Dec
31
How long does the pregnancy hormone last in a woman after giving birth?
Filed Under pregnancy | 5 Comments
GlitterSno75 asked:
I gave birth in August and just yesterday I took a home pregnancy test and it came back positive. Is it picking up my last pregnancy?
I gave birth in August and just yesterday I took a home pregnancy test and it came back positive. Is it picking up my last pregnancy?
Dec
31
Can a pregnant dog be treated for fleas and administered heartworm preventive?
Filed Under pregnancy | 4 Comments
chimomma asked:
My chihuahua may be pregnant — she tied about three weeks ago. She is a couple of months behind on flea treatment (Advantage) and heartworm preventive (Interceptor). Would it be safe to treat her now? Are there any flea treatments and heartworm preventives that are safe for pregnant dogs?
My chihuahua may be pregnant — she tied about three weeks ago. She is a couple of months behind on flea treatment (Advantage) and heartworm preventive (Interceptor). Would it be safe to treat her now? Are there any flea treatments and heartworm preventives that are safe for pregnant dogs?
Dec
30
Filed Under pregnancy | Leave a Comment
Hope Pope asked:
Copyright (c) 2008 Hope Pope
The best way to get pregnant is to live a healthy lifestyle and get your body as healthy as possible. If you are shaking your head and thinking, “I already do that”, after reading these top 10 tips to get pregnant, you might realize, you aren’t as healthy as you could be. And maybe by implementing all of these tips into your lifestyle, better things will happen.
1. Stop eating foods with MSG in it. MSG has been linked to infertility. Make sure to read the labels on the back of foods. MSG is not just in most Chinese foods anymore. It is in a lot of foods now. As an added note, any kind of preservative is not good for you. When you can, eat foods without preservatives.
2. Don’t eat pesticides. It sounds obvious but a lot of people don’t wash their fruits and vegetables well. Buy a veggie wash. You can typically get it at Walmart or your local health store. Some supermarkets even sell it now. Remember, eating fruits and veggies is an excellent way to get a lot of needed vitamins and minerals but not if they are loaded with pesticides. Another option… a much better one… is to buy organic fruits and vegetables from your local health store. It is expensive but worth it.
3. Drink fresh vegetable juices such as carrot juice as much as possible. Vegetable juices are loaded with antioxidants… and studies have shown that an increase in antioxidants increases the sperm in men… and therefore increases the the chance of becoming pregnant. True story… there was a man who was told all of his sperm cells were killed years ago because of a bad bout with lyme’s disease as well as other infections he had in his lifetime. He and his wife tried to have a baby for about 15 years but it appeared hopeless. Then he started drinking a lot of carrot juice daily (fresh carrot juice) and after about 8 months, he became fertile again… and had a beautiful healthy baby girl. As an added note… this man was 46 years old when he had a baby.
4. Make sure the man eats lots of tomato soup. A study done in August of 2007 showed that men who ate just one bowl of tomato soup a day boosted their fertility rate by 7 to 12%.
5. Do not drink tap water… and try not to cook with it as well. Use distilled water to cook. Most of the time, tap water is filled with fluoride which has been linked to lower fertility rates as well as lower sperm counts.
6. Eat as many green vegetables as possible. Everyone knows that folic acid is so important for pregnancy… so eat as much broccoli, spinach and asparagus as possible.
7. Steam your vegetables versus cooking them on the stove, grilling them or microwaving them. Steaming vegetables versus cooking them is a much better option since much more nutrients are kept intact when steaming. You can buy a steamer at Walmart or any Department store. Nowadays, you can buy steamers that will cook the whole meal for you… as some of them have 3 sections… and you can put your chicken in one area (set it for one temperature) and your vegetables in another area (and set them for a different temperature). They’re great because you can just set the timer… and walk away until the meal is done.
8. Stop smoking if you do. Studies show that you decrease your chance of getting pregnant by 50% if you smoke.
9. Lose weight if you are overweight. Again, studies show that overweight woman have a harder time conceiving.
10. Stop drinking alcohol. Studies show that getting pregnant is harder if you drink while pregnant.
Copyright (c) 2008 Hope Pope
The best way to get pregnant is to live a healthy lifestyle and get your body as healthy as possible. If you are shaking your head and thinking, “I already do that”, after reading these top 10 tips to get pregnant, you might realize, you aren’t as healthy as you could be. And maybe by implementing all of these tips into your lifestyle, better things will happen.
1. Stop eating foods with MSG in it. MSG has been linked to infertility. Make sure to read the labels on the back of foods. MSG is not just in most Chinese foods anymore. It is in a lot of foods now. As an added note, any kind of preservative is not good for you. When you can, eat foods without preservatives.
2. Don’t eat pesticides. It sounds obvious but a lot of people don’t wash their fruits and vegetables well. Buy a veggie wash. You can typically get it at Walmart or your local health store. Some supermarkets even sell it now. Remember, eating fruits and veggies is an excellent way to get a lot of needed vitamins and minerals but not if they are loaded with pesticides. Another option… a much better one… is to buy organic fruits and vegetables from your local health store. It is expensive but worth it.
3. Drink fresh vegetable juices such as carrot juice as much as possible. Vegetable juices are loaded with antioxidants… and studies have shown that an increase in antioxidants increases the sperm in men… and therefore increases the the chance of becoming pregnant. True story… there was a man who was told all of his sperm cells were killed years ago because of a bad bout with lyme’s disease as well as other infections he had in his lifetime. He and his wife tried to have a baby for about 15 years but it appeared hopeless. Then he started drinking a lot of carrot juice daily (fresh carrot juice) and after about 8 months, he became fertile again… and had a beautiful healthy baby girl. As an added note… this man was 46 years old when he had a baby.
4. Make sure the man eats lots of tomato soup. A study done in August of 2007 showed that men who ate just one bowl of tomato soup a day boosted their fertility rate by 7 to 12%.
5. Do not drink tap water… and try not to cook with it as well. Use distilled water to cook. Most of the time, tap water is filled with fluoride which has been linked to lower fertility rates as well as lower sperm counts.
6. Eat as many green vegetables as possible. Everyone knows that folic acid is so important for pregnancy… so eat as much broccoli, spinach and asparagus as possible.
7. Steam your vegetables versus cooking them on the stove, grilling them or microwaving them. Steaming vegetables versus cooking them is a much better option since much more nutrients are kept intact when steaming. You can buy a steamer at Walmart or any Department store. Nowadays, you can buy steamers that will cook the whole meal for you… as some of them have 3 sections… and you can put your chicken in one area (set it for one temperature) and your vegetables in another area (and set them for a different temperature). They’re great because you can just set the timer… and walk away until the meal is done.
8. Stop smoking if you do. Studies show that you decrease your chance of getting pregnant by 50% if you smoke.
9. Lose weight if you are overweight. Again, studies show that overweight woman have a harder time conceiving.
10. Stop drinking alcohol. Studies show that getting pregnant is harder if you drink while pregnant.
Dec
30
Filed Under pregnancy | Leave a Comment
Apurva Shree asked:
Life is very fast nowadays, and we hardly have any time to sit, relax and brood over a mug of coffee. The constantly pending list of appointments is ready to goad us into action at all times. We do not have time to ponder over our important decisions. This is where we need to be careful and unplanned pregnancy may complicate your life to a great extent. Unplanned or unwanted pregnancy leaves you with very few choices. Either you decide to keep the baby or you decide to terminate your pregnancy. A third choice is that you put up the baby for adoption. After keeping the baby for nine months in your tummy, it is a very difficult choice to part with it.
Pre-Pregnancy Planning Is A Must
Unwanted pregnancy can be very harmful for the mother, as she has to undergo a lot of pressure from family and her partner if pregnancy planning was not done at the pre conception stage. On the other hand, it is possible that you yourself do not want to be pregnant due to career choices or financial constraints. From having a carefree life, you are suddenly faced with the consequences of being casual about pregnancy. Pregnancy is a shared responsibility, and you and your partner, both have to be physically and mentally prepared, to deal with it. It should create joy for both.
Means For Birth Control
You can delay pregnancy or avoid pregnancy by many ways and means. You can take birth control pills, use prophylactics etc. to make sure you stay clear of unwanted pregnancy. However, there have been cases in which a woman became pregnant even while using birth control methods. However, these are only accidental cases and negligible. It is essential that you do not get pregnant when you are in the pre pregnancy stage. When you decide to delay your pregnancy by birth control methods, you should start consulting your family physician on which birth control method is best suitable for you. No accidental pregnancy is welcome. It is a forced situation and it is not in the best interest of the mother or the baby.
Unplanned Pregnancy May Complicate Life To A Great Extent
Unplanned pregnancy can be a great pain in the neck. Just imagine a situation when you are taking strong medication or chemotherapy or you are a drug addict and you have unwanted pregnancy. All these situations are disastrous for the fetus. You will have to terminate the pregnancy and you will have to undergo a great physical turmoil as well.
There is a very common unplanned pregnancy situation, which keeps cropping up in every pregnancy clinic. When the woman of the house gets pregnant, the man of the house suddenly has to stick to celibacy for 4-6 months. Soon after the baby’s delivery, both parents wait anxiously for the mother to recover completely, to resume their sexual activities. In their anxiousness, they usually cross the border and the woman becomes pregnant once again in 3-4 months. In such a situation, usually couples decide to terminate pregnancy. You should be very careful to go for abortion by operation. It can have adverse effects on the body of the woman. Even abortion without operation is an unhealthy way to clear unplanned pregnancy.
Pregnancy tools like Chinese calendar are very helpful in preparing the parents for delivering a healthy baby. A child is a precious gift of nature. It should get all the love from the parents that it really deserves. So save yourself from the trouble of an unplanned pregnancy and plan your baby from the pre conceiving stage.
Life is very fast nowadays, and we hardly have any time to sit, relax and brood over a mug of coffee. The constantly pending list of appointments is ready to goad us into action at all times. We do not have time to ponder over our important decisions. This is where we need to be careful and unplanned pregnancy may complicate your life to a great extent. Unplanned or unwanted pregnancy leaves you with very few choices. Either you decide to keep the baby or you decide to terminate your pregnancy. A third choice is that you put up the baby for adoption. After keeping the baby for nine months in your tummy, it is a very difficult choice to part with it.
Pre-Pregnancy Planning Is A Must
Unwanted pregnancy can be very harmful for the mother, as she has to undergo a lot of pressure from family and her partner if pregnancy planning was not done at the pre conception stage. On the other hand, it is possible that you yourself do not want to be pregnant due to career choices or financial constraints. From having a carefree life, you are suddenly faced with the consequences of being casual about pregnancy. Pregnancy is a shared responsibility, and you and your partner, both have to be physically and mentally prepared, to deal with it. It should create joy for both.
Means For Birth Control
You can delay pregnancy or avoid pregnancy by many ways and means. You can take birth control pills, use prophylactics etc. to make sure you stay clear of unwanted pregnancy. However, there have been cases in which a woman became pregnant even while using birth control methods. However, these are only accidental cases and negligible. It is essential that you do not get pregnant when you are in the pre pregnancy stage. When you decide to delay your pregnancy by birth control methods, you should start consulting your family physician on which birth control method is best suitable for you. No accidental pregnancy is welcome. It is a forced situation and it is not in the best interest of the mother or the baby.
Unplanned Pregnancy May Complicate Life To A Great Extent
Unplanned pregnancy can be a great pain in the neck. Just imagine a situation when you are taking strong medication or chemotherapy or you are a drug addict and you have unwanted pregnancy. All these situations are disastrous for the fetus. You will have to terminate the pregnancy and you will have to undergo a great physical turmoil as well.
There is a very common unplanned pregnancy situation, which keeps cropping up in every pregnancy clinic. When the woman of the house gets pregnant, the man of the house suddenly has to stick to celibacy for 4-6 months. Soon after the baby’s delivery, both parents wait anxiously for the mother to recover completely, to resume their sexual activities. In their anxiousness, they usually cross the border and the woman becomes pregnant once again in 3-4 months. In such a situation, usually couples decide to terminate pregnancy. You should be very careful to go for abortion by operation. It can have adverse effects on the body of the woman. Even abortion without operation is an unhealthy way to clear unplanned pregnancy.
Pregnancy tools like Chinese calendar are very helpful in preparing the parents for delivering a healthy baby. A child is a precious gift of nature. It should get all the love from the parents that it really deserves. So save yourself from the trouble of an unplanned pregnancy and plan your baby from the pre conceiving stage.
Dec
28
Filed Under pregnancy | Leave a Comment
Apurva Shree asked:
What is Ectopic Pregnancy? Ectopic may be defined as an organ or body part existing in an unusual form or position. Ectopic pregnancy is one which is developing in the wrong place. In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg or ovum fails to move down through the fallopian tube to the uterus. Instead, it develops outside the womb. The ovum may attach itself to the fallopian tube, the ovary, cervix, or any other organ within the pelvic and abdominal organ. Most ectopic pregnancies lead to immediate miscarriage, while others need medical attention.
Reasons for Ectopic Pregnancy
Ectopic pregnancies occur in women with damaged fallopian tubes. A history of pelvic inflammatory disease, previous surgery, scar tissue, endometriosis, or previous ectopic pregnancies increases the likelihood of such a pregnancy. Chances of ectopic pregnancies increase if you become pregnant while using a contraceptive-coil or a progestogen only contraceptive pill. Even in-vitro fertilizations are known to be ectopic despite the fact that the ovum is directly placed into the womb. The ovum may attach itself somewhere else, leading to ectopic pregnancy. Sometimes, women suffer from this despite not having any of the above risk factors.
Symptoms of Ectopic Pregnancy
Pain on one side of the abdomen is the first sign of ectopoic pregnancy. This pain is often severe and constant and starts suddenly. Pain in shoulder, which intensifies when breathing in and out, is also a sign of ectopic pregnancy. Pain while using the bathroom may also indicate towards this type of pregnancy. Other symptoms include sickness, diarrhoea, light headedness, paleness, collapse, falling blood pressure, and vaginal bleeding or unusual periods.
Diagnosis
An ectopic pregnancy is often difficult to diagnose, as the symptoms are that of a normal pregnancy, such as tender breasts, nausea, frequent urination, missed period, and vomiting. However, in case you notice any of the signs discussed above, you must consult your physician immediately.
A urine test may not be a surest way to detect ectopic pregnancy; but a positive result for a specialized HCG blood test will confirm it. An internal pelvic examination will reveal that the womb is smaller in an ectopic pregnancy than in a normal pregnancy at the same stage of pregnancy. A swelling is also a sign of this type of pregnancy. An ultrasound is the safest bet when it comes to detecting this type of pregnancy.
Treatment
Most ectopic pregnancies need to be surgically treated or need proper medication. Without such medical intervention, the pregnancy can turn fatal to the mother. With technological advancements, it has become a lot easier to detect an ectopic pregnancy. Also, the treatment of such a pregnancy has improved, for example, keyhole surgery. Techniques like laparoscopy or laprotomy can by used to remove the misplaced ovum.
Future Pregnancies
You must understand that even if you have had an ectopic pregnancy, you will be likely to have successful pregnancies in the future. It is advisable to wait for several cycles before attempting to become pregnant again. Most women are known to become pregnant again with a healthy pregnancy as soon as they attempted again.
What is Ectopic Pregnancy? Ectopic may be defined as an organ or body part existing in an unusual form or position. Ectopic pregnancy is one which is developing in the wrong place. In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg or ovum fails to move down through the fallopian tube to the uterus. Instead, it develops outside the womb. The ovum may attach itself to the fallopian tube, the ovary, cervix, or any other organ within the pelvic and abdominal organ. Most ectopic pregnancies lead to immediate miscarriage, while others need medical attention.
Reasons for Ectopic Pregnancy
Ectopic pregnancies occur in women with damaged fallopian tubes. A history of pelvic inflammatory disease, previous surgery, scar tissue, endometriosis, or previous ectopic pregnancies increases the likelihood of such a pregnancy. Chances of ectopic pregnancies increase if you become pregnant while using a contraceptive-coil or a progestogen only contraceptive pill. Even in-vitro fertilizations are known to be ectopic despite the fact that the ovum is directly placed into the womb. The ovum may attach itself somewhere else, leading to ectopic pregnancy. Sometimes, women suffer from this despite not having any of the above risk factors.
Symptoms of Ectopic Pregnancy
Pain on one side of the abdomen is the first sign of ectopoic pregnancy. This pain is often severe and constant and starts suddenly. Pain in shoulder, which intensifies when breathing in and out, is also a sign of ectopic pregnancy. Pain while using the bathroom may also indicate towards this type of pregnancy. Other symptoms include sickness, diarrhoea, light headedness, paleness, collapse, falling blood pressure, and vaginal bleeding or unusual periods.
Diagnosis
An ectopic pregnancy is often difficult to diagnose, as the symptoms are that of a normal pregnancy, such as tender breasts, nausea, frequent urination, missed period, and vomiting. However, in case you notice any of the signs discussed above, you must consult your physician immediately.
A urine test may not be a surest way to detect ectopic pregnancy; but a positive result for a specialized HCG blood test will confirm it. An internal pelvic examination will reveal that the womb is smaller in an ectopic pregnancy than in a normal pregnancy at the same stage of pregnancy. A swelling is also a sign of this type of pregnancy. An ultrasound is the safest bet when it comes to detecting this type of pregnancy.
Treatment
Most ectopic pregnancies need to be surgically treated or need proper medication. Without such medical intervention, the pregnancy can turn fatal to the mother. With technological advancements, it has become a lot easier to detect an ectopic pregnancy. Also, the treatment of such a pregnancy has improved, for example, keyhole surgery. Techniques like laparoscopy or laprotomy can by used to remove the misplaced ovum.
Future Pregnancies
You must understand that even if you have had an ectopic pregnancy, you will be likely to have successful pregnancies in the future. It is advisable to wait for several cycles before attempting to become pregnant again. Most women are known to become pregnant again with a healthy pregnancy as soon as they attempted again.