“Add saffron beta in your milk and drink every day, the baby will become fair”
Dear MoMsters hope you could relate to the above statement.
As soon as you announce the news of being pregnant, your family, friends, well-wishers start suggesting about your diet, among that the very famous myth is, use of saffron for the fairer complexion of the baby.
The fact is that your baby’s skin color is decided by his/her genes that he/she inherits from you and your spouse.
During my pregnancy, I didn’t believe it wholeheartedly but still followed the suggestion because sometimes we cannot ignore elders’ suggestions, also they are experienced and I thought to listen to them; however, with my experience, I would like to suggest to get a second opinion from doctor, in that way one can avoid misunderstanding without hurting their ego.
According to many health practitioners, consuming more saffronleads to uterus contraction and it doesn’t have any effect on baby complexion.
But still there are some benefits of saffron, they are rich in antioxidants, it decreases mood swings and cramps during pregnancy. So it’s better to take saffron on gynecologists’ suggestion.
How to use:
Recipe:
Saffron is generally consumed during night by adding 2 strands of saffron in a cup of warm milk and kept aside for 5 to 10 minutes; you can also add sugar for taste.
Points to be noted while taking Saffron:
Saffron should be consumed only after the 5th month of pregnancy.
Don’t take excess saffron, as saffron causes heat problems.
Always go for good quality saffron and check for ISI mark and government approval. Avoid buying saffron that is sold loose.
Remember to check the expiry date of the product.
And lastly, I request all the mothers regardless of the complexion, love your baby unconditionally! Moreover pray god for normal delivery and healthy baby rather than for a fairer complexion.
We suggest you to consume fruits like Apple (high in fiber and a good source of vitamin A, C & potassium), Pomegranate (maintains hemoglobin levels), Orange (excellent source of vitamin C) all these fruits helps a mother to be healthy and hydrated, which in turn results in the healthy and good skin tone of mother & baby. Apart from this, pregnant women should add iron-rich foods like – Legumes, Green, and leafy vegetables.
Ok, MoMsters hope this content helps you. Please feel free to share your feedback and experience. Thank you.
“Now I’m Pregnant.. while coughing, my abdomen is paining.And also will the cold symptom harm my baby? How can I get rid of this? Please help me out.” thoughts of many pregnant ladies.
This is the common question asked by many MoMsters.“
Pregnant ladies have a weaker immune system, that’s the reason they are more vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections. But don’t worry MoMsters, the symptoms of cold will not affect your baby who is protected in the womb by the placenta. You might feel discomfort while coughing.”
Common cold can be caused by more than 200 different viruses; there is no medical cure for the common cold, it will get better on their own. We have to just ease the symptoms. (Caring MoMster will help you by giving few tips on home remedies)
Cold Symptoms during Pregnancy:
Runny nose (1st a clear later a yellow discharge).
Nasal stuffiness.
Sore throat.
Feeling tired
Slightly swollen glands.
Mild fever (100-101 degree F).
Symptoms usually last for 5-7 days.
How to find out whether it is an Allergy Cold:
Continuous sneezing.
Itching of the nose, ears, and throat.
Watery eyes.
Runny and blocked nose
Dust and pollution trigger the symptoms worst.
Cough:
Dry cough is generally due to upper respiratory infection, sometimes acid reflux will also cause cough.
Some of the allergens such as dust mites, pollution, pollen, smoking, alcohol smell, agarbhati smell, chemical fumes, and paint smell trigger an allergy cough which is caused by your immune system’s response.
Dear MoMsters any cough lasting more than 2 weeks must be evaluated, so please take care.
Point to be remembered:Antibiotics do not work on infections caused by viruses. Then you may wonder why doctors prescribe antibiotics?
Let me clear your doubt…
“When doctor diagnosis symptoms related to acute bronchitis, Pneumonia, or Acute bacterial sinusitis, only then he prescribes antibiotics to treat because these infections are bacterial and not viral.”
Now you may wonder how to treat cold and cough during pregnancy! Medicines are safe during pregnancy?
Let me tell you that cold and cough medicines contain multiple ingredients so it is best to check with your gynaecologist about their safety in pregnancy. But most of doctors advise to avoid medications for simple common cold and cough during pregnancy, because few medicines affect the health of foetus. That’s the reason we came out with the amazing and safe home remedies for cough and cold during pregnancy.
Ease Cold and Cough symptoms by using some Home Remedies:
Steam Inhalation: Helps to clear mucus in the nose and relieves sinuses symptoms. Doing steam inhalation 3 times per day will help.
Saline nasal spray: It is a solution of sodium chloride and a form of nasal irrigation. This helps to relieve nasal congestion and is safe during pregnancy.
Gargle: Gargling with warm salt water helps to remove throat infection and cough.
Recipe:Take 1 teaspoon of table salt and turmeric with 1 cup of warm water. Stir until the salt dissolves. Then gargle with it several times and spit it out.
Doing gargle 3 times a day will help.
Turmeric Milk: Drink a glass of warm turmeric milk before bed, which works like a magic because turmeric works as anti-allergy and antiviral.
Recipe:Take ½ teaspoon of turmeric + ¼ teaspoon of black pepper + a drop of honey (honey is rich in antioxidants) mix all 3 ingredients in the warm milk.
This warm drink helps in faster recovery from cold and cough.
Medicinal extract: Extract the ginger juice and tulsi leaves.
Recipe:Boil half-inch grated ginger with a cup of water + add few tulsi leaves to the boiling water. Stir the extract and add ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder + a drop of honey.
Consume it to get relief from a cough.
Take plenty of rest which helps to fight the virus and make you feel better.
Keep your head elevated on your pillow while resting to make breathing easier.
Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water per day, which helps to loosen mucus and avoid dehydration.
Drink warm water.
Cold & Cough Prevention is better than cure especially during pregnancy:
Immune boosting foods:
Take immune boosting foods like dry fruits, almonds, spinach, oranges, kiwi, melon and green vegetables.
Prenatal Vitamins:
Taking your prenatal vitamin which contains vitamin B12, vitamin C, zinc, iron and so on will help in preventing cold symptoms.
(But don’t take any medicines or supplements without your doctor’s consultation).
Avoid anything that triggers your symptoms: like – if you are sensitive to house dust mites, pollution, smoking, alcohol smell, agarbhati smell, chemical fumes and paint smell.
Maintain good personal hygiene: Make sure you wash your hands before you eat and also cultivate the habit of washing fruits and vegetables with running water before you eat.
Keep nails short and trim them often in order to prevent the spread of germs.
Regular baths and wearing clean clothes are good hygiene practices.
Drink plenty of fluids: During the Winter period always boil water and store for drinking purposes.
Avoid refrigerated food: During winter if you are sensitive for cold items, then avoid refrigerated food and ice cubes.
Two vaccines are routinely recommended during pregnancy:
Flu (influenza) shot: The flu shot is recommended for women who are pregnant during flu season (October – May).
Tdap Vaccine: These vaccines are given to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough (pertussis), which is safe during pregnancy.
Avoid close contact with a sick person.
Reduce Stress and get enough sleep.
Eat healthy and go for regular check-ups.
Consult gynecologist if you have symptoms of:
fever over 100 °F.
have severe pain when swallowing.
coughing up yellowish mucus.
experience nausea or vomiting.
decreased fetal movement.
if cold and cough lasts more than 1 week.
“Dear MoMsters incorporate our tips and stay healthy during pregnancy.
To encourage us, just share in the comments section below and also you are most welcome to give a few more safety tips for pregnant ladies”
Why does it happen that when we ladies become pregnant , though we become a new source of happiness in the family, we feel lonely, not supported emotionally or pampered -sometimes or most of the times or all the times.
Yes, it is true that we will have to take care of a growing baby. We are suppose to do all the household works at the same time despite having no mood to do sometimes. We also have to fight with stress or work if I am a working woman. So, why an issue gets into these happy moments and it feels that pregnancy is not a beautiful journey but a forcefully manipulated happy moments.
Yes Mommies, today we will discuss about “Emotional yet Not Supported Emotionally” journey of New Moms.
The first step of motherhood journey starts with an Emotional Connect with the unseen baby which is not even inside the womb. It starts with Emotion and it is for life long. Only the form of Emotion varies at every stage of motherhood.
It is very unfortunate that the near and dear ones fail to understand our mental condition during the journey of motherhood.
When we find out that a small life has started occupying our body space, we smile but no clear feelings to express. A mixed feeling, a fear, a doubt, confidence goes away just because we start judging ourselves as a mother now. If we will be able to carry this for next 9 months carefully, what if something goes wrong, am I good enough to become a Mother? and list goes on…
Now, when we are fighting with such emotions already, there are several suggestions starts coming in all the time. Whether we require or not it keeps coming and coming and it becomes never ending process.
Now, if we complain about it, we become not so caring mother or we will be pointed out our mistakes that might lead to some problem during pregnancy. When we look upto someone who we think can give us some emotional support, they also turn out to be a different person altogether.
It is not that all suggestions are bad or all become our enemy. But, due to lack of constant emotional support everything feels like negative.
The bad news is that women who have gone through the same phases, are also unable to understand. Either they criticize or talk nonsense. But, one cannot expect an emotional support from them too.
So, my question is why, why Emotional Support is so difficult that we donot receive time to time. ?
Yes, we are going to be a mother. It brings a lots of responsibilities towards baby, family and yes, towards ourselves too. This “We” part is forgotten during this journey.
We start getting judged as a Mother by our appearance, habits, the way we represent ourselves and so many. Really, does it even matter to discuss when you say we should be happy and positive all the time so that baby would be safe and happy. No, Not at all.
Now, the question is these things cannot be changed overnight and we, during pregnancy time need peaceful time and space. So, how to manage them and these emotional issues when we are going through a lots of emotional changes and outbursts.
Let us find some solution so that we can avoid it to an extent.
At First, Accept that these things are inevitable, cannot be stopped/avoided completely. Acceptance over ignorance helps a lot in these conditions.
Let us not jump into any kind of arguments because at this point of time we are unaware of our own emotions. Suddenly one argument will take us from being positive and stronger to negative and weaker version of us.
What if we just smile on something someone says even if we donot agree with and it does not make any sense. few examples are, “you look weak that will effect your milk supply later” , “your belly size says that it will a boy/girl”, ” you are so careless but now you cannot because you have to be very careful with baby” and list goes on.
If we hear all these things, at first only one thought comes into our mind, “Whatttttt”
How do they know how strong I might be feeling, how do they know if it is a girl or a boy just by seeing a belly size, how can they judge us as a mother based on my rapport with them.
We might feel irritated, and burning with anger but what if we count till 5, control our anger and try to divert the topic. Yes, divert the topic because what do all they need is gossips. Let them talk on the topic of our choice.
Next solution might be avoiding talking to them directly. If it over phone then we have some control but what if they are staying with us or are frequent visitors. In that case also we can simply say that we need rest after having few hi hellos…. !
many solutions we might find but we know there are unlimited things where we feel helpless and not emotionally supported.
Incase our family members understand, well and good else we donot have to be sad or disappointed.
Now, we need to understand ” We Have Power To Create A Life Within Us”. We are already powerful. We just have to recognize and cherish this super power. Nothing matters infront of our baby. We have to be genuinely happy. We need to feel it that our happiness is for us. If we are happy then we can make others especially baby happy.
Above all, we have to stay happy and confident for our baby. Post pregnancy once the baby is kept in our arm, all our sorrows, struggle and complaints vanish.. It gets converted to joy, happiness and Selfie or groupie time 🙂
I don’t know if I did justice with the topic or not. But I tried to put my best effort to cover all the points which will help new moms who have just started their journey of pregnancy.
Please do read and leave your feedback in the comment section. You can also suggest few topics which are situation based and Moms have to face it.
Let us share our joy and divide or difficulties by sharing it and building a community of new moms so that they will also get helped in some ways.
Pregnancy has to deal with lots minor ailments. We have already published a blog post on Constipation today let’s talk about how to handle diarrhea during pregnancy.
Diarrhea is less common during pregnancy and is not the result of fluctuating hormones; generally diarrhea tends to be caused by something that originates outside the body.
“Diarrhea is nothing but the passage of loose or watery stools at least 3 or more times in a day (or more frequently than usual).”
Ok now let’s have a look on what puts any pregnant lady at risk of Diarrhea?
Virus / bacteria / stomach flu / intestinal parasites /food poisoning – If you suspect any of these people then contact doctor immediately. Medications: Sometimes prenatal Calcium / vitamin cause loose stools, in that case change of brands makes you feel better.
Dietary changes.
Eating foods that contain lots of sugar or alcohol.
If you not having a good pregnancy walks.
Had something uncooked.
My personnel experience:
I experienced diarrhea near my due date, which might be because our body prepares itself for labour. But that doesn’t mean your labour is very close, so don’t get alarmed. Some MoMsters will not even experience diarrhea, each mother’s experience will be different.
Action steps /Remedies for dealing with diarrhea: Pregnant women should talk to health professionals before consuming any herbal medicines/ home remedies.
In the Morning, drink ginger water: Add a few tablespoons of freshly grated or finely chopped ginger to a cup of water and boil for 5 minutes. This remedy helps to removes gastritis and reduces intensity of diarrhea.
Drink ajwain water: Add 1 teaspoon to a cup of boiling water. Stir, let it cool and then drink.
Take probiotics like curd.
ORS should be continued as long as diarrhea lasts.
Drink plenty of water to rehydrate your body.
For dinner: have jeera rice which is good for easy digestion
Till loose motion stops try to avoid milk products.
Avoid colas, coffee, tea and other soft drink, high sugar in these drinks can draw water from your stomach, making diarrhea even worse.
Stay at home and get plenty of rest. Dear MoMsters even after implementing all of these elements and still struggling to recover, then you need to consult doctor for further investigation.
Note:
Do not take an antidiarrheal medication without consulting your doctor.
Please don’t lift weight.
Prevention: “Don’t get frighten by seeing the long list, in short these are very common precautions for your good health.”
Avoid junk food during pregnancy.
Drink plenty of water.
Consume more fruits, at least three servings a day.
Don’t lie down immediately after eating; go for a short walk which helps in proper digestion.
Use clean washroom; make sure the toilet seats, flush handles, taps are cleaned daily.
Do not eat foods from unhygienic place.
Do not drink juice or milkshake from outside vendors, because adding raw milk for the preparation of milkshake will leads to infection. Moreover avoid an ice cube which is made of tap water.
Fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly rinsed in clean water.
Avoid raw or uncooked meat/egg.
Do not leave the left over food for next day.
Avoid fatty and spicy foods: because pregnant women are prone to acidity having those will increase the acidity.
When do I need to see a doctor? Generally Diarrhea doesn’t last as long and infact it is less common during pregnancy. Mild case isn’t anything to really worry about, but if you find you have severe diarrhea (more than 3 watery stools a day)
Stools that is bloody.
experiencing fever.
severe abdominal pain
Signs of dehydration
If you have any of these symptoms, then visit your doctor ASAP. Have a safe pregnancy. Hope this post is helpful…. Take care.”
Today I’m sharing my tips for how to handle constipation, one of the nastiest pregnancy symptoms. 🙁
Constipation is a common complaint during pregnancy and it is very uncomfortable. It occurs in about 11-40% of the women. By definition, Constipation is described as hard, a dry stool which is difficult /painful to pass out of the body.
Constipation treatment during pregnancy needs special attention due to concerns for the safety of the mother and child. For example, anthraquinone laxatives such as danthron are associated with congenital malformation etc.
Constipation cannot be managed by medication alone. Better short- and long-term outcomes are achieved with lifestyle changes, including a proper diet.
Understanding the symptoms of constipation:
A recent change in bowel habits
Straining
Bowel movements that feel incomplete
Lumpy or hard stools
Gas pains or a bloated abdomen
Loss of appetite
Let us understand the causes of constipation during pregnancy.
Here we go;
Constipation during pregnancy is mainly caused by hormonal changes. The increase in the progesterone hormone relaxes the muscles of the digestive tract, which slows down the movement of food through the body, causing constipation.
Routine iron supplementation in the pregnant population.
Fetal development in late gestation can cause constipation.
Decreased physical activity during pregnancy.
and then, finally Constipation.
That means it is purely relay on an individual lifestyle, food, sleep, work pattern. The good news is that there are remedies for constipation, please go through it.
Safe Remedies
Drink plenty of water:
Proper hydration helps support your growing baby and also helps to prevent from constipation, so keep the water bottle handy, drink up and check your urine – pale yellow is a sign that you’re on the right track.
If possible drink one glass of warm water after you wake up from bed, trust me that’s a good habit to be healthy.
Eat more fibers:
It’s a great way to eat fresh fruits (pears, apples) after every meal and also include in your diet vegetables such as (beans, carrot, cauliflower, kohlrabi / nukal, spinach, peas), whole-grain cereals and legumes like lentils which helps to reduce constipation.
Regular safe exercise:
Keeping active is one of the single most important things, which helps increase muscle activity in your intestines to help your stool pass more easily. (I preferred doing safe household work during my pregnancy and I felt great – This included sweeping home, using the stairs instead of lift, after every meal a short walk with my husband for 15- 20 mins). But considering on safer side, avoid any activities that may put you at risk for falling or injury.
Is the consumption of probiotics helpful in constipation?
I would say yes, Probiotics are known as positive and friendly bacteria and includes two very famous types of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium which helps to improve gut health and soften stools.
Probiotics like yogurt, Yakult can alter the colonic flora and might improve bowel function.
Note:
If you strain to poo because of severe constipation, then it increases the risk of developing piles. Hence treat constipation before the symptoms worsen.
Go to the restroom when you feel the first urge.
If you are a lover of coffee, tea, and other soft drinks, then please avoid for your good health.
If you are taking iron supplements (used to treat anaemia) and found that makes you constipated, then request your doctor to prescribe a different brand.
When do you need to see a doctor?
If your constipation doesn’t improve with home remedies and lifestyle change or if you feel severe or sharp abdominal pain, particularly if you are also bloated, and if you find thin pencil-like stools, pain in your rectum then talk to your doctor immediately for further treatment.
Remember constipation can be the cause of piles, so if you notice anything uncommon in your bowel movements, do get it diagnosed.
So, MoMsters I hope this content might be helpful for you to understand and say goodbye to stress. 🙂
Now, I request you to share your valuable feedback… 🙂
Reference:
Sana Zahoor, Masroor Ellahi Babar, Muhammad Mohsin Javed, Tanveer Hussain. Constipation in pregnancy: causes and remedies: Progress in Nutrition 2018; Vol. 20, Supplement 1: 305-311.
Mirghafourvand M, Homayouni Rad A, Mohammad Alizadeh Charandabi S, Fardiazar Z, Shokri K. The Effect of Probiotic Yogurt on Constipation in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial, Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2016; 18(11):e39870.
