Pregnancy risks

[blahblah]

Hi all!

WHO claims 1/5th of all child mortality incidents happen in India.And of the 5 lakhs deaths due to pregnancy/childbirth related complications happen annually,one lakh takesplace in India too.

We are planning to have our first baby soon.The thought of any misfortune befalling us torments me!My wife is not particularly healthy and is a bit underweight.She has practically no exercise as she works in the same apartment complex where our flat is.And we haven't got our mothers or anyone else in our city.

What are the precautions one can take to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery? Is there any specific medical tests that we should undergo?

How about the proper diet and is there any exercise pattern that she should follow? Should she try to put on weight[she is just 40 kg]?

Is there any medication,calcium,vitamin tabs etc,which will help?

She can not deliver the baby here,so which month should I sent her home to our parents[Please consider that we both find it very difficult to be separated for long :roll: ]

I am waiting for some answers from the more ''experienced'' hubbers here :lol:

[rajraj]

blahblah: If you feel your wife is not in good health, first let her have a complete medical check up. This includes blood tests. Then, start her on an exercise routine. Walking in the evening around the apartment complex should be enough. Visit a park in the weekends. Take the stairs instead of the elevator for exercise. Blood test will reveal a lot about what is needed as medication.
There is no need to be scared about infant mortality in India. Most of that happens in families with no access to health care, and malnutrition. I don't think it applies to you. You live in a large city with good medical facilities. Get a family physician first,preferably one who practices gynecology and obstetrics. He/she can do the medical check up.
Good luck!

I am sure you will get a lot of responses! :)

[pavalamani pragasam]

Congratulations, blahblah for making up your mind to welcome parenthood! Your wife’s weight sounds less than normal. But it is a hereditary matter and if she is going about her daily routine of household work and a job it means she is healthy and active. So nothing to worry.
The important thing to remember is that pregnancy is a natural process and not a disease. The next important thing is to welcome the experience with a very happy, eager frame of mind. Some women suffer morning sickness, for a few days/weeks/months. Many women have no sickness, no giddiness, no nausea, nothing unpleasant!(Like me, my mother-in-law, my 2nd daughter-in-law to quote some known examples).
Before and after conceiving it is essential to take balanced diet- vegetables(with fibre), greens, milk, fruits & if nonvegetarian, eggs & meat.
You may check with the doctor if she is anaemic or not. Buy her good books to read about pregnancy and babycare.( My books were heirlooms-passed on to the next generation!). These books will guide you both & give confidence.
She may go to her parents’ place at the eighth month(doctor’s advice to sought at that time for travel), and return after 40 days after delivery if it is normal, 90 days if it is caeserian. You dear husband cannot help this separation from your beloved, you can always pay as many flying visits as you can before and after delivery; in this era of communication regular contact should not be a problem.
Happy waiting for the bundle of joy!

[scorpio]

Hey bunny,
Appreciate your love and care for yr better -half. As PP Ma'm said, she does sound to be underweight but it is relative to her frame and height. Consult a good gynaec now itself for a routine checkup. As long as she maintains a healthy body supported by a healthy mind, you need not worry at all. With no elders around, your support during the trimester will be vital and am sure Bunny will go to any extent to welcome a healthy baby rabbit into the family. :)

[jaiganes]

If you have a family physician, then get his/her number and the number of the nearest medical facility which you trust and store them in speed dial. Congratulations bunny! Biggest threat to new born kids and mothers is deficiency of iron, which is known widely as Anaemia. Make sure that enough leafy vegetables like spinach and cabbage are in the diet regularly. There are certain vegetables and fruits which are a definite no no (like papaya and pineapple). Make a list of those vegetables and be careful when you are buying those things. Good thing about pregnancy for women is that the BP and cholestrol remains under control, so extra milk and eggs is good for them. More than all these things they need support emotionally and if possible take a long paternal leave to support Mrs.BlahBlah!! if your company gives you a good long paternal leave, tell me your email Id , in future I would like to join yours :wink: There are some special yoga postures for pregnant women, and there is a popular book for that by B.K.S.Iyengar. I forgot the title, but I think it starts with "light of yoga" or something.
Here is a l i n k (http://www.thaneweb.com/health/feature_028_yoga_woman.htm) for more details.
And above everything else enjoy the process right through.
In my first job in a medical electronics company, I used to visit all children hospitals/wards and find how most women have to cope up with the most difficult moments before , during and after childbirth in almost solitude. It was heartwrenching emotionally to see those women suffer as the husband or his relatives nowhere in sight to support those women. A typical Indian male has been brought up aloof to the natural pains of women, so be someone different from the stereotype and share the natural pain with empathy. All the best!! :thumbsup:

[dev]

Hi blahblah,

Here's a link that might be useful for U...:)

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/1/T010000.asp#T011300

[Cinefan]

Blah blah,
Firstly, congratulations on deciding to get into parenthood. Get hold of a good gynec/obs,take your wife&get her/his advise.That's the best possible thing to do.Follow all instructions to a T.Give a lot of emotional support during pregnancy,that's one thing women require in plenty.Don't rush in sending her to mom's place&don't delay getting her back.If possible stay with her a couple of days before&atleast 1 week after the birth the child,it's very very important.Don't feel embarassed doing this.Some people might make snide comments,some might ask you to get back to work out of obligation but you stay put.Best of luck.

[nirosha sen]

Hiya Dear Blah-Blah - Felicitations in waiting for your bundle of joy and yes, I too would join in the rest of our experienced hubbers to dig into my experiences, Pa!! :D

In the 1st trimester - Things could be difficult if she starts getting nauseous and starts vomitting thruout the day. You can't really do much except to help her lie down as much as possible.

Food for a nauseous mum-to-be : Right now she should just manage whatever, she could stomach Pa!! The lighter the food, the better it is. It could be tea, malty drinks, etc. I had always found it easy with a abit of saltine crackers,as I could not manage to hold down anything else!!

Exercise : For now, it is very, very, precarious to ask her to do anything strenuous, Pa!! Most miscarriages take place in the 1st trimester!! So, my advice is, let her put both feet up as much as possible. Less she's upright on her feet, the better! So let her sleep more, if she wants to!! It helps, believe me!!

[Querida]

Experienced supporter of mummies-to-be so that counts ok? :P
My piece of advice is that every woman is different so don't you nor your better half get too flustered if things happen a little differently...Mrs. Blahblah may not feel, eat, sleep, act, get emotional like everyone else supposedly does...get a good gyn! Go for all your checkups! books, sites, magazines always state the most frequent/general case or info they have gotten from their sample of responses...you cannot possibly do everylittle thing it says in the books so don't bang your head over it...don't believe everything aunties tell you their wisdom is based solely on what they experienced....dont get too scared with all the cautionary/horror stories etc. just lots of emotional support and encouragment and love and both your best efforts....she's having a baby not sick or handicapped no need to overly protective...enjoy the experience Congratulations! and ask us for a name soon! :D

[hehehewalrus]

Congratulations! and ask us for a name soon! :D

not to querida, your options would be like a. Mutley b. Snagglepuss c. Hardy Har Har d. Scooby :P

[Querida]

Congratulations! and ask us for a name soon! :D

not to querida, your options would be like a. Mutley b. Snagglepuss c. Hardy Har Har d. Scooby :P

nope hardy har har and hahaha would be your suggestions not to mention giggles and guffaw :roll: :P

[blahblah]

A good lot of responses!And some of them from ''experienced'' hubbers :D .Thanks all!

I couldn't respond to you all yesterday as I was down with fever.But on friday evening I was just exploring the site dev suggested and was laughed at by some guys.Congratulations poured in!

Nirosha,she is not yet pregnant.We would like to have a Junior by next April-May only.You know why,the school year starts in June here.If I have a baby by June end or July,he/she will miss one whole year.Funny way of thinking,eh? :lol: But that is what I call planning.And we have already joined the Church which runs one of the best schools in the city-again part of the planning :lol:

[nirosha sen]

:oops: Crumbs!! She's not pregnant yet???!!! Oh! Happy planning then!

Ahem, as an aside, I had planned the gender of my babies well too, in case you are interested, Pa!! :D

[dev]

Wow...so much to plan before going in for a baby!!!????.... I got to learn so much from U guys in this regard before I go in for one... :lol:

Hey blahblah, I pray God that he blesses u to realise all ur plans... :wink: :D

[sonu gopi]

blahblah: Take the stairs instead of the elevator for exercise.

Exercises are definately good for a mother to be...but I won't encourage climbing stairs...its rather strenuous esp. if one has a weak womb - walking is very favourable!

I won't congratulate you now...let the baby gets formed first! So don't waste time...let's see some results soon!! :wink:

********
Sonu Gopi :lol:

[nirosha sen]

:lol: Just like Sonu Pa!! Yup, I'll second your good suggestion, dear!! I do believe the same for Blah-Blah and wife, Pa!! Underweight or not, as long as she is healthy the baby would be fine too.

Anyway, the weight would be piled on whether we like it or not once the pregnancy progresses Pa!! 8)

[dev]

Hey Niro,

Is it true that U planned the gender of ur kids??????!!!!....just out of curiosity...could U pls let us know the secret... or maybe U can PM me...:D

[Niranjana]

:oops: Crumbs!! She's not pregnant yet???!!! Oh! Happy planning then!

Ahem, as an aside, I had planned the gender of my babies well too, in case you are interested, Pa!! :D

Nirosha??????????? That's amazing!
I've heard that Chinese horoscope predicts the genders well..........according to the last menstrual date or something. Lol!

[pradheep]

Dear friend Blah

please read the testimonials in this site and if you think it makes sense get help.

http://sakthifoundation.org/

[sonu gopi]

:oops: Crumbs!! She's not pregnant yet???!!! Oh! Happy planning then!

Ahem, as an aside, I had planned the gender of my babies well too, in case you are interested, Pa!! :D

Niro dear, I have heard this before...is it something to do with garlic? Not sure but only remember vaguely. Wonder what Shakti Foundation has to say on this!! :roll:

********
Sonu Gopi :D

[nirosha sen]

Hi guys - looks like many enquiries have come forth but no sign of the father-to-be in question, though :roll:

Before I say anything else - I actually read it up in a simple pregnancy book, Pa!! So, the authors concerned being obsetrician/gynaecologists had merely given the usual biological data to support their theories! But of course, everything would have to have its 10% margin of failure, so please don't be up in arms, okay????!!!

This is not astrology, Pa!! :D And certainly, what they had said is nothing new, either! So definitely, no magic wand at work here!!

Before embarking on this planning method, all couples have to be strict and in the know about the menstrual cycle of the woman, okay??? For this to be fairly accurate, the woman has to be strict in charting her menses in the calendar, diligently without fail. A flip calendar is most useful, as it's easier to refer to previous months.

Always record only the 1st day of the menses, every single month for at least 8 - 10 months. Only after that, could we plan the conception!

To be continued ..........(Please post comments, if anything is displeasing)

[pradheep]

Dear blah
Mind of the mother is the mind of the future. what mothers think during their pregnacy becomes the future mind of the child. I am exactly my own mother's mind. I will explain this a little more. My grandma has six children. Now all these six are different in thier way of thinking and approach in life. Now look at this fact, all the six are born to the same dad and mom, so genetics are the same, all of them been born in the same house and brought under the same environment, but why are all six different?.

Here is the truth from the vedic ayurvedic physcian ...susrutha.....(i will soon put the sanskrit verse in my web site next month) who says it is mother's mind in pregnancy that makes the mind of the child.


Now comming back to my grandma's story, the genetics are same and environment are the same , but still six different children. if everything the same then why difffernce?. We have to understand the fact that, our genrtics dont change drastically, it is our mind that changes.

So in six different pregnancies my grandma had six different mental states and it was stunning when I researched my grandma's six mental states during her pregnancy and six different nature of her kids. Though she cannot remember all that she thought but I could infer from her what she said it makes sense. I then checked this concept with lot of people and muself too and my sister.

Now our son is four year old. it is amazing that my research shows positive results (actually credit goes to our ancient Indian masters). Whatever my wife thought is reflected more and more in him. we then checked with her friends kids and their mental states and amazingly it matches. Genetics play only the role for phsical body and very less for the mental make up.

So my suggestion to blah is that dont get seperated. Be with your wife. That is very essential for the mental matruity of your kid in future.

Regarding the physical condition, dont plan your child without beign healthy. Husband and wife should be healthy to get a healthy kid. The husband health is critical only till he gives the sperms. But the wife's health is so important till delivery and even after that till breast feedign stops.

My wife did a three month pre-pregnancy act, which means for three months we behaved (rehersed) as if she was pregnant and so she was able to know how to handle in pregnancy and what is important. She never had any pregnancy problems which her freinds had. it was because of good mind condition and good healthy diet.

I hope this will be of help to you.

[pradheep]

I forgot to write soemthign important. The reason why i wrote this is that everything is so focussed on the food part in pregnancy. Everyone avoids junk food and take proper vitamins (pre-natals) etc etc, but no one pays any attention to avoid junk thoughts, good nourishing thoughts that are vital for the kid's health.

Both food and good thoughts are to be taken in pregnancy. If we take good care of only the food then the body will be good but not the mind and vice versa.

Pregnancy is like baking cookies, whatever ingredients you add decides the quality of the cookie. Onece the cookie is backed you cannnot do anything. Same way is pregnancy. Many things that my wife taught the kid in pregnancy our son does effortlessly. There is no teaching required. Most of the parents try to change the kids behaviour after the kid is born, it is so difficult like changing the shape of the cookie after baking.

So susrutha's sanskrit verse make so much sense. The mother's thoughts decides the mental makeup of the kid.

Healthy food is simple. All l that is wholesome, unrefined, unprocessed, natrual is the best. Walking outside is the best exercise, there is no susbtitute to it.

[Raghu]

Now our son is four year old. it is amazing that my research shows positive results (actually credit goes to our ancient Indian masters). Whatever my wife thought is reflected more and more in him. we then checked with her friends kids and their mental states and amazingly it matches. Genetics play only the role for phsical body and very less for the mental make up.


Aiya Pradheep, you are making me scared :lol:

[pradheep]

Dear Raghu
:lol: :lol: sacred that I am encroaching into your area? :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Raghu]

Dear Raghu
:lol: :lol: sacred that I am encroaching into your area? :lol: :lol: :lol: :x :lol: :lol:

ok. let's get serious about this topic now


Blablah dude,

40 kg does seems under weight, but if her BMI (Body Mass Index) is OK, according to her height, you can check it here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/bmiimperial_index.shtml

Make sure she eats plenty of Fruits and Vegs, ask the aunties here they will tell you what fruit to avoid, tell her to do gentle exercises and drink plenty of milk.

BUT LAST BUT NOT LEAST, like our scientist friend Pradheep said, keep her mind happy, I SERIOUSLY suggests both of you take up YOGA to find inner harmony and tranquillity.

And best of luck!

[Cindy]

Blah Blah,

This link too will give you some information.. and of course, this site has the chinese lunar chart, but anyway as it is ur first kid that u are planning.. juz go ahead..

http://www.thelaboroflove.com/chart/cal.html

Cindy.

[tomato]

Blahblah,

Do peep into

http://www.hemant-trivedis-cookery-corner.com/healthy-pregnancy.html

Hemant trivedi has collected a lot of useful info on pregnancy and put it together in one place for easy ref.

[blahblah]

Hi guys,thank you all for your suggestions.I am sure some of you guys may have ''googled'' a bit in an effort to help my humble self :lol: :lol: .But yet that effort matters for me.I wasn't around for a couple of days and am sure you will all accept a bit of a delay in thanking you. 8)

[svasu_ani]

Jus check this

http://www.indiaparenting.com/pregnancy/data/preg05_00.shtml