It is best for pregnant women to consult their medical practitioners before using any herbal supplement. The same herbal product may come in varying strengths and combinations from different manufacturers. So you never know the right dose for you. Although herbs are great nourishment sources, other components in them may prove detrimental to the health of the mother and the fetus.

Some herbal agents have been known to cause miscarriage, premature delivery, uterine contractions, low birth weight and other complications. It is best to avoid green tea, herbal supplements without consulting the health care provider. Some herbs have been known to be good for use during pregnancy. However, it is unsafe to use any of them without advice from a medical practitioner.

Herbs like alfalfa, chamomile, nettles, oatstaw, red raspberry leaf and rose hips are said to be beneficiary. They are good sources of vitamins, enzymes, iron, calcium and other nutrients. They aid in reducing nausea, increasing milk production and easing the labor pains. On the whole, these herbs provide nourishment to the mother, the fetus and help the process of childbirth. However, be sure to consult your health care provider first.

A woman’s body undergoes extensive changes during pregnancy. Headaches are caused to a variety of changes. It is not advisable to take pain relieving drugs during pregnancy. However, there are a number of natural, harmless ways to relieve your headaches during pregnancy. First of all, it is important to have a healthy lifestyle. Proper posture, adequate rest, exercise and a balanced diet are immensely significant.

Even if you avoid stress, you might experience headaches due to physiological changes during pregnancy. You could try hot compressing your eyes and nose for sinus headaches. For tension headaches use cold compress at the back of your head. Rubbing mint oil on the temples may also help. Massaging the area around the neck and shoulders is another remedy. Relaxation in a dark room also helps relieve headache.

Calcium supplements and herbal supplements also help maintain the tranquility of nerves. Try eating several small meals frequently to help maintain blood sugar levels. Avoid chocolates, alcohol, cheese and other headache triggers. In case of persistent headaches of unusual intensity, contact your doctor immediately. Also, be wary of accompanied swelling in the face or hands, pain in the upper abdomen and blurry vision.

The four most disabled condition of asthma include

1. Frequent hospitalization
2. Emergency room visits
3. Lack of physical strength
4. A prevailing uncannyness for various activities

If a pregnant mother suffering from asthma has to go through the above-mentioned conditions then her every step of life would be a struggle for existence. Thus, it is extremely important for pregnant mothers to remain in a condition, free of specific allergens like domestic dust mites, animal dander and other irritants such as cigarette smoke and strong cooking odor.

As soon as an asthma bearing pregnant mother comes to know that she is pregnant she must at once consult her allergist or immunologist about ways of controlling her asthma during pregnancy. The common questions which an asthma victimized pregnant mother would obviously have in her mind include

4. Can women with asthma have safe full term pregnancy?
5. If the asthma has reached an uncontrollable level why would it have an adverse effect on the child inside the mother’s womb?
6. How can the medicines and treatments of asthma affect the growing fetus?
7. Is it safe for pregnant women to practice Lamaze?
8. After delivery is breast-feeding safe in case of women suffering from asthma.

However, for all the above-mentioned circumstances the doctors have several solutions to relief the pregnant mothers and try to make things less complicated for them.

The genetically specific stem cells in your baby’s cord blood may be used in future to treat diseases of the baby himself, its siblings or parents. If you are averse to the idea of storing cord blood as a proactive protection for your family, donate it to others. Cord blood being rich in stem cells may prove to be a savior for someone else’s life. Cord blood banking is an easy, painless and harmless process.

Methods

Your medical practitioner will use either the Syringe Method or the Bag Method to collect cord blood. The former involves drawing out blood from the umbilical cord with a syringe soon after it has been cut. The latter method involves hanging the umbilical cord for the gravitational collection of the blood in a bag. The cord blood should be collected within 15 minutes of delivery and processed within 48 hours for storage.

The cost of cord blood banking includes an initial charge for the procedure and storage. Thereafter, an annual fee has to be paid for its storage maintenance.

Though emotional stress cannot brunt the fetus directly, but it may quicken heart rate or elevate the proportion of stress hormone, which in-turn can have undesirable effects. By maneuvering proper stress management protocol, you can save yourself and your baby from the off-putting effects of stress.

Social isolation can intensify depression resulting in increasing stress. At such a time, family support plays a major role. You can even keep yourself occupied and cheery by interacting to friends and other populace by various social congregations. During pregnancy, the major objective should be to keep oneself happy and consoled. There should not be any sense of remoteness.

Besides chipping in amiable activities, there are other ways that can help you to administer stress. Habits such as listening to soothing music, practicing meditation and yoga, can lessen the physical responses resulting stress. Proper exercise during pregnancy renders benefits to the would-be mothers. However, before you start with any exercise regime consult your personal medical practitioner.

For a healthy tot, you should feed yourself with healthy food. Fresh vegetables, fruits, cereals and grains are some of the best foods for an expectant mother. Healthy body and healthy mind of the mother are the prime necessities for giving birth to a healthy child.

What is injurious to health?

The smoke of cigarette contains an approximate number of 2000 components many of which are utterly harmful for pregnant women and their babies. Some such components are nicotine, carbon monoxide and cyanide. These substances often cross the placenta and affect the baby’s health.

The harmful affects

At the very onset, it is essential to mention the fact that more a woman indulges in smoking, the more the complications. The baby of a mother, who smokes, is generally smaller and weighs less sometimes around 170 to 200 grams lesser than healthy baby.

Smoking during pregnancy can also lead to genetic abnormalities and hence cause cleft lip, cleft palate, and problem with eyes, ears, bowel and spinal cord. Some other probable problems are ectopic pregnancy, stillbirths, miscarriage, premature birth, placenta-related disorder, thrush, Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), polyhydramnios, etc. A baby matured in a smoke-filled womb can even develop a disease in later life – like asthma.

Apart from the baby, a smoking mother can also face several health hazards – like excessive vomiting, chest infection, blood clotting, premature rapture of the membranes, vaginal bleeding, etc.

Therefore it is immensely beneficial for women, particularly mothers to stop smoking. Support from family, friends and health professionals can help a woman to overcome smoking habit.

Intake of alcohol both in high as well as in low dozes are not at all recommendable in case of pregnant women. In certain cases women for the first few months are not even aware that they are conceiving. Thus, as ignorance can sometimes be a curse rather than bliss it is preferable to avoid drinking alcohol from the time when you plan to become a mother.

Now it is important to know what exactly happens as a result of alcohol consumption in case of a pregnant woman. Once the alcohol enters the body it quickly makes its way through the placenta and enters into the slowly developing life. The alcohol particles within the body of the growing fetus cannot break so rapidly as in case of an adult and thus the percentage of alcohol in the baby’s blood remains high and may even lead to life long damage.

FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) is becoming a common absurdity everyday among newborn babies in United States. FAS is an abnormal condition for both physical and mental birth defects. This disease mainly takes place among those babies prior to whose birth their mothers have in took a regular overdose of beverages.

So it is the time for all mothers to be a bit extra conscious and restrain themselves from consuming alcohol. It should always be remembered that only a healthy mother can give birth to a beautiful and smiling child.