Family Tips

Very few people won’t agree that children - are fine. But there are cases when their birth is undesirable.
To kill unborn child – a big sin, therefore each sane, civilized person is obliged to take care of protection from undesirable pregnancy.
And it concerns not only women, but also men, considering that there is now great variety of contraceptive means.

There are so-called mechanical or barrier contraceptives which hinder penetration of spermatozoons: intrauterine contraception, condoms. The first start to function right after introduction and ability to become pregnant renews right after its removal, that is from the beginning of a new cycle, but they do not protect from Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and can increase duration of catamenia.

The second perfectly protect from illnesses, undesirable pregnancy, but many complain that cannot feel all charm of intimate relations.

 
The idea is that children of the smoking mothers have problems to keep on their family. The theory, certainly, is supported by a number of experiments with mice, when during pregnancy they were injected the toxins contained in the cigarette smoke. It has led to ovary dysfunction at their female posterity.

In this connection scientists once again pay attention of the future mothers that influence of a smoke on a fetus even at the very early stages can be dangerous. And smoking during pregnancy can result in many complications, including small weight of a newborn and premature birth.

As to sterility of the future posterity, researches have shown, that not only girls, but also boys are exposed to the risk as “due to” harmful habit mothers have the lowered level of the gene responsible for development of ovary.

The feeding mothers refusing animal food can cause serious harm to intellectual development of the child. American doctors from the Centers of diseases control and preventive maintenance have told in the weekly edition about two cases of development disorder. It has been connected to deficiency of vitamin B12.

The main sources of this substance necessary for development of a brain are products of animal origin, such as meat, eggs and dairy products. Nursing mother provides the child with all vitamins, only if she herself consumes all nutrients or takes corresponding vitamin complexes.

In two cases told by doctor Maria Elena Jefferds, mothers refused all animal products. In 15-month’s age doctors have revealed growth inhibition and development delay. It was found out, that the mother, who was vegetarian within several years, fed the child with breast milk for eight months.

At the same time on pages of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report doctor Jefferds has noticed, that vegetarians, certainly, should continue breast feeding but keep up sufficient level of necessary for the child substances.

American scientists have proved that women with the bigger difference between the size of a waist and hips are more intelligent and give birth to children with higher intellectual faculties.

Researchers from the Californian University in Santa Barbara and University of Pittsburgh have found out that women’s hips contain fat acids omega-3 which promotes development of mother’s brain and also the child during pregnancy.

“Round hips contain the important nutrients which promote development of a brain and help to give birth to clever children”, - has explained one of researchers, Stephen Galin from University of Santa Barbara.

“Men subconsciously pay attention to pneumatic forms as it is important for reproduction. Now we know biochemical hidden motive of such popularity”, - has noted William Lassek from University of Pittsburgh, informs Daily Telegraph.

As it appeared, future mums intensively going in for sports more than seven hours a week at earlier stages of pregnancy (till 18 weeks) run 3,5 times higher risk of miscarriage, than women who did not go in for sports at all.   

To tell the truth, at later stages (after 18 weeks) miscarriage for this reason, according to doctors, is practically excluded.  

Future mums must not be engaged in any occupations which are accompanied by shaking of a body, vibration, weight-lifting, risk of falling or blows. These include mountain climbing, equestrian sport, diving, all kinds of wrestling, team sports, mountain skiing.

Financed by USA National institute of ecological sciences and conducted by experts from University of California, large-scale research of air ecology effects on the development of a fetus included the detailed analysis of state of health of more than 2,5 thousand pregnant women. Physicians have concluded, that various atmospheric pollutants negatively influence an outcome of pregnancy and raise risks of a premature birth and infant mortality rate.

The reasons of premature birth can also be infectious diseases, mother’s hormonal imbalance, abnormal uterus’ structure, neck of uterus failure, strong nervous stresses. Most common signs: tensive pains in the bottom of abdomen, also with spasms, blood vaginal discharge.

It is dangerous for the infant first of all because after 28 weeks the fetus is more than 1 kg and is viable. However he is still too small and requires special incubator. So it is better for him, if such delivery will take place in the modern well equipped maternity ward with children’s reanimation.

Mothers who are expecting multiples are going to gain more weight during pregnancy than mothers carrying a single baby. But your weight depends not only on your pre-pregnancy weight and the number of fetuses, so talk to your doctor. In general pregnant woman should consume about 300 additional calories a day for each fetus, but it might be difficult considering babies in the abdomen. It will be better to eat smaller and more frequent.

Preparing for a multiple birth may seem overwhelming, though id doesn’t differ much from a common one-baby pregnancy. The best help is knowing that you have a professional support around you: experienced doctors and caring hospital staff.

The first hours, days, and weeks are often the most difficult for parents of multiples. Mother should learn to get used to the frequent feedings, lack of sleep, and little personal time. Use any help you can get from your family members and friends to cope with household routine and daily tasks. Additional help around you can make feedings easier and help you have rest and recover after delivery. You will have also the precious time to get known your babies.

If a woman expects multiples, she should follow general pregnancy guidelines as to the nutrition, including increased calcium and folic acid consumption. Pregnant women need additional calcium, so her died should be enriched with extra milk or fortified orange juice, broccoli, sardines, or other calcium-rich foods. Women who expect more than one baby should take approximately 1,600 to 2,000 milligrams of calcium each day.
Folic acid is also extremely important for a pregnant woman. Taking folic acid prior to and throughout the first 3 months of pregnancy decreases the danger of neural tube defects.
One more dietary requirement if you are pregnant with multiples is protein. It serves as the building materials for body tissue and functions as enzymes that regulate chemical reactions.
During pregnancy one also needs an increased supply of iron for sufficient hemoglobin level, as in multiple pregnancies, anemia is often met.
It is quite clear that additional fetuses mean an increased need for all other nutrients (including zinc, copper, vitamin C, and vitamin D). So it’s important to take your vitamin supplement every day. But more than one baby doesn’t mean that you should take more than one prenatal vitamin. One is enough.

Healthy women during a multiple pregnancy
Any expectant mother who wants to stay healthy should eat properly, get enough rest, and make regular trips to the doctor. And a woman who expect more than one baby might need even more frequent appointments with her gynecologist.
Frequent and intensive medical care is very important during the multiple pregnancy. You may try to find a doctor who have experience with multiple births. Such pregnancies are at once considered a high-risk and specialized care is very important to secure you and ensure your babies receive the best care.
Taking into the account comparatively small amount of multiple pregnancies, asking your friend may not be productive. Instead, ask your doctor to recommend a facility that specializes in multiple births. You should undergo a pre-term birth prevention program and have necessary access to a specialists if one of your babies is born with a health problem.

Identical twins appear from a single fertilized egg divided into individual halves and continuing to develop into some separate but completely identical babies. Such twins are genetically identical, with the same chromosomes and similar physical characteristics. They’re always the same sex and have the same blood type, similar appearance, color of hair and eyes.
Fraternal twins appear from two eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm and are alike as siblings born to the same parents. These babies may or may not be of the same sex. This type of twins is much more common and abundant, and only this type doesn’t depend on heredity, maternal age, race, and number of prior pregnancies.
Triplets and other higher-order multiple births, such as quadruplets or even quintuplets are often called supertwins. Such gemini can be identical, fraternal, or a combination of both. But higher-order births occur seldom; triplets occur in 1 in 7,000 births, whereas quintuplets are likely to be born only once in 47 million births. These babies, as a rule, are very small and small-for-date newborns, who are often prematurely born.