Lifestyle Archives - BabyQ

Apr 17
2

How Can Partners Maintain Healthy Relationships During Pregnancy?

Posted by | LENS, Lifestyle, Pregnancy Medicine, Stress | No Comments

Pregnancy is a time of great change, not only physically, but for the relationships involved with the baby that will soon be born. One of the most important relationships a mother-to-be can have is the one with her partner, with whom she will share her worries and hopes for the future. Her significant other is the person who she wants by her side for the changes and challenges, and upon whom she wants to rely after the birth. While many of the concerns focus on the mom-to-be, there are also issues that the partner faces and experiences, which are just as valid and important to the relationship. Maintaining a healthy relationship between partners not only provides for a healthier and better pregnancy, but is essential for remaining committed partners after the labor and delivery. Tips for Keeping A Healthy Relationship There are many ways to nurture relationships between significant others…

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Apr 16
0

How to Quit Smoking During Pregnancy

Posted by | Lifestyle, Pregnancy Medicine | No Comments

Can I Use a Nicotine Patch to Help Me Quit Smoking While Pregnant? You’ve probably heard that smoking is bad for your health, but if you’re pregnant you might have even more reason to try to quit smoking – your growing baby. There are many health concerns for both you and your baby that come from smoking during pregnancy, but there are ways to quit that are safe. The nicotine patch is just one way people stop smoking, but quitting during pregnancy can be more challenging and certain methods are safer than others. What are the Effects of Smoking During Pregnancy? Smoking during pregnancy is not only harmful to a mother’s health, but to the health of her unborn child. The developing baby is exposed to carbon monoxide and extremely harsh chemicals, including nicotine. When carbon monoxide enters the mother’s bloodstream it narrows the blood vessels that in the umbilical…

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Apr 14
0

What Do I Need To Know About Maternity Leave?

Posted by | LENS, Lifestyle, Pregnancy Health | No Comments

The first few weeks/months of a child’s life are a wonderful time. The mother and father finally get to know the baby that the mother has been carrying around for 9 months. You want to spend all the time with your newborn. In order to do so, it’s necessary to understand the rules surrounding maternity leave. How long can you take off? Do you get paid? Can you be fired from you job? These are all questions that someone has asked at some point. Let’s take a look at maternity leave considerations. Maternity leave rules and laws are largely a patchwork of state regulation.  Before 1993 and passage of The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) there were essentially no national rules governing maternity leave.  At that time, during the Clinton Administration, the FMLA finally guaranteed women the right to 12 weeks off of unpaid leave after delivery.   However in order to…

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Apr 13
0

Cord Blood Banking

Posted by | LENS, Lifestyle, Pregnancy Lifestyle | No Comments

When I was pregnant I heard a lot about cord blood banking and received many pamphlets from different companies offering cord blood banking services.  I didn’t know much about the process or the reasons to bank my baby’s cord blood, so I decided it was worth some research.   Cord blood is the blood that remains in your baby’s umbilical cord after delivery.   The blood is a source of stem cells that can be used in different medical treatments.  Cord blood and stem cells have been used to treat different ailments, including cancers, blood disorders, and immune diseases.  If needed in your child’s lifetime, he or she will always be a perfect match to the cord blood collected at delivery.  Cord blood banks cryogenically freeze the blood and hold on to it for you if ever needed.  When discussing the topic with other pregnant moms, someone told me that they weren’t…

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Apr 11
0

What Do I Need to Do to Prepare for Breastfeeding?

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Breastfeeding is the number one recommended way to feed infants and provide them with the nutrition their bodies need for healthy growth and development. Pregnant moms can take several steps in order to prepare themselves for breastfeeding their babies after birth. Prepare for Breastfeeding Long before your baby arrives, you are focusing on what to eat when you’re pregnant, which medications to use or avoid, and how to decorate the nursery. It is also a great time to prepare for breastfeeding. In fact, your body is already doing a bit of the preparation work for you. Your milk ducts are forming. Your breasts are growing in size. Blood flow is increased to the breasts. You might start to notice colostrum leaking from your nipples as labor nears. This is a highly nutritious and valuable milk for your baby. As your body is doing this work to prepare for feeding your…

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Apr 10
0

I can’t afford a breast pump, what are my options?

Posted by | LENS, Lifestyle, Pregnancy Medicine | No Comments

There is no doubt about it; breast milk offers incredible health benefits for little ones. If full time breastfeeding is not always an option, for example if your little one won’t or can’t latch-on, or you have to return to work, then a breast pump can help you to express milk swiftly so that your baby will be able to get the nourishing benefits. Breast pumps can be very expensive and may simply be out of the budget. If the high cost of a hospital grade breast pump, which is required for more than occasional use, seems to be a barrier to breastfeeding, here are a few options you can look into. Local Programs And Support There are numerous programs designed to specifically help women with the care of their newborns. The WIC (Women Infants Children) program exists to help lower income families with the nutritional needs that their children…

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Apr 10
0

Can I Dye My Hair During Pregnancy?

Posted by | Lifestyle, Pregnancy Medicine | No Comments

Pregnancy brings about many changes in a woman’s body, but it doesn’t mean she has to stop doing everything she enjoys and prefers during this time. A woman’s physical appearance can influence how she feels about herself, and things like hairstyles and makeup can help lift a woman’s spirits about her outward changes if she is feeling stressed or questioning the new shape of her body. However, many women then ask: Can I dye my hair during pregnancy? Hair Dying During Pregnancy The short answer to the question Can I dye my hair during pregnancy? is yes. The long answer is yes, as long as you follow some basic safety guidelines and speak with your doctor about any of your concerns. There are several precautions you can take to minimize the risks that hair dye might pose to your developing baby. Wait Until After the First Trimester to Color Your…

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Apr 09
4
How Can You Tell the Gender of Your Baby?

How to Tell the Sex Of Your Baby

Posted by | Lifestyle, Pregnancy Health | No Comments

When you’re pregnant, it’s natural to want to know the sex of your baby. Most women find out through the safe, painless and very reliable (although not infallible) ultrasound examination. Until the ultrasound was invented in the 50s, and came into wide use in the 70s, there was a lot of speculation about how to tell the sex of your baby. What are the myths about determining my baby’s sex? Throughout the centuries, there have been many myths and unscientific methods rumored to help find out the sex of a fetus before birth. Although some may be entertaining–and any method you use will be correct about half of the time–all are rumors, not based on scientific fact. Some common myths about learning your baby’s sex include: What foods is the mother-to-be craving? Craving sweet food is rumored to signal a girl will be born and if a pregnant woman favors…

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Apr 09
0

I’m Always Tired. What Can I Do to Decrease My Fatigue During Pregnancy?

Posted by | LENS, Lifestyle, Pregnancy Health | No Comments

It’s not uncommon for pregnant mothers to feel tired during pregnancy. But no one ever wants to be tired all the time, which is why I regularly get the question of “What can I do to decrease my fatigue?” My answer is always, focus on good sleep, 40 minutes of exercise 4 to 5 days a week, leave the bedroom only for sleep and sex, and create a consistent routine (warm bath, mint tea for example). When Does Fatigue During Pregnancy Occur? You can suffer from fatigue throughout your entire pregnancy; but the majority of women experience fatigued during the first and third trimesters. Causes of fatigue during your first trimester include: A sharp increase in progesterone level, which makes bodily functions like metabolism and digestion slow down, increasing the feeling of tiredness Continued sleep interruptions because of an increased need to urinate Lack of nutrition and dehydration resulting from…

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Apr 07
0

Can My Baby Hear?

Posted by | Because You Asked, Lifestyle | No Comments

An unborn baby has many experiences in the womb based on the actions of the mother – the foods she eats, exercises she does, and medications she uses all impact her developing baby. The senses of an unborn baby are also developing and interacting with the environment. There is much research that shows that babies can feel, taste, dream, and react to stimuli such as sound long before birth. So – does this mean your baby can hear? Yes. An Unborn Baby’s Ears and Hearing In the first trimester, just around the 8th week, a baby’s ears are forming, and as early as 18 weeks they begin to perceive the sounds of the womb (blood pumping, fluid moving, etc.) as the tiny bones of the inner ear mature and the auditory portion of the brain more fully develops. Research shows that infants recognize their mothers’ voices long before birth and…

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