Powerfully Simple Secrets To A Fit,Healthy Pregnancy Revealed!

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Well, I have to say, on this one I am staunchly in the Yes camp. Our bodies are specifically designed to to do this, just as any animal does and I don't see any animals heading off for formula at their local water hole. Breastfed mbabies are siad to sleep better, have fewer allergies, ear infections and have the added benefit of gaining moms immunity for their delicate little systems.

Having said all that I do realise that my reality is not everyones elses reality and that all of us, as pregnant women, experiencing these wonderful things, are all unique individuals with different personalities, different pain thresholds, different viewpoints and ideas. So while I feel very strongly about this for myself, it is extremely important that you do what makes you feel comfortable.Most importantly though, we should all be doing what is best for our precious little babies, to give them a strong solid basis of health and to set the groundwork to see them through their lives.

Prenatal vitamins are an important source of folate and other vital nutrients during pregnancy. And many women, with the popularity of herbal medicine, take other herbs during pregnancy. Some of these herbs they may have been taking before, for an existing condition. Others, they may take to help cope with some of the physical difficulties that go with pregnancy. The following supplements and food additives should be avoided during pregnancy to avoid potential problems with the health of the baby.

• Quinine - Quinine is found in many drinks like tonic water, and these are popular as a result of their slightly bitter taste. But it was found that one woman who drunk more than 1 liter of tonic water a day whilst she was pregnant had a baby that was suffering withdrawal symptoms when it was born. It had nervous tremors within a day of being born, which disappeared two months later. Germany's BfR (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) recommends that pregnant women treat quinine drinks, no matter how small the amount of quinine in them, as a medicinal product, and avoid them as a precaution during pregnancy.
  
  
• Ginseng - One of the more than 20 active constituents of ginseng was found by researchers at the Chinese University of the Hong Kong Prince of Wales Hospital to be a possible cause for concern for pregnant women. These researchers were measuring the effect of this active principle on fetal development in rats. And they found that, relating to the dose, rat embryonic development was affected. Higher doses meant a higher level of abnormalities, according to the markers of development their study used.
  
  Now, this study was one done on rat embryos, and so may not translate into similar effects on humans. And it only studied the effects of one of ginseng's active constituents, which was a ginsenoside called Rb1. Ginseng actually has over 20 ginsenosides, and other studies have found that these each have different actions.
  
  One of the difficulties with studying active constituents in herbal medicine is that the whole herbal extract may have a very different overall effect than a single constituent. This is because of the way active principles both work together and counteract each other. These two aspects, the fact that the study was not done on humans, and does not measure the overall effect of the whole ginseng extract, mean that its results should be treated cautiously. As a safety precaution, at this time it is best to at least avoid ginseng supplements during the first trimester, as the authors of the study suggest, and probably for the whole of the pregnancy. But ginseng should certainly not be branded dangerous as a result of this research as it is only a very preliminary finding in the overall picture, and more points the way as to where further research needs to be done.
  
  
• Ginkgo Biloba - Ginkgo biloba is another supplement that is best avoided whilst pregnant. Researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit found one of the constituents of ginkgo biloba in the placenta of women who had taken ginkgo supplements. This particular constituent, an alkaloid called colchicine, can be fatal in high doses, though medicinally, it has great anti-inflammatory effects. Other research has found that cochicine can harm a growing fetus. The potential problem with taking ginkgo supplements regularly whilst pregnant is that colchicine can build up in the womb, like caffeine when taken in excess of the recommended maximum amounts. The researchers did stress that there was no link established in the study between ginkgo and complications in the pregnancy, the study only looked at levels of colchicine in the womb.

References:
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=60554
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=25810
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=20934

Most doctors will tell you that you should gain anywhere between 25-30 pounds through out your pregnancy. You should aim to gain about 3.5 pounds during your first trimester, although more often than not most women find that they lose weight their first trimester. The culprit to this is morning sickness. Some women suffer from such a severe case of morning sickness they can not keep anything down. Chances are your doctor will not be too concerned if you lose a few pounds that first trimester as long as you gain steady throughout the next two trimesters.

Your second trimester is where you will probably put on most of your weight. Most women put on about a pound a week, so roughly four or five pounds a month which brings their second trimester weight gain to about 12-15 pounds. Some women put on more while others put on less. Do not be surprised if you put on a lot of weight one month and not so much your next.

For the 7th and 8th month you will should probably continue about a pound each week or so. Look to gain between 8 and 10 pounds those months. Most women find that their weight gain slows down in the 9th month. You might find your weight gain coming to a end as your due date draws nearer. This can be a sign that labor is on the horizon. Or, you may find that your weight gain continues especially if you are retaining a lot of water.

So where does all this weight go? It doesn't really make sense that you should gain between 25-30 pounds if your baby is only going to weigh between 7 and 8 pounds. Let's break down where the extra weight goes.

First, you have your baby. A average baby weights about 7 1/2 pounds. Some can weigh more and some weigh less. That amniotic fluid that your baby has been swimming in for the past nine months weighs about 2 pounds. Figure in about 2 pounds for your breast enlargement and 1 1/2 pounds for your placenta. Your uterus, which started off about the size of a golf ball has grown to weigh about 2 pounds. Your body should be producing about 4 pounds of extra blood by the end of your pregnancy and about 7 extra pounds of fat. Let's not forget the extra fluid of about 4 pounds that your body might be holding on to. All this equals to the grand total of about 30 pounds.

Now keep in mind this is just a estimate and not a guarantee of how your weight will fall. There are women who wind up having a 10 pound baby and others who have a 5 pound baby. The key is to maintain a healthy weight gain throughout your pregnancy. Your body needs extra calories and it is best for you and your baby if those extra calories come from food that has a lot of nutritional value such as fruits, vegetables or protein. Staying away from junk for will help you curb your weight gain.

When it comes to taking the weight off, do not be surprise if your body hangs on to it especially those first days after delivery. Once you are home keep this in mind that it took nine months to gain that weight so gives yourself at least a good nine months to take it off.

This is a very important section of the pregnancy avoidance textbook. Here goes:

1. Alcohol is a bad one and you should try and avoid it as much as possible. Drinking alcohol when pregnant can have adverse affects on your unborn baby and excessive drinking while pregnant can cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, symptoms of which are a smaller than average head, poor coordination, learning problems and deformed facial features. One to two units of alcohol a week are said to be fine, but don't exceed that limit. Remember that Alcohol also dehydrates you and this is very important for maintaining plump healthy cells throughout you and your babies forming body.

2. Cigarettes! I cannot stress this enough and I am an ex smoker. Apart from over FOUR THOUSAND toxic substances lacing your cigarette, including Formaldehyde, which then floods your and your babies body and bloodstream when you take a drag, you also deprive your unborn baby of oxygen every time you inhale cigarette smoke. Stopping smoking should be your top priority.

3. Caffeine is also unfortunately considered a bad one and should be avoided. Everyone feels the pain of not having that cup of coffee in the morning but it is a blink in the ocean of time while you are pregnant and if you cant cut it out, cut down to the very max of one cup a day. Remember that it is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, a lower birth weight and it reduces your ability to absorb iron. Caffeine is also found in chocolate, fizzy drinks and headache pills so be aware of what you are buying.

At this point, you may be starting to freak out a little at the imminent removal of these beloved things from your life albeit temporarily. Perhaps a lot. Please, these things do not even make it onto the list of lowest priorities when you are embarking on such a miraculous journey as that of creating a new life. Speaking from experience, you wake up one morning and your beautiful baby is three months old and you wonder what happened to the time.

What I am really saying is that the time you spend being pregnant and doing without these toxic little luxuries goes by as quickly as the blink of an eye. In my mind I still see myself as a skinny, sexy nineteen year old who can whip the clubbing crowds into a frenzy with my djing, fag and vodka in hand. Then I walk past a shop window, see my thirty something reflection and realise how fast it all goes by.

In a nutshell, to cut these three things out so that your baby is as healthy and armed with strength and intelligence as you are able to give is all that matters. And I can gaurantee that you will feel so much better for it!

It wasn't until my third pregnancy that I realised just how uncomfortable your behind could become. Now if you are squeamish or a prude, either stop reading now or get over it! Whilst being pregnant and giving birth are in my opinion, the 2 most miraculous things one earth, both these experiences really draw you back to basic instincts and the bare bones of the human body and it's functions.

Much to my horror, not only did my backside become as broad as the Rio Grande, thanks to the oestrogen produced to lay fat onto my hips and thighs in preparation for breastfeeding my baby, but I also experienced the very unpleasant, infamous constipation followed by, even worse, a small haemorroid! This small haemorroid then became a larger one after the intense, purple faced pushing, that is necesssary to get your little bundle out into the world. One of my closest friends quite literally burst the blood vessels on her cheeks with the effort!

Luckily for me it disappeared fairly quickly with the help of some aptly named cream given to me by the midwife at the hospital. That is definitely a tube of cream you relegate to the bottom of your sock drawer!

However, both these conditions can be eased during pregnancy by making a few simple changes to your diet.

Do:

Drink more water-this helps to shift toxins and hydrate your body making it easier to shift waste products

Eat more fruit-Pears in particular have a high fibre content, so add one of those a day to your menu

Eat more vegetables-Green leafy vegetables also have a high fibre content and plant fibre is far more effective at making your colon function properly then grain based fibre

Eating cold wholewheat pasta is a very good colon cleanser and with some blanched verggies followed by a pear for dessert, you colon will be much the happier.

Eat more beans-these also have a high fibre content and occassionaly adding a bean salad to your lunch or evening meal can also help things to move along nicely. Bear in mind, introduce little portions, as they do cause wind as I am sure you know!

Don't:

Eat lots of ready meals or processed foods

Eat lots of baked goods like white breads, pastas, cakes and bisuits as these have little or no fibre content and are a sure fire way to block you up.

The reason you are more prone to constipation is that there is an increase in the levels of progesterone produced by the body. This in turn loosens the smooth muscle in preparation for the birth and includes making your gut slow and lazy. Then, because the increased progestrone also relaxes your blood vessels, you are more prone to haemorroids as the weight of your growing baby increases culminating in the pushing to give birth.

So in a nutshell while it can be difficult to avoid both of these things, you certainly can make simple changes to your diet that will benefit both you and your baby.

In the last three months of your pregnancy, your baby was old enough to start getting a taste of the foods his or her mommy likes. Now that your baby is here and you're breast feeding, your baby will acquire an even better taste of your favorite food.

Typically if you are feeding your baby you should generate anywhere from 23 to 27 ounces of milk a day. In order to make sure of this, you need to add to your calorie intake by more or less 500 more a day.

You furthermore have to increase your water consumption to at least 2 1/2 to 3 quarts of water a day. You may well notice that you are thirstier at some stage in the nursing session. The reason forthis is that the water you drink goes straight to milk production. Try not to drink more than 3 quarts of water a day. Everything more than 3 quarts can reduce the amount of milk your body produces.

As confirmed earlier, you need to up your calorie intake. Prepare to take in about 2500 calories a day or more if you are planning to nurse for longer than three months. These additional calories musn't come from junk food. Junk food and sweets are solely empty calories and offer no nutritional value to you or your baby. Add more protein like chicken and pregnancy safe white fish. A useful benchmark is to eat 1 gram of protein every day for each pound you weigh. If you weigh 150, aim to eat 150grams of protein a day.

If you were not already doing so throughout pregnancy, adopt the six meals a day plan. Eat breakfast, a midday snack, lunch, a mid afternoon snack, dinner and a night time snack. Your body is going to be making milk constantly so it is a useful idea to keep it charged with calories through out the day.

There are some foods you might want to steer clear of through pregnancy. Pretty much everything passes through breast milk and to the baby. This is why the primary thing Doctors tell nursing moms to make sure of when their baby has colic is to Take note of what they are eating. Chocolate has been blamed in many cases of colic and can cause an upset stomach for nearly all babies. If you have a baby with a tummy pain think back to see if you had a candy bar or even a cookie in the hours before you nursed. The best advice is to stay away from chocolate while you are nursing.

Avoid the baddies like greasy and spicy foods while you are breastfeeding. Greasy foods occasionally upset adults stomachs, imagine what it would do to your tot's tiny tummy? Stop until your baby is older and no longer nursing rather than you start making trips back to McDonalds. (Heaven forbid!)

You may also choose to stay away from garlic and onions while you are breast feeding. Both of these can give flavor to the breast milk and you could find that your little one will not nurse if you have eaten these. Your little one may be clearly a tad too young to welcome the taste of garlic and onions anyway. Remember it takes a few hours for the food you eat to make its way into your breast milk. You may well have eaten one of these foods right before you nurse and notice your baby is fine but by either the following nursing session or the one next you might discover your baby having a reaction at that time.

Your breast milk does not simply taste like what you eat, but furthermore what you drink. Exactly as with pregnancy, you should stay away from a lot of caffeine while breastfeeding. You might feel you need a little coffee to keep you functioning and a cup or two will not hurt you or your baby, but too much could give rise to disastrous effects. While we feel hyped up from too much caffeine, your baby does too. Keep your caffeine down to a lowest amount, if any.

You have made an admirable choice breastfeeding your baby. Keep it up by making clever choices as to what you eat.