Health Tips -Natural childbirth tips and pregnancy advice

Natural childbirth tips and pregnancy advice :

Pregnancy is a phase in a woman's life that builds a surge of emotions from the time on conception.

To help you avoid a C-section pregnancy and to ease the process of natural childbirth, Dr Uma Rani, Senior Consultant in Obstetrics & Gynaecology from Delhi based Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute shares important tips for natural childbirth.

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Fitness during pre pregnancy stage:
"Factors favouring natural childbirth starts from the pre pregnancy stage," states Dr Uma Rani. What you eat plays a crucial role in natural childbirth. She adds, "During the growing period, one needs regular exercises and other physical activities to aid the growth of the bones and muscles."

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Exercises for beginners
Sophia Yasmin, our fitness guru explains some parameters for pregnant mothers, "Exercise is beneficial whether you're trying to get pregnant or you're in your third trimester. If you are just beginning to exercise, the key is to take it easy. You should warm up, exercise, stop if you are short of breath or are in pain, and slow down before you come to a complete stop. It is always wise to get your doctor's stamp of approval before you begin an exercise programme or if you want to continue or change your programme while pregnant."

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Exercises for pregnant mothers
Sophia Yasmin suggests, "Choose exercises that are safe during pregnancy and pose little risk of injury. Good choices include swimming, walking, aerobics and bike riding; try to be active for at least 4 to 5 days per week. It is also a good time to work on core strength in the supine (lying on back) position."

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Exercises for first and second trimester
Here are a few exercises you can consider during your pregnancy. Sophie says, "Aerobics, yoga and relaxation techniques, Kegel exercises, and weight training can be done during the first trimester of pregnancy. Activities that put you at a higher risk of injury-such as downhill skiing, horseback riding, mountain climbing and contact sports like soccer and basketball should be avoided during pregnancy."

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Exercises for third trimester
"Walking is an excellent way to keep up fitness and dancing can be a great deal of fun. Put on some upbeat music while doing housework is one of the best ways to elevate the heart rate. Be sure to ask your practitioner about exercise to ensure you're both on the same page," explains our fitness guru.

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Tips for pregnancy and fitness
Sophia shares some tips pregnant mothers should keep in mind during their fitness routines, "From about half way through the pregnancy, you should avoid any exercises that require you to lie on your back, to avoid placing any undue stress on your spine. Always drink lots of water to keep dehydration at bay and don't do any strenuous activities during hot, humid weather. You should always avoid overheating your body when pregnant. Loose, comfortable clothing is a must, as is a well-fitting, supportive bra that will keep your breasts from moving around too much."

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Safety tips if you will practice yoga:
Dr Shilpa, Pediatrician at Sparsh Eye and Child Care Hospital, Vashi gives us a few tips, to avoid complications while practicing yoga. They are :

• 1. Avoid yoga poses which includes backbends.
• 2. Avoid lying on your stomach.
• 3. If your experience pain and discomfort, discuss this with your instructor and your doctor.
• 4. Slow down by taking short breaks.
• 5. Check the room temperature, practicing yoga in a hot area, can make you dizzy.

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Diet during pregnancy:
Besides fitness during pregnancy, it is important to follow the right diet to improve the growth of the foetus. Dr Uma Rani, Senior Consultant in Obstetrics & Gynaecology says, "Nutritious diets and dairy products help enhance the development of the body."

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Pregnancy diet
Healthy eating during pregnancy would include:

Consuming products prepared from whole grain like chappatis, breads, pasta and noodles.

Just as a lay person it is important to consume five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. One should continue this habit even after pregnancy.

Cut out high calorie and fatty foods. This would include consuming low calorie dairy products and lean meats.

It is advisable to reduce your intake of sugary foods. Increase in blood sugar levels could increase your chances of gestational diabetes.

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What to avoid in your diet:
This is simple, avoid everything is not considered healthy.

Healthy eating during pregnancy means avoiding these food ingredients and products:

• - Alcohol - One of the reasons is that, even moderate drinking in pregnancy may affect your child's IQ.
• - Avoid calorie rich food, food cooked in oil, poultry with fat on it.
• - Avoid drinking preserved or packaged juices, it contains additional sugar and preservatives.
• - Lastly, remember your diet has to be well balanced.

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Importance of exercise and right diet for childbirth:
Dr Uma Rani from Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute summarises how exercise helps expecting mothers to aid them in natural childbirth. She says, "During the antenatal period (pregnancy), continuation of those physical activities and antenatal exercises taught to expecting mother along with regular walks and diets rich in calcium and vitamin help to modify the pelvic bones and muscles. This would allow the baby to pass smoothly leading to natural birth."

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Risk factors for C section delivery:
We also take a look at what can lead to C section delivery; what are the risks factors that prevent natural childbirth. Dr Uma states that body shape plays a key role in the natural childbirth process, "Pregnant females who are overweight or underweight - who have bony deformities of the pelvis and lower limbs (ricket, polio, accident-related abnormalities) are generally unable to have a natural childbirth."

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Lack of exercise and poor diet:
Dr Uma Rani sternly warns expecting mothers, "Mothers who lead an inactive life during their gestation period or are advised to rest without definite reasons, consume fatty and carbohydrate rich diets and do not follow their doctor's advice related to antenatal exercises and diet have less of a chance of delivering naturally."

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The gynaecologist narrows down the prominent causes that lead to C section delivery. "Risk factors during pregnancy like pregnancy induced hypertension, diabetes and anaemia can increase the incidence of C- section."

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A C section delivery also depends on the growth of the baby, Dr. Uma Rani, Senior Consultant in Obstetrics & Gynaecology explains, "Babies diagnosed with Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), a large sized baby (macrosomia), malpresentation of the foetus, malposition of the fetal head (extended head, brow), scanty fluid surrounding the foetus oligohydramnios), multiple pregnancy etc. could lead to a C-section delivery.