Dr. Shyam Kumar Dingra

We all are aware of the fact that it's not just mothers- to- be who need to make sacrifices during pregnancy, infact it's a excellent idea for fathers to give up smoking and drinking too. Many people are aware of the fact that smoking during pregnancy can be harmful for an unborn baby, so if either you or your partner is a smoker, you should actually give up now. And giving up smoking and cutting down on alcohol now will eventually lead to a healthier and fitter you, so that when you've got a little baby around, you will be in the best of your health.

Passive smoking is harmful:
Passive smoking near your partner is dangerous as when she breathes in your cigarette smoke, your baby is taking in harmful carbon monoxide, nicotine and maybe other harmful chemical substances. Nicotine may lead to constriction of the blood vessels and might affect the uterine and placenta blood flow, might even increase blood pressure and heart rate of you and your baby.

One of the best moves you and your partner can practice is to keep your baby's surrounding and environment smoke free, both for now and as well as after the birth too. If you and your pregnant partner or other people in your home indulge in smoking, it can cause serious harm to your unborn baby.

Drugs and Alcohol is a Big No:
Taking other drugs or drinking alcohol can surely get in the way of you being the parent you always wanted to be. It can also affect your ability to take care for your child. This is a big issue with newborns, who wake up often during the night for feeding and changing. Parents indulging in the use of drugs and alcohol, this unhealthy practice may lead to the risk factor for SUDI if the children sleep in the same place as the parent. For many men, alcohol and other drugs can fuel heated arguments that might lead to violence and aggression. This can have serious consequences for the health and wellbeing of the mother and child.

Your habits affect your kids:
In a recent research the rate of lymphoma, brain tumours and leukaemia were up to 80% higher in children under the age of 5 when fathers had smoked prior to conception, even though the mothers were non smokers all the way. Moreover the rate of childhood cancer was seen highest when fathers smoked more cigarettes every day, or had been smoking for a longer time or started smoking before the age of 20.

It's not just your partner who requires staying healthy before, during and after pregnancy, you all fathers need it too. A healthy diet can surely help with conception, but it's always important to practice and carry on eating a well-balanced variety of nutritious foods. This will lead to the encouragement of your partner to do the same and help her enjoy a healthy pregnancy as well.

According to most experts, Depression and Diabetes have been intricately connected in a vicious cycle. While the prolonged and sustaining nature of diabetes directly makes one vulnerable to the bouts of depression, doctors tend to locate traces of depression in the family history of an individual in order to diagnose the roots of diabetes. It won't be too far-fetched to state that both causes as well as affects the other.

If you have diabetes, either type 1 or type 2, you have an increased risk of developing depression. And if you're depressed, you may have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes. The good news is that diabetes and depression can be treated together. And effectively managing one can have a positive effect on the other.

How Diabetes and Depression Correlated?                    
There are myriad ways in which diabetes affects depression and vice versa.

Firstly, tackling such a long drawn disease and its various pitfalls might cause a lot of anxiety to one and lead to depression. Whereas on the other hand, depression reduces the zeal to live and thus results in poor lifestyle choices which in turn causes weight gain, unhealthy food habits, physical inactivity. As we are well aware, all these have the potential to wreak havoc for any patient of diabetes. 

Similarly, diabetes ushers in various other health complications, adversely impacting one's productivity. This may cause depression in a lot of people. 

On the flipside, depression impedes one's ability and enthusiasm to work or communicate, this in turn intervenes with one's monitoring of diabetes. Since these two extremely malevolent diseases have such close connections, medical science recommends ways to grapple with both. The rigors of managing diabetes can be stressful and lead to symptoms of depression.

Diabetes can cause complications and health problems that may worsen symptoms of depression.

Depression affects your ability to perform tasks, communicate and think clearly. This can interfere with your ability to successfully manage diabetes.

Treatment: Depression is just like any other illness, it can be treated. Treatment can lift the depression and improve diabetes control.

Looking after your diabetes will help decrease the risk of getting depression. If you already have depression, good diabetes management will help lessen the negative impacts it can have. Depression is no different to any of the other complication of diabetes. It is a genuine illness for which you need to seek help and support from health professionals.

The treatment for depression and diabetes involves a coordinated approach that monitors both diabetes control and the symptoms of depression. It is about finding the treatment that works best for each person. For example, people with diabetes and mild depression may find that regular physical activity improves depressed moods and also helps control blood glucose levels.

Helping Yourself.

If you suspect you might have depression, take control of your health by:

• Going to a doctor or other health professional
• Getting involved in social activities
• Engaging in regular moderate physical activity
• Learning about depression and diabetes
• Very particular about medicines prescribed for Diabetes
• Eating healthily and including a wide variety of nutritious foods
• Achieving and maintaining healthy weight
• Limiting your alcohol intake
• Getting help, support and encouragement from family and friends
• Asking your doctor to check your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.