Belly Pregnant

Exercise during pregnancy appears to be safe even for African-American women at high risk for pregnancy complications, a new study suggests.

The study, which focused on poor, urban African-American women, found that “exercise participation did not increase or decrease the risk of low birth weight or preterm birth," said co-author Suezanne Orr, Ph.D.

“There is not much information about exercise participation in this population. Most of the research has been on middle-aged white women," said Orr, with the Department of Health Education and Promotion at East Carolina University, in Greenville, N.C.

The study, which appears in the current issue of the journal Ethnicity and Disease, looked at 922 low-income African-American women receiving prenatal care at five Baltimore clinics between 1993 and 1995.

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Information about Video Conferencing on Maternity Leave

Many professionals today work from home. These individuals telecommute to their office in their pajamas. This may seem like a dream come true but there are times when this kind of work environment works against the professional. One way that commuting in your pajamas is negative is when you have to face your supervisors and coworkers face-to-face even if it is through video. If you are working from home, gather as much information about video conferencing as you can. I telecommute and I love working from home. It takes diligent discipline as well as tenacity to meet deadlines and complete tasks in a timely manner. I also thought that this type of work does not require travel and I thought it does not require professional clothing. I did discover through the information about video conferencing that occasionally it does require the clothing at least. I admit that I gained some weight when I was pregnant with my daughter. I decided that I wanted to work from home to be able to take care of her full time while pursuing a career from home. Working from home does nothing to help you when you have still 10 pounds to lose from your pregnancy. I didn’t really fit in any of my professional clothes but who cares? I’m not going anywhere (including the gym). When I found out that I needed to gather up information about video conferencing, I was excited that I was finally going to see my boss and my coworkers for the very first time. There wasn’t much time for me to realize that I would be seen as well. I was looking through the information about video conferencing when it suddenly dawned on me that sometimes the camera works both ways. This information about video conferencing may seem obvious to the average person but I didn’t consider that sometimes it is a two way street. Unfortunately, I still had 10 pounds to lose before I could even dream of wearing my professional clothes. I hated the idea of running out last minute to buy something for one meeting but I really didn’t have another option. The irony of the whole thing is that I was given some good advice once I landed my regular telecommuting job. One of my friends urged me to get information about video conferencing since I was going to work from home. I didn’t listen. I also didn’t listen when she suggested that 10 pounds to lose is next to nothing and I should get moving. I still have 10 pounds to lose even today.

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Multivitamins

Multivitamins Most of us are able to obtain our nutritional needs through our diet, but there are times throughout our lives that we may need multivitamins. Pregnancy is a good example; a woman’s body goes through a number of tremendous changes during this time; health care providers prescribe prenatal multivitamins to make sure the mother and developing fetus get all the required nutrients. Childhood is another period that multivitamins may be recommended. Most children’s diets are less than optimal, picky finicky eaters especially. Children’s multivitamins are made so that kids will eat them, like candy. Though it’s not a good thing to let your children eat at will. One a day will do! Multivitamins are essential for people who cannot get enough of the required nutrients through their regular dietary intake. Times of illness and incapacitation usually require extra supplementation also, because the body is healing and the nutritional requirements are greater. The elderly have greater dietary needs as well, and they are usually not able to fulfill them through diet alone, requiring multivitamins, in addition to calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, and vitamin D. Multivitamins are essential to anyone who has a chronic disease, a genetic condition, or who find themselves in some type of medical crisis. The use of multivitamins in these types of situations should be overseen by a physician or other qualified health care professional, and recommended doses should not be exceeded. Some vitamins can have interactions with prescription medications, such as Coumadin or Warfarin and vitamin K. It is important to let your health care provider know of all medications and supplements you are using and how much you take. Multivitamins are readily available and reasonably priced; most are available without a prescription, and are available in various forms as well, such as capsules, powders, liquids, and tablets, some of which are chewable, like vitamin C. Always read the labels, and take only as recommended; most multivitamins should be taken with food, or they could cause stomach upset. If you notice any type of reaction, stop taking the multivitamins immediately and notify your health care provider. It may be that you just can’t take that specific brand of multivitamins, so don’t rule out taking any type of vitamin. Multivitamins without extra additives and ingredients are usually best because they are better digested and are more easily absorbed by the body. If you’re not sure what type of multivitamins you need, you can also consult the pharmacist or nutritionist at the place of purchase. They will be glad to answer any of your questions. To your health!

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Menstrual Cycle

Menstrual Cycle For every woman, the monthly menstrual cycle is a life event that was very much a mystery to us when it began. No matter how much information our mothers gave us, or how many health education class lectures we endured, we still didn’t know. Menstrual cycles are as unique as is every woman. Not every cycle is 28 days; menstruation can start on the 26th or 30th day too. Some women have erratic menstrual cycles and they never know when it will begin. The onset of menarche usually occurs anywhere from age 9 to age 17; all girls are different in heredity, weight, activity, diet, health, etc. and this all has an influence on when menstruation occurs for the first time. It is normal for it to be irregular and not come at a regular interval for the first few months. Flow may be very light and last only a couple of days at first, then three months may go by until another menstrual cycle begins. The cycle should become more regular as the months progress, and of course, a health care provider should be consulted if irregularity continues or heavy bleeding occurs. The menstrual cycle occurs as a result of an egg being released from an ovary once every 28 days or so. As it travels through the Fallopian tubes, it approaches the uterus, which has been building up cushiony lining for the fertilized egg to implant. If a sperm does not penetrate the egg in its travels, then the unfertilized egg continues from the Fallopian tubes on through the uterus and out as the lining of the uterus is shed during the menstrual cycle. If fertilization has occurred, the embryo will implant into the plump lining of the uterus where the cells will continue to divide forming a viable fetus. At this point in time, the menstrual cycle ceases until the pregnancy is brought to term or another event occurs which would cause the pregnancy to be terminated. Many women look forward to this time, because they get a break from having their monthly menstrual cycle and they get to experience pregnancy. If a woman’s menstrual cycle is irregular or there are other issues such as heavy bleeding, cramping, and/or prolonged cycles, options are available to regulate the cycle and control the uncomfortable symptoms that are being experienced. Most of the time, birth control pills are the first treatment option. Birth control pills are available in many different hormone combinations and strengths, and can be prescribed according to what type of menstrual cycle issue the patient is having. These pills are also fairly inexpensive making them accessible to all women. Our menstrual cycles do not have to take control of our lives. There are many options available for every unique woman. It is her choice to decide what is appropriate for her and her menstrual cycle. Ask your health care provider during your regular check ups about any questions or concerns you may have about your menstrual cycle.

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Early Pregnancy Testing

Early Pregnancy Testing After years of trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child, I am the queen of early pregnancy testing. I know that science tells us that early pregnancy testing is not always accurate, but who has the patience to wait weeks before finding out if they are carrying a little bundle of joy? My doctor frowns on early pregnancy testing. He told me that it takes about two weeks after you conceive to accumulate enough HCG for a test to give a positive result. By his calculations, early pregnancy testing is just a waste of money. Maybe he is right, but I just can’t help myself and I give into the early pregnancy testing bug every time. I order pregnancy tests online by the case. I keep them in my bathroom so that I can satisfy my early pregnancy testing whim any time I feel like it. Early pregnancy testing can be extremely frustrating. The three minutes it takes for a line to show up can seem like hours. I try to follow the early pregnancy testing directions. I try to wait for three minutes before I look at the test to see if I am pregnant. Oh, who am I kidding? Every time I give into the urge for early pregnancy testing, I end up sitting on the bathroom counter, holding the test in my hand for the entire three minutes, verbally willing a line to show up. When the three minutes have gone by, I stand there, twisting the test to every angle imaginable. I hold it at arms length. I put it right up to my nose. I squint my eyes, hoping that the blur it creates will show me an early pregnancy testing line. I examine each shadow and I have even been known to rip apart an early pregnancy testing kit to see if the line is more visible outside the casing. Yes, I know. I have it bad. I am suffering from EPTS. (Early Pregnancy Testing Syndrome) I have even been known to dig an hour old test out of the trash just to see if a line somehow snuck onto it. When I finally did get pregnant, I couldn’t believe that I was really seeing a line. I went through five more early pregnancy testing kits before I believed that I was pregnant. I had spent so many years with negative pregnancy results that I didn’t know a positive result when I saw it.

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Special Baby Gifts

My niece is pregnant with her first child. She and her husband have tried to get pregnant for several years, so they are very excited about getting their family started. I was invited to a baby shower. I knew that my niece had been doing a great deal of shopping for the baby already; so I wanted to purchase special baby gifts that she had not already purchased or seen. The department stores did not offer any special baby gifts; they had items that have been around for years. I mentioned to one of the sales clerks that I needed special baby gifts for my niece’s baby. She stated that the store did have a line of infant things that can be personalized with the baby’s name. This sounded intriguing to me so I asked to see what was available in this line of merchandise. The clerk had several items in stock that she was able to show me. She showed me bibs that were embroidered with the infants name on them. She showed me a baby blanket that was embroidered with not only the baby’s name, but the date of birth and weight and length at birth. Each of these special baby gifts needed to be special ordered and would be available in a week to ten days after the order was placed. The clerk also showed me several items in a catalog including diapers that were personalized with the baby’s name. I did like the unique aspects of these special baby gifts; however the shower was going to be held prior to the baby’s birth so I would not have the information that was needed to have the items personalized. I found a small store that was filled with special baby gifts. This store had many of the same things from the department store, but they have a local seamstress that will complete the personalization within a day. I decided to purchase several of the special baby gifts. I bought the baby blanket that could have the baby’s personal information embroidered on. I also bought a picture frame that had a place to engrave the baby’s name. The picture frame also had space to frame the birth certificate next to the baby’s photo. I had the clerk wrap the gifts and she included a card with the shops name and telephone number so that my niece could have the embroidery and engraving completed once the baby was named. The shop charges a flat rate for the embroidery and engraving, which I paid for at the time of purchase. My niece would not have to pay anything to complete the personalization. My niece was very happy with the special baby gifts. She knew where the shop was, but had not gone into it. We made plans that I would go with her during her maternity leave to have the special baby gifts finished off.