Pregnancy and associated problems

Pregnancy brings in a mix of happiness and its set of problems too. Of course, with a little bit of precautions many problems can be averted. Based on our experience, the following post lists a few of the problems that needs to be taken care of well within time. Precaution is better than cure!! :)

Gestational Diabetes

I did not encounter this word until I was warned about it by my gynaec, all thanks to my sudden 4-kg weight gain from my 5th to 6th month!! A steady gain of 2 kgs per month is considered healthy gain during pregnancy. Since I had regained my appetite as I entered my 4th month and the 5th I was hogging at food. The food included pizza with extra cheese, puris, McD burgers, McD fries(ummm....yummy they are the best!), pastries, ice-creams, and all the fatty and fried food that you can think of!!! How can I be spared then??

In my next visit, our doc saw the readings and immediately have my diet changed. The hospital dietician obviously, excluded all of the above from the list of healthy food items!!!

According to our scan, the baby had a little bigger head than normal and thus she was worried that we will have a big baby which may cause problems during delivery. And generally big babies are attributed to many factors, one of which is GD. But, she also said that since both my husband and myself are tall, that is a bigger factor of the baby being a little big. Still, why to take chances and asked me to be more careful about GD, specifically, since my dad is a diabetic too.

Coming to GD, it has some serious effects to the baby.


Now our dietician explained as to why the moms-to-be are prone to diabetes. Generally, the insulin produced in our body regulates the sugar level in the blood stream. During pregnancy, due to our high food take (thanks to hunger pangs), more insulin is produced by the pancreas which will keep the sugar level again regulated. As pregnancy  progresses, the usual 4-hour digestion period extends by 4-5 hours which leads to more sugar level in the blood leading to GD.
This unmetabolised sugar gets passed on to the baby hence the baby gets high sugar in his diet inside the womb. The increase in sugar level makes the baby's pancreas produce more insulin to metabolise the sugar.

Few of the effects on the baby are
a) large body-size leading to difficult delivery
b) low sugar level as body is still producing high insulin although the food supply is cut off once delivered.
c) high risk for jaundice

There is nothing to worry even if someone is diagnosed for GD, all one needs is management by way of healthy diet and exercises then.

One can refer to the following sites for more information.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_gestational-diabetes_2058.bc
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/pregnancy/complications/075.html

Hemorrhoids or Piles 

This is something that I suffered from over a month after my delivery. I tell you one is better off without them and wish I had been more careful in the first weeks after my delivery.

Post-delivery, when I used to walk I felt that all the organs inside are moving loosely. It was really difficult with all those loose organs, and weak body. And the frequency of feeding the baby besides all the nappy-changes, just took a toll on my body. Over and above, the hemorrhoids. They just pulled me down as was unable to sit and feed my baby after passing stools as I had to lie down for sometime before the veins move back into position.

So what are hemorrhoids?
Hemorrhoids involve the blood vessels that line the anus. Pressure on the walls of the rectum weakens the muscles that support the hemorrhoidal vessels. 


During pregnancy, pressure increases on the blood vessels in the anus for obvious reasons. As soon as the baby is delivered, the veins are still in inertia and takes a while to get back to normalcy. That is the reason that pelvic floor exercises done pre and post delivery help in toning the anular muscles and aiding veins to be back to normal. 


It is said that piles happen due to eating foods that produce more heat. Well, the reason one advises to eat bland, non-spicy and non-oily food supplemented with lots of fluids, when diagnosed with piles, is that the stools are loose and do not burn the already affected area. This gives the body recover quickly.


My homoeopathy doctor advised me to apply one ointment besides the food restrictions. It proved beneficial to me. Those suffering from the piles can try it. Its called Aesculus gel, one can get it from any homoeo store. Besides this gel, he gave me internal medicines which of course, he knows. The third thing that one needs to do apart from the medicines and the gel application is Sitz bath.


Sitz Bath
Take a shallow vessel or tub and sprinkle some potassium permanganate granules in the vessel. Pour warm water in it and move it a little for the grains to dissolve. 
Sit in this mix after passing stools. KMnO4 acts as a disinfectant and help in the recovery process.


These were two problems faced by me and thought of sharing them with you all. It will be great if readers can share similar stories and add to the list for the benefit of the expectant mothers.


Wishing you a happy and smooth delivery and quick post-delivery recovery! :)