Poor nutrition may lead to various problems for the mother and child, so adopting a healthy diet is important for pregnant women. For one, women should learn what foods may be good for them during pregnancy. Choose foods from all of the food groups (grains, vegetables, fruits, milk products and proteins) and ensure that you are getting vitamins and minerals like folic acid. Do not feel guilty about eating more than did before you were pregnant. Make sure you talk to your doctor regarding how many calories you should eat each day.

Just as important as foods that are good for pregnant women is learning which foods are not good for pregnant women. A healthy pregnancy also depends on staying away from foods that may cause harm. While pregnant, try to stay away from caffeine, alcohol, drugs and foods to which you may be allergic. Always handle food properly and avoid uncooked or undercooked fish, meat, eggs, etc to avoid food poisoning.

In addition to a regular diet, taking supplements that can help achieve a healthy diet and a healthy pregnancy. Make sure you consult your physician before taking any supplements, though. Too much of some supplements may not necessarily be a good thing and can actually be a poor decision in some cases. And, of course, exercise can be important for pregnant women as well. Try to stay away from high impact, stress and exercise alternatives for low-impact exercises.

The following signs may be indications that you are pregnant and it is best to visit the doctor, if there is a possibility that you are.

Missed Period
For some women, when “that time of the month,” that is, her period, time, comes around, not only does it last for about seven days, but it also comes twice a month. While on the other hand, some women never see theirs about every twenty-eight days. Yes, one month it may come, but the next, it does not.

If you are faced with the latter, lack of menstruation may not indicate that a baby, in on his/her way. Therefore, among other reasons, this is one of them as to why it is a good idea to keep track of it.

In addition, although it may usually skip a month, skipping two, may not be the norm. Therefore, it is a good idea to visit the doctor, if you are not seeing it as you usually do.

Growth And Tenderness Of Breasts
If you have noticed that your breasts have grown a bit and they are very sensitive to touch, it is a common change in the body when a woman has conceived.

Spotting
Your period and spotting are two different things. While your period continues throughout the day and last for about three or more days, spotting may only last for a few minutes or day and it is a light bleeding. When spotting occurs, pregnant or not, it is best to go to your health care provider.

Carving
I have heard some women saying that when they were pregnant, they had this desire to eat mud. Yes mud. I do not know how common this is but it is a fact that during this time in a woman’s life, she will usually get a craving for particular foods.

If you have been sexually active and you find yourself desiring certain foods, perhaps spicy foods, fruits, food from a specific restaurant and the list goes on, something is up.

Sometimes, out of the blue, some women get this desire to eat a special food that she had not eaten for years and expect this does not goes away until she eats it. If you suspect that you might be pregnant, it is best to visit your health care provider.

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.

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.

What sleep postures to avoid?

During the advanced stages of your pregnancy, you should avoid sleeping on your back or your stomach. With the growing size of your abdomen, you will obviously find it difficult to sleep on your stomach. Sleeping on your back during pregnancy may aggravate back pain and breathlessness. This position is also not good for your digestive system and may lead to low blood pressure. Less blood may also reach the baby.

Good sleeping positions during pregnancy

The best sleeping position during pregnancy is commonly known as “SOS” or Sleeping on Side. It is better still to sleep on your left side with a pillow between your legs. You will also find it comfortable to keep your legs and knees bent. The SOS position improves circulation to reach your baby. For back ache, short breaths and heartburn, try the SOS posture with pillows to prop up your upper portion.

You can also put a pillow under the abdomen for convenience. It is perfectly fine to rotate positions during the course of the night.

Apart from abdominal pain, there can be several other symptoms, which indicate when to call the doctor.

Some symptoms

After the starting of regular movement by the baby in the womb, if that suddenly decreases, it is essential to inform the doctor. The doctor may also advice to monitor the baby’s activity by daily kick-count and then to inform him/her when necessary.

Abdominal tenderness, vomiting/vomiting accompanied by fever and very high fever/chills are those symptoms, which call for immediate attention. Similar saying goes in case of problems like painful/burning urination or little/no urination, severe headache or headache accompanied by disturbed vision and slurred speech and also various visual disturbances like double images, blurred vision, dimming, floaters, flashing lights, etc.

After 37 weeks of pregnancy, any increase in mucous discharge or any change in its form (it can become watery, bloody or blood tinged) should be immediately reported. Medical help should also be called for pelvic pressure, low back pain, menstrual-like cramping, persistent or severe calf pain or leg cramp, any kind of any swelling in face, hand, feet or leg or a sudden weight gain (more than 4lbs/week).

Some other persistent signs are fainting, frequent dizziness, heart palpitation, breathing problem, chest pain, coughing up of blood, severe constipation along with abdominal pain, severe diarrhea and a feeling of intense itching.

The urgency of many of these symptoms depends on the medical history of the pregnant mother and also on her state of health during pregnancy. However, it’s better to be a little extra cautious and report any kind of any illness or uneasiness to the medical help than to ponder over when to call the doctor!

Mothers most of the time worry that whether it is safe for them to travel at the time of pregnancy. However, doctors are of the opinion that pregnancy is not a very complicated state of life when you have to spend most of your time sitting idly at home. A pregnant mother is free to travel only if she is devoid from all sorts of physical complexities, which may prove harmful for the child.

Second trimester or the middle period of pregnancy is the safest time to travel. This is because by this time the pregnant mother is able to rid herself from the irritating tendencies of nausea and vomiting. Moreover during this time the fetus inside you still remains in a somewhat dormant condition and thus you still feel relaxed to move about and enjoy yourself. There are certain precautionary measures, which you should be keeping in mind while traveling.

While traveling in a car, you must make sure to use your seat belts properly to ensure utmost safety. The usage of airbag is very essential for the appropriate safety of both the mother and the child from undesirable injuries. Never try to exert yourself physically while the vehicle is in motion. It is always advisable to go for short distance traveling during pregnancy. Air traveling is however considered the safest means of traveling for pregnant mothers to avoid unnecessary jerks and painful breaks.

Traveling by sea is also quite a sensible option for expecting mothers except for those who suffer from casual seasickness.

However, just remember to consult your doctor and follow his advice if you desire to travel at the time of your pregnancy. A little carelessness on your part can have disastrous effect both on you and on your child.

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.

Vaginal infection is also quite common during pregnancy. Candia albicans is the originator of this thrush infection. Candia albicans is a kind of yeast found upto 30% in a pregnant mother. It is usually not an encumbrance but tends to bother at times in form of itching, soreness or the typical white thick discharge. Clotrimazole or Canesten is the perfect treatment for vaginal infections. Capsule or tablet treatment, Fluconazole or Diflucan is not at all suitable as it may create complications in pregnancy.

There are many doctors who advise not to indulge in sexual relationships at the time of pregnancy. This, they do just to minimize chances of transferable sexual disease, which may naturally pass on to the growing infant causing severe damage. Chlamidya and gonorrhoea are two well-known sexually transferable disease affecting 1% to 5% pregnant women in UK. Nowadays HIV infection test have become customary before normal pregnancy.

Other common infectious symptoms at the time of pregnancy include chicken pox, troxoplasmosis, infection in the urinary tract and genital herpes. Pregnancy is a period when it is essential for you to be extra conscious and sensible enough to take the right amount of care both of yourself and of your child.

The balancing act:
It is very essential to get accustomed to the shifting priorities of life. New dads often feel very neglected, unloved and unattended by their partners. But at this juncture of life, it’s essential to support one’s spouse who has newly usurped the role of a mother. This new role can lead to lack of sex, intimacy attention on her part. But that’s expected because a large part of her quality time needs to be devoted to the baby. A new father has to learn to support his wife and child first and then think about his own needs. He has to be involved physically and emotionally and at the same time provide for the family. Balancing the demands of both the professional and personal lives is an important aspect of the dad’s role during pregnancy.

What one gains?
Despite the sleepless nights, increasing responsibilities, juggling of time, lack of attention on the spouse’s part, fatherhood is one of the most fulfilling transformations for man. It’s a rewarding experience because that helps a man to understand oneself. A little understanding, a little patience and sharing one’s own feeling with the spouse and close friends, help to handle the situation efficiently.