Breastfeeding mothers should continue to take whatever prenatal vitamin supplement they took while they were pregnant. Many mothers choose to stop their prenatal once their baby is a year old and eating more solids, and switch to a regular woman’s multivitamin. You should think about what vitamins you are getting through your diet when deciding …
Continue ReadingSleeping for two: Sleep changes during pregnancy
Being pregnant can be a tiring experience for a woman’s body. Both the physical discomforts of pregnancy as well as the emotional stress of this major life change can cause sleep problems and keep a mother-to-be awake at night. Feeling exhausted is a common complaint during the first and third trimesters. But women might be …
Continue ReadingHow to prepare dads for labor.
Take these steps to involve, support and prepare your partner for labour.When a woman is pregnant most of the outside world’s attention is on the mother to be. On the one hand, this makes sense because it is the mother who bears the physical appearance of pregnancy and birth and the special connection to a …
Continue ReadingBlood sugar and Pregnancy.
(CNN) – If you are a woman and you and your partner are planning a pregnancy, it’s important to have your blood sugar levels in control before conceiving. When a woman becomes pregnant, a glucose screening test is done. If those results reveal elevated blood glucose levels, a glucose tolerance test can help determine if …
Continue ReadingObesity in pregnancy puts child at diabetes risk.
Paris (AFP) – Women who are obese while pregnant may put their offspring at risk of childhood diabetes, a condition that requires lifelong insulin therapy, Swedish researchers said Tuesday. A study of more than 1.2 million children born in Sweden between 1992 and 2004 and monitored for several years, found a 33-percent higher risk for …
Continue ReadingOne of birth’s most common practices is about to change.
Since the 1950s, it has been standard practice to clamp the umbilical cord within seconds of a baby being born. It was always done this quickly to reduce the risk of the hormonal injection — given to the mother to stop hemorrhaging — on the infant. However, that drug has since been replaced with a …
Continue ReadingTips on choosing a cord blood bank.
Expecting parents might not be aware that stem cells derived from their babies’ umbilical cord blood are a vital resource for their families. Advances in medical science have made it possible to harness the body’s own cells for treatment. Families only have one opportunity to collect and store their babies’ cord blood stem cells, and that’s …
Continue ReadingVitamin overdose and pregnancy.
During pregnancy, it is important to get the proper nutrients to foster healthy fetal development. You may be tempted to take a multivitamin in addition to other supplements. However, vitamin overdose can occur when an individual takes more than the recommended daily amount of a vitamin. This can result when taking more than one multivitamin, …
Continue ReadingIs it safe to drink alcohol during pregnancy?
If you’ve abstained from alcohol during a pregnancy, you know there’s a lot of conflicting information out there. We checked with Dr. Iffath Hoskins, MD, a high-risk OB-GYN at NYU Langone Medical Center, about whether its necessary to abstain from alcohol completely during pregnancy. “How much is okay and what is the tipping point of what’s …
Continue ReadingPreparing for pregnancy.
Starting a family is a life-changing milestone. One way to have the best possible pregnancy, birthing process and parenthood experience is to plan for it ahead of time. It is important for both partners to communicate with each other about how they feel and whether or not they are ready to have a baby. …
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