Pregnancy is the stage where a woman bears a child in her womb and has to take care of not only herself but also the baby within her. A woman’s body can be very delicate during this stage and thus the people around her needs to know what she needs and have to avoid. Some, because of their lifestyle, those who are down because of poverty, sometimes forgets the things they need to do during those nine months. Here’s a list of easy activities that doesn’t need too much money but definitely important for pregnant woman.
- Medical Check Ups
It is the most important for a pregnant woman to have her monthly check ups with an OB gynecologist. If not, “barangay” or city health centers offer free consultations. The gynecologist or the midwife/doctor will check you and your baby if you are in good conditions.
- Daily Vitamins
After a check up, the midwife will give the mother free vitamins for the baby’s development and also for herself as her body undergoes changes for the child’s growth. During pregnancy, women should always take in mind that she needs to be healthy in order for her child to be healthy as well. The right vitamins and supplements will always do the trick.
- Vaccines
While pregnant, women shouldn’t take any sort of medicine unless prescribed by a doctor. Some of the drugs can affect the child’s development mentally and physically. But there are vaccines such as Tetanus Toxoid as a preparation for giving birth. Infection might affect the mother or the child (like the Tetanus infection) during birth so just before that due date, the mother must have her complete shots of T. T. to protect herself and the baby. In case of wounds or any other complication, anti-tetanus serum e.g. Elisa Kits, etc. should also be given for faster protection. It also measures the mother’s protective status and thus, determines the proper treatment.
- Exercise
It is always good for the body; exercise helps your immune system to get stronger and a lot fitter, adjusting to the change due to pregnancy. It also prevents a lot of swelling at some parts of the body.
- Diet
Food is one of the most important factors when a woman’s pregnant. This is where she gets most of the nutrients and vitamins for her and her baby. Also, a balanced diet affects the nutrients that help the baby’s formation and development.
- Stress/Depression
These are the factors that a pregnant woman must avoid. Depression and stress affects the child’s mental development and might result into a complication after birth. It can also cause low blood pressure and might turn the mother unhealthy. As far as possible, a mother should be healthy not only physically but also mentally and emotionally.
Pregnancy can be risky but easy to handle with proper intelligence and information. Women should take care of themselves while pregnant for their child’s development, it is important that a child should be born healthy and perfectly well. Though always at home, there should always be enough caution and preparation even inside the house. Parents should always be prepared for anything and keep things in handy. Just like first aid kits (also like Elisa Test Kit ), emergency hotlines, and anything that could be used in times of unexpected events. “Prevention is better than cure” is always a sensible quote to keep in mind.
By: Lacey Cormier
Posts Tagged ‘Check Ups’
Health Tips During Pregnancy
December 26th, 2009Anxiety Disorders Associated With Women – The Kinds of Anxiety Disorders
December 5th, 2009
Anxiety disorders are psychiatric disorders that affects the life of a person adversely. The anxiety disorders generally lead to deterioration of the overall health.
Women and anxiety are inseparable as anxiety is all about the emotional effect that is accompanied by the physiological sensations. It is caused due to emotions experienced over different issues such as family problems, financial issues as well as concerns about children.
It is generally characterized by doubts, worries as well as painful awareness. The heightened emotions can even lead to heart palpitations, dizziness, sweating, gastrointestinal upsets, trembling, restlessness and increased urination among others.
Kinds of anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders in women are one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and influence the quality of their life adversely. These disorders lead to expensive and frequent medical check ups. They can also cause deterioration of the overall health. The detection of anxiety disorder is done when challenges of the everyday living become overwhelming. Below are listed some of them:
Generalized disorder:
Also known as GAD, is more common among women than among men and children. This form of anxiety disorder includes non stop worrying about different issues, aches as well as pains including trembling, headaches, and muscle tension. Apart from this, constant fatigue, grouchiness and sleep disorders are some of the symptoms of this problem.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder:
In this anxiety disorder, the person suffers from frequently recurring thoughts known as obsessions. Compulsive components of this form of anxiety disorder also include cyclical actions known as compulsions. These are attempts to control the obsessive thought process. Women having OCD tend to hurt themselves and others and develop strange ideas about sexual activity or religion, among other issues.
Panic disorder:
Panic disorder is generally present in those women who have uncontrollable intense feelings of panic and fear known as panic attacks. Other symptoms linked with this anxiety disorder are chest pain, breathing difficulty, rapid heart beat, hot flashes and tingling feelings.
This disorder is normally seen between the age group of 18 and 24 years. There is no reason for these panic attacks. They can happen at any point of time. Through studies and researches it has been found that panic attacks usually occur at places where the patient has already faced panic attacks in the past.
Phobia:
This is another common kind of abnormal fear wherein a person reacts unusually to a particular element. In other words, a person is afraid of things like fire, height, water, insects, loneliness, darkness and flying – just to name a few. Some people also develop social phobia such as fear of embarrassment among others. The common symptoms include sleep disorders, nightmares, feeling of aloofness, irritability, anxiety, numbness and startled reactions.
There is cognitive-behavioral therapy done in order to treat these anxiety disorders that focuses upon changing behavioral, emotional and cognitive patterns. The therapists attempt to the reconditioning of thought process of the women so that they can think healthy and integrate the relaxation techniques to alter their mood swings to a large extent.
It is a proven theory and has helped in the treatment of numerous patients across the globe.
By: James S. Pendergraft