Forget The Don’t List Here Are Things That You Can Do While Pregnant

There can be days when it seems like your positive pregnancy test came with a list of restrictions a mile long. You go to the neighborhood deli to get some lunch and then realize that you have been told not to eat lunch meat. Ski season is just around the corner and you realize that you are going to have to sit this one out. Depending upon how far along you are in pregnancy and how your pregnancy is progressing, you may be even further restricted by bed rest and other activity limitations as you go along. Even on those … Continue reading

A Few Good Pregnancy Books

I have always been into reading, but during pregnancy I was even more so. Especially during my first pregnancy – you know, before I had a little one to take care of and had more time available for reading. I read a lot of things, and like many pregnant women, I spent a lot of time reading about pregnancy and childbirth. There are a lot of books on pregnancy and childbirth out there to choose from. If you have a lot of time on your hands, feel free to explore any and all of them. If time is at a … Continue reading

Exercise During Pregnancy

Everyone knows that exercise during pregnancy is a good thing, if your prenatal care provider feels that you are healthy enough to exercise. Of course, when you are pregnant, exercising may not be something that you feel like doing much of the time especially if you feel nauseous or tired. I have been pregnant twice, and the first time around I did not exercise very much. The second time, I exercised regularly from the time that I discovered that I was pregnant until a week before my son was born, when my midwives decided that it was not safe for … Continue reading

What is Preeclampsia?

With pregnancy, it is important to remember that things may not turn out the way that you had intended. I learned this during my first pregnancy, and I experienced it again during my most recent pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my first son, I developed preeclampsia towards the end of the pregnancy. I began to show signs of it before I was to term, but fortunately the symptoms did not present fully until about ten days before my due date. Preeclampsia is a medical condition where a pregnant woman’s blood pressure rises suddenly and other symptoms including protein in … Continue reading

Early Detection of Preeclampsia May Become a Reality

Researchers are developing a blood test that might identify a woman’s risk for preeclampsia early on during her pregnancy, according to an article featured in Businessweek. This is great news for moms who have a family history or a personal history with the disease and are especially concerned over whether they can expect to develop preeclampsia near the end of their pregnancy. The test uses metabolic profiling to identify certain biomarkers in the blood that give away a woman’s level of risk for developing preeclampsia later on. Researchers identified fourteen metabolic targets to watch for signs of preeclampsia risk. Researchers … Continue reading

Preeclampsia Linked to Increased Risk of Hypothyroidism

Researchers say that women who have experienced preeclampsia have an increased risk of thyroid problems later in life. In fact, the researchers suggested that pregnant women who develop preeclampsia should be monitored for decreased thyroid function as they get older. Pregnant women who have preeclampsia during their first and second pregnancies are at even greater risk. The medical explanation for this correlation is tied to increased levels of something called soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 in the body before delivery. Women with preeclampsia showed higher levels of this substance than other women and this substance has been tied to increased … Continue reading

Treating Headaches During Pregnancy

Reacting to whatever life throws you is so much more simple when you are not pregnant. But when you’re expecting, suddenly you have to consider every decision in a whole new light. This never more true than when you’re deciding whether to take a medication. When your head is pounding, is it okay to just take a pain reliever like aspirin or ibuprofen? Should you consult your doctor? Are there safer ways to cope with a headache? Between the surge of hormones and the extra blood flow associated with pregnancy, headaches are not that all uncommon. They are especially prevalent … Continue reading

Untreated Asthma During Pregnancy May Put Infant at Risk for Future Asthma

Once again, research indicates that treating health issues during pregnancy, such as diabetes, for example, decreases the health risks for the child. This time the topic is asthma, and it has been found that women who don’t properly treat their asthma during pregnancy raise the risk that their child will suffer from the same disease. Over 32 percent of children born to mothers who neglect to treat their asthma during pregnancy develop the respiratory illness themselves. This new evidence comes from a study conducted at the Université de Montréal, the Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research … Continue reading

Inductions for Women Suffering from Pre-eclampsia

A new study concludes that women suffering from pre-eclampsia should be induced after 37 weeks of pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia occurs when a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure and has the presence of protein in her urine. It can be very dangerous if left untreated. It was found that inducing labor in women beyond 37 weeks cut the risks of severe high blood pressure and the need for cesarean section. In addition, women who had induced labor had a 29 percent lower risk for developing poor maternal outcome, which may include death, eclampsia, pulmonary edema, progression to severe high blood pressure, … Continue reading

Pregnancy Stages: The Third Trimester

Once you’ve reached the third trimester, you’re in the home stretch. The third trimester of pregnancy begins in the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy and ends when the baby is born. Although your doctor or midwife has given you a due date, this is really just an estimate. The baby can come any time from thirty-eight to forty-two weeks. This is a busy time for most expectant parents, as you are preparing for baby’s arrival. Some women have a baby shower, especially if it’s the first baby. Childbirth classes, breastfeeding classes, decorating the baby’s room and shopping take up more time … Continue reading