by: Nicky Pilkington

Having a baby is an exciting moment. However, the nine months leading up to the experience can be a bit unnerving. Most women worry throughout their pregnancy about the health of their baby. To alleviate the stress and worry that often creep up during pregnancy, plan instead to have a healthy pregnancy and you can rest assured that you have done your very best to have a healthy baby.

1. Get in Shape Early. When you find out that you’re pregnant is not the time to start a new diet or exercise program. If you are planning to become pregnant, make sure you are at a healthy weight and in the best physical activity. Doing this will help you during your pregnancy and can help you to have a problem-free delivery. If your pregnancy is unexpected and you aren’t in the best shape possible, don’t worry about it. It is possible to have a healthy baby while limiting the amount of excess weight that you gain. Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables will give your baby the nourishment it needs while helping you to limit the amount of weight you gain.

2. Your Baby is What You Eat. Your baby depends on the lifeline that you and they share to grow properly. Following a diet that includes all the major food groups is probably the simplest approach to a healthy diet. You may discover your appetite changing during the course of your pregnancy. This is common and shouldn’t alarm you if you have unusual food cravings. It is quite acceptable to enjoy “bad” food once in a while, as long as you limit how frequently you indulge in these foods. Since some nutrients aren’t abundant in most foods, doctors often recommend that pregnant women begin taking vitamin formulas designed specifically for them.

3. Exercise regularly. While a rigorous exercise program is unsuitable when you are pregnant, it is a good idea to try and get some exercise every day. Many women are nervous about doing anything that may harm their baby. Walking on a daily basis is beneficial for your health as well as for your baby. Before you begin any exercise program, you should first discuss your plans with your doctor.

4. Avoid the big no-nos. If you follow only one step in this plan for a healthy pregnancy, avoid the big no-nos: don’t drink, smoke, or take drugs (this includes medications that your doctor has not approved). There are many debates about how these habits can affect your baby. The very fact that it is slightly possible to cause injury to your baby should be enough for you to avoid indulging in any of them during your pregnancy. The use of caffeine during pregnancy is debatable. You should discuss this with your doctor if you normally consume coffee, tea, or soda on a regular basis.

5. Pamper Yourself. Pregnancy is a special time and people will treat you with more attention. You should relish in this time because soon things will return to normal! Don’t forget to give yourself special attention. Remember, if you’re stressed your baby will feel stressed too. One of the most important things you can do to pamper yourself is to get sufficient rest. If before you were pregnant you spent days burning the midnight oil, you need to make sure you have this habit licked before you become pregnant.

About The Author

Nicky Pilkington

You can find additional information about preparing for pregnancy by visiting pregnancy-step-by-step.org.
nicky@pilkster.com

by: Andrew Smith

Parabens have been used as preservatives since the early 1920s, and are utilised in preventing the growth of bacteria. They are used in a wide range of consumer products, especially in cosmetics, including skin care products, shampoos and conditioners, facial and body cosmetics, sun screens, underarm products and soaps.

Just have a look in your bathroom cabinet and see how many products contain ingredients such as methyl-, propyl-, butyl- or ethyl-paraben or ingredients such as p-hydroxynenzoate (PHB) esters. Parabens have been widely accepted and used because they are effective preservatives, are inexpensive and are rapidly excreted from the body.

However, more recent studies, including ones in Japan and the UK have shown that parabens are oestrogenic, meaning they mimic the effects of oestrogen in the body, and may even contribute to problems including male fertility and an increased risk of breast cancer, because they are believed to be acting like hormones and disrupting the body’s immune system.

For pregnant women, in particular, this raises issues with the type of make-up or skin lotions that they use because of the long exposure time on the skin, and the fact that anything that you put on your skin will get under the skin and potentially reach the fetus.

However, little scientific information exists on whether the use of products with low levels of parabens over many years results in an accumulation of parabens in body tissues and whether there are or are not any health issues associated with the use of consumer products including parabens.

A study first published in 2004 (Darbre, in the Journal of Applied Toxicology) detected parabens in breast tumours. However, the study was inconclusive failing to answer many of the questions raised. By way of example, this study did not demonstrate that parabens caused cancer, or even that they were harmful. In fact, the study did not review the possible levels of parabens in normal tissue.

But although parabens are not yet proven to be a danger to health, at a time when you are pregnant do you want to take any risk that is avoidable? Would you really be prepared to take that chance unless you were 100% certain that there were no harmful effects?

For many women, the answer is no and so they are changing their skin care regimes and choice of cosmetics to products that do not contain parabens as preservatives. This is often a decision made on the grounds that ‘avoidance is the best strategy’. While the scientific jury is still out on the safety or otherwise of parabens, who can argue with that philosophy? The best advice is to be aware of the issue, carefully read the list of ingredients on any product that you put on your skin, look at the alternatives that are available, and then make an informed choice.

There are many now many specialist retailers online who stock a wide range of products for pregnant women that do not contain parabens and you should shop around to find which would be most suitable for you.

About The Author
Andrew Smith is a Director of MumsTheWord, a leading supplier of Natural & Organic Baby Care Products and pre conception safe products http://www.mumstheword.com