Childbirth is one of the biggest fears a pregnant woman can have. Hearing stories from others of how painful it is and how “awful” it is can make a first time mother become very anxious about her own labor that is soon to occur.

However, childbirth isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be and pain is a good thing. Only by having a truly natural birth can you appreciate the pain you do feel and what it gives you and your baby – in terms of well being and empowerment.

The best way to reduce the pain during labor is to prepare for it. Knowing what to expect, understanding your options and having a supportive partner are all musts. Do not leave it all in the hands of the medical staff – YOU know best when it comes to you and your body. It is only by knowing what you want and having support from someone who has your best interests at heart can you really relax when the time comes.

Currently, it is becoming more and more popular to use pain management methods other than drugs. Coping methods such as labor coaching, meditation and hypnosis have been very helpful to many women. However the most commonly used form of pain relief in the USA and used in almost two thirds of labours is an epidural.

Generally, from my own experience, I chose not to have drugs because I figured they would be more hassle than they were worth and also because I did not want to affect my son. Using pain medication and c-sections have been linked to post partum depression and also make it harder for mother and child to bond as well, so I avoided them for this reason too. Once in labor, I just zoned out. My focus was so much on the labor that I just laid down and just went through the motions. Nothing around you matters really; you have a job to do. For me, having people bother me and try to give me medication or disturb me would have made labor horrible. Being left to deal with it on my own made it easier for me to deal with.

Of course though what you decide is up to you but it is worth researching and being prepared and making sure that someone can speak on your behalf when you can’t.

Besides natural childbirth techniques such as breathing and relaxation techniques, of course there are pain medications you can get while in hospital. There include:

Reduced dosage – Reduced dosage of pain medications allows you to have a greater range of function in your legs and you will be able to push well. There will also be a smoother progression of labor. One example of this is the “walking epidural”. The “walking epidural” gives a woman enough mobility to move about in bed and change position but not enough to walk.

Woman-controlled medication – This allows the mother to dispense her own medication, allowing her to control the degree of pain she feels. One example of this that is becoming popular is woman-controlled epidural anaesthesia.

There are also other pain medications that you can have. If you intend to use some sort of pain medication make sure you are clued up on all the ones available and what is available at the hospital you intend to have birth at. If you have birth at home, some options like an epidural will not be available to you. To get what you want you need to know what there is as you will have to negotiate with your doctor or midwife.

If you want to avoid excess pregnancy weight gain then you need to eat a healthy pregnancy diet. This article has 7 tips on how to do just that.

Pregnancy can be a beautiful time but many women fall into the trap of eating what they want and putting on more weight then they really want or need to. This article goes over some tips to help you avoid putting on too much weight and suffering in the long run.

Tip #1 – Eat A Good Breakfast
Breakfast really is an important part of the day and if you skip this meal you will suffer in many ways. First skipping breakfast will lead you to binge in the afternoon. Skipping breakfast will also leave you feeling tired and fatigued. You need to keep up your energy especially when pregnant. Some people do not like eating as soon as they wake up, I know I am one of them. I spend the first hour sipping on a liter of water. I always make sure I wake up and have time to really wake up and enjoy the morning instead of rushing about. After my liter of water I start to feel hungry and this is when I have a huge banana and date smoothie to get me off to the right start, My smoothies consist of 5-10 bananas and 4-6 dates. This is a LOT of calories but it keeps me sustained and happy for a lot of the day. Your baby will need the calories are a 6 to 8 hour sleep at night, so make sure you get breakfast in. Try to eat some fruit – juicy is always best, plus something nutritious to keep you filled up and sustained. Make a commitment to get breakfast in and you will be happy you did.

Tip #2 – Plan Meals
Although planning isn’t something I like to spend too much time on, it can be a helpful thing to do. Planning will ensure you have plenty of nutritious snacks surrounding you when you need them. Making sure you have lots of raw fruits and vegetables about will help you feel satiated and help you avoid the sugary fatty snacks that will do nothing for your health or waist line.

Tip #3 – Go Shopping On A Full Stomach
When we are hungry we tend to want to eat everything in sight! If you are shopping you will see chocolates, cakes and maybe huge meals you could prepare and want to buy everything and eat it all when you go home. If you are full you will have no desire to eat and will stick to your shopping list. This is the best way to get yourself to buy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and avoid the things that will do nothing for you and your baby.

Tip #4 – Make Sure You Are Hydrated
So many people these days are dehydrated and mistake what is thrist for hunger. Make sure you are peeing clear 8-10 times a day. If your urine is a strong color you are dehydrated and need to drink up. Dehydration will make you feel tired and fatigued so it is crucial you make sure you are getting enough fluids.

Tip #5 – Avoid Salt
Salt will dehydrate you and you will have to drink even more water to compensate. Salt also destroys your tastesbuds. The only salt you need is from fresh fruits and vegetables so make sure you get plenty of fruits like melons and vegetables such as celery and spinach.

Tip #6 – Avoid Those Who Encourage You To Overeat
When you are pregnant people love to encourage you to overeat and eat everything in sight. They think it is healthy to eat and eat while pregnant. Do not eat to please others – it is very easy to overeat while pregnant and many women do.

Tip #7 – Eat Mindfully
When you eat your meals, try to sit down and eat mindfully. Avoid being distracted by the TV or something else. Take your time! It can be tough taking your time over a meal if you are absolutely starving, so eating fruit first can be a good buffer to help you be more mindful. Eating fruit beforehand will also help to stop you overeating.

There are many more things you can do to prevent overeating. Cut out sugary drinks and aim to only drink water and on the occasion freshly squeeze juice (that you have squeezed yourself). Aim to also eat fruit before each meal and a large salad everyday. These are things that can be easily done and are a great way to prevent overeating.

Enjoy your pregnancy but take care of your health so you can enjoy it to the fullest.

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We all want the best for our babies when will learn that we are pregnant. Even before pregnancy occurs we want to know how to have a healthy pregnancy.

This article has some advice about moving in the right direction.

Many of us strive to reach the stage in life where we settle down and start having children. Becoming pregnant can be something we hope and desire, but there are things we should consider before we make the leap to having children. This article goes over things to consider to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

Pregnancy can take a toll on your body so you want to make sure that you are healthy. Many people think or claim they are healthy but their lifestyle and habits tell a different story. Things we do today could have huge consequences in the future and so it is a good idea to get into good health promoting habits now especially if you want to make absolutely sure your pregnancy will be a health one.

First of all it is worth improving your diet. This can be easy to do and you can take it slow if you need to. Adding more raw foods into your diet is a great starting point. Try to eat as much fruit as you desire before each meal and aim for a large green salad daily. Also try to cut out caffeinated drinks and juices (unless you are squeezing the juice fresh at home). Caffeine has been shown to delay concept and has a correlation with infertility. Eating more raw foods and cutting out unnecessary empty calories can be easy as it doesn’t require you to change too much of your diet. Once you have nailed this, you can then go on to making your meals healthier. Being healthy doesn’t mean being complicated. Healthy food can be very easy to prepare and you don’t necessarily have to cook to enjoy a satiating meal.

Healthy eating will also ensure that you main a healthy weight. If you are underweight or overweight, these can cause problems with your pregnancy. Many overweight women find themselves suffering from gestational diabetes, while women who are underweight tend to have low birth weight babies.

Besides eating right, you should also make sure you are exercising. Movement is important to health and well being. Walking daily is a great form of exercise and something you can do in your pregnancy do. The most important aspect of exercise is find things you enjoy doing. Maybe buy a trampoline and use it every other day, while the other days you go for a run or a walk or a dance class. Enjoy it and it won’t seem like exercise but just fun. Swimming and cycling are also great activities to get moving.

Lastly quit smoking, drugs and alcohol. These will affect your pregnancy, ability to conceive and can contribute to miscarriage.

Being healthy doesn’t have to be boring or dull. It can make you feel happy and full of energy – both things you want to experience while being pregnant. Make sure you get plenty of rest when you need it, you stick to eating lots of raw foods and you make sure you get some type of movement daily and you can bet you will have a healthy pregnancy.

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Pregnancy is a beautiful thing but many women can become confused about whether they are or are not. This article goes over some of the symptoms of pregnancy.

Pregnancy comes with many signs and symptoms. For many women they will only experience a small proportion, while for others they won’t experience any at all. Although signs and symptoms can give you a good indication that you are pregnant, most women know deep down inside them that something has changed and this change can be enough for them to know. Of course though to be completely sure you should take a pregnancy test or see your Doctor.

For some mothers, pregnancy symptoms can begin immediately after conception. Usually signs will start popping up when your baby implants after ovulation. When your baby implants it causes an increase in progesterone levels. This can cause a temperature rise and if it remains high for 15 or more days after ovulation then it can be a very early sign of pregnancy. Some women may experience a temperature drop at implantation instead. Some women also experience implantation bleeding and this can be brown, red or pink in color. Further more some women experience slight cramping.

Using a pregnancy test will, in most cases, give you a strong indication of pregnancy. A pregnancy test measures the pregnancy hormone hCG in your urine. Some tests are super sensitive and can tell you if you are pregnant as little as four days after your period is due. Most tests you have to wait 10 days after your period is due. In some cases the test maybe negative but you are in fact pregnancy. If you have tested yourself early on, wait until 14 days after ovulation and test again and it is much more accurate. If you feel the test is wrong seeing your Doctor is a good idea. They can give you a blood serum test which is much more accurate and sensitive as they can detect very low levels of hCG.

Other symptoms of pregnancy include a missed period (which is the first symptom women notice), frequent urination, morning sickness, breast changes, cravings, body changes, and fatigue and smell/food aversions.

Despite a missed period, many women experience breast tenderness early on and this can be one of the first indications of pregnancy. Breast tenderness can also be a sign of an impending period, but breast tenderness in relation to pregnancy is more intense. You will find that your breasts are much more tender and there will be a clear indication compared to tenderness from an impending period.

Many women find that they frequently need to urinate. This symptom is very common and is also a problem for women in the third trimester when baby is pressing down on their bladder.

Morning sickness of course is another symptom – one many women dread! It can start as early as 2 to 4 weeks after conception but many women experience is around the 9th or 10th week. Despite being called morning sickness, many women experience sickness and various different times of the day and it can be different each day or every week. Typically it will be worse during the first trimester and ease off in the second and third, however for some sickness can be bad throughout.

Food and smell aversions can also be fairly common. Some women find that smells they were ok with can suddenly cause them to feel nauseous or even be sick. Cravings are also experienced in about 85% of women.

Fatigue can also be a symptom and many women feel completely wiped out from their normal routines. This usually is overcome after the first trimester, but rest is important.

Lastly it is worth acknowledging intuition. Many women just know that they are pregnant or that something is different. It is hard to explain exactly what this feels like but it is something that is very real and that can be experienced before or after symptoms are apparent.

Despite the symptoms described here there are many less common symptoms. If you feel you are pregnant take a test or go to the Doctors and get it confirmed.