Labh Lakshmi

Exercise during pregnancy prepare you for childbirth and exercising after get back you in shape.

Pregnancy is an opportunity for mothers and grandmothers to pamper their little girls who are ‘to-be-mothers’ with the most indulgent recipes handed down through generations. Indian parents travel across the globe to be with their daughters during their pregnancy, to keep them “safe” (which often translates as “immobile”), and to help them with their life changes post-delivery. It is a brilliant practice but one that might require some modifications to accommodate today’s lifestyle.

Pregnancy is not a disease that needs to be treated or cured. There are symptoms like dreadful nausea and vomiting as well as the dizziness and fatigue; the mood swings that don’t seem to let up. The backache, peripheral oedema, insomnia, heartburn and sheer exhaustion in the latter months are, for many, a critical component of being pregnant. Being well informed, equipped, mature and, sometimes, just plain accepting might prove to be the only sensible way to get through what might not be the most comfortable nine months in your life.

Obesity appears to increase the risk of miscarriage, according to a review study appearing in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

“Obesity has been described as the new worldwide epidemic, and as the (rate) of obesity increases, so does the number of women of reproductive age who are becoming overweight and obese,” Dr. Mostafa Metwally and colleagues from the University of Sheffield, UK, write.

The investigators conducted a review of articles published in medical journals over the last few decades to identify studies that compared normal-weight and overweight women who miscarried. The main outcome measure was pregnancy loss at less than 20 weeks.

What is a sonography?

Sonography is also called Ultrasound. It is a technique that uses sound waves to study the internal parts of the body. High-frequency sound waves (20,000Hz and above), which are beyond the range of normal hearing are transmitted to the area that needs to be studied and the returning echoes are recorded. The technical term for ultrasound testing and recording is sonography. It is used widely in every branch of medicine and especially in gynaecology and obstetrics.

How is it done?

Moms who exclusively breastfeed their infants are able to return to their pre- pregnancy weight easily.

Breastfeeding offers benefits both to the mother and the child. Studies have suggested that due to its high-energy cost, breastfeeding is an effective means of losing weight post-pregnancy. To investigate the effect of infant feeding mode on maternal body composition, researchers from America compared pre-pregnancy and at-delivery weight, with weight at 12 weeks after delivery, among 24 mothers, aged 19 to 42 years. Seventeen of these new moms exclusively breastfed their infants, while 9 mothers mixed-fed their infants using formula or a combination of formula and breastmilk.