Women’s Health

All about Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the carriage of one or more fetus within the womb of a woman. While there is a single gestation if we speak most generally, there are times when a mother bears twins, triplets or even quadruplets (rarest case). A baby is delivered roughly about 38 weeks from the time of conception.

Pregnancy occurs due to fertilization occurring from a sexual intercourse or coitus. It’s a multiple step process and failure of even a single step may lead to failure of the entire attempt. Pregnancy is most talked about phenomenon for ladies and rightly so. Let’s take a look at a few points that must be studied with care for handling pregnancy better.

Pregnancy Diet Plan

The diet must be enhanced by 100kcal in 1st trimester and 300kcal in 2nd trimester.
In the event of suffering from morning sickness you should go for food many times and in tinier quantities.
You should endeavor to have foods that offer greater energy. For instance, fresh fruits, milk, and green vegetables, work pretty well.

It’s time for multivitamin supplements as the body requires higher vitamin content.
Blood supply to placenta and fetus is taken care of by iron. While being pregnant, iron must be taken in a higher frequency and thus intake of whole grain breads, dried fruits, poultry, and iron fortified cereals is advised. You must also go for iron capsules.

Folic acid succors the enhanced blood volume of mother and minimizes the risk quotient for baby Neural Tube Defects (NFD). Thus you must ensure intake of folic acid supplement of 400ug (0.4 mg) for the first 3 months during pregnancy.
Vitamin B and Calcium are quintessential for developing healthy bones and teeth of the baby. Keeping your age in mind, you should include 1000mg-1300mg of calcium and 200IU of vitamin D.

Diet Precautions During Pregnancy

A mother-to-be should shy away from all the below listed items as it may be malicious for you or the baby.
·Alcohol
·Caffeine
·Artificial sweeteners
·Seafood
·Tea. However, the herbal tea is safe. It is an amalgamation of ginger, lemon balm, orange peel, and citrus peel.

Signs and Manifestations During Pregnancy

·Missed period is a primary manifestation
·The phenomenon called morning sickness and associated nausea can be prevalent with a puking sensation. This can stretch through the entire pregnancy and at best till the first trimester. Morning sickness is a misnomer. It can affect during any time of the day.

·Enhanced hormone secretion results in soft and swollen breasts.
·Few women experience bleeding when it’s almost the time of menstruation. This happens as the fertilized ovum may be placed in the lining of uterus replete with blood. Still you shall consult a doctor quickly as bleeding is not a healthy sign during pregnancy and when it’s attached to pain, it might be the harbinger for Ectopic pregnancy.
·Enhanced estrogen levels may cause higher smell-sensitivity.
·Urination is more frequent
·higher Basal body temperature is manifest
·Abdomen bloats
·There is a general feeling of lethargy
·Lab tests for urine or Urine pregnancy test can be undertaken to judge pregnancy

Kinds of pregnancy

·Abdominal– when the ovum is implanted as well as developed in the peritoneal cavity.
·Cervical– when the ovum is implanted in the cervical canal.
·Ectopic– when an impregnated ovum is developed not within but outside the cavity of the uterus.
·Ovarian– when a fertilized ovum develops within the follicle of ovary.

Approaching pregnancy the Ayurvedic way

Ayurveda believes that Ghee or clarified butter can be a useful aid in nourishing the body of mother as well as fetus. It talks against carnal intercourse during the period of pregnancy. It advocates the intake of leafy vegetables and light food. It recommends against taking spices generously. Night time curd intake is forbidden in Ayurveda. It is better to keep away from packaged and junk food and bottled carbonated drinks.