Physical and Psychological Benefits of Yoga in Pregnancy

Physical exercise during pregnancy can be daunting. However, research has proved that 30-minutes of exercise a day has numerous benefits for both mother and baby. Not only does it prepare your body for the baby to come but also furthers overall well-being. Happy mothers make happy babies.

When it comes to being physically active in your prenatal routine, it is important to take extra care to accommodate the needs of the baby growing inside you. Yoga has been proven to be beneficial for pregnant women. The only adverse health outcome that has been reported is uterine contractions, which can be monitored with a modified approach and appropriate activity reduction. A golden rule to keep in mind is to always listen to your body and stop immediately if you are experiencing any type of discomfort. All postures should be regularly adjusted as per the size of your baby bump. Avoid yoga that emphasize on physically demanding, strength bases or heated practices for the safety of both mother and foetus. The benefits of yoga during pregnancy far outweigh the risks and with the right consultation, you can design a routine for yourself that suits your pregnant body and your baby’s needs.

Some Benefits of Yoga

• Improved foetal and maternal harmony: Yoga reduces inflammatory markers, decreases heart rate, improves prenatal and post-partum fitness variables.
• Helps manage stress and reduce levels of the hormone cortisol and other associated symptoms that accompany pregnancy, such as oedema, gestational hypertension or diabetes, mood instability, musculoskeletal discomfort, aches, and weight gain.
• Breathing exercises or deep relaxation techniques which improve both foetal heart rate and foetal movement.
• Yoga helps calm the mind and body.
• Mediation and self-soothing techniques help manage various physical, emotional, mental, and pain states that arise through the stages of pregnancy and labour.
• Improved psychological functioning results in better interpersonal relationships.

Considering these physical and psycho-emotional aspects of pregnancy Yoga not only prepares your body for birth but also promotes self-confidence, self-efficacy, and coping ability; aspects that are important for a positive labour experience.
To reap the maximum benefits of prenatal yoga, make sure to join a comprehensive yoga program. Fernandez Hospital’s online prenatal yoga classes help you build both physical and emotional strength and benefit through pregnancy, labour, and birth outcomes. To register for our online yoga classes, please call: +91 8008570465

References

Curtis, K., Weinrib, A., & Katz, J. (2012). Systematic review of yoga for pregnant women: current status and future directions. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine: eCAM, 2012, 715942. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/715942

Acne during pregnancy is quite common and nothing to worry about.  Though it is not a special form of acne, some pregnant women do have trouble with it. Usually, it occurs during the first trimester and disappears within the third trimester. If you do not have acne during the first trimester, the chance of its occurrence during the second and third trimester is low.

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Pregnancy brings different types of discomforts and health issues. Sleeplessness, snoring, nausea, morning sickness, leg cramps, heartburn etc. are some common problems that afflict almost all pregnant women. Due to lack of sleep, most expectant mothers suffer from fatigue, feeling low etc. As pregnancy progresses, women find it difficult to sleep due to uncomfortable sleeping positions. Each trimester brings different types of sleep problems.

Some factors that can cause sleep problems during pregnancy:

• Hormonal fluctuations
• Physical discomforts
• Frequent urination
• Heartburn
• Leg cramps

Proper sleep is very essential for expectant mothers to pass the day feeling fresh and full of energy. In case, the sleep problems are severe, it would be best to consult your obstetrician.

Follow these tips for proper sleep at night.

• Minimize fluid intake before bedtime: It is very essential for a pregnant woman to remain hydrated. So, drink plenty of water during the day and cut down your fluid intake before going to bed. This will minimize frequent urinations during the night.
• Exercise regularly: To improve circulation of blood, it is very essential to keep moving. You can do pregnancy exercises, as well. Proper circulation of blood will reduce leg cramps letting you sleep well at night. Exercising regularly also helps in improving mental health.
• Drink warm milk: Drinking a glass of milk before going to bed provides good sleep.
• Have nutritious food: Foods rich in carbohydrates like crackers, bread etc. help in promoting sleep. Eat a healthy and well balanced diet throughout your pregnancy.
• Avoid heavy meal: Before going to bed, avoid having a heavy meal. During the day, have small meals but frequently.
• Avoid caffeinated drinks: During pregnancy, it would be best to avoid caffeinated drinks, alcohol etc. Besides ensuring better sleep it will also be good for your baby’s health.
• Take a warm bath: Before going to bed, have a warm bath. It will help you feel refreshed and sleep properly.
• Relaxation techniques: Use relaxation techniques at home or join yoga or birthing classes to learn other relaxation techniques to improve your sleep.
• Follow a routine: Adopt a routine like having a glass of milk or caffeine free tea before going to bed. Fix a time for going to bed and waking up in the morning; it will help you to have a good sleep.
• Use pillows: You can use pregnancy pillows while sleeping.
• Sleep in comfortable positions: Try to sleep comfortably and after the 20^th week of pregnancy, sleep on the left side to ensure proper circulation of blood.

Images Courtesy:

https://assets.babycenter.com

http://www.express.co.uk/

Anaemia (Greek: an=without and haem=blood) is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or their oxygen-carrying capacity is insufficient to meet the needs of the body. Anaemia may be due to i) blood loss, ii) decreased red cell production or iii) increased red cell destruction.

The diagnosis of anaemia is based on the haemoglobin concentration in the blood. Haemoglobin is the protein in the red cells that carries oxygen to the tissues. Iron is required for the synthesis of haemoglobin. In addition, vitamin B12 and folic acid are also needed for the production of red cells. A lack of any of these can lead to anaemia, the most common being iron-deficiency anaemia. Requirements for iron in pregnancy are three times higher than in non-pregnant women and the requirement increases as pregnancy advances. Worldwide, one third of pregnant women are anaemic.

Certain conditions put the mother at greater risk of anaemia:

• Pre-pregnancy anaemia
• Malnutrition
• Inadequate spacing between pregnancies
• Pregnancy with twins or triplets
• Inadequate iron supplementation

Symptoms of anaemia

The most common symptoms of anaemia are:

• Weakness and easy fatigability
• Awareness of heartbeat
• Shortness of breath
• Pale lips and skin

Some of them overlap with general pregnancy symptoms. However, regardless of symptoms, all pregnant women should be screened for anaemia. If anaemia becomes severe, it might be harmful to the mother as well as the baby. Poor work capacity, susceptibility to infection, heart failure, premature and low birth weight babies, excessive bleeding after delivery are some of the complications associated with anaemia in pregnancy.

Prevention and treatment of anaemia

• Ensuring normal haemoglobin level before conception
• Iron-rich foods: dark green leafy vegetables, red meat, eggs, peanuts, dried beans and peas, iron-fortified foods, dried fruits such as apricots and raisins
• Pairing iron-rich food or iron tablets with a food or drink high in vitamin C (lemon juice, citrus fruits or strawberries) can enhance the absorption of iron
• Calcium, on the other hand, decreases iron absorption and should not be taken in combination with iron-rich food or tablets
• Folic acid and vitamin B12 should also be supplemented if found deficient
• Women who are intolerant to oral iron tablets may be advised iron injections
• Women suffering from severe anaemia may need blood transfusion

Images Courtesy:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

http://happyhealthychildren.info/

Original Story – “Kangaroo Care Helps Preemies And Full Term Babies, Too”

When Ali Andrew Li was born on Jan. 7, he was gently placed on his mother’s chest, where doctors cleaned and examined him and covered him with a warm blanket. “I just loved it,” his mother, Salma Shabaik, a family physician who lives in Los Angeles, says. “It was really nice to have the baby right there beneath my eyes where I could feel him, touch him, kiss him.”

Read this story at : http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/23/510465435/kangaroo-care-helps-preemies-and-full-term-babies-too

FERNANDEZ STORK HOME ENDORSES KMC CONCEPT

Fernandez Hospital totally endorses the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) concept for premature and low birthweight newborn babies. The benefits are undeniable for both baby and Mother. The natural skin to skin contact is conducive to immediate breastfeeding and weight gain. We also encourage the Father or another caregiver to do skin to skin contact with the baby inside the NICU and get involved in this low-cost yet effective procedure to improve the baby’s overall health. Fernandez initiated KMC way back in 2004. Our full-fledged KMC Ward has well-trained staff and lactation counselors and is supported by a human milk bank.

Over the past seven years, my views on childbirth practices have taken a 180 degree turn. Today, I am convinced we obstetricians in India need to UNLEARN a lot of what we have been taught, and we need to LISTEN more to the women we are privileged to serve.

I realized, to my horror and shame, that we have indeed been violating a woman’s human right with regard to childbirth. Every time we fail to share/offer honest evidence based information, fail to give her the freedom to make a choice, prevent her from having a birth companion, refuse to let her birth in the position she finds most comfortable, we are violating her rights.

With a birth rate of 22 million a year, India has an overwhelming volume of laboring mothers, in overcrowded, poorly staffed hospitals. With institutional deliveries being made mandatory, the majority of our women are subjected to “obstetric violence,” which translates into physical and verbal abuse by healthcare workers, who are ignorant and insensitive to woman-centered care. I admit to being that myself (ignorant and insensitive) particularly in my early years of training and as a young obstetrician. Compounding all of this is the utter lack of privacy, loss of dignity and respect. Our women, especially the voiceless poor, birth in appalling environments.

Human rights in childbirth has today become a global movement which is gaining strength, and rightly so. Women, doctors, lawyers, midwives and activists are coming together to offer solutions to help protect the basic human rights of birthing women. We in India need to wake up. All levels of health care workers involved in maternity services, need to wake up. We need to reflect, rethink, and change our attitude and understanding of childbirth practices.

Rebecca Schiller in her well researched and well written book “Why Human Rights in Childbirth Matter” says “Looking at how a society approaches childbirth, how it constructs a system around it, the rituals, the rites and the way it treats the key protagonist – the birthing woman – is akin to taking the temperature of that society. Nothing says more about the communities we live in than how they treat their most vulnerable at this extraordinary time.” – Rebecca Schiller, Why Human Rights in Childbirth Matter (Pinter & Martin Why It Matters 9)

India is hosting the International Human Rights in Childbirth Conference in February (2 – 5^th) in Mumbai. I hope, it will help bring about the much needed change in attitude, practices, and more importantly, help build a network of support for women birthing in our country.

For more details about the Conference, please visit : http://www.humanrightsinchildbirth.org/event/india-2017/

Original Article – “Can We Please Stop Telling Pregnant Women This?”

I’m currently 29 weeks pregnant and have already lost track of the amount of times I’ve been told by people that ‘everything will be fine.’

Read complete article at:

Can We Please Stop Telling Pregnant Women This? | The Huffington Post

Dr. Evita Fernandez’s response on the article – “Can We Please Stop Telling Pregnant Women This?”
When I was a young obstetrician and not as wise as I am today, I often spoke these lines “don’t worry- everything will be fine” believing at the time that it was. Indeed the truth.

Today, I LISTEN very very carefully to the unspoken words of the young mother before me. I do my best to understand her fears and help her work through it all. I have learnt to believe in maternal instincts; learnt to listen to women when they express a fear repeatedly. I also know that a pregnancy can go horribly wrong. Sometimes there are tell-tale signs to warn and prepare both sides. Sometimes, one does not get the luxury of time to prepare for a loss or morbidity affecting the mother or her newborn.

It is important for us obstetricians to give women the freedom to ask questions, to clarify doubts no matter how small they may appear and more importantly, to LISTEN and become aware of the unspoken fears.

May this article help us understand a different perspective. May it induce us to reflect and initiate change wherever necessary.