Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Natural Beauty for Mothers

Every mother needs a little mothering herself. New or expectant mothers, especially, deserve a little additional pampering. Visit http://www.thetextperts.co.uk/pregnancy_tips.html for tips during your pregnancy. Although it may seem like your last priority, if you take a little extra time each day to take care of yourself, it will do wonders for your mood and your own natural beauty. Making your own natural beauty products is a good way to give yourself a bit of pleasure and attention. Generations of women have created their own beauty recipes and treatments for years, using common kitchen and garden ingredients. Making your own beauty products simple to do, convenient, and cost-effective. Natural beauty products work just as well, if not better, than commercial brands because they are pure and undiluted. Just think, you're in control of the ingredients in your own home made natural beauty indulgences. Visit http://www.thetextperts.co.uk/natural_beauty_tips.html for more tips on natural beauty remedies. So, go ahead, open up your cupboards and you'll probably have the makings for natural remedies and beauty treatments in your home right now. Light cooking oils such as olive and sunflower are perfect for massage and bath oils. Honey is a deep conditioning treatment for dry, damaged hair. Or take a trip to the supermarket and check out what's on special in the fruit and veg aisles for some inspiration.
About the Author
Janet is currently writing articles for online archives while pursuing her goal to become a writer/journalist.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Reduce Stress During Pregnancy



Many mothers during pregnancy face extremely stressful circumstances. Pregnancy is a nine month journey for both you and your baby. Pregnancy typically lasts 40 weeks (about 9 months). Stress-related changes in a pregnant woman's heart rate and blood pressure, along with chronic anxiety, can affect the heart rate of her developing fetus, a new study concludes. Maternal stress during pregnancy is also found to cause of asymmetry in coordination of ears, fingers, feet, elbows, etc. Maternal stress is also linked with imperfections in the developing nervous system which can lead to problems of perception, thinking, and memory. These mothers experience constant stress, shame, loneliness and, sometimes, clinical depression during pregnancy or after giving birth. Their partners or families may not encourage them to seek help because the problem it is not seen as a medical one. There are many negative side effects of stress during pregnancy. Very high levels of stress may contribute to an increased risk of premature delivery or low birth weight babies. Still other studies suggest that overly high stress levels can increase your heart rate, blood pressure and produce chronic anxiety.

Maternal stress during pregnancy is also found to cause of asymmetry in coordination of ears, fingers, feet, elbows, etc. Stress doesn't have to be bad especially when you take care to manage the stress you experience during your pregnancy. Eat a healthy, well balanced diet. Eating well will provide you the energy you need to get through the day, especially when you feel tired or overworked. Exercise has huge stress reducing qualities. Walking is another activity you can do in order to keep fit and reduce stress. Shortness of breath is pretty common among pregnant women, so if you feel like you've pushed yourself too far, take a rest then move at a slower pace. Water is highly important for more reasons than keeping your body hydrated. A common reason for headaches is a lack of water in the system. Try not to drink beverages in excessive amounts right before bed. Try some natural stress reduction techniques including biofeedback, yoga or meditation. Reduce your workload. If you find you are doing too much in a day find ways to delegate certain tasks to others.

Reduce Stress During Pregnancy Tips

1. Eat a healthy, well balanced diet.

2. Drinking lots of water.

3. Regular exercise makes you feel great and is a wonderful way to limit anxiety in your life.

4. Relaxing by meditating, listening to music or writing in a journal.

5. Resisting any urges to drink alcohol, smoke or take herbal products or drugs.

6. Staying away from stressful people and stressful situations, when possible.

7. Try some natural stress reduction techniques including biofeedback, yoga or meditation.

8. Reduce your workload.

Juliet Cohen writes articles on diseases and conditions and women health care.


This article is free for republishingSource: http://www.articlealley.com/article_205539_61.html

Alleviating Morning Sickness

Most women don't think of morning sickness as helpful, but it can be an excellent indicator of pregnancy. Morning sickness usually begins between the fourth and sixth week of pregnancy. This is often the first sign most women get that they are actually pregnant. Therefore, morning sickness is a clue to start taking better care of your health for you and your baby.

No one knows the exact reason pregnant women experience this time of nausea and vomiting. When you become pregnant, your body is going through many hormonal changes, which are normal. The pregnancy hormone, "human chronic gonadotropin," is believed to be the cause of morning sickness, although not much research has been done on the subject. Low blood sugar is also believed to be a contributing factor of nausea and vomiting during early pregnancy.

Morning sickness does not mean you will be sick and vomiting every morning. Morning sickness can occur at any time of the day or night. It varies from woman to woman and can be brought on by many different things. Knowing what can cause your morning sickness to worsen can be helpful in preventing severe symptoms. Unfortunately, in some cases, nothing can be done to lessen the severity of morning sickness. If you are vomiting more than twice a day or think you may be losing weight, contact your doctor. He or she may prescribe medication that can lessen the symptoms of morning sickness.

Morning sickness can occur regardless of your lifestyle, but there are many factors that may contribute to causing morning sickness to be more severe. Here are some things to do that may help prevent the onset of nausea and vomiting:

" Do not let your stomach get empty. An empty stomach can lead to severe nausea.
" Move slowly when getting out of bed in the morning.
" If possible, eat a few crackers before getting out of bed.
" Drinking plenty of fluids during the day can prevent dehydration.
" Get lots of rest, taking naps during the day if possible.
" When cooking, keep your kitchen well ventilated to avoid lingering odors.
" Get a light amount of exercise, which will help you sleep and get rest.

Food is a big factor for most women when dealing with morning sickness. From eating the right foods to smelling the wrong ones, food of all kinds can either help or prevent morning sickness. Some tips for dealing with food and morning sickness are:

1. Eat many small meals throughout the day. Eating too much at one time can make you feel sick, but not keeping something in your stomach will bring on nausea.
2. Take your prenatal vitamins with food. Some vitamins may cause your stomach to become upset if not taken with food.
3. Try to avoid spicy and acidic foods. These foods can irritate your delicate stomach and make your symptoms worse.
4. Stay away from high-fat foods. These can also worsen morning sickness symptoms.
5. Eat foods high in protein, as they can help lessen your symptoms.
6. Drinking fluids thirty minutes before and thirty minutes after eating can help with symptoms, try not to drink during meals.
7. Eat whatever foods you feel like you can keep down. Pregnancy is not a time to start or continue on a diet, unless advised by your doctor.
8. Avoid hot foods if your sense of smell is very strong. Cold foods do not smell as strong as hot foods.
9. Eat anytime you feel like you want to.
10. Certain foods seem to help most women alleviate morning sickness symptoms. Eating these may help: dry crackers, Melba toast, whole wheat toast/bread, fruit, baked potatoes, pasta etc. These are easy to digest foods and are light on your stomach.
11. Some women find relief in drinking carbonated drinks.
12. Ginger is believed to help relieve symptoms of morning sickness. Try eating ginger snaps, drinking ginger ale or ginger tea.

Morning sickness can range from making you a little queasy to very sick and unable to get out of bed. The good thing is it usually only lasts through your first trimester of pregnancy and should start disappearing after the twelfth or thirteenth week. Just keep in mind it is a normal part of being pregnant, and you are enduring it for a great cause.

Considering adoption, but don't know where to start? Here are some helpful sites:


Open Adoption
Christian Adoption Online
Let's Talk Adoption with Mardie Caldwell
AAA Adoptions

You may also call a toll-free 24 hour adoption answer line at 1-800-923-6784 or request a free Lifetime Adoption Magazine at Lifetime Adoption

Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P. is a speaker and award-winning author of two books, Adopting Online and Adoption: Your Step-by-Step Guide. Mardie is also the talk show host of Let's Talk Adoption.com with Mardie Caldwell. For more information email Mardie Caldwell

This article is free for republishingSource: http://www.articlealley.com/article_207985_61.html

Pregnancy Diet and Nutrition Tips

Pregnancy nutrition is of the utmost importance.it affects not only the health of the mother, but the health of the baby as well. Pregnancy nutrition is easy when you are armed with the knowledge and power necessary to make smart choices.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy places substantial demands on the availability of iron in the body. Pregnancy diet plans give your baby the best chance for a healthy beginning. Pregnancy diet plans provide the extra nutrition and calories needed by your body and the baby. The fetus takes nutrients from the mother; therefore if the mother does not eat properly, both may suffer the consequences. Pregnancy Nutrition refers to the intake of nutrients as well as the planned diets that are usually considered before, during and after pregnancy sessions.

Nutrition

Nutrition experts agree that the best place for the mother-to-be to get all the essential nutrients, including ample amounts of vitamins and minerals, is from her diet. Nutrition is a focal point throughout the nine months a woman carries her child and continues to be important after labor and delivery.

Health

Healthy eating is also as important as fitness and exercise during pregnancy. Healthy eating and a good nutrition plan takes very little of your time but is the single most important thing you can do for your health. Nutrition and exercise are two of the most important factors in determining the healthy growth and development of a child.

Pregnant

Pregnant women should consult a health professional when using Spirulina or any other supplements.

Women

Women need to choose their meals wisely to make sure they’re getting the vitamins and minerals they need without packing on the calories. Women carrying a single baby are advised to add 300 calories to their daily diet. Women who might be pregnant need to eat a well balanced diet and start taking prenatal vitamins as soon as possible. Women who are under five feet two inches tall may aim for the low end of the weight gain range; adolescents and African-Americans, however, should strive for the high end of the recommended range.

Weight

Weight gain is desirable for all women since it is essential for normal fetal growth. Weight gain should be around 28-40 pounds for women that are underweight at pregnancy. Weight gain should be around 2-4 pounds the first trimester and 3-4 pounds a month for the remaining time. Weight gain recommendations average from 25-35 lbs.

Foods

Foods from animal source such as milk or eggs often contain all these essential amino acids while a variety of plant products must be taken together to provide all these necessary protein components. Foods rich in iron include many meats, fish and poultry (especially red meat and liver). Foods that are high in folic acid include liver, dark green leafy vegetables, lean meat, oranges, grains and legumes (lima beans, black beans, etc.

Birth

Birth defects happen before you even know you’re pregnant so always take a multivitamin with folic acid during child bearing age.


Read out pregnancy diary . Also check out for acne during pregnancy and chalazion

This article is free for republishingSource: http://www.articlealley.com/article_210422_61.html

Monday, November 12, 2007

What Is The Early Ectopic Pregnancy Symptom?


Before discussing the early ectopic pregnancy symptom, let's know what actually an ectopic pregnancy is.


Ectopic Pregnancy

When the embryo develops outside your uterus, it is called ectopic pregnancy. Usually, the embryo gets implanted in your fallopian tube instead of the uterus. Such pregnancies are also known as tubal pregnancies. They can even occur at other pelvic places like your abdomen, ovary, or cervix and is diagnosed through the early ectopic pregnancy symptom.

Recognizing The Early ectopic Pregnancy Symptom

The following are the early ectopic pregnancy symptom that you may experience:

* Pain in the abdomen. This is usually at the lower part or on one side.
* Vaginal bleeding.
* Late or missed menstruation.
* Passing of tissue from the vagina. As far as possible, you should try to keep the passed tissue for the doctor's examination.
* Other usual pregnancy symptoms.

You can begin to feel the early ectopic pregnancy symptom before you miss your period.

Late Ectopic Pregnancy Symptoms

As the ectopic pregnancy advances, it may cause bleeding and rupture. You may experience:

* Unconsciousness or dizziness due to loss of blood.
* Pain in your shoulders. The blood causes disturbance in the diaphragm, which, in turn, exerts pressure on your shoulder nerves.
* Increased heartbeats.
* Weakness
* Bloating and hardness in the abdomen

You should not ignore the early ectopic pregnancy symptom and wait till the late ones arrive. It is very important that ectopic pregnancy be detected and treated early to save your fertility and your life. Moreover, the treatments are more effective during the early stage.

Therefore, as soon as you notice the early ectopic pregnancy symptom, you should call your doctor and be ready to head for the emergency room.

What Happens In The Emergency Room?

*Transvaginal ultrasound
* Urine pregnancy test
* Blood test (only if it is not possible to be detected through urine test).
* Pelvic examination

Your doctor will make sure whether the early ectopic pregnancy symptoms are actually of ectopic pregnancy or other condition that also display similar symptoms.

Diagnosis Of Ectopic Pregnancy

The best thing to do is rush to your doctor as soon as you catch the early ectopic pregnancy symptom. Diagnosis is easier during the early stage. If the tube bursts, you may experience a strong pain in the abdomen and may even faint. This makes the diagnosis difficult. Moreover, you don't want to go through such a painful period, do you? Hence, be on the alert for early signs.

The early ectopic pregnancy symptom is your body's way of telling you that there is something wrong in there. Do not let it grow into a serious condition. Treat it fast.


Alien writes for stye and health information



This article is free for republishing






Pregnancy Morning Sickness: What Causes The Nausea?

Many women suffer from pregnancy morning sickness some just suffer more than others.

Morning sickness strikes in early pregnancy. With symptoms such as mild nausea and fatigue, morning sickness is a common feature. Others, including nosebleeds and bladder infections, are less common.

Changes! Changes!

So what leads to early pregnancy symptoms as morning sickness? Soon after you conceive, your body begins a series of major changes that enable it to sustain your baby through 9 months of growth and development. The glands of your endocrine system and placenta begin to cause more hormone production. Your blood volume increases and your uterus expand.

By the fourth month of pregnancy, you'll begin to feel like yourself, mostly because your body has adjusted somewhat to these dramatic changes. Until then, you can rest assured that first trimester pregnancy symptoms are almost always associated with normal pregnancies that lead to healthy babies. For example, morning sickness and the other ailments that occur around this time are almost always mild enough to manage on your own. If the symptoms persist into the second trimester pregnancy, then there could well be trouble. You need to get yourself medically examined.

How common is pregnancy morning sickness? More than half of pregnant women or about 70% suffer from bouts of morning sickness that include nausea and vomiting, early in pregnancy. While a queasy feeling may be most commonly felt in the morning, the feeling could even last through the day.

The Hormone's Role

Pregnancy morning sickness affects because a rapid increase in hCG (the pregnancy hormone) and estrogen play a part in the appearance of morning sickness. You start feeling the effects of pregnancy morning sickness once the pregnancy hormone raises to a certain level. Many start feeling relief from the morning sickness around the time that the levels of hCG start to decline in your system, which is about the time that the second trimester strikes.

Another change that occurs when you are pregnant is a heightened sense of taste and smell. Smells and tastes that once were appealing take on a whole new effect. Foods such as coffee and meats that might once be appealing to you, now begin to repel owing to their strong odors. It is believed that the increase of estrogen is responsible for this change.

It is also believed that women who have a weak stomach or are prone to throwing up for a number of reasons such as stress, illness, birth control pills, etc. can experience pregnancy morning sickness more often and severely than women who have a stronger ability to withstand nausea and a strong stomach.

Relieve It!

How do you manage pregnancy morning sickness? Ways to relieve that nauseous feeling last from munching a few crackers before getting up early in the morning, eating several small meals a day so your stomach is never empty, drinking plenty of fluids including crushed ice, fruit juice, or frozen ice pops, to wearing a morning sickness band which might soothe your stomach by pressing on an acupressure point inside your wrist.


Alien writes for Teen pregnancy . He also writes for family health and home remedies .


This article is free for republishing

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_145832_61.html

Is Very Early Pregnancy Symptom - Cramping - Always Normal?

You are pregnant. Congratulations! Have you experienced the very early pregnancy symptom - cramping? If yes, then don't worry, it is quite normal to get this symptom. If not, then you are going to experience it very soon. It's a way of your body to inform you that an embryo is implanted in your uterus and ready to undertake its nine-month journey!

Let's know more about this very early pregnancy symptom, cramping; when it's normal and when it requires your doctor's attention.

The Cause Behind Cramping

This very early pregnancy symptom, cramping, is caused because of the enlargement of your uterus, as it welcomes the embryo into it. The newly implanted embryo forces the walls of your uterus to expand, thus, causing the feeling of cramps. The second name for cramping is implantation bleeding, which takes place when the fertilized egg moves to the uterus lining and expands it. This cramping is just like the one you experience before your period.

Don't be horrified if you see blood spots in your panties, along with the very early pregnancy symptom, cramping. Spotting may occur about a week or two after fertilization. Moreover, the light bleeding will take place only for a couple of days. Another thing to notice is that the blood is very light in color, unlike the blood released during menstruation, which is darker. Also, menstruation lasts for 5-6 day while this spotting should NOT last for more than two days. If you are doubtful about this symptom, then look out for other early pregnancy symptoms. If you don't like the anxiety of it, they go for a pregnancy test straight away.

Cramping Requires Medical Attention When.

The very early pregnancy symptom, cramping, is normal and does not call for worry. It is a harmless indication by your body that it is preparing for nurturing your baby. However, if you get fever or experience excess bleeding with cramping, then you need to worry and call your doctor fast.

When we say that the very early pregnancy symptom, cramping, is normal, we mean ONLY cramping and spotting. However, if there's more to it than just cramping, then you require a doctor. For women, who have had a miscarriage before, should see a doctor to ensure that their cramping is not related to any complication.

Never ignore the dark color of blood or excess bleeding or excess pain. These are signs that there's something wrong. The very early pregnancy symptom - cramping DOES NOT accompany all this. Moreover, you should also not try to treat these signs yourself. You don't know why this is happening. Hence, it's best to leave it to your doctor.

There are women who can make out that they are pregnant simply by experiencing this very early pregnancy symptom, cramping. Then there are women who get confused whether it's the commencement of pregnancy or menstruation. Whatever be the case, the ultimate confirmation comes after the line in your pregnancy test kit shows positive.



Alien writes for Teen pregnancy . He also writes for family health and home remedies .


This article is free for republishing

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_145834_61.html