Once you have got the happy news of a little one coming soon in your life, you should start taking some special care so that you can enjoy the journey of pregnancy and get a healthy baby.
 These are some pointers you have to follow during pregnancy:
Maintain good hygiene during pregnancy.Take bath regularly. Warm shower or sponge bath is considered better than tub bath.
Brush your teeth regularly and have a regular dental check up. Caries tooth can be extracted after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Avoid wearing tight clothes and shoes with high heels. Wear loose and light clothes.
Take lots of fluid, fresh fruits & vegetables.
Take a diet which is light, nutritious, easily digestible & rich in protein, less fat, minerals and vitamins.
Stop smoking and drinking alcohol. It can cause miscarriage, defect in the development and growth of the baby.
Avoid jerky travelling, especially in 1st 12 wks and last 6wks of pregnancy. Prolonged sitting in a car or plane should be avoided. Air travel is not advisable to women who have high blood pressure, less hemoglobin (anemia) and low lying placenta.
Avoid taking any unprescribed drugs, exposure to X-Ray & chemicals especially in the 1st 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Take adequate rest in the lateral position and relax 1-2 hrs in the afternoon & 8 hrs at night.
Start taking folic acid at least 3 months before planning pregnancy & continue it till the 1st 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Start taking iron & calcium after 12 wks of pregnancy and continue it throughout pregnancy and 6 months post delivery.
Exercise regularly during pregnancy. Walking is the best exercise, but long periods of walking should be avoided. Also avoid heavy weight lifting and prolonged standing. Diving, water sking, gymnastic, netball, hockey, horse riding, cycling, rock-climbing, & scuba diving exercises should be avoided during pregnancy.
If you have any of these symptoms - vaginal bleeding, persistent abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, watery discharge from vagina, less or no fetal movement, severe headache, swelling on hands, face & feet, fever, dizziness, blurring of vision, double vision, spots before eyes, painful urination and diarrhea, immediately consult your gynecologist.

Do's and Don'ts in Pregnancy

6 pregnancy complications you need to know about

The biggest wish of a to be mother's mind is a smooth and safe pregnancy. One of the ways you can deliver your baby safely is by being aware of the complications that may arise during this period and taking precautionary measures to reduce your chances of developing them.

Here are the 6 pregnancy complications that you need to know about?

1. Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a condition that normally occurs after the 20th week and is characterized by high blood pressure, kidney abnormalities and the presence of protein in your urine. Most of the time, symptoms are mild, which can be easily resolved with proper care. But the condition can progress quickly, causing several of your organs to not function properly and even proving to be life-threatening.

2. Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes happens when hormonal changes during this period hamper your body's use of insulin. As a consequence, the insulin hormone is unable to normalize blood sugar levels, leading to abnormally high blood sugar levels. While the condition is not usually a cause of concern for the mother, it can pose several health problems for the baby, more specifically, the occurrence of macrosomia (a condition wherein the baby has an abnormal body weight).

3. Premature labor

You're said to suffer from premature labor or preterm labor if you experience regular contractions that lead to your cervix dilating and effacing before the 37th week. Preterm birth can prove dangerous for the baby, not to mention make it prone to several health problems. In order for it stay alive and be healthy, you child needs to reach its full maturity before birth.

4. Ectopic pregnancy

When the fetus develops outside the womb, more specifically in the fallopian tube, a condition known as ectopic pregnancy is said to occur. It is highly important to put a stop to this pregnancy complication as it the developing embryo might bring about the rupturing of the fallopian tube, and may result in internal bleeding.

5. Placenta previa

The condition of placenta previa sees your placenta occupying a very low position in the uterus, most commonly, adjacent to or over your cervix. If the placenta continues to be at this position during the whole course of the pregnancy, it can lead to bleeding as well as other complications.

6. Low amniotic fluid

It is the fluid-filled amniotic sac that supports and protects your baby in the womb. It is said that about 4% of pregnant women worldwide experience low amniotic fluid levels during their pregnancy. This condition is also known as oligohydramnios. When this happens, labor is usually induced as you come close to the end of your pregnancy.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'consult'.
Related Tip: 6 Changes You Can Expect During the 2nd Trimester of Pregnancy

6 Pregnancy Complications You Need to Know About

4 Exercises That'll Help You During Labour

There are technical ways in which you can get your body all set for labour. Although you may not know how your labour will progress, you can ease the pain that you experience during childbirth to a significant extent by doing these four exercises:

1. Kegel exercises: These exercises target the muscles that provide support to your bladder, uterus, urethra and rectum. By strengthening the muscles of the pelvic floor, these exercises help in improving the flow of blood to your vaginal and rectal area. Kegel exercises involve contracting of the muscles of your pelvic floor as you would do if you had to prevent passing urine or stool. It is also known to reduce the duration of the pushing stage of childbirth, which is the second stage. You can do the exercises sitting or standing and in either of the two ways-

Slow Kegels: For this, contract the muscles of your pelvic floor and hold them for 3-10 seconds. Release and repeat the exercise for ten times.

Fast Kegels: To be able to do this, you need to contract and loosen up your pelvic muscles 25-50 times. Do the set for about 4 times with 5 seconds interval between each set.


2. Squatting: Practising squatting during your pregnancy can help in preparing your pelvic muscles for labour. While strengthening your thighs, it opens up your pelvis for an easy descent of the baby. So, here's what you should do:

1. Begin by standing behind a chair for support with your feet wide apart

2. While contracting your abdominal muscles, relax your shoulders and chest before lowering your tailbone towards the floor

3. While inhaling and exhaling deeply, push into your legs and go back into a standing position


3. Pelvic Tilt: This exercise helps in strengthening the muscles of your back, pelvis and thigh regions while improving posture. Ensuring your pelvic joints remain flexible, it eases the pain experienced during delivery. 

Here's how it's done:

1. Get down on both your hands and knees while keeping your head in a parallel position with your back

2. While arching your back, pull in your stomach

3. Hold this position for a few seconds before releasing

The exercise needs to be repeated 3-5 times - all the while maintaining a strong hold on your back and stomach.


4. Tailor pose: The tailor pose is designed to help relax your hip joints as well as open up the pelvis. It also helps in improving your body posture while easing the aches that occur in the lower part of your back. For this, you need to perform the following steps:

1. While keeping your back straight, sit comfortably on the floor

2. Placing the soles of both the feet together, press your knees gently towards the floor

3. Keep the position for 10-15 seconds
You can repeat the exercise for 5-10 times.





4 Exercises That'll Help You During Labour

12 Changes in your body you can expect during the second trimester of pregnancy

The second trimester (starting from the 4th and lasting through the 6th month) of pregnancy is considered to be the easiest for a woman. During the second trimester of pregnancy, you can expect several changes in your body and baby. Here are the changes to expect:

Increased energy: Many women find that they have more energy during the second trimester, after the fatigue of the first trimester.
Quickening: Around the middle of the second trimester, you may feel your baby moving for the first time. These movements, called quickening, are often described as fluttering sensations.
Growing belly: As your baby grows, your uterus will expand and your belly will start to become more noticeable.
Changing breasts: Your breasts will continue to grow and may become more sensitive. You may also start to produce colostrum, a pre-milk substance that will nourish your baby in the first few days after birth.
Changing skin: As your skin stretches to accommodate your growing belly, you may develop stretch marks. You may also experience changes in skin pigmentation, such as darkening of the areolas or the appearance of a line down the center of your abdomen.
Increased risk of miscarriage: While the risk of miscarriage decreases significantly after the first trimester, it is still possible during the second trimester. Most miscarriages occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Backaches: The additional weight that you gain during these past few months begins to bear down on your back, making it achy and tired. For relief from pressure, there are certain things that you can do such as using a chair that offers strong support to your back; sleeping on the side with a pillow placed in between your legs, and wearing shoes that come with solid arch support. 
Bleeding gums: Hormonal changes occurring during this period bring about a greater flow of blood to the gums, making them extremely sensitive and prone to bleeding. The gums don t remain tender for long and return to their normal form after delivery. But during these three months, make sure to use toothbrushes with softer bristles and be gentle when flossing.
Congestion and bleeding of the nose: In addition to making your gums tenderer, hormonal changes also bring about the swelling of mucous membranes that line your nose. These changes can lead you to have a stuffy nose as well as may even cause your nose to bleed very easily. To clear any nasal congestion that may occur during this period, you should use natural methods or saline drops obtained from a chemist. 
Hair growth: Pregnancy also sees your hair growing rapidly due to the action of the hormones on the hair follicles. Additionally, you also experience hair growth in places where hair is sparse. To remove unwanted hair, you should stick to tweezing or shaving, waxing and the use of depilatories aren t recommended by medical experts as they aren t considered safe for the baby.
White vaginal discharge: White vaginal discharge during this time is very common. The discharge ensures that harmful yeast or bacteria don t breed in your private areas. But if the discharge takes on a foul smell and a green or yellow color, you should immediately consult a gynaecologist as you may be down with a vaginal infection.
Leg cramps: A very common occurrence during the second trimester, leg cramps usually last through the last leg of pregnancy, which is the third trimester as well. The reasons behind their occurrence may be hormonal, weight-related, or deficiency of magnesium and calcium.
It's important to remember that every pregnancy is different, and you may experience different changes or none of these changes at all. It's always a good idea to discuss any concerns you have with your healthcare provider.

'Consult'.

12 Changes You Can Expect During the 2nd Trimester of Pregnancy

Hypertension or high blood pressure is common in pregnant women, even in those who have no previous history of high blood pressure. This leads to complications in about 6 to 10% of all pregnancies around the world. High blood pressure may develop before or after conception and as such needs special medical attention.

Hypertension prevents sufficient flow of blood to the placenta and this inhibits the normal growth of the fetus. This could result in low birth weight of the child. However, if diagnosed in time and treated properly, hypertension does not affect the child's health too much. There are various types of hypertension during pregnancies, such as:

Gestational hypertension: This type of hypertension is developed about 20 weeks after conception. There is no abnormality in urine or any signs of other organ damage (as is common with hypertension during pregnancy) but the condition can worsen and complicate very quickly. Pregnant women below the age of 20 and above the age of 40 are often diagnosed with high levels of blood pressure. Women who have heart or kidney conditions before pregnancy and women carrying more than one child are also likely to develop gestational hypertension.
Chronic hypertension: Chronic hypertension is high blood pressure which develops around 20 weeks before conception and does not normalize within 12 weeks after childbirth. The patient may also have been suffering from high blood pressure for a long time but the complications appear only during pregnancy because high blood pressure rarely exhibits symptoms without an associated condition.
Chronic hypertension superimposed with Preeclampsia: Women who have hypertension before pregnancy may develop even higher blood pressure levels during pregnancy. This leads to several health disorders like frequent headaches, fatigue and depression.
Preeclampsia: Preeclampsia is often a serious complication of gestational pregnancy and affects about 5% to 7% of all pregnancies globally. Gestational pregnancy does not always develop into preeclampsia but it needs to be diagnosed and treated in time to avoid the complication. Women who have conceived for the first time or have a history of hypertension in the family are at a greater risk of preeclampsia. The symptoms of the condition are throbbing headaches, blurred vision, nausea and vomiting, pain in the upper abdominal region and shortness of breath.

Types Of Hypertensions Experienced During Pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy takes place in the case when the completely fertilized egg attaches itself to a place outside the inner side of the uterus. Ectopic pregnancy is also called tubal pregnancy because in most cases, it takes place in the Fallopian tube. Usually, the Fallopian tubes are not responsible for holding an embryo, which keeps on growing. Hence, the egg has no scope to develop in the Fallopian tube. This problem must be treated as soon as possible to avoid further complications. Here are several ways of treating ectopic pregnancy.

1. Expectant management: In case you are not experiencing any symptoms of pregnancy or the pregnancy cannot be found, close observation is required. This is known as expectant management. You should conduct regular blood tests and follow them up in order to detect, whether the hCG level in your blood is ascending or descending. You are likely to have vaginal bleeding. Use pads and towels instead of tampons. Pain in your tummy is also indicated.

2. Proper medication: In case ectopic pregnancy is detected at an early stage and constant monitoring is not suitable for you, a medicine by the name of methotrexate can be used for treatment. The medicine stops this pregnancy from developing. It is usually injected into your buttocks. Regular blood tests must be carried out to know how the treatment is taking shape on your condition. Trusted contraception measures should be taken for three months following the treatment as methotrexate is very harmful for an infant in case you become pregnant. Keep away from alcohol, as the combination of methotrexate with alcohol is harmful to the liver.

3. Surgical means: The most common mode of surgery for removing ectopic pregnancy during an early stage is laparoscopy or keyhole surgery. While a laparoscopy is carried out, you will be in a state of anesthesia. A narrow tube or the laparoscope is inserted through surgical cuts in the tummy. The Fallopian tube, which had the ectopic pregnancy is totally removed in case the other Fallopian tube is functioning well. Else the pregnancy has to be somehow removed without cutting off the Fallopian tube. Removal of the Fallopian tube is the best remedy for treating ectopic pregnancy and getting pregnant again is also possible. It takes a normal woman almost six weeks to recover after the surgery. Laparotomy is another kind of surgery carried out to repair a ruptured Fallopian tube.

Ectopic Pregnancy - How to Treat It?

Don't wait any longer, manage your Pregnancy Problems online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Pregnancy Problems - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES