Disease, Treatment, Pregnancy, Fitness, and Weight Loss | Adixunite.com

Archive for the ‘Pregnancy’ Category

There are a few women out there in this world who sail through their pregnancy without so much of glimpse of queasiness. The rest of us have no such luck. Chances are you are the type of women who the mere smell of what use to be your favorite food sends you running to the nearest toilet. The mere sight of steak can send you heaving and just thinking about eating that salad turns you greener than the romaine lettuce it contains. You probably curse the silly fool who named it “morning sickness” when all pregnant women know it is more like all day sickness.

There are different degrees of morning sickness. Each woman and each pregnancy is different. I spent the first three months of my first pregnancy over a toilet and unable to look at any sort of vegetable or meat. However I made it through my second pregnancy with only a few spurts to the bathroom and hardly any aversions. The good news is though, this is usually only temporary. Most women start feeling better between their 12th and 14th week of pregnancy. Even better news is that your baby is handling this much better than you are. As hard as it is to eat healthy during this period there are some things you can do to help ease your discomfort.

For starters, eat often. It has been shown that an empty stomach tends to make your morning sickness even worse. This is why so many of us feel so bad when we first wake up. We’ve had nothing in our system which means our stomach acids are going crazy since nothing is there to soak them up. The trick to this is to eat often. Try eating six mini meals a days and make sure you have plenty of snacks. Make sure you eat often in bed. Before you go to bed for the night have a snack that is high in protein and in carbs such as nuts and raisins, yogurt and bread stick or a cheese and crackers. Keep a stash of crackers or ginger cookies by your bed and make sure you have one before you even think about getting out of bed in the morning.

You will always want to eat mainly carbs and protein. Stick with crackers or fruit to give you some comfort during those first few months. Other good snacks are pretzels, saltines and whole grain toast. For fruits stick with melons and bananas. For your protein add a little cheese or some nuts to your snacks or any time you are feeling a little green. Yogurt is also an excellent choice when fighting morning sickness also.

Make sure you drink your water. If you are vomiting it is essential that you stay hydrated. Making sure you stay hydrated is probably more important that making sure you eat those first few months. Becoming dehydrated can cause a problem for you and your little one so make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water or juice through out the day. You can also suck on ice chips or fruit juice popsicles if you are having problems keeping liquids down.

The most important thing to keep in mind those first three months is not to beat yourself up if you can not eat as healthy as you would like to. You will still have plenty of time to make up for it after you get through this storm. Just make smart choices when it comes to what you eat and snack on and that will pave the way for when you can eat as a normal person.

Congratulations, you are pregnant! The next nine months are going to be an exciting time, not just for you but for your growing baby! Think of all the things a baby has to accomplish in only nine (ten) short months. They start as a single cell and then divide at an enormous rate. Their organs develop, the heart forms and starts beating and all five senses form.

Basically your baby goes from a little blob that can’t be seen with the human eye into a seven, eight, nine or even ten pound adorable newborn baby. In order for your baby to develop as healthy as possible, your diet should play a big part. This is because your diet is how your baby is going to receive all the vitamins, minerals, protein and fluids that he or she needs to grow and develop. The best thing you and any other pregnant mother can do for your growing baby is to eat as healthy as you possibly can. Let us look at all the benefits eating well can do for your baby.

First, eating right is going to help your baby’s organ development. Your baby only has a short time to develop vital organs such as their heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys. Eating a diet that lacks vitamin D or calcium can interfere with your baby’s bone and tooth growth.

Next eating too lightly through out pregnancy might stop your baby from growing as it should in your uterus. You might find yourself measuring behind for where you should be in your pregnancy. Small babies are at a greater risk for healthy problems once they are born. On the other hand, eating to much can cause your baby to grow too big to fast. Babies who are measuring ahead are at a greater risk for delivery complications. Babies who are too big usually can not be delivered vaginally without the assistance of instruments such as forceps or a vacuum. Some women are forced to have a cesarean section because they can not deliver their baby vaginally.

Some research has been done that shows what you eat during pregnancy can affect your baby’s eating habits down the line. Babies can taste and get use to the flavors from food that makes its way into the amniotic fluid. It is quiet possible that your baby will have a preference for certain foods before they even take that first spoonful of solids. By making sure your diet contains a lot of vegetables and fruit can help ensure that your baby will enjoy eating that went he time comes.

Also, as hard to believe as it is, some studies have shown that what you are eating can contribute to your baby’s personality. Research has shown that babies born to mothers who were under-nourished tend to smile less and are drowsier compared to those who at healthy. Also, studies have shown that moms who consumed enough omega-3 acids during their final trimester have babies who showed healthier sleep patterns than other babies.

Lastly, your baby’s brain needs you to eat healthy especially during the last trimester. Unlike the rest of your baby’s organs, the brain has its greatest growth spurt during the third trimester. This is the best time to eat protein, calories and omega-3 fatty acids. These ensure optimum brain development.

There has never been a more important time to eat healthy than pregnancy. Eating healthy while pregnant is the best gift you can give your child to be.

Eating healthy throughout your pregnancy is the greatest gift you could give your unborn baby, but there are also a lot of rewards in it for you to.  It’s common for many moms to be to forget that they also benefit in eating healthy through out their pregnancy.  What you eat has a direct effect as to how well your body copes and recovers from all the physical changes it goes through.  It also helps with the physical and emotional challenge of carrying and delivering a baby.

The truth is, most pregnant women rarely walk around all nine months with that rosy glow everyone talks about.   The first three months some of us walk around a nasty shade of green and in a hazy fog thanks to the tiredness we feel those first three months.  The second three months are a little better, and we are no longer green but we deal with other issues such as varicose veins and leg cramps.

The third trimester, we are back to the hazy fog again and have other issues such as swelling and heartburn just to name a few.  Some of these can be avoided with a good diet.  Eating foods that have some complex carbs can help reduce your tiredness and staying away from fatty foods will help with the heartburn.

Research has shown that pregnant women who eat healthy throughout their pregnancy usually have a safe and uncomplicated pregnancy.  Studies have shown that some pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia or high blood pressure can be directly related to deficiencies in a pregnant woman’s diet.  High amounts of sugar and polyunsaturated fats increase this risk as well as having a low intake of vitamin c, e and magnesium.

Perhaps for some women one of the biggest benefits of eating healthy during their pregnancy is that it could help you during labor and delivery.  A well balanced pregnancy diet has been said to help prevent preterm labor, which is labor before 37 weeks.  A good diet can also help you cope with labor and delivery better.  Any woman who has given birth knows how much energy it takes to endure hours of contractions and sometimes hours of pushing.   Eating healthy will ensure that you have the energy and the stamina to get through your little one’s delivery.

Once you have delivered your little one, it is still important to continue your good habit of healthy eating especially in the postpartum period.  Your body needs a lot of resources to recover from all the stretching, blood loss and not mention sleep deprivation and still take care of a newborn.  It is just as important in the months following your delivery to continue to eat well.  As my doctor put it, it is essential to eat as though you were pregnant for at least three months after delivery.

A final added bonus to eating healthy throughout your pregnancy is that you may never stop eating healthy.  This is setting up the groundwork for a lifetime of eating healthy for not only you but for your children.  If you continue to eat healthy you are setting a prime example for your children.

Congratulations and welcome to parenthood.  Your body has gone through a lot these past nine months and it still has a while to go before it is back to normal.  The next few months are going to give you and your body a whole new set of challenges especially if you are a first time parent.  Recovering from childbirth is exhausting and when you throw a new baby who has no concept of time into the mix and you might find your head spinning.  Eating well during this time is almost as important as eating well during your pregnancy.

Your body has just been through a traumatic ordeal.  If you gave birth vaginally, you mind find yourself recovering from tears and what not.  If you gave birth via c-section, you are recovering from major surgery.   The first thing most hospitals and doctors like to make sure is that your plumbing and waste systems are working.

Eating high fiber food and drinking lots of water after your delivery will help make that first bowel movement a lot less painful.  This can be a little hard for women who delivery via c-section because they are usually on a liquid diet for the first 24 hours. You may find you need a little help from either stool softeners or prune juice to make that first trip a little easier.

Once you are home from the hospital, you are going to need your energy to take care of the baby.   Gone are the nights where you were able to get a full 8 hours of sleep.  You might not see that again for at least three months,  though ask any parent and they will tell you that getting 8 hours of sleep a night will not happen until your kids are grown and married. Sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on you and it is important that you eat healthy to maintain a decent amount of energy.

The postpartum period is usually where most women find themselves downing countless amounts of coffee or sugary foods to give them a quick fix. This is not healthy because once you come down from that high, you are going to be even more exhausted than you were before hand.  Make sure all of your meals are balanced meals and stock up on quick and healthy snacks such as celery sticks, baby carrots and lots of fruit to get you through the day.

Eating healthy can also help you fight the baby blues those first few weeks.  Nearly 80% of all women suffer from baby blues.  These usually kick in between the 4th and 5th day after delivery and can last for 10 days to 2 weeks.  You may find yourself emotional for no reason and you may start to cry for no reason.

Some women report a feeling of sadness that they are no longer pregnant and others report a feeling of helplessness when it comes to dealing with their new baby.  The baby blues are caused by your hormone levels going back to normal.  By maintaining your healthy habits that you practiced during your pregnancy could help you handle your changing emotions a little better.

Pregnancy is tough and the post partum period is just as tough.  Make sure you take the best care of yourself as possible during this time.  Eat right and continue to take your prenatal vitamin to make sure your baby is going to get the best care you are capable of.