Dr. Smita Jain

Having a baby brings about a number of changes in your life, including a change in the way you look. The nine months see you putting on additional weight, which you try to shed off once you deliver. To help you get back into shape, here are some very effective and simple ways that you can follow:

Losing weight doesn't mean you need to get started on a vigorous exercise regimen; even a simple walk around your apartment block can help you to lose your baby weight. Whether it's going up and down the stairs for 15 minutes or pushing the stroller for about 30 minutes, such activities can bring your body's calorie-burning capacity back on track.

1. Breastfeed to burn about 600-800 calories everyday - Breastfeeding is not only good for your newborn but also for you. Breastfeeding your child can help you to lose weight considerably as it's a great way of burning off all the baby fat.
2. Lift weights to speed up your body's metabolism - Lifting weights can aid in improving your body's metabolism, thereby helping you to lose your baby weight effectively. By adding weight training to your fitness regimen, you're in fact helping yourself to build muscle mass and losing weight in the process. To do this, you don't need any gym equipment, for instance, you can do lunges while taking your baby around in a stroller. Or do them while holding your child close to your chest.
3. Always snack healthily - Having healthy snacks in place of high-calorie sugary foods can help you to get back your post-pregnancy shape. Studies show that yogurt and low-fat milk can help in weight loss as the calcium content present in these two foods block a hormone that assists the body in storing fat. Moreover, consuming foods high in fiber like raisins and figs can help in improving your digestion.
4. Get adequate sleep - Sleeping is another way in which you can shed off those extra kilos. Try to sleep whenever you get the time as it'll help to keep you from binging on junk foods as well as keep your energy levels in check.

'Consult'.

Related Tip: Benefits of Breastfeeding for Baby & Mother

When endometrial tissue goes out of the uterus in women, then endometriosis occurs. In most of the cases, lower tummy and pelvic areas of women show the prominent symptoms of this disease.  Symptoms of this disease can either be severe or mild, but immediate medical diagnosis is required so that unwanted symptoms can be effectively prevented.

Surgery, hormone treatment and painkillers are the most prominent treatments that can deal with the concerned trouble, but you can also follow a few natural therapies in this respect. Excessive intake of contraceptive pills can be one of the leading reasons for endometriosis, but you can also inherit this from your family or ancestors. 

List of the symptoms of Endometriosis:

1. Painful periods: If pain continues throughout the periods, then you get yourself checked as you may have developed endometriosis. These pains can even be quite severe making the situation troublesome to bear. If you find that you are facing unusual menstrual pain, then you should not delay and rather immediately consult your nearest gynaecologist. 
2. Bleeding periods: Sometimes, bleeding periods can be one of the clear symptoms that can help you to recognize the arrival of endometriosis. Therefore, if you notice excessive bleeding, then you should consult any specialized doctor immediately. 
3. Pregnancy difficulty: Reduced fertility might create a greater trouble for conceiving, and thus, you might get deprived bearing children. This is one of the most prominent or highlighting symptoms of endometriosis. Endometriosis clumps interrupt egg passage as a result, of which the eggs cannot reach the fallopian tube via ovary.  You can take the help of your gynaecologist so that the clumps can be reduced with the help of proper treatments. 
4. Pelvic area and abdomen pain: You will often experience a worse kind of pain, especially in the pelvic and abdomen areas during and before periods. Sometimes, the pain might even linger after the menstrual period is over. There are many women who take medications for reducing this kind of pain, but this is not the right procedure, rather proper treatment is needed for getting complete recovery on a permanent note. 
5. Painful sex: You will face a lot of troubles while making intercourse or sexual interaction with your partner, and this pain can be even severe at times. If you are facing painful sex for a long time, then you should immediately report the same to any experienced medical professional.

The condition of uterine prolapse takes place when the floor muscles (and sometimes, ligaments) of the pelvis region gets stretched overly and then gradually weakens, thus becoming unable to provide adequate support to the uterus. This often leads to the protrusion or the slipping down of the uterus out of the vaginal opening. Though it can affect women of any age, it usually happens to women after menopause, especially those who have already had deliveries out of the vagina.

Causes: 
The weakening of the muscles in the pelvic region is the chief cause that leads to uterine prolapse. Other causes include:

1. Natural estrogen loss, especially after menopause
2. Gravity effects
3. Supportive tissues of pregnancy and childbirth being damaged
4. Constant straining over time
5. Excessive smoking
6. Improper weight - obesity or being overweight

Symptoms:

There are a number of varieties of uterine prolapse, of varying severity. In case of moderate to severe uterine prolapse, the symptoms tend to be more pronounced and include a number of prominent symptoms.

1. Protruding tissue from the vagina
2. Problems in bowel regulation
3. Increased lower back pains
4. Increased urinary problems, such as leakage or increased retention
5. Looseness in the vagina, which may affect your sex life

Usually, these are symptoms which become pronounced in the morning and eventually worsens through the course of the day.

Risk Factors:
The major risk factors that may increase the risk of being afflicted by uterine prolapse are:

1. Multiple pregnancies
2. Increasing age
3. Past problems relating to the pelvis - including surgeries or accidents
4. General weakness in tissues 
5. Frequently lifting heavy weights

Additionally, there are a number of conditions, such as chronic constipation, obesity or other pulmonary diseases, that may apply excess strain on tissues and muscles of the pelvic region, that accentuates your chances of being afflicted by uterine prolapse.

Here are some ways to treat infertility

Hi I am Dr. Smitha Jain, a consultant gynecologist and infertility specialist practicing at ACI IVF centers in Noida. My area of special interest is assisted reproduction which involves techniques like intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization commonly known as test tube baby techniques.

Infertility it is very common nowadays. It is defined as inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse the reasons are many. The special causes are in females blocked fallopian tubes, anovulatory dysfunctions like PCOD and nowadays which is very commonly seen is increased age of female which leads to poor quality of eggs and less chances of being pregnant. In males nowadays it is very common to see low counts and low motility which are due to stress and modern lifestyle changes but in spite of all these are reasons thanks to the era of assisted reproduction which has helped these couples to achieve pregnancy easily.

Nowadays the techniques which are commonly used are Intrauterine Insemination and invitro fertilization. So what is an IUI commonly known as intrauterine insemination. It is a procedure in which the husband semen is washed and is directly injected into the uterus of the female at the time of ovulation. It is a procedure which is recommended in case of any male factor infertility and also in cases of unexplained infertility where no reasons is been a certain despite all the tests which are being shown as normal reports.

So how does this intrauterine insemination helps? It actually increases the probability of meeting the sperm and the eggs at the time of ovulation and hence the chances of pregnancy will be improved but the overall success rate is around maximum you can say twenty to twenty-five percent. Invitro fertilization or IVF is a process where the fertilization of the gametes that is the fusion of egg and sperm is done outside the body in a specialized lab environment and once the embryos are formed they are transferred back into the uterus of the women for pregnancy to happen. It is a boon for all those patients where no techniques have helped them to achieve the pregnancy.

Probably their last option if you need any further information or query regarding infertility and IVF you can book an appointment or contact me through lybrate.com.

1. What is Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)? When is it recommended?

IUI is a procedure where semen is instilled inside the uterus of a woman after it has been processed in the laboratory. IUI is done at the time of ovulation.

It is recommended in cases of male factor infertility like low sperm counts or motility and also in case of unexplained infertility so as to improve the chances of pregnancy.

2. How does IUI increase the chance of pregnancy?

In IUI, the washed sperms are deposited directly into the uterus at the time of ovulation. By this, there are more chances for gametes (eggs and sperms) to fertilise and cause pregnancy.

3. What is the best period to do an IUI?

The best period to do an IUI is immediately after ovulation (egg release).

4. How is it performed? Or Description of IUI procedure in brief?

IUI is a simple, non-painful procedure. Firstly, the husband's semen is collected and then prepared in the laboratory so that we can get the maximum number of good motile sperms. Thereafter the woman (wife) is positioned to lie down and a speculum is inserted in the vagina. Semen wash in loaded in a sterile plastic catheter and introduced through the cervix into the uterine cavity and is then injected slowly.

5. What are the pre-IUI treatment steps?

Pretreatment steps-

1) Screening tests for both husband and wife is done.
2) Tubal patency test of a wife is desirable.
3) Ovulation induction with medications
4) Follicular monitoring by ultrasound.
5) Timing of ovulation by giving an HCG trigger injection (for egg release) when the follicles are mature (greater than 20 mm).
6) 36-40 hours later, semen is processed and IUI is done.

6. Are there extra precautions to be taken after IUI procedure?

A woman is asked to lie down for 15-30 minutes after IUI procedure, thereafter she can resume her routine activities. She is asked to take prescribed medications on time as advised.

7. Can the sperm fall out?

No, sperms don't fall out after IUI.

8. Where is the sperm accumulated? How long sperm survive after timed intercourse of IUI?

Sperm accumulate in cervical crevices during intercourse and can survive for 72 hours

9. What is the method for sperm freezing, if a partner is not available at the IUI procedure time?

The semen sample is processed first in the laboratory and the semen wash is then frozen by putting this in liquid nitrogen. Thereafter, this frozen sample can be used anytime, like on the day of IUI even when a husband is not around.

10. How long frozen sperm can be stored?

Frozen sperms can be stored as long as desired.

11. Can using of frozen sperm increase the likelihood having a child with birth defects?

No, using frozen sperms does not increase chances of birth defects.

12. Do I need to take extra precautions after IUI?

No extra precautions are needed after IUI, just take the medicines on time as advised by the doctor.

13. How long does it take for fertilization and for implantation?

Fertilization takes roughly 12-18 hours and implantation occur around the 5th day after ovulation.

14. What kind of examination is usually done for an IUI cycle?

Ultrasound monitoring (transvaginal probe) is usually done in IUI cycles.

15. How long prior to an IUI should the couple abstain from intercourse?

An abstinence period of 2-3 days is advisable before IUI to get the best sperm sample from a partner.

16. What is 'washed' sperm?

'Washed sperm' is actually the processed semen prepared in the laboratory using various media. By this process, toxins and dead sperms are removed from semen so that it can be put directly in the uterine cavity.

17. What is donor IUI?

When husband semen has no sperms (azoospermia) then, sperms can be taken from sperm banks and IUI can be done, this is called a donor IUI.

18. After an IUI, how soon can I have intercourse?

After the IUI, there is no restriction to have intercourse.

19. Can IUI be used for gender selection?

NO, IUI cannot be used for gender selection.

20. Is the process painful?

NO, IUI process is not at all painful. It is equivalent to a gynecological examination.

'Consult'.

Tip: BUSTED: 4 Myths on IVF Infertility Treatment?

• Milk
• Green leafy vegetables
• Nuts 
• Pulses
• Seasonal fruits