Pregnancy is like a joyride. On one side you have lots of excitement and happiness and another side there are discomforts and weird symptoms which leave you stressed out. These discomforts are not dangerous but they may need some attention. Read this article to know how to deal with these problems.
Nausea and vomiting are very common discomforts during pregnancy. These are the part of morning sickness as well. It is common during the first trimester and usually goes away by the fourth month of pregnancy. The exact reason of morning sickness during pregnancy is unknown. Still, people believe that the increased oestrogen levels increase the levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin which creates gastric problems. That is why Nausea and vomiting are the part of pregnancy discomforts.
Eat 4-5 small meals a day rather than 3 large meals.
Do not let the stomach remain empty for long hours.
Eat khari-biscuits, salted crackers etc.
Drinking ginger tea can help prevent nausea.
Eat a well-balanced diet preferably home-cooked food.
Avoid foods if the taste, smell or appearance makes you sick.
Frequent urination and pressurized bladder are the most common bladder problems during pregnancy. When you are almost near the end of pregnancy, you may feel the need to urinate frequently. Although, this happens because of the pressure created by baby towards the abdomen area. Also, you may have difficulty emptying your bladder completely when urinating. To dilute your urine drink plenty of water.
Do not drink a lot of fluids in the early evening and before bedtime.
Avoid foods if the taste, smell or appearance makes you sick.
Avoid foods if the taste, smell or appearance makes you sick.
Swelling in hands and feet:
Swelling in ankles, feet and hands is another symptom during pregnancy. The production of blood and fluid in the body to support the baby can cause the swelling. This is not a serious problem. But you can go for few quick remedies.
Avoid standing or sitting for a long time. Mild exercises like walking can help you. Wear comfortable shoes and avoid any footwear with tight gripping.
Increase fluids-Try to avoid salty foods and drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water. Yes, it sounds contradictory, but this actually helps you flush out your system. And eat foods that are natural diuretics like grapefruit and asparagus.
Elevate feet several times in a day
check your blood pressure with your doctor
Cramps are very common during pregnancy. These cramps, especially in the calves, occur repeatedly at night.
The painful cramps may be caused by increased body weight or compression of the blood vessels. It also may be due to low calcium and magnesium levels during pregnancy.
Stretch your calf muscles before you go to bed. Gentle exercise that involves ankle and leg movements.
When having a cramp, try to keep your leg straight and pull your toes back toward your knee.
You can go for warm oil massage on the cramped area. Put pillows under your legs while sleeping.
Try upping your intake of calcium and potassium, low levels of which are linked to cramps.
Taking adequate calcium supplements as advised by your gynaec
For potassium, eat bananas or baked potatoes Or tender coconut water.
“Sometimes cramps are caused by a lack of oxygen in the muscles.”
“Deep breathing can help bring oxygen to the muscles.”
And when all else fails, repeat the mantra “Nothing worthwhile in life is easy.”
This pain can go from your lower back to your butt and down your hip and leg. It can also cause a feeling of numbness. “Your growing uterus can change your posture and compress the sciatic nerve, which branches from the back through the pelvis to the hips and down your legs.”
Consider prenatal yoga to prevent sciatica or ease its pain.
You can also try this exercise to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve: Stand facing a wall; place hands on wall and lift your right leg behind you to the count of five; switch legs and repeat. Do three reps on each side at least once a day.
Again, heat may provide temporary relief. Try using a heating pad or hot water bottle, or soak in a warm bath.
Eat Less, More Often
Overeating exacerbates heartburn.
“When you’re pregnant, there’s less room for your stomach to expand,” and maintaining a sensible diet will not only stave off heartburn in the short term, but throughout your pregnancy as well, because gaining more than the recommended weight puts more pressure on your abdomen, which can trigger the condition. instead of three meals a day, aim for six mini-meals.
Smaller meals are easier for your body to digest.
Identify the foods that intensify your heartburn and banish them from your diet.
Liquid-foods are less likely to cause problems than solids, since they move through the stomach more quickly,. Soups, smoothies, yogurt, milkshakes, protein shakes and puddings are good choices. Look for liquids that offer plenty of protein, such as milk and drinkable yogurt and aim to make solids a little less so: “chew solid foods slowly and extremely well, until they’re almost liquefied.”
Sleep Smart
To avoid night-time heartburn, don’t eat anything for at least three hours before bedtime.
Elevate the head of your bed by placing books under the legs, and if you’re not already sleeping on your left side, start now; stomach acids will have to travel uphill to reach the esophagus—no easy feat!
You may be out of breath now because you need more oxygen during pregnancy, and your body adapts to meet this need in several ways. Rising hormones, particularly progesterone, directly affect your lungs and stimulate the respiratory center in your brain. And although the number of breaths you take per minute changes very little during pregnancy, the amount of air you inhale and exhale with each breath increases significantly.
You may get some breathing relief a few weeks before you’re due, especially if it’s your first pregnancy, because this is when the baby often drops into your pelvis as labor approaches.
Take things a bit more slowly and don’t push yourself too hard when being active.
Sit up straight and keep your shoulders back (especially when sitting) to give your lungs as much room as possible to expand.
Prop yourself up a bit with a few extra pillows when you’re in bed at night.
Try to be patient. It’s no fun to be uncomfortably out of breath. But after you give birth, your breathing will soon feel like it did before you were pregnant.
As your uterus grows, it puts pressure on the large vein on the right side of your body (the inferior vena cava), which increases pressure in your leg veins.
Veins are the blood vessels that return blood from your extremities to your heart, so the blood in your leg veins is already working against gravity. And when you’re pregnant, the amount of blood in your body increases, adding to the burden on your veins. Your progesterone level also rises, relaxing the walls of your blood vessels.
Exercise daily. Even just a brisk walk around the block can improve your circulation.
Stay within the recommended weight range for your stage of pregnancy.
Elevate your feet and legs to the level of your heart or higher whenever possible. Rest your legs on a tall stool or box when you’re sitting, and elevate your feet and legs with pillows when you’re lying down.
Don’t cross your legs or ankles when sitting.
Don’t sit or stand for long periods of time. Take frequent breaks to move around.
Hemorrhoids are swollen blood vessels in the rectal area. They typically range in size from as small as a pea to as large as a grape, and they can develop inside the rectum or protrude through the anus.
Hemorrhoids can be itchy and mildly uncomfortable – or downright painful. Sometimes they even cause rectal bleeding, especially when you have a bowel movement.
Our growing uterus, constipation, and an increase in the hormone progesterone all make it more likely you’ll develop hemorrhoids during pregnancy (as well as varicose veins in the legs and sometimes even in the vulva).
Your growing uterus puts pressure on the pelvic veins and the inferior vena cava, a large vein on the right side of the body that receives blood from the lower limbs. This can slow the return of blood from the lower half of your body, which increases the pressure on the veins below your uterus and makes them dilate or swell.
constipation (another common problem during pregnancy) can also cause or aggravate hemorrhoids because you tend to strain when having a hard bowel movement, and straining leads to hemorrhoids.
During pregnancy, progesterone relaxes the walls of your veins, allowing them to swell more easily. Progesterone also contributes to constipation by slowing down your intestinal tract.
Avoid becoming constipated by eating a high-fiber diet (that includes plenty of whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables), drinking about 10 8-ounce cups water a day, and getting regular exercise (as long as your provider says it’s okay). If you’re already constipated, ask your healthcare provider about taking a fiber supplement or using a stool softener.
Don’t wait to go when you feel the urge to have a bowel movement, and try not to strain.
Don’t sit on the toilet longer than necessary because this puts pressure on your rectal area.
Don’t sit on the toilet longer than necessary because this puts pressure on your rectal area.
Do Kegel exercises daily. Kegels increase circulation in the rectal area and strengthen the muscles around the anus, reducing the chance of hemorrhoids. They also strengthen and tone the muscles around the vagina and urethra, which can help your body recover after you give birth.
Don’t sit or stand for long stretches. of time. If your job involves sitting at a desk, get up and move around for a few minutes every hour or so. At home, lie on your side when sleeping, reading, or watching TV to take the pressure off your rectal veins and increase blood return from the lower half of your body.
