Female Care

Whether you are going to be a first-time mom, or if this is your second or third time around the track, it’s easy to worry about how you are going to cope with caring for the new baby and the rest of your life at the same time. We’ve all heard stories of moms who haven’t taken showers in days and eat take-out for every meal in those harried first weeks (or months) of motherhood. While you can’t prepare for every single aspect of being a new mom, there are some preparations you can make to ease your stress. One of the best ways to prepare is to have a nice stock of freezer meals. Freezer meals are also much healthier for you than take-out, which will help you lose those pregnancy pounds and stay in good health for your upcoming years of parenthood. Continue reading »

Breastfeeding is natural, so milk from a healthy mother is obviously better for a baby than formula. The colostrum or pre-milk that comes in during the first days after birth is said to be especially beneficial, and it cannot be mimicked by synthetic formulas. It may help strengthen a baby’s immune system, help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and help babies fight off childhood diseases. Breastfeeding may also help prevent allergies and disease later in life, including chronic diseases, such as diabetes.

Because it is all natural, breast milk contains easy to digest, easily broken down proteins. This not only eases digestion and passage of waste, but may also help prevent colic.
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Having a miscarriage can be a terrible experience and it is one that leaves scars. For many women who become pregnant after one or more pregnancy losses, the joy and wonder of carrying a child is replaced with fear and anxiety. This is particularly true for women who have lost more than one baby, since the risk of yet another miscarriage is higher.

While it can be frightening to find yourself pregnant again, it is important to stay positive. Focusing on passing milestones helps many women. If your first pregnancy ended after an ultrasound showed that the baby’s heart wasn’t beating, you can rejoice when you see that little pulse on the screen this time around. If you lost the first baby at 6 weeks, then you can celebrate reaching 8 weeks. Continue reading »

Having a baby can be a wonderful experience, but it can also leave your body a mess! Many new mothers despair at ever recovering their pre-baby body, especially if they have had more than one child. There are a few tips to getting rid of that excess, though, that mothers can take advantage of.

1. Breastfeed. If you are able to breastfeed, even just for a couple of months, you will find that you lose weight faster. Doctors recommend adding around 500 calories to your daily diet if you are breastfeeding because it takes a lot of energy to provide all that nutrition for your little one. Also, the nipple stimulation caused by a nursing baby helps contract the uterus back to its regular size far faster, which makes your stomach look smaller almost immediately.
2. Drink water. Keeping your fluid intake up right after the birth will help flush the excess liquid and toxins out of your body. If you experienced edema or hypertension during the pregnancy, this is a super fast way to lose those massive calves and huge thighs, they seem to just melt away after a few days! Continue reading »

Your Baby

A baby born in the ninth month of pregnancy has a very high chance of survival. After your 37th week, your pregnancy is considered full-term, so can start expecting your baby to arrive at any time. However, it is quite normal for your pregnancy to extend beyond the ninth month, even until a couple of weeks past your due date.

During the ninth month of pregnancy, your baby will be gaining about a half pound every week. His or her lungs have matured, but your baby’s immune system is still immature, so your body is sending antibodies to your baby to boost the immune system and prepare him or her for life outside the womb. Your baby is waking and sleeping just like a newborn during the ninth month of pregnancy. Your baby’s movements will be feeling more like rolling and squirming than kicking, since your baby has less room to move around now. At the end of the ninth month, your baby will measure between eighteen and twenty-one inches long, and will weigh between six and ten pounds.
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Raising kids and teenagers has never been a particularly easy job, but parents today find themselves facing many unique challenges not seen by their parents and grandparents. From keeping kids safe on the internet to keeping them away from inappropriate material on television and radio, parents face many dilemmas when dealing with everyday issues.

It is important, therefore, for any parenting advice to focus squarely on real life issues, and the ability to use life lessons as teaching tools. It is also important for parents, especially parents of teenagers, to strike a balance between being too lenient and too restrictive. Parents who are too lenient may end up with teens and young adults who never learned important lessons and the value of boundaries, while parents who try to run every aspect of their teen’s life may find themselves with a rebellious and uncontrollable teenager. Continue reading »

Women and men are certainly different in more ways than one. Their appearance is quite different with distinctive physical characteristics. They take a different slant on various topics concerning life. Plus, the world looks at them differently in regard to expectations.

A woman, for the most part, is expected to be the loving, maternal figure in a family. Moreover, she is expected to be the more subservient or less dominant partner in the relationship. The woman is expected to be the more emotional of the two partners, and quite often, she is. A woman needs love, quite possibly more than she needs anything else.

When a young woman gives herself to a man, she does so for love. If he dumps her and breaks up with her, she may repine, “I thought he loved me,” or “but he said he loved me.” Continue reading »

The last few weeks of pregnancy are very exciting. Your baby will be here soon! Unfortunately, for many moms to be, the last few weeks seem like an eternity. We can hardly wait to see our little bundle of joy.

If you’re in the last weeks of pregnancy, try to be patient. Slow down and enjoy every movement your baby makes. Take this opportunity to get plenty of sleep and to get ready for baby. There is a lot to do.

Start by making sure you have everything you need for baby, for you, and also stock up on simple to prepare foods for yourself or your family.

If you haven’t packed your bag for the hospital and a bag for baby, now is a good time to do so. For yourself, pack comfy clothing like sweats or other loose fitting items. Bring socks or slippers to keep your feet warm. You should also bring along a nightgown, if you don’t want to be seen in a hospital gown when people come to visit you and your baby. Pack toiletries, a hairbrush, and your make up bag too. It is a good idea to leave your bag near the front door or keep it in your car, as you get closer to your due date.
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Even though many women think they have left the problem of acne behind them, it is not at all uncommon for those troublesome zits, pimples and blemishes to return during pregnancy. The complex dance of hormones that take place during pregnancy can often cause acne to return, and it is of course important for pregnant women to avoid any acne medications that could potentially harm the unborn child. Fortunately, there are some tried and true natural remedies that can help to banish acne without risking harm to the baby.

One of the most common, and most effective, natural treatments for acne is tea tree oil, and many women have used this product to treat pregnancy-related acne blemishes. Tea tree oil can be safely used as a spot treatment for blackheads, whiteheads, pimples and other acne blemishes.
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Regular exercise keeps you healthy, gives you energy and builds strong bones and muscles. However, many pregnant women are afraid that exercising will harm the baby. That fear is unfounded according to medical experts, but there are some guidelines to follow for safety.

Dr. Raul Artal, who heads the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, believes obstetricians should make exercise recommendations a top priority, But, Dr. Artal says there are some precautions you should take to keep you and your baby healthy during prenatal exercise.

Dr. Artal recommends moderate exercise for pregnant women – such as brisk walking, which allows you to carry on a normal conversation – for about a half hour a day. Aerobic and resistance training are OK, but pregnant women should avoid contact sports or activities that carry a high risk of falling or trauma to the abdomen.
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