Female Care

The early years in a child’s life can be very frustrating, as they understand their needs and desires much earlier than they can communicate through speech. Teaching your child sign language can help to overcome this.

For parents and carers, communicating with their children is the key to a good relationship; unfortunately, babies begin to understand their needs and desires long before they learn the art of talking.

This is an emotional time for a young child, which often results in a number of tantrums, as the frustration of not being understood becomes too much for them. This is equally the same for mum and dad, as they desperately try to understand what it is their child wants or what the problem is. Teaching your child how to use sign language could help prevent all this upset and at the same time help you to build up a good and lasting relationship with them.
Many people only associate sign language as a means of communicating with deaf children and do not realise the enormous benefits that can be gained by using it as a way of communicating with all children. It actually bridges the gap between a child’s early understanding of words and meanings and being able to express them in their speech.
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Throughout history, women have searched for natural methods that would make labor and childbirth less difficult. Raspberry leaf tea has been used by pregnant women for centuries to tone and strengthen the uterus. This can help make labor more efficient and possibly lessen the amount of time a woman is in labor. There have only been a few scientific studies on the effects of raspberry leaf tea during pregnancy, and the results were somewhat inconclusive as to whether or not the tea truly shortened the labor process. However, many midwives and mothers swear by raspberry leaf tea and would recommend it to any pregnant woman.

Besides its toning effect on the uterus, raspberry leaf tea is also thought to have many other benefits for pregnant women. Raspberry leaf tea is full of vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, vitamin E, vitamin B1, and vitamin B3, all of which are beneficial to your health and your baby‘s development. Drinking raspberry leaf tea can help lessen bleeding gums and nosebleeds, which are common occurrences during pregnancy.
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What are stretch marks?

Stretch marks are lines on the skin caused when the tissue beneath the skin is stretched by rapid growth, disrupting the skin’s production of collagen. Skin is made up of here layers of skin; the outer layer (epidermis), middle (dermis) and the inner layer. Stretch marks occur in the dermis when it is over-stretched and becomes increasingly elastic, eventually refusing to go back into its original shape and causing the lines we know as stretch marks. This may happen during puberty, pregnancy or simply as the result of gaining a lot of weight in a short time. Stretch marks may often start of as red or purple lines but generally grow paler and less noticeable with time.

Why do you get them and how can you prevent them?

Some people are more likely to get stretch marks than others. There are many factors to consider. One of them is genetics; if your parents have stretch marks you’re more likely to have them too. Darker skinned people are also less likely to get stretch marks than those with pale skin.

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In the time that it takes to carry a baby to term, many unforeseen events can unfold, including the death of a close family member or friend. Sadly, there is not much literature on the topic. I know about this first-hand. When I was four months pregnant with my first child, my older brother died as the result of injuries sustained in a tragic fall. I searched for information on grief and pregnancy, but all that I seemed to come across were articles on miscarriage. Because of my difficult struggle for information, I wish to share with you what I learned and experienced in my journey in hopes that you will be able to take comfort in the fact that somebody “gets” it and, hopefully, find a little guidance in my words.
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You wake up in the morning feeling queasy and nauseous. The odor of coffee brewing turns your stomach and the thought of cooking eggs makes you lose your appetite. These are signs of morning sickness. If you already know you’re pregnant then you are quickly becoming accustomed to dealing with morning sickness. If you haven’t been to the doctor yet or taken a pregnancy test, you may want to consider doing so especially if you’ve missed a monthly period or are late. Some women who experience irregular cycles of menstruation may not suspect pregnancy based solely on a late period.

Morning sickness appears in the first trimester of pregnancy and is usually gone by the beginning of the second trimester or fourth month. Morning sickness is normally characterized by nausea, vomiting and an aversion to certain smells. As a faithful coffee drinker, it was surprising to me how the smell of coffee made me sick through each of my pregnancies. The odor of fried foods also made me very nauseous. It may be triggered by an increase in hormones and/or low blood sugar. Morning sickness is common and lessens as the pregnancy progresses. Although it is referred to as morning sickness, this condition is not necessarily confined to morning. While it is true that morning sickness is typically more prevalent in the morning, it is thought this is because the stomach is empty upon awakening. Morning sickness can occur at any time of the day or night. Continue reading »

Using advanced technology, doctors are now able to test newborn babies for hearing loss fairly accurately, and at very low costs.

Typically, testing will be performed when a newborn is considered “at risk” due to related hearing loss circumstances involving one or both of the parents, or when a disease, infection or condition occurs during pregnancy that might cause hearing loss.

Early Detection Saves Long-Term Costs

Not only is it inexpensive to perform initial hearing loss examinations for newborns, but detecting the hearing loss early saves substantial costs throughout the child’s life for the parents and educational system as a whole.

Early detection of hearing loss enables both doctors and parents to develop appropriate treatments and therapies early on to help the child either overcome the hearing loss, improve hearing or adjust during development. Continue reading »

With the new information that increasing your calcium intake helps your body to burn fat, and whittle your waistline, many more people are making it a point to get their three servings a day of milk and dairy products.  However, people who are lactose intolerant, or simply don’t like milk or dairy, find this a difficult task, even with all the new calcium enriched foods on the market.  What many people don’t know though, is that calcium is found in many other sources, and it is quite easy to fit them into your diet.

For example, many fruits and vegetables contain ample amounts of calcium.  A grapefruit contains about 113 milligrams, and a cup of kidney beans provide about 255 milligrams of calcium, almost the same as a serving of dairy.  Chickpeas, another great source of fiber, contain about 100 milligrams of calcium, and black-eyed peas, 184.  Cooked mustard greens contain about 150 milligrams a cup, and cooked beet greens contain 164, for a cup.  Surprisingly, a cup of cooked collard greens contains 357 milligrams of calcium, even more than a serving of dairy.
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Pregnancy is a wonderful, exciting and sometimes scary journey. Want to keep this time fresh in your memory? Or just keep information about events that occurred during this time? Document the journey in a pregnancy journal.

How to Journal Your Pregnancy

The reasons for journaling during pregnancy are many. Keep notes on nutrition and changes such as weight, mood and whether you were upset or not is important information not only for you, but for your doctor as well.

Tips for Journaling

Here are some common journaling tips that can be applied to your pregnancy journal.

• Start each day by journaling your feelings and thoughts about the pregnancy.
• Journaling at approximately the same time each day can help you maintain the journal.
• Writing the date and time of each journal entry is important. It helps keep the journal and activities such as nutrition and weight organized. If it’s well organized, it will be easier to relay that information to the doctor.
• A common journaling prompt is the phrase, “I remember . . . ” Use this phrase to start an entry if you get caught up or can’t figure out what to write.

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It can be a tough job being pregnant. Not only have you got yourself to look after, with a body that is constantly changing and strange pregnancy symptoms you hadn’t expected, but there’s an added growing individual inside, making additional demands on you. And with many women also trying to work and look after a family, it’s not surprising that stress occurs! But whilst a bit of stress is normal, too much could impact on both you and your baby, so just how can you learn to relax and unwind?

Learning to relax is a good move for both you and your baby. Research has shown that babies in the womb can pick up on the fact that you’re stressed and it may have an affect on them. “Maternal stress is an important predictor of a baby’s behaviour,” explains Mary Nolan, a National Childbirth Trust antenatal instructor. “Adrenaline and other chemicals released can have some effect. A Utrecht study in 2000 showed that if a baby’s brain, which is so plastic in pregnancy and during the early weeks, is exposed to high levels of stress, then there might be a behavioural effect later in life, such as your baby not settling easily.”

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Your Baby

Week by week, your baby is changing rapidly. By the end of the second month of pregnancy, your baby will begin to have the appearance of a tiny human being. At this point, your baby is referred to as a fetus. Early on in the second month, your baby’s heart will begin to beat and can be seen during an ultrasound. Your baby is developing eyelids, which will stay shut for some time. During the second month of pregnancy, your baby will begin to develop all of his major organs, including the brain, stomach, and lungs. Toes and fingers are also forming during this time. By the end of the second month, bone cells are beginning to form. Your baby will be about one inch long and will weigh less than one ounce at the end of this month.
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