Pregnancy Brain – Is it in YOUR Head?

Here you are pregnant, will be soon be caring for a newborn infant who will keep you awake all night long and you cannot even remember where you left your car keys or to pay a bill on time. Your brain feels like mush, you are forgetful, a bit emotional, and seem to have a much harder time remembering simple things and getting through your day than ever before. Is this early Alzheimer’s or pregnancy brain?

So, here’s the scoop. The reality is that on a completely medical and physiological level the capacity of your brain remains unchanged during pregnancy. You are still smart as a whip, and sharp as a tack. So what is up with all this forgetfulness, then? According to experts from The Australian National University, the problem is surging hormone levels during pregnancy.

When you are pregnant your body has 15 to 40 times more estrogen and progesterone than normal, which affect all kinds of neurotransmitters in the brain. Not only that, but increases in oxytocin that prepare you for labor and delivery also affect your brain’s ability to function normally. Add some lack of sleep, the generalized worries of pregnancy and childbirth, and increased stress levels (and more stress hormones) and it is only natural and normal for you to feel like a complete idiot suffering from the inability to remember anything.

Another factor is that your focus – or your priorities – change. Chances are you are spending more and more time thinking about your baby and the changes that you will be making in your life. This too, is natural and is the first transition in a long line of changes that occur once you become a parent. Since you are more focused on all things baby, it is only natural to lose retention of some of the other less important aspects of your life.

The good news, however, is that once you have the baby and hormones level off, you will feel better. The bad news, of course, is that parenting in and of itself can turn the brain of any man or woman to mush – and you are looking at many years of changed focus, worry, lack of sleep, and stress that will certainly at times incapacitate your ability to think clearly. Welcome to parenthood!

Written By Stef, Mom of 4 @Momspirational

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

Gaining Too Little Weight During Pregnancy

It is important to gain weight during pregnancy. Not only are you housing a developing baby, but also a brand new organ (the placenta), 50% more blood than usual, some amniotic fluid, and a few extra pounds to keep your baby sustained during breastfeeding. You may worry you are gaining too little weight during pregnancy, and be looking for ways to pile on the pounds.

How much weight should I put on during pregnancy?

This depends on your pre-pregnancy weight, and is calculated using your BMI. If you don’t know your pre-pregnancy BMI, your healthcare provider will calculate one for you at your first appointment. If your BMI is:

  • 18.4 or less – you are considered to be underweight, and should aim to put on between 28 and 40 lbs by the end of the pregnancy
  • 18.5 – 24.9 – you’re in the healthy range and should aim to put on between 25 and 35 lbs by the end of the pregnancy
  • 25 or over – you are considered to be overweight, and should aim to put on between 11 and 20 lbs during pregnancy

Your healthcare provider is best placed to offer you advice about weight gain, and will consider your full medical history when giving advice.

Gaining too little weight during pregnancy

There are many reasons why some women find it difficult to put weight on during pregnancy, including:

  • sickness and nausea – extreme morning sickness and nausea can actually cause some women to gain weight. If you are finding it difficult to keep food down, speak to your healthcare provider for advice. Make sure you stay hydrated, continue to take your daily prenatal vitamin, and try to eat when you feel you can.
  • metabolism – you may find that your body is simply too efficient at burning fat.
  • body image issues – if you suffer from food-related body image issues, you may find the idea of putting weight on during pregnancy upsetting. In fact, you may find yourself avoiding putting weight on for this reason. You may require support to deal with this during pregnancy, so speak to your healthcare provider immediately.

How to increase weight gain

To increase your weight gain, you could try:

  • eating more food – it could simply be that you’re not eating enough, so try eating more of the foods you enjoy. Remember, you should be eating a healthy, balanced diet during pregnancy, so keep choosing fresh foods and vegetables. Make sure you snack between meal times, and eat whenever you feel hungry.
  • eat more fatty foods – avocados, nuts and coconut oil are all healthy fatty foods. Increase the amount of these foods in your diet, and you may find it becomes easier to gain a few pounds, without eating unhealthy processed foods. Cooking with coconut oil, eating peanut butter on toast before bed, and having an avocado as your mid-morning snack are all tasty and healthy ways to increase the fat in your diet.
  • slow down – don’t stop exercising altogether, but if you’re a bit of a gym bunny, you may need to cut back a bit. Staying fit and active during pregnancy is important, and there are lots of benefits to exercise during pregnancy, but you also need to make sure you are able to gain weight. Keep exercising, but reduce the frequency, duration or intensity of your workout.

When to seek help

Your healthcare provider wants to support you through pregnancy, and this includes offering advice and support about weight gain. If you are worried that you haven’t gained enough weight, talk to your healthcare provider who will be able to offer tailored advice to help you gain weight. Gaining too little weight during pregnancy can increase the chances of pregnancy complications, low birth weight and, perhaps surprisingly, childhood obesity, so it is important to seek help early.

Are you struggling with weight gain this pregnancy?

Written by Fiona, proud owner of a toddler, @fiona_peacock

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

Five Easy Healthy Pregnancy Snacks

Whatever the state of your diet before conception, pregnancy is the perfect time to switch to healthier foods. A healthy, balanced diet packed full of fresh fruits and vegetables will help to make sure you have all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients. Eating the right foods can also help to reduce fatigue, prevent dizziness, limit nausea, and help you to enjoy that famous pregnancy glow.

If you’re used to grabbing snacks from the vending machine at work, chances are you tend to snack on empty calories. Fizzy drinks, sweets and chocolate are often high in calories but contain little goodness in terms of nutrition. Pregnancy is the ideal time to ditch the empty calories, and focus instead on consuming nutritious and delicious food. By the end of the pregnancy, you should be eating an extra 200 calories a day. It’s not many extra calories, so you need to make sure all the calories you consume are as nutrient-packed as possible.

So what kind of healthy foods make the ideal pregnancy snacks to help you through the day? Consider these healthy pregnancy snacks.

1. Fresh fruit – this might sound obvious, but fresh fruit is a great snack for during pregnancy. Whether you choose to buy individual fruits each day, or a packaged mixed fruit variety tub to eat as a snack. A bowl of grapes, blueberries or strawberries can be the perfect mid-morning snack to fill you up while providing lots of vitamins and nutrients for your developing baby.

2. Nuts and seeds – if you like to graze throughout the day, having a jar of mixed nuts and seeds on your desk may be the perfect answer. Nuts and seeds are high in fibre, magnesium, vitamin B6, iron, and essential fatty acids. If you or the father has a nut allergy, you should speak to your healthcare provider before eating nuts during pregnancy.

3. Salad – green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale are a great way to add folate to your diet. Try and include food in different colours to your salad, because this is a great way to ensure you include a mix of vitamins and minerals in your diet. Beetroot, sweet corn, carrot, radish, tomatoes and avocado all taste great in salad. Throw some mixed nuts and seeds on top for added goodness, and enjoy.

4. Cereal – some women find eating breakfast a chore during bouts of morning sickness, and end up skipping cereal altogether. Cereal is often fortified with lots of vitamins and nutrients. If you can’t handle it in the morning, try to eat it as a snack later in the day. Choosing a high fibre cereal will also reduce your chances of experiencing constipation and haemorrhoids during the pregnancy. Dairy or fortified soya milk on top of the cereal can help you to make sure you’re getting enough calcium in your diet, too.

5. Wholegrain toast – switching to whole grains may help you to avoid constipation during pregnancy, and can increase your protein and iron consumption. Toast is a great afternoon snack, and can help to keep hunger at bay. Try spreading peanut butter, avocado or hummus on top for a healthy snack.

What snacks have you been enjoying this pregnancy?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

Dad’s Pregnancy Symptoms

What the heck is happening to my partner? (And your partner may be wondering what the heck is happening to himself!) Truth is you are the one that is supposed to be pregnant, but your spouse seems to be having the same symptoms as you do. Is he just trying to steal some of the attention back, feeling a little left out – or are dad’s pregnancy symptoms something that is REAL?

According to experts, around 90% of all men have some pregnancy symptom of their own while their partner is pregnant. This is so prevalent that experts have called this ‘couvade syndrome,’ which translated means “WE ARE PREGNANT!” This phenomenon, where your partner seems to be sharing in your increased appetite, morning sickness, and may even be gaining weight at a rapid pace, is heralded by sympathy pains and anxiety.

For many men, this is their way of dealing with the anxiety that coincides with their partner’s pregnancy. Experts believe that many men have a hard time sharing their pregnancy fears, and pre-parenting worries with their partner, so the stress manifests in physical symptoms that often mimic their pregnant partners. Additionally, this anxiety can cause nausea, or ‘morning sickness,’ and may even have your partner reaching for the donuts and potato chips more often than not.

It can also be a way that your partner sympathizes with you. After all, they certainly don’t want you to have all the fun! So when your back hurts, you feel sick – or you have an insatiable midnight appetite, so does he!

If your partner is gaining weight along side of you, it may be because of rising cortisol levels that are triggered by stress more than the fact that they are grabbing for seconds alongside of you. Increases in cortisol can also make your partner feel sleepy and sluggish, have a reduced sex drive and be prone to mood swings. Just. Like. You!

While it is fun (and sort of liberating) that men, too, are prone to pregnancy symptoms – the reality is that they aren’t also carrying the cumbersome weight of the baby. But they may be carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders as they prepare to become parents. Pregnancy changes everything. It changes relationships and it changes the future in many ways. It is only normal and natural for your partner to have a symptomatic reaction of sorts to the changes that are coming. As you progress through your pregnancy – getting larger and closer to your due date – your partner may have increased pregnancy symptoms triggered by stress.

The best thing to do is to keep the lines of communication OPEN! Make sure that you and your partner talk to one another and discuss the future together. Often, his opinions become overshadowed by the needs of the pregnant partner, and in their attempts to make sure you are happy and satisfied and stress free, their own needs get looked over. So talk to one another. Laugh together. Be optimistic about the future.

Written By Stef, Mom of 4 @Momspirational

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

How to Cope With Gender Disappointment

It’s not something many people are willing to admit, but it’s not uncommon for parents to feel disappointed upon discovering the sex of their baby. For some, the disappointment may last just a moment, but for others it can last a lot longer.

You may feel unable to discuss your disappointment for fear of looking like a bad parent. You may worry about being judged for not feeling 100 percent happy about the pregnancy. Perhaps you’re worried you might upset friends who are having trouble conceiving? Whatever the reasons, it seems a lot of expectant parents feel unable to discuss their feelings on this issue.

There are plenty of reasons why people feel disappointed by the sex of their baby, including:

  • already having a one-gender family and desperately wanting a child of the other gender
  • feeling unable to connect with a child of a particular gender
  • cultural or family pressure to produce a child of a specific gender
  • a history of sexual abuse
  • imagining the baby as one sex, only to find out it is the other

Dealing with the disappointment

The disappointment is real, and can sometimes feel like loss. Perhaps this is your last baby, you have a whole family of boys and were really hoping to have a girl, but have just discovered the baby is another boy. You should allow yourself to grieve for the daughter you hoped you were having, because that will help you to process your emotions.

Talking is an important coping mechanism when dealing with gender disappointment. Find someone you can talk to, without worrying about being judged, and let your heart pour out. This might be your partner, a real life friend or an online community, but find someone who will listen and respect your feelings.

After the birth

For many, the baby’s arrival rids any disappointment they were feeling during pregnancy. In fact, some couples choose not to find out the sex of their baby to avoid the potential months of disappointment for this very reason. When you are looking into the eyes of your beautiful new baby, you may decide that the gender is unimportant.

Of course, it’s not always that easy. For some, gender disappointment will continue after the birth. It doesn’t mean you are a bad mother, or that you do not love your baby, it just means you might need some help dealing with your disappointment. Speak to your healthcare provider if these feelings have not disappeared after the birth, they should be able to refer you to a specialist in postnatal care who can help.

Are you or your partner dealing with feelings of gender disappointment? Do you have any tips or advice to share with other pregnant women who may be in the same boat?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

Exercising Safely During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the most important phases of a woman’s life, with many emotional and physical changes. If you maintain a safe and regular exercise regimen throughout your pregnancy, you can stay healthier. Exercising safely during pregnancy can help you avoid many discomforts and might help you cope better with your pregnancy and delivery. In addition, staying active can help you better manage the emotional ups and downs of pregnancy.

Benefits of Exercising

Exercising during pregnancy can be very helpful for you in several aspects. Even if you were not physically active earlier, you can start off with an exercise regimen when you learn about your pregnancy in order to stay fit. Ideally, 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day is highly recommended for pregnant women. For women who suffer from backaches or anxiety, exercising safely during pregnancy can act as a form of relief, helping them sleep better.

It also helps in cases of those suffering from gestational diabetes and constipation during pregnancy. Most importantly, at a time when you might be feeling like you are stuck in the body of an alien, exercising gives you back the sense of control over your body and boosts your energy levels. Appropriate exercises can tone your muscles to give you better posture, and strengthen your joints which will loosen due to pregnancy. It may even help you have an easier labor.

Is Exercise Recommended for Everyone?

Exercise is good for pregnant women, but it is not right for everyone. There are several conditions that require you to take it easy during pregnancy and exercising when you have any such condition may be harmful for you. For personalized advice on whether or not you should exercise, you first need to consult your healthcare provider who will review your medical history to help you come up with the best fitness plan for you.

Generally, women who have medical conditions such as severe asthma, diabetes or heart disease should stay away from exercising during pregnancy. Women who suffer from some pregnancy-related conditions should also avoid exercise – these might include a weak cervix, bleeding or spotting, a low lying placenta, a previous history of early births or miscarriages, or a threat of miscarriage. Whether or not to avoid exercise is usually very individual, and you should talk to your doctor or midwife if you have any of these conditions to see what exercises would be best for you.

Guidelines for Exercising Safely

If you want to make sure that you are exercising safely, here are some guidelines you should follow before you get started:

  • Wear comfortable loose clothes and proper shoes while you are exercising. Shoes are one of the best ways to protect yourself from injuries.
  • Choose an even, flat and clear surface for exercise that allows you ample room to move around without hitting anything.
  • If you are exercising, you need to increase your calorie intake in order to meet the calorie requirements of your pregnancy as well as your exercise.
  • Start your exercise at least one hour after you have eaten a meal.
  • Start with warm up exercises and end with some cooling down. When getting up after a session of floor exercises, be slow in order to avoid dizziness.
  • Keep the exercises moderate and don’t over-exert yourself. If you are unable to talk properly while exercising, you are overdoing it.

If you want to have a healthy yet safe pregnancy, add safe exercises to your daily routine. If you haven’t exercised much before pregnancy, start slowly. The moment you feel discomfort due to exercising, you should discontinue and consult your doctor. Nothing is worth putting your pregnancy at risk. But, more than likely, regular exercise will help you feel better throughout your pregnancy.

Have a safe and fit pregnancy!

Written by Manal, first time mom, rearing an infant.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice.  All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

Are You Keeping a Pregnancy Journal?

A pregnancy journal is a place to collect your thoughts, feelings and experiences during pregnancy. It could be a home made scrapbook, a store-bought journal, or an online blog. It’s somewhere for you to capture your pregnancy journey, and a place to record your bump and scan photos. You may not be a Booker Prize winner just yet, but here’s a few reasons to consider keeping a pregnancy journal:

1. Time to think – setting aside 20 minutes each day to write about the pregnancy will help you relax and focus on your baby. It will give you chance to reflect on how you are feeling emotionally as well as physically, and give you chance to note down your hopes for the future.

2. Looking back – you may think you’ll never forget how awful it is to throw up mashed potato, or just how exhausting it can be to lug around a 40 week bump, but you will. As you are sucked into the consuming whirlwind that is motherhood, you will find the finer details of your pregnancy fade to the back of your mind. By writing it all down in a journal, you will be able to look back and read about exactly how you felt during pregnancy.

3. Questions to ask – writing notes about your pregnancy is likely to leave you with questions about the pregnancy and birth. As you write, you may stumble across worries and concerns you didn’t even know you had. With your pen and paper in your hands, you are in the ideal situation to jot down some questions to ask your midwife at your next appointment.

4. Stress relief – everyone knows that talking through your problems can leave you feeling like a weight has lifted, and writing can have the same effect. Writing down your worries and concerns will help you to better identify what is bothering you and why. Spending time each day writing down the exciting moments – the kicks, the scans, the daydreams – will allow you to focus more on these exciting aspects too.

5. The journey – it’s not all about the destination, the journey is worth celebrating too. Pregnancy is an amazing time – it can be overwhelming and terrifying one day, and magical the next. Some days you may lack the energy to get out of bed, and others you may be cleaning the house from top to bottom. Keeping a record of the pregnancy will help you to look back at this once in a lifetime experience.

6. Revision notes – if you have another pregnancy in the future, you’ll be able to go back and compare notes. It will give you a chance to see how your pregnancies differ.

7. Bump watch – including photographs in the journal will help you to see how much your body has changed. Taking a photograph of yourself each month, week or day, will allow you to marvel at the size of your bump by the end of those nine long months.

8. Pass it on – one of the most special things about a pregnancy journal is that you can pass it on to the next generation. If your children are expecting children, you can give them your pregnancy notes to read. If you have daughters, they may be particularly interested to see any similarities between your symptoms and emotions during pregnancy.

Are you keeping a pregnancy journal?

Written by Fiona, proud owner of a toddler, @fiona_peacock

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

Can My Baby Feel My Partner During Sex?

Chances are you or your partner have worried about whether or not having sex while you are pregnant would hurt your baby. The truth is that there are men all over this world that believe their penis is so large, that having sex with their pregnant partner will lead to some sort of permanent brain damage or deformation to the unborn baby, or they worry that the baby can actually feel their penis during sex. Sure, this may be an embarrassing question to ask – but in truth, it is only one of hundreds of natural pregnancy concerns felt by expectant parents.

While this may be a blow to male pride, the reality is that according to health professionals around the globe, there is not a penis large enough to actually touch or harm the baby during intercourse – even if the penis does reach the cervix.

The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology says that as long as you are having a normal, uncomplicated pregnancy, sex during pregnancy is 100% safe, even in the third trimester. They also suggest to use your body as a guide, and that if a woman is comfortable in certain sexual positions without feeling pain or discomfort, than this is a sign that the baby is fine as well.

If your partner is worried that penetration will harm or touch your unborn baby, you need to inform him that the baby is fully protected in an amniotic fluid, and that the mucous plug located at the cervix, protects the baby from feeling any bumps or jolts during intercourse. Even if your partner is well endowed, there is no chance that he is large enough to cause any sort of damage to the baby during sex.

Often times, men become leery of sex during pregnancy because they feel that the baby will ‘know’ what is going on, or be able to feel their penis during sex. Three makes a crowd, right?  You should know that it is normal for men to shy away from intercourse for this very reason, and that it has nothing to do with how your partner feels about you. If you are feeling amorous, all you can do is (kindly) reassure your partner that everything will be okay (even forward him this article if you need to).

This of course doesn’t mean that pregnancy is the time to experiment with sex toys, or engage in rough sex – however routine intimacy is perfectly healthy if both you and your partner are willing. And there is no need to worry that you will physically or emotionally scar your baby for life.

Written By Stef, Mom of 4@MOM-SPIRATIONAL

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.

What’s Up with Sweating During Pregnancy?

Do you ever wonder if the glow of pregnancy is caused by the increased amount of sweat that seems to be excreted from your body at the most inopportune times?

Sweating during pregnancy is one of the most common – but often not talked about – symptoms of pregnancy. For many women, the sweating comes out of nowhere. You may find that you suddenly get hot flashes for no apparent reason at all, and have a more difficult time tolerating warmer temperatures. While everyone else is freezing, you are shedding clothes in an effort to not soak your garments in sweat. The good news is that this is perfectly normal. The not-so-good news is that this increase in sweating during pregnancy is caused by surges of hormones that change nearly every physiological aspect of your life.

During pregnancy, your blood flow and metabolism are increased – which can cause your body to perspire, or sweat, more. Additionally, pregnancy can cause your body temperature to raise slightly. While you may not be working out in the traditional sense of the word, your body is constantly in the process of making another human, which is HARD work. This can account for the excess sweat, and make it a little more bearable since you are performing the ultimate act of human creation.

Hormones, of course, are to blame as well. The surges, increases and decreases in hormones that constantly occur during pregnancy can be likened to those felt during menopause, and is likely responsible for your hot flashes. As long as you aren’t running a fever or having flu-like symptoms, chances are your overactive sweat glands are just something you will have to deal with.

Another thing that can lead to the sweating is a change with your thyroid gland. For some women, pregnancy can lead to hypothyroidism which can attribute to an increase in sweating. If you have heart palpitations or other symptoms that coincide with the sweating, a phone call to your doctor may be in order.

For the most part, this sweating is NOT dangerous. Although if you feel as though you are overheating, you should take time to get out of the sun, into the air conditioning and cool yourself so you don’t overheat. In cooler months, wear layers of clothes so that when the ‘sweats’ hits you, you can cool off by removing layers. It is also important that you stay hydrated, and keep water on hand at all times. Dehydration during pregnancy can be dangerous, and the best way to ensure you don’t become dehydrated is to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Written By Stef, Mom of 4 @Momspirational

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.