Pregnancy and Health Care

Archive for the ‘pregnancy’ Category

Are you ready to change the nights out, dinners or meetings of ‘tumbing’ for diapers and bottles? If tripped the alarm on your biological clock and this year want to go for the baby, take note of the steps you have to take to your future pregnancy develops in a healthy way.

Thanks to the popularization of contraception, motherhood is an option. Having a child is scheduled today as is done with the education or buying a home. And although that in this way sounds a bit cold, the fact of choosing the perfect time to face a pregnancy is the first act of love for the unborn child.

According to Dr. Maher Balawi Balawi, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology at the Hospital Gutiérrez Ortega Valdepenas and director and owner of the clinic Rubal (specializing in gynecology and reproduction, in Ciudad Real), “the woman should get to a healthy pregnancy , because health during pregnancy depends largely on the status of women before conception. ”

Pillars of health before pregnancy

Considering that about 11% of Spanish couples have their first child when the woman has already served 35 years, the importance of preconception care is vital. And then, normally, one does not discover that it is in until they have spent six or seven weeks, crucial days in the proper formation of the embryo. For Dr. Balawi, the pillars of health before pregnancy, in general, are: Read the rest of this entry »

We know that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can have harmful effects on the baby. Children of mothers who drink large quantities may have what is called fetal alcohol syndrome, a condition that is associated with malformations of various organs and mental retardation. Usually this syndrome occurs in mothers with a history of alcohol before conception and continuing this harmful habit during pregnancy.
Moreover, the nutrition of the alcoholic often is affected by deficiency of essential nutrients that may play a role in these cases, since the lack of some minerals like zinc, increases the risks in the developing baby.

Nobody knows for sure what is the amount of alcohol you should eat for the baby may be affected because people do not metabolize alcohol the same way. But it is known that the greater the amount of alcohol consumed during pregnancy, the greater the harmful effects on the infant.
Occasional intake of wine or spirits can hardly affect the baby, however it is recommended that all pregnant women abstain from alcohol throughout pregnancy.
Yet if you choose to drink alcohol during pregnancy, we advise that you avoid drinking every day and leave only their consumption for a casual celebration, drinking only a glass and preferably after the third trimester of pregnancy.

It is recommended as prevention, stop drinking from the moment you find out you’re pregnant and optimize all your habits and customs.

Colostrum is a substance that is secreted by the mammary glands during pregnancy and especially in the first five days after giving birth, being indispensable for the first time the baby’s arrival to the world.

Knowing how to be the extraction of colostrum can help many mothers, especially those who want to give this beneficial food to your baby.

But what are the benefits of colostrum? We explain in the following lines.

Colostrum Benefits

As we explained above you, colostrum is the first milk the baby takes at birth, especially during their first days of life.

Is characterized by a yellowish substance, as we saw, is secreted by the mother during pregnancy.

Know the different properties of colostrum may be useful for many mothers, especially for those who care to know the virtues of different foods you take the little ones:

* Facilitates the removal of meconium (first feces of the newborn).
* Aids digestion.
* Power digestive system maturation.
* Provides defenses that protect against small germs and diseases, thanks to its content of immunoglobulins.

While premature birth is a threat that exists and you worry about during the course of pregnancy, it is important to point out two things. The first is that you can do many things to prevent it in case you are carrying what we call in a previous post risk factors.

One of the most widespread is diabetes and other not so well known is his relationship with gum disease. In all cases where these factors exist that predispose, the most effective prevention is a nearby medical control is well aware of its existence.

But there’s more you can do with or without the presence of risk factors as well could be a history of spontaneous abortion or cervical problems. This is something very simple but very important: the rest and the absence of stress, which contribute much to prevent premature birth.

The second point, going to tell you that if preterm labor occurs, you should not blame or be pessimistic. As much as we care, sometimes nature does its job and such things are beyond our control, it is good to know that babies tend to be stronger than they appear and their struggle for living is exemplary.

You know that premature birth does not necessarily synonymous with permanent problems or baby. Science today is far and care and measures to be implemented in these cases, impressive gains achieved even in cases that could be called miracles.

“I started with fluid loss, but as it regenerates rest gave me and put me injections to mature before my baby’s lungs. In addition, every day had to take blood tests for me to analyze the amniotic fluid and then found that my little Magda not gained weight, but what was missing. “

Barbara Cortez’s testimony, recalling the moments before the birth of the last of his four children, is far more common than you might think. In fact, today the rate of preterm delivery in the country accounts for 6 percent and 8 percent of pregnancies and is the cause of 70% of perinatal morbidity and mortality (immediately before or after the time of delivery), figures have been stable in recent years, despite multiple attempts to improve research and treatment.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), all preterm labor is that which occurs before 37 weeks gestation, but not all have the same severity and within that the doctors’ efforts are concentrated on those deliveries that occur before 32 weeks, so that work on prevention, diagnosis and management, because it increases the likelihood of morbidity and complications for the child.

For Barbara, it was time Pesquisar premature delivery, which allowed as long as possible to lengthen the birth that allows for better child development. But there are times when this situation is much more unexpected. And that was precisely the experience he Machalí Councilwoman, Rosa Garcia Allende, who came to our city for a couple of days to a National Congress and elected officials ended up giving birth at the Hospital Base Osorno, two and a half months than predicted.

Hence, his young daughter, who weighed 1.145 kilos and measured 35 centimeters, must remain in an incubator between one month and a half to two, waiting to get the optimum weight-kilos -2 to leave this system. Consequently, his mother must stay in the city.

Specific nutrients in breast milk
High in lactose and oligosaccharides, balanced intake of protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids of long chain (LCPUFA) and essential fatty acids guarantee, appropriate concentration of vitamins (except vitamin D) and balanced supply of minerals is, in summary, the nutritional analysis breast milk.

Some of these nutrients are clearly identified and studied in depth. Others not so much as oligosaccharides, despite being the third component in quantity, after lactose and lipids.

Have been isolated about 130 different oligosaccharides in human milk, all composed of five monosaccharides: glucose and galactose (lactose), fucose, N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and sialic acid (N-acetilneuroamínico), in widely varying quantities. On the latter many current research focus, its possible association with brain development and learning.

There is evidence that the contribution of sialic acid supplemented infant animals to experimental results in an increase in its concentration in the brain and affects learning ability. But experts say the timing of administration is critical, since in older animals changes were not substantial. This finding could be of interest to evaluate their inclusion in infant formulas.

In humans, studies are still scarce, but with hard facts. It has been shown how the membranes of neurons contain 20 times more sialic acid than other cellular membranes. It is believed that this substance is critical to the structure and establishment of connections between neurons (synapses), to facilitate neurotransmission.

There is evidence that breastfed babies have higher resistance to gastrointestinal infections, urinary tract and infant formula makers. This is due to the presence in breast milk of a conglomerate of bioactive substances, such as immunoglobulins, cytokines, prolactin, leukocytes, lactoferrin, lysozyme and oligosaccharides.

The oligosaccharides act as prebiotics, to reduce the survival of pathogenic microorganisms and promote growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli from the intestinal flora of the baby.

In infant formulas, the prebiotic inulin is used to man-made products that balance the intestinal system. Part of ingested oligosaccharides resist digestion and intestinal digestive and become substrate for colonic bacterial fermentation. During fermentation, bacteria produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs: acetate, butyrate, propionate).

These compounds are responsible for the decrease in intestinal pH, which creates an unfavorable environment for the growth of some pathogenic bacteria (E. coli “,” Shigella “,” Faecal Streptococcus “and” Clostridium sp “). This in turn generates favorable conditions for the growth of bifidobacteria. It is proven that an exclusive diet of breast milk between the first and third months of life increases exponentially the number of bifidobacteria and these are the predominant colonic flora.

This intestinal balance positively affects the body’s defenses and there is a propensity to the formation of immunoglobulin E (IgE) and allergic reactions such as eczema or atopic dermatitis.

The guidelines that follow are designed to healthy adult populations. The proposed lots are quite large and that is because they can be used by people with different caloric and nutritional requirements. It is important not to consume fewer servings than the range indicated below, leaving the list by hand during the day so you can check your food intake. If your breakfast and lunch were very rich in grains then try the other meals are richer in food groups that are lacking. If you suffer any illness or are not sure always consult your doctor or nutritionist.

6-11 servings of grain daily
1 serving is:
1 slice of bread (30 gr)
1 pancake
3 / 4 cup dry cereal
1 / 2 cup rice or pasta

2-4 servings of fruit daily
1 serving is:
1 medium fruit (pear, orange, apple, etc.).
1 / 2 cup of cut fruit
3 plums

3-5 servings of vegetables daily
1 serving is:
1 cup raw vegetables
1 / 2 cup cooked vegetables

3-4 servings daily
1 serving is:
1 cup milk (may be you take it you use it alone or in preparations like mashed potatoes, pudding, etc.).
3 slices of cheese machine
1 yoghurt (200 g)

2-3 servings daily of protein products
1 serving is:
meat, fish or poultry the size of a hamburger
2 eggs

You might also eat foods that are mixed together like pizza. In that case you have to have the components: bread, cheese, tomato, etc..

Good nutrition
Feeding during pregnancy is especially important since good nutrition of the mother is one of the key components for success. Never forget that the baby is fed through you and what you eat determines what you get it, or do not receive.

The key is always in the variety and quantity, two little words that contain in themselves the real truth.

When we speak of variety we mean that you eat with the 5 basic groups: grains, fruits, vegetables, meats and eggs and dairy. The absence of any of these in your diet will result in the absence of any one (or several) of the essential nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. Even the concept of variety is applied within each food group, for example, the broader is our choice of fruit or vegetables, the safer we will receive all that nutrienes that this group brings us.

The concept of quantity is basically related to the rations that we ingest each food group. This concept is somehow related to the concept of variety: over-consumption of any of the groups can take the place it should occupy another food group. If for example my diet is too high in grains, probably one of the groups is hindered in quantity, so the range will be affected. It is important to take care not to consume any group or in excess or deficit because the balance of all foods provide the right balance in our diet.

Adolescent girls who become pregnant tend to face a series of social or psychological barriers that stand to good reproductive health. Pregnancy can be the time when an adolescent self-esteem has its lowest point. This may affect plans for the pregnancy.

As for young married women who become pregnant for the first time, addressing emotional concerns can help to promote reduced-risk pregnancy and happiest. When pregnancy occurs outside marriage or has not been planned, the emotional consequences can be serious. Often, unmarried pregnant teenager faces his dilemma without the support of his family, colleagues or friends. In some cultures, can be neglected or have difficulty getting adequate counseling for pregnancy or prenatal care.

Receiving support from others can be important, pregnant adolescents in its decisions were supported by a parent or other adult, and the few who did not consult their parents, were more satisfied with their decision to continue or discontinue pregnancy than adolescents who did not receive parental support.

Early Pregnancy

In teen pregnancies occur so often poor nutrition of girls, since there is an increase of needs in this age when they are still growing.

It is also an important factor that girls are fed in many cases somewhat arbitrarily and are not adjusted to real needs.

Often have mineral and vitamin deficits that affect not only the mother but the child she carries in her womb.

Infections during pregnancy, and especially urinary tract infection, occur in a greater number of pregnant adolescents.

They are also more frequent in this age of sexually transmitted infections, favored by the circumstances in which they develop their relationships often with a high risk of affecting the fetus and very serious consequences for this, even more than for the same mother.

Another result in the pregnant teenagers is bleeding during the third trimester of pregnancy due to premature detachment of the placenta. The risk of preterm labor and fetal death in utero thus increases considerably.

The cause should be sought in the hormonal adolescent immaturity and incomplete development in the uterus also at this age.