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Pregnancy Deliver Many Alterations

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:25:44 GMT

Moms-To-Be Could Get The Best Carrying a child Suggestions Right here! How you will will embellish your nursery, is probably among the top issues on your mind during your pregnancy. Perhaps you presently have an idea of how you can expect to beautify or you could just have a thousand concepts spinning around with your go. This post has some very nice ideas which can be used that will assist you to get via your pregnancy, without any issues.

Morning hours sickness is named improper. Some girls get sick throughout the day very long. Should you be at risk of this, keep a package of saltine crackers through your mattress, munch one slowly after waking. Ginger is also beneficial for your ill experiencing and will come in many forms, like fresh root, chocolate, sodas and teas.

Recall that you will be eating for 2 during your being pregnant, so it seems sensible that you simply would observe an increase in your desire for food! This will not imply, nevertheless, that you need to dual your regular caloric ingestion. Specialists propose that most women that are pregnant eat a maximum of 300-500 extra kilocalories every day.

Working out when you find yourself expecting a baby is a fantastic choice to make. You need to start out earlier in your pregnancy, and stay constant. This should help you decrease your chance of a miscarriage, and will also help shorten how much time you happen to be in labor, as well as reducing the potential risk of getting any problems.

So you can see that infertility treatments is a subject that you have to be mindful when you are finding out about it. As always, though, much of what you decide you need is totally dependent on what you want to accomplish. Just be sure you choose those items that will serve your requirements the most. How each one will play out in your situation is largely unknown, but we each have to consider that. But let’s keep going because we have some exceptional tips for you to give considerable attention.Consider babysitting a friend’s little one to get much more comfortable with caring for any newborn baby. Having some hands on experience will help you truly feel more comfortable with the impending birth of the new infant. Don’t remove over you can chew even though while you get farther together inside your carrying a child.

As discussed in this article, there are several helpful tips that will help you regulate pressure through your having a baby. With all the alterations, there is bound to be anxiety. Even so, the a lot less demanding inner thoughts you experience, the more healthy the being pregnant is going to be both for the mom along with the baby.

Pregnancy-related high blood pressure, diabetes linked to later heart disease

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:55:26 GMT

Most of the changes that come with pregnancy—growing a belly “bump,” being tired, mood swings, cravings for particular foods, and the like—are normal, temporary, and harmless. Two other changes, pregnancy-related high blood pressure and diabetes, may have long-lasting implications for heart health.

The development of high blood pressure during pregnancy is known as preeclampsia; pregnancy-related diabetes is called gestational diabetes. They are different from “regular” high blood pressure and diabetes because both are “cured” by delivery. Yet a new study published this week in the journal Circulation suggests that these complications boost a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease during middle age.

Researchers looked at the pregnancies of more than 3,400 women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in the early 1990s and followed their health for nearly 20 years. By age 50, the 10-year risk for heart disease was 31% higher for women who developed preeclampsia during their pregnancies than women who didn’t. Those who developed gestational diabetes had a 26% higher 10-year risk.

Preeclampsia and gestational diabetes also affected the women’s babies. Women with preeclampsia were more likely to give birth to underweight babies and deliver prematurely. Women with gestational diabetes were more likely to deliver overweight babies.

Preventing problems before and after
The findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study suggest that pregnancy may be a kind of months-long “test” of the heart and other systems. Preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and other pregnancy-related complications could be early signs of some underlying problem that eventually leads to heart disease.

Can these problems be avoided? Sometimes. Women who are not yet pregnant can help prevent them from occurring by aiming for a healthy weight, exercising, and adopting a healthy diet before getting pregnant. During pregnancy, being careful about weight gain, exercising, and eating well are even more important. That said, some women who are meticulous about all those things still develop preeclampsia or gestational diabetes.

If you developed preeclampsia or gestational diabetes during pregnancy, it’s a good idea to talk with your doctor about tracking your blood pressure and blood sugar more carefully as you get older. You might need to pay more close attention to them than someone who sailed through pregnancy without either of these complications. And keeping your blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and other cardiac risk factors under control may be especially important for you.

Exercise in Pregnancy Safe for Baby, Study Finds

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:28:29 GMT

Exercising at moderate or -- for very active women -- even high intensity during pregnancy won't hurt your baby's health, a new study finds.

Researchers monitored healthy women in their third trimester before and after 30 minutes on a treadmill and found no problems with measures of fetal well-being, including heart rate and blood flow. The results were similar whether or not the women exercised on a regular basis.

"Healthy pregnant women who exercise should be encouraged to continue, and if a woman is pregnant and is not an exerciser, she should be encouraged to start a moderate exercise program," said study co-author Dr. Linda Szymanski, an assistant professor in the division of maternal-fetal medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

The findings are in line with the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that healthy pregnant women get at least two and a half hours of medium-intensity aerobic exercise a week even if they did not exercise before becoming pregnant. Exercise improves heart health and may reduce the risk of complications during pregnancy, such as developing high blood pressure and diabetes.

However, research indicates that women tend to exercise less when pregnant, and most fall short of the government guidelines. "Many women say their doctor told them they should cut back on exercise, and if they weren't exercising before pregnancy, now is not the time to start," said Szymanski. "I think it's just because there's not enough data out there to assure [health care] providers that the fetus is okay."The study is published in the March issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

For the study, 45 women between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy walked or jogged on a treadmill for 30 minutes at moderate intensity, which the researchers defined as 40 percent to 59 percent of their maximum heart rate.

Fifteen of the women were not regular exercisers. The other 30 did either 20 minutes of moderate exercise, such as walking, three or more days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, such as running, more than four days a week. The regular exercisers were assigned an additional 30-minute session of high intensity (60 percent to 84 percent of maximum heart rate) exercise on a treadmill.

Before and after each exercise session, Szymanski measured the fetus' heart rate and blood flow to the fetus using an exam called a Doppler ultrasound. The authors also did a biophysical profile, using ultrasound, after exercise to determine whether the baby was moving as it should.

Although the fetal heart rate rose after the medium- and high-intensity workouts, the heart rate, blood flow and biophysical profile stayed in the normal range. These data help reassure that the baby is fine and that exercise did not keep the baby from getting enough blood or oxygen, Szymanski said.

"I thought this was great, especially for women who don't exercise, because I think people were afraid it would be too much stress all of a sudden and the babies wouldn't like it," Szymanski said.

Still, Dr. Hye Heo, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, said mothers-to-be should consult with their doctor before exercising because every pregnancy is different.

Also, the study involved a small group of women who were healthy and not obese, so it does not necessarily apply to all women, Heo said. "If a woman is fit and has been exercising, continuing within moderation is appropriate after taking into consideration health complications," she added.

Besides talking with their doctor, Heo urges pregnant women to use common sense. Listen to your body and ease up or stop if you are out of breath or feel pain or cramping, she said.

Szymanski said good options for reaching a moderate level of exertion include walking, biking or using an elliptical machine. Activities that could cause falls or that involve contact, such as skiing or basketball, should be avoided.

Heo is concerned about the long-term effects of exercise on the child, and said research has not broached this topic. It's possible that the tests used in this study can't pick up small but important changes that occur after exercise, Heo said.

All the women in the study gave birth to healthy babies, although the study was too small to make a conclusion about the effect of exercise on health after delivery.

The authors plan to study exercise in pregnant women who develop complications, such as high blood pressure, as well as competitive elite athletes. "There's a lot of questions about what happens at very high levels of exercise," Szymanski said.

Sacking of pregnant women raises concern

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:43:57 GMT

An increasing number of women are complaining to the Human Rights Commission about being sacked because they're pregnant. The commission says it's received 84 complaints in the past two years from women who have been sacked or treated differently to other employees. "Unfortunately this is becoming far too common," commissioner Judy McGregor said.

"It's a persistent problem and the commission is making pregnancy and maternity rights a feature of its guidance for employers."Labour MP Sue Moroney says it's illegal and underscores a lack of respect for workers' rights. "With more women of child-bearing age working and increasing numbers of women being the household's primary earner there will be more women working while pregnant, and working further into their pregnancies," she said.

Pregnancy diabetes to soar after test change

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:55:59 GMT

The number of women with gestational diabetes could increase 50 per cent under guidelines that will call for universal screening of pregnant women and lower the blood glucose level deemed for a positive diagnosis. The Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society has taken a year and a half preparing to adopt the international criteria, in part because of a fear the health system would be unable to cope.

The Herald understands the society's new guidelines are likely to be released within two months. But the delay has meant some hospitals have already gone ahead with the plans - creating disparities in how women are treated across the state.

The children of mothers with gestational diabetes are at risk of more medical intervention during birth, being born large, and of developing diabetes and obesity later on. National figures say about one in 20 women have the condition. But many doctors report a rate twice that, and under the new guidelines it could increase to between 14 and 18 per cent of all pregnancies.

The president of the society, Alison Nankervis, said she had just sent out the 13th draft of the guidelines, after a "protracted and frustrating process".

Many hospitals and pathology services - needed to complete the blood glucose level tests - felt they did not have the resources to implement the new rules. "They are going to have a lot of difficulty coping … it is going to really stretch resources," she said.

The process of deciding when to test the women and what test to use also delayed the guidelines. A Sydney endocrinologist and the immediate past president of the society, Glynis Ross, said hospitals were struggling to meet demand, particularly in areas of Sydney where changing ethnic make-up, older mothers and overweight mothers were creating more cases.

"Everyone is already struggling and trying to get extra staff, which isn't being approved because of staff freezes," she said. "We are actually missing these women already and I suspect they are running into trouble."

In the past, the level of blood glucose needed to qualify a woman as needing treatment for blood glucose was based on her risk of developing diabetes later in life. But increasing research showing risks to the baby has led to a reassessment of the levels, which will decrease from 5.5mmol/L to 5.1mmol/L.

Diabetes was becoming more common in the community as well as during pregnancy, Dr Ross said. "Quite a number of women are coming in to pregnancy with diabetes or pre-diabetes that hasn't been picked up, so their babies will be exposed early on," she said.

The director of diabetes services in Wollongong, Robert Moses, said Wollongong hospital had adopted the new diagnostic criteria more than a year ago. Since then, the number of women diagnosed with gestational diabetes had increased from about 9.6 per cent to 13 per cent. He said some hospitals had started to change their criteria, but most were holding out for the announcement from the society.

Pregnancy complications may raise heart disease risk in later life

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:56:57 GMT

Washington, Feb 18 (ANI): Women who experienced complications during pregnancy, like high blood pressure-related disorders or diabetes, may have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life, say researchers.

"We wanted to learn about possible explanations as to why women with pregnancy complications tend to have more heart disease later in life," said Abigail Fraser, M.P.H., Ph.D., School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom.

Researchers studied 3,416 pregnant women enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in the early 1990s. Among them, 1,002 (29.8 percent) had one pregnancy complication, 175 (5.2 percent) had two and 26 (0.8 percent) had three.

The complications included gestational or pregnancy diabetes, hypertensive (or high blood pressure-related) disorders of pregnancy (also known as preeclampsia), preterm delivery, and size of babies at birth (top and bottom 10 percent in weight). Researchers correlated these with cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors measured 18 years later when the women were an average of 48 years old.

Researchers then calculated the women’s odds of experiencing a cardiovascular event in the next decade using the 10-year CVD Framingham risk score, which includes such factors as age, total and HDL ("good") cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diabetes and smoking status.

They found that Preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and giving birth to babies small for gestational age were associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Each complication was associated with different CVD risk factors.estational diabetes was associated with a 26 percent and preeclampsia 31 percent greater risk of developing heart disease in middle age.mong women who experienced these pregnancy complications, gestational diabetes was associated with higher levels of fasting glucose and insulin.

Preeclampsia was associated with higher body mass index and larger waist circumference, as well as higher blood pressure, lipids and insulin. Women who gave birth to babies large for gestational age had larger waist circumference and higher concentrations of blood glucose. Those who had preterm babies had higher blood pressure.

"Pregnancy may provide an opportunity to identify women at increased risk of heart disease while they are relatively young; thus, it would be useful for medical professionals to have information on pregnancy complications so they can recommend lifestyle changes and any necessary medical intervention sooner," Fraser said.

"A woman who experiences complications during pregnancy should be proactive and ask her doctor about future CVD risk and steps she should take to modify her risk," she suggested. The women in the study had not experienced a CVD event, so the researchers couldn’t determine whether preeclampsia and/or pregnancy diabetes have separate, independent effects on future CVD risk.

A larger study with longer follow-up could help determine whether pregnancy complications could affect how the 10-year CVD Framingham risk score is calculated for these women, Fraser said.

Furthermore, because the study population was predominantly white, replicating the research with other racial groups will provide additional data on the association between pregnancy complications and CVD risk, she said. The findings appeared in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Pregnancy Discrimination Still A Problem In The Workplace

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:41:08 GMT

Workplace discrimination against pregnant women persists despite the passage of a law 30-plus years ago making it illegal. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits such discrimination, particularly when it comes to hiring, firing, pay, job assignments and promotions.

"A few employers have forgotten or never learned that it's against the law to discriminate against women because of pregnancy," David Lopez, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's general counsel, said during a federal hearing Wednesday, Life Inc. reported.

Over the past four decades, the number of women opting to work while pregnant has increased dramatically, an EEOC press release indicated. Further, BLS statistics show women currently comprise 47 percent of the nation's workforce.

Discrimination against pregnant women, present at all company levels, includes firing, demotions, decreased hours, forced unpaid leave, being denied a place to pump breast milk and gender stereotyping -- the idea pregnant women aren't as dedicated to their jobs or employers as their male and non-pregnant female coworkers, Reuters noted. This stereotyping likely causes the measurable "motherhood wage penalty" of up to 5 percent per child, said Stephen Benard, professor at Indiana University, in the EEOC press release.

Furthermore, "motherhood constitutes a significant risk factor for poverty," he said, adding that it's possible that "the gender gap in wages may be primarily a motherhood gap."

Women in low-income jobs tend to experience the worst discrimination, according to Life Inc. Oftentimes, they're denied small, helpful workplace accommodations such as being able to carry a water bottle or sit on a stool rather than stand.

Workplace pregnancy discrimination was spotlighted two weeks ago when a Texas federal judge ruled against a Houston mother who claimed she was fired after asking for somewhere to pump breast milk.

In the last 10 years, the number of pregnancy discrimination cases increased about 15 percent to 5,797 overall in 2011. This is a slight decrease over the 6,119 in 2010. In addition, the EEOC has resolved 52,000 pregnancy cases since 2001 with a resulting $150 million paid in damages, Reuters reported.

"This many years after the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, we still have employers who still don't understand the basics. Are we getting the word out on fundamental issues?" EEOC Commissioner Constance Barker said in Reuters.

As reported by Life Inc., the agency is taking a broad approach to combating pregnancy discrimination in the workplace and plans in September to release prevention guidelines in a four-year strategic plan. The EEOC continues to conduct outreach to ensure employers fully understand the law. Also, it's increasing the number of cases it files against employers -- in 2011, the total was 20.

"Employers should not make decisions based on stereotypes and presumptions about the competence and commitment of these workers," said its commissioner, Stuart J. Ishimaru, in the press release. "EEOC will vigorously enforce the anti-discrimination laws as they apply to pregnant women and caregivers."

Language skills linked to time in sun

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:58:50 GMT

Mothers with low vitamin D levels during pregnancy are twice as likely to have children who experience language difficulties requiring clinical treatment, Australian scientists have found in research that reignites the debate on whether all pregnant mothers should be tested for deficiency.

Researchers from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth looked at vitamin D concentrations of more than 700 pregnant caucasian women, with regular follow-ups until the child was 17. The most significant language impairment was seen in those aged between five and 10 years.

Language development impairment that continued into primary school years affected 6 per cent of Australian children, the lead author of the study, Professor Andrew Whitehouse, said.

''What causes it has been a mystery for many years,'' he said "The developing baby is completely reliant on the mother for its vitamin D levels and what we have shown is that this might have an impact on the child's brain development."

Direct sunlight is the main source of vitamin D. Deficiency had increased over the past two decades and now affects about 60 per cent of caucasian women. This was largely due to sunscreen and improved skin cancer awareness, Professor Whitehouse, whose study was published in journal Pediatrics, said.

''We certainly don't endorse women going out into the sun unprotected, so the next step is to look at whether Vitamin D supplements in pregnancy could reduce the risk of language problems for children.''

Rebecca Mason, who is the deputy director of the University of Sydney's Bosch Institute, said the results added more weight to a growing call for universal testing for vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy to be carried out.

The government had argued the cost of testing for deficiency combined with wide variation in individual test results meant only women considered at risk of deficiency should be tested. ''But there is an accumulating amount of data showing an association between low vitamin D levels and some adverse outcomes,'' Professor Mason said.

Lyndal Powell is five months pregnant with her second child but said she had not been tested for a vitamin D deficiency during either of her pregnancies. If testing was made standard, she said she would support it.

''If it can be done while they are carrying out other tests, then why not,'' Mrs Powell, from Kellyville Ridge, said. ''To be honest when I exercise outside at 9.30am I don't wear sunscreen because the sun isn't so harsh, so I would assume my levels are fine. But it would be good to know for sure.''

Vitamin D helps child language development

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:19:45 GMT

The finding will need to be confirmed by other studies, since it was based on a statistical analysis of pregnant women. Further studies may also unearth the underlying mechanism responsible for the difference in language development.

Lead researcher Andrew Whitehouse, an associate professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Western Australia, said that adequate vitamin D levels among pregnant women may be important for the optimal development of children.

He said that it was important for any strong conclusions about the mechanism of the proposed link between vitamin D and language development to be replicated by another statistical study in another population, first.

For the study, the research team examined 700 pregnant women's levels of vitamin D, and measured the behaviour of the children those women had at six different ages.

The children's behaviour was measured at age two, five, eight, 14 and 17, and the assessment turned up nothing that would statistically differentiate children who got a lot of vitamin D in the womb from those who did not. At age five and age 10, however, the researchers also conducted a language development survey.

This language development survey turned out to be scientifically revelant, though the finding still needs to be confirmed by other studies. Whitehouse said that vitamin D levels among pregnant women had decreased steadily over the past two decades, primarily because people are less exposed to sunlight than they used to be.

The difference in language development seemed pronounced, making children whose mothers had the lowest level of vitamin D two times more likely to have language-related difficulies than women who got normal levels of vitamin D while pregnant.

Whitehouse said that the finding may point to a link between maternal vitamin D and offspring brain development, and that vitamin D supplements for pregnant women may be necessarry. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said she believed women should get their vitamin D levels checked.

She said that specialists wanted to help women correct these deficiencies, and that luckily, most pregnant women took a prenatal vitamin containing 1,200 international units (IU) of vitamin D.

Wu said that, even if women were still at the stage of trying to get pregnant, they should be taking their prenatal vitamins. Michael Holick, a professor at Boston University School of Medicine, said that vitamin D deficiency tended to increase women's need for a caesarean delivery.

He said that lacking the vitamin also caused an adverse condition called pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, and that he would not be surprised if there were also a link between child developmental problems and vitamin D-deficient women.

Pregnant With Breast Cancer: Tough Choices, New Hope (Watch Video)

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:54:35 GMT

Zoila Leiva was 4 ½ months pregnant with twins when her doctor delivered the devastating news: She had breast cancer. And it was advanced.

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Ten months earlier, Leiva was told the lump in her right breast was benign -- a swell of fluid that would subside with time. Instead, the lump grew. And biopsies revealed it was a stage III tumor that had already spread to her lymph nodes.

"The oncologist said, 'The only way we can treat you, the only way we can save your life, is for you to have an abortion," said Leiva, who was 38 at the time, with a 14-year-old daughter. "I had two weeks to make a decision."

Chemotherapy drugs are toxic to tumors. And depending on the drug and the stage of pregnancy, they can harm fetuses, too. At her oncologist's request, Leiva attended an "abortion orientation" session that left her troubled after she learned about the three-day procedure to terminate her pregnancy.

But, she said, "Those babies were already moving inside me. I couldn't do it."Instead, Leiva looked for a second opinion and found an oncologist willing to start treatment right away.

Chemotherapy for breast cancer can be safe during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, according to a new report in The Lancet. And terminating the pregnancy does not appear to improve the mother's prognosis.

"The situation remains challenging since in some situations an advanced cancer can be fatal for mother and fetus," said Dr. Frédéric Amant of the Leuven Cancer Institute in Belgium, lead author of the report. "The patient and her partner should be informed about the different treatment options and the physician should explain that termination of pregnancy does not seem to improve maternal outcome, but the decision to continue or end the pregnancy is a personal one."

In a separate study published in The Lancet Oncology, children whose mothers underwent chemotherapy during pregnancy were found to be normal on measures of general health, behavior and growth out to 18 years of age.

One week after her first round of chemo, Leiva's hair started to fall out. She hoped to hang on to some of it for her daughter's Quinceañera -- a Cinderella-themed birthday celebration with a 350-strong guest list.

"The stylist pulled off a miracle that day. My hair looked really good," she said. "It all came out the next day."Over 12 weeks, Leiva had four rounds of chemo. During that time, she said the tumor shrunk to near nothingness. But the stress was hard to bear.

"It was a real rollercoaster," said Leiva. "But I would go to chemo, with my bald head and big belly, and I actually looked forward to it. It was nice having all those women around me."Leiva's doctors said she was an inspiration to other breast cancer patients.

"Pregnant patients are warriors," said Dr. Jane Kakkis, Leiva's surgical oncologist and medical director of breast surgery at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif. "Most pregnant women are more concerned about their child's life, but they also want to be around to care for their baby."

Kakkis said the goal in Leiva's case was to save three lives, which took a lot of team work. "These patients need extremely individualized care and a lot of communication between the treatment team," she said.

Thirty-two weeks into her pregnancy, Leiva delivered two boys by C-section. Julian weighed 4 pounds, 3 ounces; Joel weighed 3 pounds 12 ounces.

"I had three high-risk obstetricians in my delivery room," said Leiva, alluding to fears that her preemies would be small and weak. "But they were breathing on their own, eating on their own. They were strong boys. And they're still strong boys."