HCG is a hormone, which is secreted by the embryo and creates progesterone. The level of HCG and progesterone are generally parallel to the symptoms you experience. The worst symptoms seem to go away once the placenta takes over, at which point cholecystokinin increases, and digestion becomes more efficient as it makes better metabolic of your food. In turn, this can contribute to things such as low blood sugar, nausea, dizziness, and after-meal sleepiness.

To help alleviate morning sickness, avoid smells which are unsettling or uncomfortable to you, such as coffee or fish. Small things that didn’t affect you before can now force one hand to your mouth and the other to your stomach, things such as left over food, garbage, or perfumes.

Try to pinpoint these scents and do your best to avoid producing or encountering them. Figure out what times of the day you feel worse, and spend it at home, then figure out what things make you feel both worse and better.

Starting the day off feeling sick is likely to result in spending the day sick. For this reason, try to eat before bed, and right when you get out of bed. If you get up in the middle of the night, try to eat then too. Nibble on foods throughout the day and you should feel at least better than you would, if not good.

As you are eating throughout the day, eat foods which are packed with nutrients (such as cheese, tofu, or brown rice). Try to avoid rich, spicy, acidic, fatty, fried foods when you are feeling nauseas, and avoid eating too much at once. Try to consume as much protein and as many high-energy foods as possible, and force yourself to continuously eat. The result of not eating will get you an acid-filled stomach and low blood sugar.

Drink as many liquids as possible! Anywhere from water, to sports drinks, to juicy fruits. If you have to leave the house to buy, get, or go something try driving instead of getting a ride, as many women feel waves of nausea if they are along for the ride, rather than driving themselves.

Wear loose, comfortable outfits. Make sure they are not pressing into your skin. Take the time to relax. If you’re having troubles relaxing, try acupuncture. It is important to relax for yourself and your baby. And, when all else fails, sleep it off. If you use these suggestions as a general guide throughout your pregnancy, you will be certain to expend comfort as much as possible.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Maternity Clothes and More at http://www.maternityandbabystore.com

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Source www.PRWeb.com
Morning sickness, which can be debilitating at times, is drawing more attention and greater concern from pregnant women looking for safe and effective remedies.

New York, NY (PRWEB) — From Angelina Jolie to Jane Doe, women around the world have suffered the debilitating effects of morning sickness during pregnancy, and many women are beginning to grow increasingly more concerned about the remedies available.

“I was so sick during the first few months of my pregnancy that I couldn’t eat, couldn’t go to work. I could hardly function,” Anita Rubio, 25, Island Heights, NJ explains. “I was afraid to take any of the over-the-counter or other medicines because all you read about is how dangerous they wind up being,” she continues.

With many over-the-counter and prescription medications for pain, weight loss and other common conditions being removed from the market, pregnant women are becoming more reluctant to take any medication for morning sickness.

“I thought about taking the herbal remedies but then I read that even ginger could be bad for you and the baby,” Lisa Custodio, 33, Brooklyn, NY states. “I really just felt like I didn’t want to put anything harmful into my body while I was pregnant,” Custodio added.

Custodio, like many pregnant women around the world are discovering that acupressure technology found in BioBands alleviates nausea without the risk of harmful effects for the mother or her unborn child.

“BioBands are great, they are easy to wear, completely stopped my feeling sick and I didn’t have to worry about hurting my baby,” Custodio explains.

The acupressure technology used by BioBands disrupts the transmission of nausea signals to the brain thereby eliminating the nausea associated with morning sickness without the need to take anything orally or topically that is absorbed into the bloodstream.

Pregnant women are becoming increasingly more aware of everything they take into their body, including topical treatments absorbed through the skin. The use of BioBands wristbands for nausea is proving to be safer and more effective than many of the medications and home remedies that have turned out ineffective or potentially harmful.

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She was suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum which afflicts approximately 5 out of 1000 pregnancies. Her doctor told her that she was “pregnant, not sick”.

This story is simply beyond tragic. This is just another example of medical doctors causing more harm than good. This poor woman must have gone through hell. I have a few friends who have endured Hyperemesis Gravidarum and from what they have told me, they would not wish it on their worst enemy. If your doctor tells you that you are “pregnant, not sick” then find yourself a new doctor or midwife. If you are really sufering from this debilitating condition then I do not recommend doing your own prenatal care because you may need intravenous hydration or nutrition.

If you are diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum some of the treatment options are: (and they do not include abortion)

• Hydration and anti-nausea medications
• Nutrition by vein
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin K
• Ginger
• Chamomile
• Anti-nausea bands

Click on the following links to learn more about hyperemesis gravidarum:
www.med.nyu.edu
www.pharmasave.com

Click here to see full CNN report

This short clip shows how the embryo grows into a baby.

Most women look for early signs of pregnancy when they suspect they could be pregnant. What are some of these early pregnancy signs that usually occur before the 5th week of pregnancy?

Tenderness in Breasts
Early signs of pregnancy are the breasts becoming very tender as well as the feeling of a bloated abdomen. These pregnancy symptoms are very similar to the signs of the body shortly before your period starts so they can be very confusing. Many women also start urinating more frequently a week or so after conception. The female body temperature may also rise a little bit about a week after conception. This early pregnancy symptom occurs due to ovulation. The increased body temperature might stay elevated until the time when your next period is usually due.

Spotting
You may experience pinkish or brown spotting similar like at the beginning of the menstrual period as an early sign of pregnancy. You can recognize the difference because it is not as heavy as normal menstrual bleeding. At this point you can confirm your pregnancy with an at home pregnancy test. If there is excessive bleeding and your test shows a positive result then you should visit your OB-GYN or a clinic immediately. This early sign of pregnancy often occurs in the case of an embryo attaching itself to the wrong part of the uterus.

Fatigue and Restlessness
Many pregnant women experience extreme fatigue and restlessness in the very early part of their pregnancy. This is also pregnancy symptom that can be extremely confusing. You may find it similar to any other form of tiredness that you experience when you are stressed or physically exhausted.

How Can You Know for Sure?
The first month is technically comprised of the two weeks preceding ovulation, conception and then the following two weeks when most women do not even realize they have conceived. Pregnancy tests for home use are very accurate, inexpensive and can usually be used a week or two after conception. There is no 100% sure way of knowing that a woman is pregnant in the first one month after conceiving. Most of the early signs of pregnancy can be easily misleading. A pregnancy test and an exam by an OBGYN is the only way one can know for sure.

Author: Christoph Puetz
About the author: Chris Puetz is an experienced author and writer. Chris operates a network of great content websites for women and expecting parents.
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Miscarriage by definition is a pregnancy that spontaneously aborts or terminates and always means that the fetus is unable to survive outside of the womb. Once a fetus becomes “viable” usually after the 20th week or so, early delivery is usually termed preterm labor and all efforts are made to save the baby.

By: Nilutpal Gogoi

Spontaneous abortion or miscarriage can happen due to two main reasons. Miscarriage may occur if the mother has a physical condition or suffers an extreme injury that will not allow the pregnancy to continue to term. Miscarriage can also happen if the fetus fails to develop as it should within the womb. Repeated miscarriage can reduce the likelihood of a woman carrying to term in future pregnancies.

When Do Most Miscarriages Happen?
The vast majority of miscarriages take place during the first three weeks of pregnancy, before many women even realize they are pregnant. Some also happen between the fourth to 12th weeks of pregnancies. Medical researches have ascertained that miscarriages account for approximately 15-25% of all pregnancies.

Why Do Miscarriages Happen?
Some women have a natural tendency to miscarry for a variety of reasons including health conditions, prescription or illicit drug use, smoking, nutritional deficiencies or even being hostile to “foreign DNA” from the baby’s father. Multiple miscarriages reduce the likelihood of carrying future pregnancies to term so it is best to seek the advice of a professional if you have suffered more than one miscarriage.

If you experience any or all of these symptoms, it is important to contact your doctor or a medical facility to evaluate if you could be having a miscarriage:

• Mild to severe back pain (often worse than normal menstrual cramps)
• Weight loss
• White-pink mucus
• True contractions (very painful happening every 5-20 minutes)
• Brown or bright red bleeding with or without cramps (20-30% of all pregnancies can experience some bleeding in early pregnancy, with about 50% of those resulting in normal pregnancies)
• Tissue with clot like material passing from the vagina
• Sudden decrease in signs of pregnancy - Americanpregnancy.org

Causes of Miscarriage
Miscarriages happen for many reasons. 50 per cent of the miscarriages have been attributed to either or both the unnatural development of the placental issue or of the embryo. These abnormalities can be due to three main reasons:

• Faulty sperm or egg cells (germ cells)
• Defective budding of the fertilized egg
• Other maternal problems such as psychological shocks including acute trauma or/and anxiety, diabetes and other systemic diseases like those of the kidney (nephritis).

Premature expulsion of the fetus can also take place also due to malfunctions of the uterine tract, the presence of cancerous tumors or specific health conditions in the mother such as toxemia or fifth disease.

Toxemia
Toxemia is an extremely serious condition which can result in the death of both the mother and the baby and it usually occurs late in pregnancy. Toxemia can degenerate into seizures, coma or death. The symptoms of preeclampsia (which leads to toxemia) are presence of protein in urine, excessive swelling (edema), rapid weight gain and high blood pressure. If severe toxemia happens, doctors generally opt for immediate deliveries to save both the child and the mother. Toxemia is cured automatically with birth.

Fifth Disease
Fifth disease is caused by parvovirus B19 and it can also lead to miscarriage. Though Fifth Disease generally affects children, it can happen in adults too, including pregnant women. Its effects are arthritis and joint pains and the most vulnerable adults are those who suffer from sickle cell anemia.

In most cases, there are no serious complications for an expectant woman who has fifth disease, and her unborn baby usually has no problems. In rare cases, however, fifth disease during pregnancy can cause the unborn baby to have severe anemia and may cause the woman to have a miscarriage. There is no universally recommended approach to monitor a woman dealing with both fifth disease and pregnancy; however, some healthcare providers may increase the frequency of doctor’s visits and perform tests (such as blood tests and ultrasound examinations) to monitor the health of the baby. Kids.emedtv.com

When Termination of Pregnancy Becomes Necessary
There is a vast difference between the connotations of the two terms: miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) and induced abortion. While the former happens naturally, the latter is carried out artificially. Induced abortions are brought on deliberately.

Periodically, a pregnancy has to be terminated intentionally simply because the pregnancy may be life threatening to the mother, the baby or both. If the fetus is mature enough then all efforts will be made to help the infant survive. Sometimes a pregnancy is intentionally terminated because the fetus died in utero and did not deliver naturally. If the pregnancy is less than seven weeks along then a chemical abortion may be performed. Terminations that happen later in pregnancy have to be performed surgically and they are commonly known as a D&C.

Mifeorustone & Chemical Abortions
If chemical abortion is chosen as an alternative to surgical abortions in the first seven pregnancy weeks, then many doctors prescribe Mifepristone or RU-486 to the patients to induce abortions. Nonetheless, chemical abortions cannot be possible if the pregnancy has entered the seventh week. On the other hand, surgical abortions can be done faster. They are completed in two visits to the hospital and do not pose problems in future pregnancies.

Miscarriage Treatment
The generally prescribed treatment to avert threatened miscarriages is bed rest. In cases of repeated miscarriages, total bed rest for the entire pregnancy term becomes indispensable. Often, hormone and vitamin therapy is also suggested. In extreme cases, the patient may even have to undergo surgeries to correct the uterine or cervical abnormalities.

Coping with Miscarriage
It is important to allow yourself time and space to grieve if you have suffered a miscarriage. Many people on the “outside” have no idea what you are going through and may make insensitive or even cruel remarks. If you lose a child, that pain will be with you forever, no matter how far along you were. Many women find internet support groups very helpful and will place banners and tributes to their “angels” online. Other women may plant a flower garden, create a memorial or have some sort of service to mark the passing of the child they will never hold.

Buy the Book: Something Happened: A book for children and parents who have experienced pregnancy loss.

About the author:
Nilutpal Gogoi is a writer and a freelance journalist having more than 18 years of service in several audio-visual and print media reputed organizations in North East India. He has published more than 1000 articles and a popular adventure book for children. For more information log on to
http://www.wellbeingwork.com/ http://www.awellnesshealth.com/
http://www.abouthealthonline.com/

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A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a typical North American’s red meat based diet is deficient in Omega 3 Fatty Acids. We don’t need a study to tell us that news. Omega 3 Fatty Acids have been all over the news in the last decade. The vast majority of people are aware that they need more Omega 3s in their diet but are not willing to make the trade off from poultry and red meat to fish or other natural sources of Omega 3s.

“The researchers found that the women who ate lots of meat and little fish were deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and their babies didn’t do as well on eye tests as babies from mothers who weren’t deficient. The results were noticeable as early as two months of age. The study is ongoing as the researchers intend to follow the children’s development until four years of age.

For the study, the researchers recruited 135 pregnant women and randomly assigned them to either a group that took an omega-3 fatty acid supplement or one that took a placebo. All the women continued eating their regular diets. The supplement added the equivalent of two fatty fish meals per week, an amount that the researchers estimated would prevent deficiency.”
Medical News Today

Whether or not you choose to get enough Omega 3s in your diet is naturally a personal choice until you become pregnant. While it is still a personal choice, that choice is now affecting the health, wellbeing and development of your unborn child. If you are like most pregnant women, you know now is the time to stop dinking around with your diet and get serious about nutrition if you want your baby to have the best start in life.

Omega 3s are absolutely vital for the brain and eye development of a developing fetus and breastfed infant. This is one of many reasons that breastfed babies are more intelligent than formula fed babies.

There are a number of great sources of Omega 3. If you are a meat eater, the easiest and first thing you should do is eat more fish. Since mercury and other toxins are also a concern while pregnant, try to obtain Wild Alaskan Salmon which provides all the Omega 3s with none of the heavy metals. A wonderful option is the mom/baby packages available at Vital Choice Seafood which comes with Salmon fillets, burgers, halibut fillets and organic berries. There are also plenty of Omega 3 supplements available and many foods are now fortified with Omega 3s. You can also find Omega 3s in many plant sources if you are vegetarian or vegan such as:

• Flaxseed Oil
• Ground Flaxseeds
• Walnuts
• Hemp Seeds and Oil
• Marine Algaes

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Does the smell of coffee or eggs make you run to the bathroom? What about a nice Stilton? Does the act of getting out of bed make you sicker than you have ever felt? If you are pregnant and sights, smells and tastes that you used to enjoy send you face first into the toilet, then you’ve got morning sickness.

By: Juliet Cohen

Morning sickness is the nauseated feeling you get during pregnancy. Morning sickness, which can actually occur at any time of the day, can really dampen your excitement about being pregnant. Morning sickness, also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) or pregnancy sickness, affects between 50 and 95 percent of all pregnant women as well as some women who use hormonal contraception or hormone replacement therapy.

Morning sickness can occur at any time of the day, though it occurs most often upon waking, because blood sugar levels are typically the lowest after a night without food. Morning sickness usually starts in the first month of the pregnancy, peaks in the fifth to seventh weeks, and continuing until the 14th to 16th week. For half of the sufferers, it ends by the 16th week of pregnancy. Some unfortunate women suffer intermittent episodes throughout their pregnancy.

The most severe form of NVP is called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). HG is considered a rare complication of pregnancy. The percentage of pregnant women afflicted ranges from 0.3% to 2%. This form of morning sickness becomes a problem because women afflicted by HG are unable keep any foods or fluids down and begin to lose a lot of weight. It this happens to you, please seek medical attention. You may need to receive fluids and nutrition intravenously in addition to medication to prevent vomiting.

Women afflicted by morning sickness typically avoid “bitter, pungent, highly-flavored, and novel foods,” or foods which are likely to contain toxins. Women will naturally avoid foods and smells that seem to trigger nausea. Sometimes this will be nearly every food or every smell. Trying to eat a healthy diet can become very difficult when you’ve also got to deal with problems like food aversions, a sensitive sniffer, and a growling, churning stomach. Eat small, frequent meals and snacks throughout the day so that your stomach is never empty.

In addition to the standard American remedies for morning sickness, you might want to check out homeopathic remedies or herbal teas. Some herbal teas and herbs that have been used historically to ease morning sickness are: Anise, Fennel, Ginger root, Peppermint, Chamomile, Red Raspberry and Blessed Thistle.

Some women find that carbohydrates are most appealing when they feel nauseated, but one small study found that high-protein foods were more likely to ease symptoms. Wearing “acupressure” wrist bands, which are sometimes used by passengers on boats to prevent sea sickness, may help some women who have morning sickness. Try taking your prenatal vitamins with food or just before bed. Flat Sprite® is supposedly great at keeping the stomach from churning. Taking powdered ginger root in capsules provided some relief, but be sure to talk to your provider before taking ginger supplements. Ginger, teas, cookies, even the spice can be helpful in preventing nausea.

Morning Sickness Treatment and Prevention Tips

1. Eat frequent small meals, every 2 or 3 hours, rather than 3 large meals daily.

2. Get up slowly and do not lie down immediately after eating.

3. Eat dry crackers 15 minutes before getting up in the morning.

4. Eat more fruits and complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, crackers and pasta. Sensitive stomachs find those foods easier to tolerate.

5. Eat high protein foods as they help fight nausea.

6. Do not skip meals, allowing your stomach to become “empty”.

7. Drink fluids ½ hour before a meal or ½ hour after a meal. Do not drink during your meal.

8. Try eating cold food instead of hot (cold food does not smell as much).

9. Try bland foods, as opposed to spicy foods.

10. Try to avoid fatty foods, which take longer to digest, particularly during pregnancy, when your stomach takes longer to empty.

11. Try taking your prenatal vitamins later in the day or discuss possible alternatives, such as children’s chewables.

12. Try not to get overheated as it seems to agitate morning sickness.

Sheryl’s comment:
Many experts believe that morning sickness is a natural safety mechanism designed by your body to avoid ingesting poisonous substances. This may have evolved from our gatherer ancestors who might have been likely to ingest poisonous plants. Today, the smell of coffee or cigarettes may make a pregnant woman nauseous, but clearly those are substances that are potentially dangerous to her fetus and should be avoided anyway. So as irritating as morning sickness is, it is your body’s way of trying to tell you something so make sure to pay attention!

Juliet Cohen writes articles on diseases and conditions and women health care. More information on health related topics visit our site at www.health-care-articles.info.

Buy the Book: Managing Morning Sickness

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Moving through pregnancy often raises some tricky questions.One of the common questions is whether or not a pregnant woman is “supposed” to gain weight in the first trimester of pregnancy.When you are pregnant, you have to pay attention to a lot of details if you want to have a healthy baby (and of course you want this!). One of these details is the appropriate amount of weight to gain during pregnancy. If you are an expectant mother, you probably know that an adult normal-weight woman must gain between 25 and 35 pounds by the ninth month. You must also know that you have to gain weight mainly in the second and in the third trimester, but many of you ask yourselves: should I be gaining weight during the first trimester of pregnancy?

The first trimester is the beginning of this important journey that is pregnancy. Even if is not obvious that you are carrying a baby from the outside, you will feel different and you will notice many changes in your body. These include breast changes, you will urinate more often, you may be much more tired than usual, and you may have nausea, heartburn, headaches. Besides these, some women have feelings of depression, anxiety, fear and mood swings.

Many women feel compelled to gain weight as soon as they hear they are pregnant. Others feel it is a license to “eat for two”. The truth is that you should only gain about 3 to 5 pounds during the first trimester. Sometimes it’s difficult to gain even that much weight even if you want to. Some women even lose weight in the first trimester, because of morning sickness, lack of appetite and exhaustion. Other women tend to gain much more than the normal amount of weight in the first trimester. Either situation is not ideal for either of you.

Will you gain weight the first trimester of pregnancy if you barely eat anything? Perhaps not, but you don’t have to worry about this. During the nausea-prone first trimester, few women manage to eat “by the book”. That’s why it is important to enter pregnancy with enough nutritional reserves to provide for both you and your baby. If you didn’t manage to gain at least 2 pounds after the first trimester of pregnancy you don’t need to panic because this is not a reason for the baby not to develop normally, but you should consult a specialist in nutrition if you do not begin to gain weight. If you didn’t have healthy-eating habits before, pregnancy is the time to develop these good habits. Even if you don’t have an appetite and you feel a little sick, make sure that every bite you take (and keep down) packs a nutritional wallop. Don’t try to compensate for your lack of weight gain by eating junk food once your morning sickness passes. This may be harmful for the baby.

Excessive weight gain on the other hand, can lead to health problems for the mother, such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and varicose veins, and will increase the difficulty of delivery. It will also be more difficult for you to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight.

You probably know that much of the extra weight goes to your baby (7-8 pounds), the extra blood and fluid volume (8 pounds), amniotic fluid (2 pounds), uterus, placenta, breast enlargement, and extra fat stores (7 pounds) in case of illness or “hard times.”

In the first trimester of pregnancy the baby and her “housing” are still yet very small, and your pregnancy weight gain needs are covered with 5-6 pounds. The extra pounds you gain above these 5-6 are yours only. Don’t even consider compensating them with gaining less in the second or in the third trimester.

If you try to eat nutritionally dense foods every day and stay away from the junk you are doing the best you can for your baby and probably have better things to focus on than every ounce you are gaining.

About the author:
Author - Kitty Barker who often writes for and with Pregnancy Information where there is far more information, news and resources. She also writes for Pregnancy Weight Gain If that link is inactive, you can paste this link into your browser - http://pregnancy-and-baby-tips.com/

Buy the Book: Pregnancy Weight Management

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