It has often been said that a pregnant woman should eat for two people, but this is not true. Eating for two may be a cute adage, but it definitely is a wrong practice because it is not the quantity you eat during pregnancy that is important, but it is the quality that matters. During pregnancy weight gain is vital to the health of both baby and mother, as increased weight nourishes the unborn baby, helps mommy with an easier birth and supports both during breastfeeding. But everything must go within reasons tells Dr Veena Bhat, Gynaecologists, Artemis Gurgoan. When consulted further, Dr Bhat answered many other frequently asked questions clarifying the myth of eating for two! Continue

Call it a wonder or whatever… Thanks zillions to the new age science for making us experience the bliss of seeing the little life breathing and moving inside our belly. It’s awesome! And easy. High frequency waves, which are inaudible to the ear, are bounced through the abdomen by a device called transducer to look at the inside of the abdomen. With prenatal ultrasound the echoes are recorded and transformed into video or photographic images of the baby. Easy, safe and inexpensive, Prenatal Ultrasound during pregnancy detects or aids in the detection of abnormalities and conditions related to pregnancy. It is usually combined with other tests, such as triple tests, amniocentesis,

The nine-month long wait is over and the ‘bundle’ of your joy, your newborn is in your arms to hold and cuddle. Breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development.  WHO recommends feeding infants colostrum, the yellowish, sticky breast milk produced at the end of pregnancy. It is the perfect food for the newborn, and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond. As your baby is reliant on you for nutritional needs, it is important

Since time immemorial women have been prisoners of their fertility. With the advent of ‘the pill’ fifty years ago, women were set free from the tyranny of unwanted pregnancies. For the last fifty years the pill has helped women to seek education, plan family, space children and carve out careers. Beyond preventing pregnancies the pill has been helping women treat acne and skip periods. To modern women it would be hard to imagine that the US officials were not initially comfortable announcing the approval of the world’s first oral contraceptive. “… Our own ideas of morality had nothing to do with the case,” said John Harvey of the Food and Drug Administration in

Folic acid is a B vitamin. It is used in our bodies to make new cells. Folic acid is vital before and during pregnancy, as it helps prevent birth defects. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before she is pregnant, it can help prevent major birth defects of her baby’s brain and spine. These birth defects are called neural tube defects or NTDs. Women need to take folic acid every day during their pregnancy, starting before they are pregnant to prevent NTDs. Neural Tube Defect: The neural tube is the embryonic structure that develops into the brain and spinal cord. The structure starts out as a tiny ribbon of tissue and normally folds inward to form a tube by the 28th day after

  Women are great at multitasking and in this space we are talking about an exercise that is as good at multitasking as you are. It benefits pregnant and menopausal women alike, improves bladder control and enhances joys of lovemaking at the same time. And this great feat is accomplished by Kegels, named after American gynaecologist Arnold Kegel. Kegels are the rhythmic clenching and unclenching of the pubococcygeal (PC) muscle—also known as the pelvic floor—the internal sling of muscle stretching from your pubic bone to your tailbone. The PC muscle encircles the urinary opening the anus, the perineum and the vaginal opening. As people age, this muscle becomes weaker, causing

You are 28 weeks pregnant and feel happy that two-thirds of your pregnancy is over. Soon, you will be holding your bundle of joy in your arms. However, the results of blood work come as a surprise and the dark cloud of gestational diabetes looms large on your joys. You are surprised because you never had diabetes in the past and wonder should you be concerned about. The answer is—yes. Now, for the good news—most women who have gestational diabetes deliver healthy babies. Diabetes during pregnancy, also called, as gestational diabetes is presence of high blood glucose during later stages of pregnancy. This state of abnormal blood glucose subsides after the baby is born; though, it

Pregnancy is a joy ride for some and is a rollercoaster for some. However be the ride smooth or rough every woman feels at some point if she could have medicine without giving second thoughts too soothe the discomforts arising out of pregnancy. But, as medicines, (mostly all) are banned during this phase Archana Darshan investigates on aroma oils that can be safely used to handle discomforts occurring during pregnancy. Read on….. Backache–For pain of the lower back region, massage with four drops each of lavender and sandalwood oil in two tablespoons of base oil. Six drops of lavender in the bath will help to soothe away the aches. Sore breasts–The breasts expand during

Pregnancy is a joy ride for some and is a rollercoaster for some. However, be the ride, smooth or rough, each woman feels at some point, if she can take the medicine without hurting her baby? The first three months of the pregnancy are critical and any unsupervised medicine should be avoided. This is the time when baby’s organs are developing and medicines can affect this development, which could even cause miscarriage. While its common knowledge that pregnancy is not the time when you should begin experimenting with medicines, yet, women need to be more aware about safe medicines that can be taken to counter minor hiccups like: constipation, acidity, back ache, cold-cough. Dr Kaushiki

Along with the joy of the little one coming in your life, comes a fear of inevitable additional pounds. You even dread breast feeding your kid for it might sag your bosom. Getting back into your pre-pregnancy shape is not so easy. But don’t despair. It’s also not as hard as you think. With consistent workouts and a balanced diet you can get back into shape. Let’s see how….. Breastfeed your baby Breastfeed your child exclusively for six months. Breastfeed uses up all your fat stores! It burns about 500 calories per day so the longer you breastfeed, the more calories you burn. In fact, a study revealed that nursing mothers who exercise regularly have a greater milk supply than