada, looked at 425 people aged between two and 49 who had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

The aim of the study was to determine a correlation between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and occurrences of epilepsy and seizures.