Thursday, October 25, 2007

Monday, October 22, 2007

Colic-Ten Ways To Help Your Baby Sleep Through The Night

THE A-Z OF PREGNANCY



Relief For Common Pregnancy Discomforts

Being pregnant is no piece of cake! From the first spells of nausea before you even realize that you are pregnant to the swollen ankles of the third trimester, there are plenty of uncomfortable symptoms that go along with pregnancy. While it is impossible to get rid of them all, there are a few tricks to making these pregnancy discomforts easier to manage. We´ll take a look at a few of the most common ones right here in this article.

Morning sickness is one of the first and most prevalent complaints that women have in pregnancy. While a very few do not suffer from nausea, the majority have at least three months of it and some go right through the nine months feeling ill.

Pregnancy-induced nausea can be quelled to some extent by sipping ginger ale and having soda crackers on hand to eat right before getting out of bed. An empty stomach seems to cause more nausea, so if you get some crackers into you before you start moving around, sometimes the nausea will go down. Many women find that they can’t even get up without vomiting, though. You can talk to your doctor about other nausea solutions.

Once your pregnancy gets far enough along that your center of gravity has shifted, aches and pains tend to set in. Most of these are caused by stretching ligaments and muscles in order to accommodate the growing baby inside, but some are just the baby pressing on nerves, particularly if you have shooting pains down the backs of your legs. Having a midwife gently encourage the baby to move a bit can make your pregnancy much more comfortable.

Other pregnancy pains caused by the baby’s position can be remedied by changing your own position. Doing the downward facing dog yoga position is ideal for shifting the baby into a more comfy position. You can also just get on all fours for a few minutes each day to get the baby to move around a bit and hopefully relieve some of the pregnancy pain you are experiencing.

Backaches are another thing entirely, caused by carrying all that weight out front! The best way to treat this pregnancy problem is to get your partner to give you a very firm back massage. Support yourself against a wall or bend over a desk and let him really get the heels of his hands into the sore spots. You might need to repeat this each day until the baby is born. Proper posture can help prevent this common pregnancy pain.

Swollen feet are a major problem during the third trimester of pregnancy. Excess fluid builds up in the feet making them puff up painfully. Sometimes this swelling goes all the way up to the knees. If you notice that your face and hands are also retaining fluid, this could be a sign of problems in your pregnancy and you should see a doctor. Feet however, are a very common pregnancy complaint and can be helped by laying with your feet propped up higher than your head, or sit with them in a cool tub of water.

The most common pregnancy complaints usually have a solution. You don’t need to suffer more than necessary, so if you don’t find the solution to your problem here, go ahead and ask your doctor or midwife for help.