What is Morning Sickness? Does it mean there's a problem?

What is Morning Sickness? Does it mean there's a problem?
by: Marc Hofkens

Whether you’re extremely sick or not sick at all is not a predictor of a pregnancy’s success or failure.Morning sickness has become synonymous with pregnancy in our culture. But certainly not every pregnant woman experiences it. (A medical term used to refer to extreme forms is hyperemesis gravidarum.) Only a little more than half of pregnant women are afflicted with nausea.Many people believe that pregnancy sickness is the body’s natural defense system at work, protecting your baby from harmful toxins. It’s easy to jump to the conclusion, then, that if you’re not sick, your body must not be protecting your child from harmful toxins. But it doesn’t work that way. The bottom line is that no conclusive evidence exists that not being sick is a bad sign.Nausea is caused by a number of factors. The most popular theory about morning sickness is that it’s due to elevated hormones, primarily human chorionic gonadotropin and estrogen. Researchers believe nausea may have to do with the amount of hormones circulating and perhaps the structure of certain hormones or your particular sensitivity to them. Also, if you have a pre-pregnancy tendency toward motion sickness, it may mean the area of your brain that controls nausea and vomiting is more sensitive.Environment can also play a role. Smells such as perfume, dog food, or coffee, as well as motion and the sight of certain foods (a friend of mine would almost instantly become nauseous at the sight of a can of tuna) can all trigger nausea. Also, stress, fatigue, and operating on an empty stomach can make you more prone to gastrointestinal upsets.The bottom line is, nobody really knows why some women get sick and others don’t. What is important to know is that whether or not you experience morning sickness has nothing to do with how successful your pregnancy will be.

Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Choosing The Right Foods

Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Choosing The Right Foods
by: Beverley Brooke

So you need to gain weight but don’t want to gain too much weight during your pregnancy right?There are many things that you can do to improve your diet and ensure that you gain a minimal but healthy amount of weight during pregnancy.Choosing the right foods is important because you will be able to loose weight more quickly after delivery if you manage your diet during pregnancy.So here is what you need to do during pregnancy to ensure weight loss success after:Tip 1Choose whole foods. Whole foods are foods that are dense in nutrients. Think wild rice, whole grains, and unprocessed foods. Whole foods don’t include waffles and pancakes!Tip 2Add calories during the second trimester. Eating for two doesn’t literally mean eating for two. In fact during your first trimester your baby is about the size of a small bean! Most women don’t actually need to start adding 300 calories a day to their diet until the second and third trimesters.Tip 3Be sure you get a serving of protein, carbohydrate and fat at every meal. It will help you if you break your meals into six mini meals per day. This will help rev up your metabolism. Next be sure that you eat some protein, carbohydrate and fat at each mini meal session. This will help nourish your body more completely and help prevent cravings later in the day.Tip 4Choose foods high in fiber. High fiber foods will help fill you up when you are ravenous during pregnancy, and they will also help relieve constipation and help you feel great! A high fiber diet is good for anyone, whether or not they are pregnant.Tip 5Drink extra water. You’ll be thirstier than normal anyway during pregnancy. Drinking water helps flush toxins from your system and helps prevent excessive edema. Believe it or not you can actually fight weight gain associated with edema if you drink more water!Remember that pregnancy is a short period of time in the long journey that is your life. You should enjoy every moment of it. By following the tips above, you can gain the right amount of weight and feel great throughout your pregnancy.

About the author:Article by Beverley Brooke, author of "Ensure a healthy safe pregnancy for you and your baby", visit http://www.pregnancy-weight-loss.com/for more on pregnancy weight gain

Dealing With Common Pregnancy Complaints

Dealing With Common Pregnancy Complaints
by: Beverley Brooke

Pregnancy is not without its side effects. During pregnancy your body will undergo many hormonal changes. These hormone fluctuations can result in a variety of unpleasant symptoms including: nausea, fatigue, bloating and fluid retention and mood swings.What’s a pregnant woman to do? Believe it or not, there are many changes you can make to your diet that will help minimize many of the common pregnancy complaints you are having.Nausea/Morning Sickness – This is one of the more common complaints pregnant women have, particularly during their first trimester. Many women find that sipping on somefizzy soda water with fresh squeezed lemon often helps reduce nausea. Ginger tea is also another well known remedy for nausea and morning sickness. If you are still not feeling better, an extra 10 to 25 milligrams of vitamin B6 is often just enough to help ease nausea. You can take a supplement or try foods rich in B6 such as lean meats, fish and avocados.Edema – Most women swell a little during pregnancy. The best thing you can do to ease swelling is drink more water. You may think you are already drinking too much, but in all reality you probably aren’t. Some women find that wearing compression hosiery can also help reduce fluid retention. Some women also find that a little extra calcium/magnesium can help combat fluid retention and bloating.Fatigue – Exercise is often the best way to get rid of pregnancy induced fatigue. Even if you think you are too tired to work out, you’ll find you feel much better after exercising. Eating six small meals per day will also help energize you. Be sure you also consume foods rich in iron to prevent anemia, a common cause of fatigue in pregnant women.Mood Swings – Mood changes are almost inevitable during pregnancy due to rampant hormonal fluctuations. Be sure you get plenty of rest to help combat fatigue that can contribute to mood swings. You might also consider supplementing with essential fatty acids, which may be beneficial for reducing anxiety and depression.Don’t forget above all else that most of the symptoms of pregnancy are just temporary, and before you know it you will be back to your jubilant, pre pregnancy self!

About the author:Article by Beverley Brooke, author of "Ensure a healthy safe pregnancy for you and your baby", visit http://www.pregnancy-weight-loss.com/for more on pregnancy weight loss

How To Eat A Healthy Diet During Pregnancy

How To Eat A Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
by: Beverley Brooke

Perhaps the number one complaint of women trying to watch their weight during pregnancy is that they are hungry all the time. True, pregnancy does result in an increased metabolic demand on the body, which can cause you to be hungry. Many women also experience a number of cravings during pregnancy, which can make healthy eating challenging.The first thing to remember is that the idea that you should eat for two is wrong. You only need an additional 300 calories per day, and generally you don’t need these calories until you are well on your way to the second and third trimesters.So what can you do to help manage your weight and stick to a healthy diet?Remember that during pregnancy it is vital that you do not cut back on your caloric intake. This has the potential to rob your baby of essential nutrients that are necessary for his/her growth and development. Here are some tips to help you stick to a healthy diet throughout your pregnancy:Avoid skipping meals. If you have a habit of skipping breakfast, you’ll find that you are not only more fatigued but ravenous during your pregnancy, which will result in overeating. Be sure that you eat each meal every day.Try eating several mini meals throughout the ay. This will not only help you feel fuller longer, it will help minimize the nausea often experienced during the first trimester.Satisfy your cravings with nutritious snacks. Have a variety of healthy things to snack on readily available so you avoid overindulging in foods that are too decadent. If you are craving something sweet, consider having some mini chocolates near by or opt for a cup of hot chocolate. Both are far better for you than an entire candy bar or piece of cake.Exercise during your pregnancy. The act of exercising in and of itself will be plenty to motivate you to stick to a healthy diet. You’ll feel better about yourself and find that you have more energy throughout the day.Avoid high calorie beverages. Soda pop (which isn’t good for you anyway, particularly during pregnancy), juices and other flavored drinks often contain a good 100-300 calories per serving. Stick to water or flavored water during your pregnancy.Drink lots of water. You may think you are hungry when in fact you are actually thirsty at many points during your pregnancy. In fact, the brains hunger and thirst centers often get mixed up, so people often feel hungry when they are in fact dehydrated. The better hydrated you are, the les likely you are to overeat.

About the author:Article by Beverley Brooke, author of "Ensure a healthy safe pregnancy for you and your baby", visit http://www.pregnancy-weight-loss.com/for more on pregnancy diet

IBS In Pregnancy

IBS In Pregnancy
by Roger Thompson

Irritable bowel syndrome is a health disorder, one that is characterized most commonly by cramping, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. Most cases of irritable bowel syndrome are quite mild and can be controlled with proper diet, stress management, and often there is a need for prescribed medications as well.
While most women with IBS have long suspected that hormones (chemical substances created by the body that control numerous bodily functions) have an impact on their IBS symptoms, research has recently shown just how dramatic and wide-ranging this link is. Women have a higher prevalence of IBS than men in the first place, which may actually be due to sex-related differences in brain responses to visceral (body) and psychological (mind) stressors, as well as hormonal influences. Women with IBS have more severe symptoms and need more medications than men. Small-bowel transit, gastric emptying, and colonic transit times are all significantly different for women (even women without IBS) than for men. and hormones are believed to play a large role here. There are also estrogen receptors in the stomach and small intestine, which react to changing levels of hormones.
Irritable bowel syndrome in pregnancy is quite common, and although the condition does not affect a woman`s chances of getting pregnant, during pregnancy the symptoms of the disorder are often heightened incredibly. The hormonal changes that a woman experiences throughout her pregnancy, especially if she had irritable bowel syndrome beforehand, vary from one trimester to another. During the first trimester, most women actually do not even feel any of the hormonal effects on their body because they are too busy coping with morning sickness, and usually at this point in most cases the irritable bowel syndrome will all but disappear. Then as the second trimester rolls around, hormonal changes begin to become more apparent and symptoms of the disorder will continue due to these hormonal changes.
Finally, in the third trimester, the symptoms continue and usually even increase, and the most noticeable symptom is constipation with most women. This is because pregnancy in general causes the levels of progesterone in the body to rise and in turn the muscles begin to relax. This causes the digestive system to slow down and not only that but as well the lack of exercise and proper diet are also major contributing factors in most cases here. Irritable bowel syndrome in pregnancy can obviously be quite troublesome, and so it is important to learn about the different methods of treatment that are available to help relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in pregnancy. Participating in regular and safe pregnancy exercises and drinking plenty of water are both ideal ways of relieving irritable bowel syndrome in pregnancy.
You should also take soluble fiber supplements, make sure that you get sufficient sleep, and there are even some medications that you can take if your symptoms are particularly severe. Diclectin is available, which helps with morning sickness, and there is also Bentyl which prevents muscle spasms in the stomach and bladder and which also helps to relax them. The best idea is to get in to see your doctor as soon as you possibly can so that they can assess your specific condition and determine what particular method of treatment is going to be best suited to you and your condition.
About the Author
Roger Thompson writes for Leading Leading Portal for health care, medical, biotech and hospital jobs.

The Risks Of Menopause And Pregnancy

The Risks Of Menopause And Pregnancy
by Judy Wellsworth

While the thought of being both menopausal and pregnant may strike fear into the hearts of millions of women, the reality is that women who had every reason to believe their childbearing years were behind them do, very rarely, become pregnant. Menopause and pregnancy, it seems, are not mutually exclusive terms, and if you think you have been taken by surprise, you should have a pregnancy test as quickly as possible.
While there is no such state as being slightly pregnant, it is possible to be slightly menopausal. Menopause and pregnancy can occur simultaneously because you may experience all the classic symptoms of menopause, including not having a period for six consecutive months, and think you have successfully negotiated the change, except that your ovaries may have been hanging on to one viable egg for sentimental reasons. They can decide to turn it lose at the worst possible time, so it's a good idea for those women who practice birth control to take nothing for granted until they are past sixty.
The Tough Decisions Menopause and pregnancy can confront women with having to make decisions which they thought they would never again have to face. A late life pregnancy can have serious health and financial consequences. And miscarriage is a real possibility for those women who conceive for the first time their forties. Menopause and pregnancy put a double strain on less-than-youthful systems, and can affect your growing baby as well. But your decision on how to proceed should remain yours alone.
Those women who have a good health history, have always received regular exercise and eaten a healthy diet, and have a solid support system have a good chance of delivering a healthy baby as the result of menopause and pregnancy. By getting gynecological help as early in the pregnancy as possible, having the baby's development monitored on a regular basis, and resorting to bed rest if necessary, women facing menopause and pregnancy will improve their chances of a successful outcome even more.
Talk To Your Gynecologist But the best answer for menopause and pregnancy is to take responsibility to see that it does not occur. Abstinence or birth control during both perimenopause--menopause's precursor--and menopause itself are the two alternatives for those who cannot afford the health and financial consequences which menopause and pregnancy might bring to them and their families. Your gynecologist is the best one to level with you about all the risks of menopause and pregnancy, and to advise you on the most effective ways to avoid it.

About the Author
You can also find more info on post menopause you and natural menopause remedies. Menopausesymptomshelp.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Menopase Symptoms.

symptoms of Early Pregnancy

symptoms of Early Pregnancy

by Deborah Marsden

Symptoms of Early Pregnancy
One of the most beautiful times in a woman's life is when she's having a baby. Because of this, many women are looking for the symptoms of early pregnancy. They want to know "for sure" so the planning can get underway. It is often an exciting and emotional journey for everyone involved.
Some women may experience "spotting" which might in fact be the very first symptom of early pregnancy. This isn't the usual case because it doesn't happen frequently, but again, some may have it.
Missing a period can be one of the first symptoms of early pregnancy, but not every woman recognizes this, especially if she has irregular periods. So, for some, this is their first recognized symptom.
So much is happening in the body when you're pregnant. You have hormones racing around everywhere and because of this you might have mood swings which are new to you.
You might feel tired and need a nap when you never used to. Lack of energy and fatigue are thought to be another result of those lovely hormones. It's important to rest when you need to as your body is taking on the challenge of growing a baby so it has lots to do. Give it (your body) what it needs to get the job done right.
Your breasts might enlarge and feel tender and you may notice that your nipples have gotten darker.
Then of course there is the nausea. It's often called morning sickness, but it can in fact occur anytime during the day.
If you've begun to experience any of these symptoms of early pregnancy, then you might want to use a home pregnancy kit, just to be a bit more sure.
However, even if the home kit confirms your pregnancy, be sure to see your physician so it can be officially confirmed and you can begin your prenatal care. A healthy baby is the goal for everyone.
About the Author
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Deborah is an information author who enjoys helping others by providing helpful information.