Folic acid is an important constituent of your baby’s diet. It is important you give your baby enough of folic acid during your days of pregnancy to ensure it is born healthy and well developed. Folic acid is a type of vitamin B that is mostly found in legumes like spinach, cabbage, kale, citrus fruits, rich variety grains etc. Lack of folic acid to your little baby might cause it to be born with a serious neural defect. 400 micro grams of folic acid is an essential for your baby while you are pregnant. In fact for the best results, you should not take high doses of folic acid only while you are pregnant but from some time before you have conceived which means that your pregnancy needs to be planned if you intend on having a healthy and well developed baby.

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Pregnancy is the one time in your life where you will see your body changing unexpectedly and you will not mind it just one bit. The hormonal changes in the body cause the woman’s skin and hair to shine and glow like never before. However there are rare occasions when this might not be the case and dry skin and pigmentation occur but do not worry as all this can be easily taken care of. Applying oils and moisturizers during pregnancy is mandatory to ensure you have soft and supple skin during these tender days. Use products that have a high content of almond oil, wheat germ oil, olive oil, avocado oil and cocoa butter. These help to do away with marks and stretches. Jojoba oil and coconut oil are good for this purpose as well. Essential oils are highly popularized but remember using those during your second and third trimesters of pregnancy increases the chances of your child’s abortion. If you have oily skin, you might experience some good trouble with acne during your first trimester. In this case use, products high on glycolic acid, alpha hydroxyl acid or witch hazel.

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These days there are very few complications that are associated with pregnancy and most deliveries are healthy and safe. Even when an emergency situation calls for a cesarean section, the mother always knew that this was one of the possibilities and the staff and doctors are as well prepared. Once the baby ahs been delivered, because the period of pregnancy is given so much of attention, it is assumed that all is well after the baby is born, but that is not always the case. Here we will discuss some of the post pregnancy complications which might emerge and the mother might have to face.

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Your baby spends nine months inside your uterus and quite naturally experiences a number of changes over this long period of time. Here we will look at the fetal development and growth trimester wise. There are three trimesters in your duration of pregnancy. Obviously it isn’t possible to read through each week, so we will guide you through the chief weeks of each trimester below.

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Morning sickness is known by a number of names – vomiting of pregnancy, nausea, nausea of gravidarum or pregnancy sickness. Morning sickness is a state that affects most expecting mothers and also some of the women who have used hormone replacement therapy also know as hormonal contraception. The symptoms of morning sickness are the strongest during the early hours of the day and gradually reduce as the time progresses during the course of the day. This feeling of nausea may be mild or also cause the pregnant woman to vomit. This might lead to dehydration and cause the woman to lose weight in some cases; also alkalosis and hypokalemia are possibilities. A severe state of morning sickness is a rare phenomenon and occurs in only 1% of all pregnancies. If you are experiencing morning sickness, you probably are already 6 weeks pregnant but do not worry as this should have been gone by the twelfth week of pregnancy.

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Just as how much joy pregnancy can bring to a woman, it can bring as much worry and tension. If you are pregnant and you notice blood spotting, is that a sign of some kind of problem? Some women claim to experience periods even while they are pregnant? So is it one of those instances? Or is it something more drastic? Bleeding curing pregnancy can be either frightening or just a normal instance. But how do you know when to get worried and send for your doctor? Let us help you out.

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A lot of factors play a role in planning a pregnancy – the time when the couple wants the baby, the financial security, the desired age between siblings etc. Others do not plan but just go with the flow of conception. However while some may succeed in getting pregnant as and when they like, there are plenty of other couples who are not as lucky and need a lot more planning and preparation to be done before they finally see their little one coming along. Technically speaking, it is best to prepare for your pregnancy and this is best implemented when the care begins to be taken a long way before the woman actually gets pregnant. And if you are not willing to put in so much of an effort, then you have to choose to be austere and lead the healthiest life, keep a track of your cycle, ensure you do not contract a disease and the like. The kind of pre pregnancy care you have to take is thorough to make sure you have a good pregnancy and give birth to a healthy baby. Your doctor will check if your anatomy is perfect and you can afford to have a baby physically. Then you would be recommended a good diet and a lot of exercise that will help you chart your course of pregnancy and formulate your agenda so you do not miss out on important detail that you have to indulge in everyday. You will also learn about your metabolism rate and if it is in sync with your chances of conception. If your periods are not as regular or slightly faulty, they can be set right with the help of the doctor’s intervention. Do not worry too much because if you give yourself some time, you will be made absolutely perfect and ready to bear a baby in no time and your chances to conceive will be unquestionable. Prenatal vitamins which are recommended by most doctors to an expecting mother do not only help to add folic acid and other components to her system that are mandatory for the development of her child but also lowers the chances of the woman suffering a miscarriage as well as prevents the baby from inheriting any genetic problems. You must understand that exposure to and consumption of smoke, alcohol as well as non prescribed drugs can prove to be tremendously harmful to the quality of sperms and eggs in the man and the woman respectively in the long run. Thus the partners should be more sensitive towards each others as well as their own needs and give up on all products that might harm the baby to be in any way.

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The condition which develops in a pregnant woman due to a large amount of sugar in her blood is known as gestational diabetes. Though it usually resolves itself after the delivery, it needs to be controlled for the proper health of the baby. When the pancreas isn’t able to produce enough insulin to regulate the excess sugar in the blood, gestational diabetes sets in. This usually happens in the later stages of pregnancy. Doctors usually suggest a series of tests if sugar is found in the urine during the antenatal check of the pregnant woman. The tests include random blood glucose test and glucose tolerance test.

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