Posts Tagged ‘Pregnancy’
Drugs in Pregnancy
Drugs in Pregnancy
The Right Stuff
We have prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, and the ever popular social/recreational drugs. There’s something for everyone. Pregnancy provides the opportunity for many women to examine their particular pattern of drug use.
Everyone wants a healthy baby with all the designated parts in the proper places. Pregnant womeI1 worry about birth defects and try to do everything possible to avoid harmful substances that might harm their developing baby. There’s much confusion and anxiety about what causes birth defects and the role that drugs play. When a miscarriage or abnormality in the baby occurs, the normal reaction is to look for a place to lay the blame. But it’s not that simple most of the time.
Travel During Pregnancy
Travel During Pregnancy
We’re a very mobile society, and questions about travel during pregnancy frequently crop up. Generally, traveling “afar” in the first 6 months of your pregnancy is safe. Negotiate trips the last 3 months of pregnancy with your doctor. Give some thought to what you would do if you went into labor in a strange place. Talk to your doctor before you leave on vacation and ask him to recommend a colleague in the city you’ll be visiting in case you have a medical problem. Check to see if your insurance will cover an out-of-territory delivery. (We could be talking a lot of money and emotional trauma.) It may not be worth it to jet off to Tahiti just to darken your tan. Think about it.
Pregnant Women can be prone to blood clots in the legs from long periods of inactivity. If you travel by car, plan to stop every hour to stretch and walk around to get your circulation going. If the back seat is vacant, take a pillow and lie on your side for 20 minutes periodical1y during long trips, to help keep your feet and ankles from swelling.
Play During Pregnancy
Play During Pregnancy
Spas and Hot Tubs
There may be a relationship between hyperthermia and spinal column defects in babies. Sitting in water heated to 102 degrees causes your core body temperature to rise to 102 degrees within 10 minutes (hyperthermia). Especially in the first trimester, avoid hot tubs and saunas with 102-degree or more heat. Getting in and out every 10 minutes won’t avoid the problem because it takes 4.5 minutes for your body temperature to return to normal. Keep water temperatures 100 degrees or below for safety. Avoid prolonged soaking sessions. Also, there’s no truth to the rumor that you can catch herpes from sitting in a hot tub.
Work During Pregnancy
Work During Pregnancy
The present-day ideal superwoman works all day, jogs home, and still has time and energy to clean house and make gravy. When she gets pregnant, she doesn’t plan to alter her life-style. Should she? The answer seems to be “no” for the healthy, low-risk, pregnant woman.
Doctors’ Opinions vary as to how long a pregnant woman may continue working. As long as your pregnancy remains uncomplicated, most doctors will agree to your working until your due date. Others may suggest that you stop working 2 to 4 weeks before your due date. If you’re a lumberjack, trucker, furniture mover, or a CIA agent stationed in the Middle East, you may have to transfer temporarily to less physically demanding or stressful work. Your doctor may advise you to become a homebody the last 6 to 12 weeks. You may also have to “retire” at least 12 weeks before term if you have pregnancy complications such as twins, previous history of premature rupture of membranes, preterm labor, or high blood pressure. There are no absolute strict guidelines; your doctor will evaluate your situation and discuss your options and alternatives.
Stretch Marks, Vaginal Discharge, Varicose Veins in Legs and Labia, Urinary Tract Infections
Stretch Marks, Vaginal Discharge, Varicose Veins in Legs and Labia, Urinary Tract Infections
Stretch Marks
Avoiding stretch marks during pregnancy is strictly a matter of luck and the right genes-nothing more. Either you have the right kind of skin tissue or you don’t. Contrary to popular belief, what you put on the outside of your skin doesn’t prevent stretch marks, which occur from the inside, influenced by the type of skin you inherited. So don’t spend hours slathering cocoa butter or any other touted prevention for stretch marks all over your body; it won’t work.
If you do get stretch marks, they’ll fade after you have your baby. In most women, they become silvery lines you can barely see, but they don’t fade entirely. It’s one of the trade-offs for being a mom.
Numbness in Legs or Arms, Public Symphysis Pain, Sore Ribs and Round Ligament Pain During Pregnancy
Numbness in Legs or Arms, Public Symphysis Pain, Sore Ribs and Round Ligament Pain
Numbness in Legs or Arms
Not infrequently, a pregnant woman will find that one of her legs refuses to function when she stands up; it just gives way. You wake up in the morning but one of your arms feels asleep. Such symptoms can be scary, but rest assured that you don’t have a brain tumor or worse. Your altered posture of pregnancy causes the problem. Your shifted weight puts pressure on sensitive nerves, causing numbness and tingling. If you bound out of bed in a hurry, one of your legs might not cooperate, and you may also fed dizzy.
Helpful Hints
Learn to wake up slowly and give your body a chance to get its act together. Sit on the edge of the bed and take inventory of what seems to be working and what isn’t. This gives your circulation a chance to recuperate.
Leg Cramps, Nausea and Vomiting, Nightmares and Nosebleeds During Pregnancy
Leg Cramps, Nausea and Vomiting, Nightmares and Nosebleeds
Leg Cramps and “Restless Legs”
Just when you get to sleep, here comes an aggravating leg cramp to wake you up again. Leg cramps are possibly caused by a calcium deficiency, although drinking more milk or taking calcium pills hasn’t been wildly successful in curing leg cramps.
Researchers now feel that several factors may cause leg cramps. One is a diet high in phosphorus, an element commonly found in highly processed junk foods and milk. The altered posture of pregnancy plays a big role also; the forward shift of your weight strains those leg muscles, contributing to the cramping at night.
Helpful Hints
Practice the preventative exercises described below. If a leg cramp should strike, have your husband push the ball of your foot toward you so your toes point toward your knees. If he exerts steady pressure for about a minute, the cramp will go away. If he isn’t handy, get up and do the exercise described below.
Heartburn, Headache, Hemorrhoids and Insomnia During Pregnancy
Heartburn, Headache, Hemorrhoids and Insomnia
Heartburn
The enlarging uterus and the hormones of pregnancy are the culprits of this common complaint. The uterus pushes the stomach upward as it grows. Pregnancy hormones slow digestion, so the stomach doesn’t empty as fast, making it possible for stomach acid to shoot up into your throat and bounce off your tonsils. It’s uncomfortable and tastes terrible!
Helpful Hints
Avoid large or unusually spicy meals before bedtime. Sleep in a semi propped position, with two or three pillows. The cure for heartburn comes when you have your baby.
Fainting and Dizziness
Fainting and Dizziness
These two symptoms, alone or in combination, can result from the way you’re sitting or standing, from eating the wrong foods, or from not eating often enough. If you lie flat on your back, your uterus compresses major arteries and cuts off a lot of the blood supply to both you and the baby. You feel faint, nauseated, and dizzy. If left on your back, you can actually faint and undergo a dangerous drop in blood pressure. Some women are more prone than others to fainting spells, but you can avoid the possibility.
Helpful Hints
After the fifth month of pregnancy, don’t lie flat on your back; sleep or lie on your side or in a semipropped position. Inform your husband that if you do faint, he’s to turn you on your left side so your blood pressure can recover.
Constipation, Contraction, Dyspnea and Edema During Pregnancy
Constipation, Contraction, Dyspnea and Edema
Constipation
The pregnancy hormones mentioned earlier slow down bowel function. Nature does that to assure maximum absorption time for nutrients and vitamins. If you tend to constipation anyway, you may begin to feel that dynamite is the only solution. Laxatives may help, but they offer only short term relief, and with their repeated use, your colon becomes even lazier and addicted to the artificial, harsh stimulation laxatives provide.
Helpful Hints
Instead of using laxatives, add 3 tablespoons of unprocessed bran to a high-fiber cereal such as Bran Flakes or Grape nuts at breakfast, or just mix the bran with milk or juice. If that hasn’t worked by the next morning, add another tablespoon to the original 3. Continue adding more each morning until you get results; some people require more than others. This is the safest, most reliable method available for treating constipation, as well as the cheapest. Try adding more leafy green vegetables and fresh fruits to your diet.