The Dangers of Smoking during Pregnancy
Cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of complications during pregnancy. Among many other things it can result in pre-term labor, a low birth weight and infant death. When you smoke cigarettes the chemicals they contain, of which there are roughly 4000, are pumped into your bloodstream, which is supposed to be feeding your baby oxygen and nutrients. This deprives your growing baby of oxygen and limits his or her nutritional supply. Cigarettes also contain around 60 carcinogenic compounds and put you and your baby at risk of various forms of cancer.
Smoking during pregnancy is one high risk situation where the mother is in complete control. While it might be difficult to stop smoking cigarettes, it is still possible and you have the choice not to. E-cigarettes are available with nicotine-free cartridges and offer moms-to-be an opportunity to carry on with the physical act, as well as even allowing them to go on smoking electronic cigarettes indoors, without the dangerous toxins and chemicals.
Two of the most dangerous chemical substances in tobacco cigarettes are carbon monoxide and nicotine. Their effect on the body is to constrict blood vessels, limiting the amount of oxygen your developing baby receives, especially in the umbilical cord. While two a day is certainly better than an entire pack, cutting down on the number of cigarettes you smoke is not really effective enough. The reason for this is because your body’s first dose of cigarette smoke does a significant job at narrowing your blood vessels and subsequent cigarettes are less impactful.
For your baby this means he or she has more than double the chance of premature delivery or a low birth weight. It also more than doubles your chances of your baby being stillborn. A pack of cigarettes a day can make your baby’s birth weight half a pound lighter at delivery and small or underdeveloped babies often have weak lungs. Premature babies whose lungs do not work properly need help breathing and frequently need to be linked to a respirator in the days following their birth. Children who are born to mothers who smoke are also more likely to develop asthma and the baby’s chances of dying from SIDS are also significantly increased.
Taking the first steps to quitting are much easier if you substitute your tobacco cigarettes for e-cigarettes. For some women they create the passageway to giving up during their pregnancy and giving birth to a healthier, happier baby while others find they can substitute their habit for something else which does not contain the dangerous chemicals.
Read MoreHotel-style Home Décor Ideas
Perhaps you’ve stayed in a fine hotel or a luxury resort where every component of the bedroom and bathroom seems to be just perfect – thebathroom and shower faucets operate effortlessly, the towels are thick, fluffy and super absorbent and the bedding is simply divine. Even if you’ve only dreamed of staying in a better hotel you’d be surprised to learn that you can enjoy many of the very same amenities in your own home every day, for less than the cost of even one night in a fancy hotel.
Take the bathroom – when you shop online for European-style handheld showerheads and shower systems you will notice there are many models designed specifically for installation by the average homeowner. An investment in a new shower system will pay dividends over time – not only will you enjoy a more robust and invigorating shower, you will save water and conserve precious resources in the process since modern showerheads are designed to meet all state and local water conservation rules. From a practical standpoint a handheld showerhead is useful for shampooing hair, washing pets, watering plants and for use while cleaning the shower or tub.
Hotel bedding can be incredibly comfortable; it’s also designed to be very attractive because in the hotel business appearance matters just as much as performance. Many of the better hotels feature upholstered headboards because they look fantastic while they also protect the wall, reduce noise and are exceptionally comfortable to lean against while reading or watching television in bed. You will also notice the prevalence of decorative throws, pillows and bolsters – these are an easy and effective way to make a room look dramatically different without changing the primary bedding.
Read More4th Week Pregnancy – Overview
Brief scientific explanation:
It is an early stage of pregnancy. The chances are you have not noticed any changes in your physical condition when you are 4 Weeks Pregnant. However, changes are taking place inside you and getting you ready to produce another life. The major changes are taking place inside your uterus. The little cells, which later will form your baby, have centered together into the embryo. The specialists call the embryo, blastocyst at this point of time. During this time, the embryo gets inside the womb and gets itself ready to embed into the uterus.
What should you do?
However, you may not be aware of all these changes taking place inside you. It is only one month and you have not gained any weight. It is the time to relax your muscle and let your mind rest. Feeling tired is a normal symptom when you are 4 Weeks Pregnant. Many women endure extreme mental stress in this period of time. If you are into a job where you need to handle too much work pressure, it will be a wise decision to take leave. It is important to take frequent meals during this time. If you are repeatedly down with pregnancy fatigue, try to eat in small quantity to gain energy. Know more about pregnancy during your 4 th of pregnancy.
Medical Recommendations
If this is your first baby and you do not have prior experience, you should try to educate yourself and get to know the warning signs. The more you read about the pregnancy symptoms, the more you will know what to expect and when to consult your OB-Gyn.
Read MorePlanning For Babies First Year
These days, raising a baby can be more of a challenge, with the rising costs of diapers, milk and other baby products. That being said, soon-to-be or expecting parents must devise a plan even before the baby is born.
While starting a family can be a bit demanding and financially straining, the joy of being able to raise your own child and see your family grow is something that can’t be explained in words. The first year of the baby’s life is crucial, and thus, careful planning is required. So how do you plan for your baby’s first year.
Read a lot of parenting books. For first-time parents, reading parenting books will help them become better parents to their first-born. There are now a lot of parenting books sold in both online and offline stores, so you won’t have a hard time finding a good book that will guide you during the first year of raising your baby. Most parenting books contain important information on how to properly raise babies, useful parenting tips, and some great baby budgeting tips.
Buy baby essentials. The first year of raising a baby can be straining financially to the parents. Any parent would want to ensure that their baby will have everything he/she needs. A good tip is to invest on items that the baby really needs. Secure all baby essentials, like comfortable baby clothing, diapers, crib, stroller, high chair, infant car seat, baby tub, and a baby carrier or sling.
Factor in babysitting expenses. If both you and your wife works, then you will definitely need to hire babysitting services to watch over the little one when both of you are in the office. Salary of baby-sitters varies greatly so it is advised that you compare rates to help you find a baby sitter asking for a reasonable rate. Be sure to screen your candidates thoroughly and ascertain that you will be leaving your baby to someone that can really be trusted. If you don’t wish to hire a babysitter, you can just ask your parents or a family member to watch over your little angel while you are not at home.
Start saving up. Though you are still in the first year of raising your baby, it would be a good idea to start saving money for his/her education this early. Remember that as your baby grows older, your expenses will continue to increase. Therefore, preparing for your child’s future early on will definitely be beneficial for both parents and the child.
Read MoreThree Simple Steps to Getting Cheap Health Insurance
How happy are you with your current health insurance policy? Do you feel you’re getting enough bang for your buck? Is your money well spent? Are you reaping all the benefits you could from your monthly bill to your health insurance provider? If you’ve answered all the above questions in the affirmative, then this article is not for you. However, if you were able to provide all positives to the aforementioned inquiries, then you can also call yourself one of the ‘very lucky few’. For the rest of the world, we’ve got great news! You can now improve your margins by getting cheap health insurance at HelpMeChoose. How so? Would you be receiving fewer services for less money? Would you have to give up on any perks you are currently enjoying? No, not all – nothing could be further from the truth. This truth is that, given the state of the economy, the health insurance industry, like many other industries, has become much more competitive than in the past. One direct consequence of this increase in competitiveness is that more providers have driven down their prices. If you want access to the entire offer on the market, all you need to do is run a health insurance comparison, then take your pick. Read on, to learn more on the steps involved in the process.
Figure out Your Needs
Depending on the stage you are at in your personal and professional development, you have different healthcare needs. You should make sure that your health insurance policy is taking good care of those needs, whatever they may be. If you’re young (under thirty-one) and single, you probably have fewer basic medical care needs than, say, a single father of one, or a couple expecting a child, who need to run several periodic tests during the pregnancy. Many people will pay for services they don’t need, while, at the same time, not benefiting from coverage on other issues they may very well require. As such, make sure you know what you want and what you need your health insurance policy to do, then go out and get those benefits.
Analyze Your Current Health Insurance Policy
If you are already insured, you might have a hard time relinquishing your current health insurance policy. After all, you have been paying for it for quite a long time. However, if that insurance isn’t precisely what you need, then you’re pretty much spending your money in vain. Before you make the switch, though, analyze all the benefits and services you are currently being covered for and decide what you will want to keep for your next policy.
How Much Are You Willing to Spend?
The final step before running the health insurance policy comparison per se is to roughly work out how much you are willing to spend on medical care coverage on a monthly basis. Work into the equation the current cost of your bills and any other financial details that are likely to be affecting your budget, then enter your needs and specifications into the search and comparison engine. Enjoy spending less on your health insurance!
Read MoreTwo Simple Rules to Avoiding Birth Defects
As wonderful and exciting a time as pregnancy is, the looming risk of birth defects scares many a young, expectant mother on a daily basis. Unfortunately, what with all the advances in modern medicine, there is still no clear cut and simple way to avoid all birth defects, especially since not all of them have known causes. Fortunately, however, many of those causes have been identified and can now be avoided. Read on below for simple things to do during your pregnancy week by week. Make sure both you and your future baby are as healthy and strong as you both can be, by avoiding behavior which is damaging or otherwise inappropriate. You will be thanking yourself later for keeping informed and healthful, and your baby will enjoy the best possible life in this big, wonderful world, which will be their oyster to explore, once they see the light of day. Read on, and have a great time being pregnant!
Stop Smoking
It’s already common knowledge that pregnancy and smoking tobacco cigarettes are entirely unfit for one another. Beyond the generally damaging effects of smoking, its effects on pregnancy have been closely documented over the past few decades. Recent research in the United States of America has shown that 5 per cent of all miscarriages in the country could be avoided if all pregnant smokers would quit. Other negative stats would also be positively affected. Fewer babies would be born underweight (some 20 per cent fewer, which is no percentile to be neglected!) There would be 8% fewer premature births, 11% less babies stillborn and 5% fewer newborn deaths. In truth, there is yet no conclusive research on the precise way in which smoking causes birth defects. However, it has been established that smoking affects the circulation of oxygen in one’s body, as it narrows down and obstructs blood vessels, thereby depriving the fetus of the oxygen it needs in order to survive and develop normally.
Strive for a Chemical-Free Environment
We all know that chemicals affect the environment, as well as the overall quality of our daily lives. Also, their impact on the development of a baby is immense. However, it can be substantially difficult to avoid all chemicals altogether. After all, they seem to be everywhere these days. They are in the drugs we take to alleviate illness or pain, in our detergents and fabric softeners, and some will even go as far as to speculate that they are in the very water we drink. While avoiding all chemicals would be next to impossible, it is still a wise idea to steer as clearly away from as many as we can. This is to say that if you work in what could be called a highly toxic environment, such as an laundry cleaning shop, a carpet cleaning facility or even an art studio, you would probably be best advised to take some time off from work. Try at least to wear gloves and an inhaling mask, since such places are highly contaminated with lead, and often affected by radiation, as well.
Read MoreNutrition During Pregnancy
If there is one most important thing that you can do for your baby, it is eating a nutritious and well-balanced diet during the entire duration of your pregnancy. You need to do this to ensure that you and your baby are getting proper nutrition. A balanced diet consists of all the food groups in their recommended daily servings and proper nutrition will ensure that the essential nutrients needed by the body are supplied to maintain good health for both the mom and the growing fetus. Pregnancy is a normal condition for the female body but it is stressful. Hence, there is an increased nutritional need to meet the demands of a pregnant woman.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of 75g of protein everyday which must be obtained from a wide array of whole food sources to include all the other important nutrients that a pregnant woman needs. Here is a rundown of the foods that must be consumed by a pregnant woman daily:
- 2 to 3 servings of dairy such as milk, yogurt, cheese
- 2 to 3 servings of fish, meat, nuts, legumes, eggs or tofu
- 2 servings of green and leafy vegetables; a serving of a yellow vegetable
- 3 servings of whole-grain cereals, bread and other high-complex carbohydrates
- 3 servings of fruit
- 6 to 8 glasses of water everyday
A pregnant woman must avoid eating junk food and excessive sugar. On the other hand, cravings for specific foods are common among pregnant women and these can indicate a deficit in diet. You can indulge in healthy foods but cravings for non-nutritional food items must be reported to your personal care provider.
If you are a vegetarian, your diet is definitely good and healthy but you need to work hard to obtain all the protein that you need. The following is a list of a few good sources of nutrients:
- Whole grains- brown rice, whole oats, quinoa, wild rice, wheat germ, whole wheat pasta
- Fruits-kiwi, strawberries, apples, oranges, mangos, bananas, grapefruit
- Protein- chicken, fish, tofu, pork, beef, nuts, milk, eggs, legumes
- Green vegetables- broccoli, spinach, zucchini, kale, green beans, asparagus
- Dairy- yogurt, milk, hard cheese, cottage cheese
- Iron- fish, poultry, green leafy vegetables, dried fruits, eggs, red meat
- Zinc- squash seeds, sunflower seeds, seafood, mushroom, soybeans, eggs, wheat germ
- Folic acid- asparagus, spinach, Brussels sprouts, lima beans, soybeans, root vegetables, kidney beans, salmon, orange juice, milk, avocado, whole grains
Be sure to meet your daily nutritional requirement to ensure that your baby is getting the nutrients needed for proper fetal development.
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