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| Hair dye - is it safe ? |
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| This is a debatable one ! Research hasn't shown that there are any known risks - in other words, no known birth defects caused, however, a lot of literature would suggest that its not advisable until after the 1st trimester, and if you could avoid it, then you should. Some experts recommend vegetable dyes - but, be sure to look at the ingredients as some of these contain just as many harmful ingredients as non vegetable dyes. To reduce exposure maybe consider highlighting your hair - this uses less of the dye actually on the scalp and therefore minimises risks It is important for pregnant women to feel good about themselves, and if dying their hair helps this, then so be it. Just be sure to wear gloves, maybe use a more safe, vegetable dye, and dye your hair in a well ventilated area to minimise the risks. www.babycenter.com |
| Fake tan in pregnancy ? |
| www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk The active ingredient in fake tan is DHA - Dihydroxyacetone This is non toxic - and will react with the skin and produce the brown colour. The outer skin is dead, and will shed regularly - hence the tan needs to be reapplied often. There are NO known dangers of tanning lotions - however, they can cause allergic reactions, and its this reason why its not advisable during pregnancy. Changes in hormone levels can make the skin more sensitive than usual. |
| Exercise ? |
| You may not feel like running a marathon, BUT a certain degree of exercise is safe during pregnancy, and indeed very beneficial to yourself, and your little one. It can help you feel better about yourself, relieve backaches, improve posture, strengthen and tone muscles, reduce risk of constipation, prevent wear and tear on joints, help you  better, look better, prepare your body for birth and regain your body back after pregnancy.If you are used to exercise prior to pregnancy, as so long as your pregnancy is normal, then continue - just make a few modifications to allow for your bump, tiredness levels and so on. Swimming, yoga, water aerobics, pilates, walking are perfectly safe and extremely beneficial to you and baby. Whatever exercise you do decide on, speak to your GP or midwife .. and, most importantly listen to your body .... If you experience any fatigue, dizziness, heart palpitations, pain in the back or pelvis, and if you cannot talk when exercising, then STOP ! If, you experience any vaginal bleeding, unusual pain, uterine contractions, or vaginal leeking, then also stop and consult your GP or Midwife. |
| Kegel Exercises |
| The effects of Kegel exercises can't be seen from the outside, some women use them to reduce incontinence (the leakage of urine) caused by the weight of the baby on their bladder. Kegels help to strengthen the "pelvic floor muscles" (the muscles that aid in controlling urination). Kegels are easy, and you can do them any time you have a few seconds - sitting in your car, at your desk, or standing in line at the store. No one will even know you're doing them! To find the correct muscles, pretend you're trying to stop urinating. Squeeze those muscles for a few seconds, then relax. You're using the correct muscles if you feel a pull. Or place a finger inside your vagina and feel it tighten when you squeeze. Your doctor can also help you identify the correct muscles. A few things to keep in mind when you're doing Kegel exercises: * Don't tighten other muscles (stomach or legs, for example) at the same time. You want to focus on the muscles you're exercising. * Don't hold your breath while you do them because it's important that your body and muscles continue to receive oxygen while you do any type of exercise. * Don't regularly do Kegels by stopping and starting your flow of urine while you're actually going to the bathroom, as this can lead to incomplete emptying of your bladder, which increases the risk of urinary tract infections. * Start gradually. Even 5 minutes a day is a good start if you've been inactive. Add 5 minutes each week until you reach 30 minutes. * Dress comfortably in loose-fitting clothes and wear a supportive bra to protect your breasts. * Drink plenty of water to avoid overheating and dehydration. * Skip your exercises if you're sick. * Opt for a walk in an air-conditioned mall on hot, humid days. * Above all, listen to your body. www.kidshealth.org |
| Smoking in Pregnancy |
| Taken from: http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1171.asp How can smoking harm the newborn? Smoking nearly doubles a woman’s risk of having a low-birth weight baby. Low birthweight can result from poor growth before birth, preterm delivery or a combination of both. Smoking has long been known to slow fetal growth. Studies also suggest that smoking increases the risk of preterm delivery 37 weeks of gestation). Premature and low-birthweight babies face an increased risk of serious health problems during the newborn period, chronic lifelong disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and learning problems) and even death. The more a pregnant woman smokes, the greater the risk to her baby. However, if a woman stops smoking by the end of her first trimester of pregnancy, she is no more likely to have a low-birthweight baby than a woman who never smoked. Can smoking cause pregnancy complications? Smoking has been associated with a number of pregnancy complications. Smoking cigarettes appears to double a woman’s risk of developing placental problems. 1 These include placenta previa (low-lying placenta that covers part or all of the opening of the uterus) and placental abruption (in which the placenta peels away, partially or almost completely, from the uterine wall before delivery). Both can result in heavy bleeding during delivery that can endanger mother and baby, although a cesarean delivery can prevent most deaths. Placental problems contribute to the slightly increased risk of stillbirth that is associated with smoking. Smoking in pregnancy can also cause a premature rupture of membranes. Smoking can also affect you ability to conceive. Women who smoke will have more trouble conceiving than those that dont. Babies of women who smoked during pregnancy, are often observed having withdrawal symtoms. They are also more likely to die suddenly in the first few weeks of life. |
| Alcohol In Pregnancy |
| Taken from: http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1170.asp Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause physical and mental birth defects. Each year, more than 40,000 babies are born with some degree of alcohol related damage. Although many women are aware that heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause birth defects, many do not realize that moderate—or even light—drinking also may harm the fetus. In fact, no level of alcohol use during pregnancy has been proven safe. Women who continue to drink alcohol, even in small amounts, while attempting to become pregnant, may reduce their chances of conceiving. When a pregnant woman drinks, alcohol passes swiftly through the placenta to her baby. In the unborn baby’s immature body, alcohol is broken down much more slowly than in an adult’s body. As a result, the alcohol level of the baby’s blood can be even higher and can remain elevated longer than the level in the mother’s blood. This sometimes causes the baby to suffer lifelong damage. Featal Alcohol Syndrome is one of the most common known causes of mental retardation, and the only cause that is entirely preventable. Babies with classic FAS are abnormally small at birth and usually do not catch up on growth as they get older. They may have small eyes, a short or upturned nose and small, flat cheeks. Their organs, especially the heart, may not form properly. Many babies with FAS also have a brain that is small and abnormally formed, and most have some degree of mental disability. Manny have poor coordination and a short attention span and exhibit behavioral problems. The effects of FAS last a lifetime. Even if not mentally retarded, adolescents and adults with FAS have varying degrees of psychological and behavioral problems and often find it difficult to hold down a job and live independently. During pregnancy, how much alcohol is too much? No level of drinking has been proven safe. The full pattern of FAS usually occurs in offspring of chronic alcohol abusers, most often in women who drink four to five or more drinks daily. However, it has occurred in women who drink less. If a pregnant woman has one or two drinks before she realizes she is pregnant, can it harm the baby? It is unlikely that the occasional drink a woman takes before she realizes she is pregnant will harm her baby. The baby’s brain and other organs begin developing around the third week of pregnancy, however, and are vulnerable to damage in these early weeks. Because no amount of alcohol is proven safe, a woman should stop drinking immediately if she even suspects she could be pregnant, and she should abstain from all alcohol if attempting to become pregnant. What other problems can drinking alcohol during pregnancy cause? Consuming alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, low birthweight and stillbirth. Heavy drinkers are two to four times more likely to have a miscarriage between the fourth and sixth months of pregnancy than are nondrinkers. A recent Danish study found that women who drank five or more drinks a week were three times more likely to have a stillborn baby than women who had fewer than one drink a week. Is it safe to drink alcohol while breastfeeding? Small amounts of alcohol do get into breast milk and are passed on to the baby. One study found that the breastfed babies of women who had one or more drinks a day were a little slower in acquiring motor skills (such as crawling and walking) than babies who had not been exposed to alcohol. Large amounts of alcohol may also interfere with ejection of milk from the breast. For these reasons, the March of Dimes recommends that women abstain from alcohol while they are nursing. Can heavy drinking by the father contribute to FAS? To date, there is no proof that heavy drinking by the father can cause FAS. There is, however, increasing evidence that heavy alcohol use by the male can lower the level of the male hormone testosterone, leading to low sperm counts and, occasionally, to infertility. Men who stop drinking during their partner’s pregnancy also help the partner avoid alcohol. |
| Healthy Eating in Pregnancy |
| The main rule of healthy eating during pregnancy is having a balanced diet. This means your diet should include plenty of fruits and vegetables, protein, grains and lots of hydrating fluids. Junk food may be appealing and craved, but its full of empty calories, and will increase your weight gain ! Try and resist !!! Caffeine and Alcohol are best avoided. They prevent the absorption of folic acid and iron and and pull calcium out of your bones. Avoid fats - Nearly all foods have fat ... but you actually only need around 5% a day. Even in pregnancy !! Food Additives Many foods we enjoy are full of preservatives, flavor enhancers, colorings and even hormones and antibiotics. Most additives are safe during pregnancy. After all, the majority of women don't change their diets much during pregnancy and still have perfectly healthy babies. However, there are a few additives that you should watch out for. Additives to avoid include the following: * MSG – Monosodium glutamate is a flavor enhancer in bouillon and Asian foods that can cause headaches and stomach upset. * Artificial food colorings – Colorings are in many processed foods, and most are considered safe during pregnancy. The ones to avoid are: blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 3 and yellow 6. * Olestra (Olean) – It just hasn't been tested thoroughly enough to be recommended during pregnancy. * Saccharin – It has not been shown to be safe in pregnancy. * Cut the fat off red meat – Chemicals in animal diets often concentrate in the fat. Avoid unpasteruized foods. Ciders and fresh presses juices, smoothies and raw milk cheeses - brie, camembert and feta should all be avoided. Fish ! Do eat fish .... its good for you ! But avoid shellfish, swordfish, shark, sushi, tropical fish and self caught fish Always wash your fruit and vegetables Avoid uncooked or cured meats - they can carry illness Avoid dieting ! Taken from:- http://pregnancytoday.com/reference/articles/dietdonts.htm |
| Chicken pox and pregnanc |
| Taken from:- http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/9329.html If you have been exposed to chicken pox previously, you should be immune, so please, try not to worry If you get chicken pox during the first half of pregnancy, there's a slight risk that your baby will get something called congenital varicella syndrome. This condition is characterized by birth defects, including skin scarring, malformed limbs, an abnormally small head, vision or hearing problems, and motor or mental developmental disabilities. A baby with congenital varicella syndrome may also suffer poor growth in utero. If you do contract chicken pox, you'll have a detailed ultrasound at 18 to 20 weeks to look for signs of defects or other problems and at least one follow-up sonogram later to see how your baby is doing. If you get chicken pox in the second half of pregnancy but more than five days before giving birth, your baby will probably be fine. Here's why: About five days after coming down with chicken pox, your body develops antibodies to the virus and passes them to your baby through the placenta, offering protection that his own immature immune system can't provide. If you develop chicken pox five to 21 days before your baby is born, he might develop chicken pox days after birth, but because of the antibodies he received from you, it's much less likely to be serious. The most risky time to come down with chicken pox is between five days before giving birth and two days after delivery, because then your baby is exposed to the virus but doesn't have had time to receive antibodies from you before birth. In this case, he has a 30 to 40 percent chance of developing what's called neonatal varicella, or newborn chicken pox, which can be serious and even life threatening, especially if left untreated. If your baby shows any sign of developing the infection — such as coming down with a fever or showing a rash of even a few spots — he'll be treated intravenously with the antiviral drug acyclovir. Is chicken pox more risky than usual for my health if I get it during pregnancy? It's unclear. But it's definitely more risky for you to get the virus as an adult than as a child. What should I do if I'm exposed? If you know you're immune, you don't need to do anything. If you're not sure, or you think that you're not immune, call your healthcare provider and arrange to have a blood test done to confirm your status. If the blood test shows that you're not immune, your caregiver will probably recommend that you get a shot of VZIG. Getting this shot within 96 hours of being exposed to chicken pox can reduce your chances of a severe infection. If I'm not immune and I get exposed, what are the chances I'll catch chicken pox? Chicken pox is highly contagious, and if you've never had it before and have direct contact with an infected person, you're very likely to get it. How soon would I see symptoms? It can take anywhere from ten to 21 days after exposure, though most often you'll see signs 14 to 16 days after being exposed. For the first day or two, you may have mild flu-like symptoms, followed by an itchy rash. The rash starts out as little red bumps that blister as they get larger, then eventually dry out and scab over. You'll probably see it first on your face, chest, or abdomen, and new eruptions will gradually appear on other parts of your body. You're contagious from about 48 hours before the first crop of bumps appears until they've all crusted over. What should I do if I think I have chicken pox? If you start to have symptoms and think you have chicken pox, call your healthcare provider right away. But don't show up unannounced at your provider's office and risk infecting other pregnant women there. If you need to be seen, they'll make special arrangements so you won't be sitting in a crowded waiting room. If you do have chicken pox, you might be given a prescription for an antiviral drug called acyclovir. If you develop any signs of pneumonia, like a fever with rapid breathing, difficulty breathing, dry cough, or chest pain, call your provider again right away. How can I reduce my risk of getting chicken pox during pregnancy if I'm not immune? Avoid anyone who has or may have chicken pox. This includes anyone who's not immune and has come in contact with an infected person in the last three weeks, and anyone with flu-like symptoms You'll also need to avoid contact with anyone with shingles. Is it dangerous for me to develop shingles while pregnant? It's very rare for a pregnant woman to develop shingles. It's more common in older adults and people whose immune systems are compromised. But even if you did get shingles while pregnant, it's extremely unlikely that it would cause any problems for your baby. |
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