Heartburn and Acid Reflux Relief During Pregnancy!

Heartburn is a common condition for many, unfortunately, is even more common for women during pregnancy. The acidity is caused by stomach acid to escape and move into the esophagus. It can create pain, pressure and burn the women during pregnancy and naturally women would like a natural and effective solution that will not affect your growing baby.

There are two reasons why the heartburn becomes a particular issue for pregnant women;

First, the growing baby restricts a woman's organs. The stomach, in particular, is pushed up and restricted. This physical pressure can force stomach acid into the esophagus causing pain and can damage the esophagus.

Secondly, during pregnancy, progesterone levels rise.Progesterone serves many beneficial functions to protect the growing fetus and the strengthening of the placenta. The disadvantage is the high level can also cause swelling and relax the esophageal sphincter allowing acid to escape the stomach. Progesterone also may slow the digestion process.

Resources are available over the counter, but pregnant women should really take the advice of your doctor before taking any of these remedies. A better approach might be to adopt some simple lifestyle changes.

The following steps should be helpful...

Try to eat smaller meals and eat 5-6 meals a day instead of the traditional three large meals. To distribute food in this way you are allowing your stomach to digest food more efficiently and are avoiding creating more pressure than necessary.

Try eating more slowly. Chewing food thoroughly is also compatible with your digestive system. One way to curb your power is to put your fork down between mouthfuls.

Avoid spicy foods and foods high in acidity.. Also note any food that seems to be a trigger for heartburn.

Foods high in fat, particularly animal fats, can be difficult to digest. Eat in moderation

Drink plenty of water, as it will help your digestive system. A glass of water will also provide very fast, unfortunately temporary, acid wash solution into the stomach.

Wear comfortable clothing that does not restrict the stomach.

Never go to bed with a full stomach. . Staying vertical will allow gravity to help keep the acid in the stomach.

You can use pillows to support the upper body to help you sleep.

Finally, if you have not stopped smoking to protect your growing baby , then here's another good reason to quit smoking as well make heartburn less common.

The good news is that the symptoms of acid reflux is likely to ease after the birth of your baby...

Using the methods I have described will also help control symptoms during pregnancy.
by: Obadiea Jones
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10 Ways To Reduce Gastric and Heartburn During Pregnancy

My wife has gastric since her teenage days but nothing too serious that requires her to get constant medication. But as she get pregnant, her gastric problem came back and causing her to have this heartburn sensation in the chest and throat, everything to her now taste different and her tongue tasted bitter all the time, the increased amount of acid in her stomach caused her to be 'gassy' all the time. Well research shows that this situation normally happens to most of pregnant women (early pregnancy) and usually it will go away/reduced after the first Trimester. So, as a concerned husband, I did some research on how to reduce the feeling of discomfort caused by gastric and heartburn.

Tips:

1. Avoid food that can trigger acid build-up such as oily food, vinegar, some citrus fruits, chocolate, spicy foods, caffeinated products (Coffee, Tea, Cola), carbonated drinks, anything sourly.

2. Try to eat more regularly with smaller portions. As our wives become pregnant, the content of acid in their stomach increased and the process of food digestion also become slower thus the reason of lowering the volume of food and best if they munch their food as many times as possible before swallowing to help the food to processed faster reducing the acid buildup.

3. No ALCOHOL, Period!

4. Ask them to wear comfortable clothing that didn't restrict/pressing your stomach and waist.

5. Don't overstress them; this can also cause acid reflux to goes wild and your gastric and heartburn worst!

6. Drink yogurt based drinks or milk before sleep.

7. Try chewing gum after eating. Chewing gum stimulates your salivary glands, and saliva can help neutralize acid.

8. Avoid eating close to bedtime.

9. Drinking soymilk and barley also helps.

10. Medication: ALWAYS consult with your gynecologist on what medication that your spouse can take.

So there you go guys, I hoped the info I shared with you is beneficial and helpful in any way possible.
by: Jep Black
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Genital Herpes With Special Reference To Pregnancy

Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2). The anxiety for a pregnant woman is that she may transfer the virus to her baby during pregnancy and childbirth with potentially severe consequences. In this article measures to avoid such disaster are discussed.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 are common infections worldwide. Herpes simplex virus type 2 is the cause of most genital herpes and is almost always sexually transmitted whereas the type 1 virus is more commonly associated with sores around the mouth. There is no exclusivity with some ulcers around the mouth being caused by the type 2 virus and some genital infections being related to the type 1 virus. These are probably related to oral sex.

Herpes simplex infections can be diagnosed by visual inspection by a doctor. Swabs from the affected area can be taken and the virus cultured in the laboratory. When a person contracts infection, the immune system produces antibodies that can be measured in the serum (blood with its cells removed).

In the USA one adult in five has antibodies to type 2 herpes. The number of people who have been diagnosed with the condition rose from 10% to 14% between 1988 and 1999. Seroprevalence of HSV-1 decreased from 62.0% in 1988-1994 to 57.7% in 1999-2004, a relative decrease of 6.9%.

Herpes infections may be primary, secondary, recurrent or asymptomatic with viral shedding. In a primary infection, the infection is apparent but there are as yet no antibodies to either HSV-1 or HSV-2 at the time of the outbreak indicating no prior exposure. Typically, lesions appear 2-14 days after contact. Without antiviral therapy, the lesions last for 20 days. Viral shedding lasts 12 days, with the highest rates of shedding occurring before symptoms develop and during the first half of the outbreak. Viral shedding ceases before complete resolution of the lesion. Antibody response occurs 3-4 weeks after the primary infection and is life-long. However, unlike protective antibodies to other viruses, antibodies to HSV do not prevent local recurrences. The symptoms associated with local recurrences tend to be milder than those occurring with primary disease.

The lesions of a primary infection begin as tender vesicles (blisters), which may burst to become ulcers. The vagina is commonly inflamed and the cervix is involved in 80% of patients. Pre-existing HSV-1 antibodies can alleviate clinical manifestations of subsequently acquired HSV-2. More than 75% of patients with primary genital HSV infection are asymptomatic. Asymptomatic primary HSV infections in pregnant women at term are responsible for most neonatal (newborn) HSV infections.

Symptoms associated with primary infections may be local and constitutional. Local symptoms include intense pain, dysuria (pain passing urine), itching, vaginal discharge, and lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph glands). Constitutional symptoms include fever, headache, nausea, malaise, and myalgia (aching muscles).

A non-primary first episode infection is a first genital HSV outbreak in a woman who has HSV type 1 antibodies. Because of the partial protection of the pre-existing antibodies, these women tend to have fewer and shorter systemic symptoms. The duration of lesions is shorter, averaging 15 days, and viral shedding lasts for approximately 7 days.

A recurrent infection is defined as a genital HSV outbreak in a woman with type 2 antibodies. Recurrent HSV outbreaks may be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Lesions typically last for 9 days, and viral shedding lasts for approximately 4 days. The viral load tends to be lower in recurrent outbreaks than with primary lesions, and shedding tends to occur during the prodrome (pre-symptomatic phase) and early stage of the clinical outbreak.

Primary infections in pregnancy are over diagnosed. Correct classification of gestational genital herpes infections can only be accomplished when clinical evaluation is combined with viral isolation and serologic testing using a type-specific assay. Most severe first clinical episodes of genital herpes infections among women in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy are not primary infections and are not commonly associated with perinatal morbidity.

Most herpes affected babies acquire the virus at the time of delivery. Just 5% of all cases of neonatal (newborn) HSV infection result from transplacental transmission during pregnancy. In this regard, it is one of the TORCH (toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex) infections, which are associated with microcephaly (small head), microphthalmia (small eyes), intracranial (within the brain) calcifications, and chorioretinitis (inflammation in the eyes). The acquisition of genital herpes during pregnancy has been associated with spontaneous miscarriage, prematurity and congenital and neonatal herpes.

Neonatal herpes is a severe systemic (involving all the body) viral infection with a high morbidity (illness) and mortality. Neonatal herpes can cause skin, eye or mouth infections, damage to the central nervous system and other internal organs and mental retardation. It is relatively uncommon in the UK with an incidence of 1.65 per 100 000 live births annually, which compares to 11 per 100, 000 deliveries in the USA.

Neonatal herpes may be caused by herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) or herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2), as either viral type can cause genital herpes. The risks are greatest when a woman acquires a primary infection during late pregnancy, so that the baby is delivered before the development of protective maternal antibodies. All women should be asked at their first antenatal visit if they or their partner have ever had genital herpes. Female partners of men with genital herpes, who themselves give no history of genital herpes, should be advised about reducing their risk of acquiring this infection.

Women who report a history of genital herpes can be reassured that, in the event of an HSV recurrence during pregnancy, the risk of transmission to the neonate is extremely small, even if genital lesions are present at delivery. Women with no history of genital herpes may reduce their risk of acquiring herpes during pregnancy by avoiding sexual intercourse at times when their partner has an HSV recurrence. The impact of this intervention is limited because sexual transmission of HSV commonly results from sexual contact during periods of asymptomatic viral shedding.

Aciclovir is well tolerated in late pregnancy and there is no clinical or laboratory evidence of maternal or fetal toxicity. Aciclovir has been used extensively in pregnancy and it appears to be safe. The use of intravenous aciclovir may reduce the risk of neonatal herpes by minimising maternal viraemia and reducing exposure of the fetus to HSV for women who develop first episode genital herpes within six weeks of delivery. A randomised controlled trial for women with recurrent herpes was unable to demonstrate that acyclovir in late pregnancy significantly reduces the number of caesarean sections. The conclusion was that there is little evidence to suggest that acyclovir should be used for the suppression of recurrent genital herpes infection during pregnancy.

Where first-episode genital herpes lesions are present at the time of delivery and the baby is delivered vaginally, the risk of neonatal herpes is about 40%. The risk of transmission is associated with duration of rupture of the membranes, the risk increasing considerably after the membranes had been ruptured for more than four hours.

Caesarean section is recommended for all women presenting with first-episode genital herpes lesions at the time of delivery, but is not indicated for women who develop first episode genital herpes lesions earlier in the pregnancy. If the first episode of genital herpes lesions within six weeks of the expected date of delivery or onset of preterm labour, elective caesarean section may be considered at term, or as indicated, and the paediatricians should be informed.

In the 1980s, it was common practice to take swabs for viral cultures weekly from women with a history of genital herpes during the last six weeks of pregnancy and if the results were positive delivery would be by elective caesarean section. This practice is no longer recommended as it has been demonstrated that antenatal swabbing did not predict the shedding of virus at the onset of labour.

For women presenting with recurrent genital herpes lesions at the onset of labour, the risks to the baby of neonatal herpes are negligible with two major studies showing no transmission to the baby. In one study, one baby in 34 with active recurrent herpes was affected. The practice of caesarean delivery for women with a history of genital herpes lesions that recur at delivery would result in more than 1580 excess caesarean deliveries being performed for every poor neonatal outcome prevented at a cost per neonatal herpes case averted of $2.5 million at 1993 rates. Furthermore, there could well be more maternal deaths by this practice than newborn babies saved. In Holland, caesarean sections have not been routinely performed for this indication since 1987 and there has been no increase in the reported incidence of neonatal herpes.
by: David Viniker

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The Pregnancy Glow and Other Myths of Motherhood

It happened during the ninth month of my first pregnancy. I was going through a department store check-out lane where a teenage girl was ringing up my purchases. She looked shyly at my burgeoning belly with an expression that could only be described as reverent.




With eyes full of dreams of future motherhood she asked, “Is pregnancy really as bad as everyone says?”

Without the slightest guilt, I replied, “No. It’s worse.”

The Deception

When my husband and I announced the birth of our blessed expectation some months prior, along with endless congratulations, I received the good news of the many wonderful changes I could expect.

"You’ll positively glow.”

“Your hair and nails will look fabulous.”

“You’ll feel absolutely beautiful.”

According to family and friends, as a gestating woman, I would feel nothing short of a precious vessel, glowing with health and radiance given only to those experiencing the miracle of growing a child.

About a week later, wearing the pallor of death, I was running away from the smell of my husband’s lunchtime tuna fish sandwich knowing I’d never been so violently ill my entire life.

The Reality

Although it’s rumored there are actually women who sail through pregnancy untouched by any ills or discomfort, I was not one of them. If I’d ever experienced a pregnancy glow, I’m certain I could only have been radioactive.

I was told to expect a little morning sickness. I didn’t anticipate 24/7 progesterone poisoning, body aches, or never ending fatigue. And in all the happy tales of pregnancy recounted to me, I'm certain I'd have remembered hearing if pure, unadulterated misery were mentioned as a symptom of gestation.

Sitting in my obstetrician’s office near the end of the first trimester, she asked how I was feeling. “Sick.”

“Good.” She replied.

Seeing my defeated look, she offered a small respite. “You’ll start to feel better after week 12 or 13.”

I crossed the days off my calendar waiting for magical week 13. It came and went. My never ending nausea did not. I was sick, tired, and sick of being both.

I'd been told how sharing a child together would make my marital relationship more intimate. I, on the other hand, hated my husband. No matter he and I had joyfully consented to make this child together, or that he worried and did the best he could to make me feel more comfortable. Somewhere in the back of my mind, as I watched him lie peacefully asleep at night while I was awake fending off nausea, all I could think was, “this is your fault.”

And so it went for the entire duration of nine months. I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt, if I ever survived this go-round on the pregnancy rollercoaster, there would be no more children in my future, ever. Motherhood just wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.

The Grand Debut

Jacob Lyle arrived in early fall that year, bearing 10 perfect fingers and toes, a head full of brown hair and big blue eyes. He was bruised and battered from birth, yet, to my eyes, perfection unlike the world had ever seen before.

Suddenly, my entire life made sense. At 23-years old, I wasn’t yet sure what I wanted to be when I grew up, or what my future held outside of being a wife to my husband. With the arrival of Jacob, I knew exactly why I was here—to be the mother of this beautiful child. Having Jacob filled my life with a sense of awe and wonder I had never known. I was a mother, and that was enough.

Altered Expectations

While I had expected sleepless nights with my newborn, what I hadn’t expected was how much I would enjoy them. I gladly gave up sleep to have the chance just to hold my tiny son in my arms and look at his sweet face.

I expected life to change. I never expected the very foundations of my world to be rocked. It came as a total shock that the simple act of becoming a mother—wasn’t simple.

Previous to motherhood, tragedy in the world was sad. After the birth of my son, it was heart-wrenching. No longer could I watch a movie or read a news report depicting harm to a child without emotion. Every child became my child. What if it were Jacob who was sick? What if it were Jacob who was injured?

Issues I’d previously given no thought suddenly became of substantial importance. Was there truly a difference between breastfeeding and formula feeding? Should we circumcise? If I vaccinated my child, he could have a serious adverse reaction. If I chose not to vaccinate, he could become very ill.

I became an information addict and read every book on childcare I could get my hands on and spent endless hours researching my concerns and second guessing my decisions. The rest of my waking hours were spent staring at Jacob as he slept, assuring myself he was still breathing and would only continue to do so thorough my conscious willing of it. Fortunately, he survived my new mother paranoia and came out relatively unscathed-- or at least, I will assume so until I’m presented with a bill for therapy.

Personal Truths

I had gone into motherhood with the words of many fostering my belief I’d have a baby, but life would eventually go back to normal again by the magical six-week check-up (at which point I'd also have lost all my baby weight). What I didn’t know when I gave birth was normal was gone forever, along with any peace of mind, my figure, and any hope of a good night’s sleep, but that I’d never trade a moment of my new life to have it back again.

Motherhood, I’ve come to find, is a journey rather than a destination. And while we may endeavor to share experiences with a new mom-to-be, the truths of motherhood remain personal and hers alone to find. The only certainty is the journey is well worth traveling.

I only wish I could talk to that teenager one more time.
by: Barbara A. Eastom Bates

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Pregnancy Exercise And Diet Tips - Sensible Advice For Expectant Mothers

Mothers-to-be have many questions about pregnancy nutrition and exercise. The tips and advice below will help you get started on a healthy pregnancy.




A diet containing the essential nutrients and vitamins are vital to the development of both mother and child. Vitamins are imperative to the health of a developing baby and the well being of the mother. Choosing foods that are rich in vitamins and other nutrients are a critical part of a healthy pregnancy nutrition plan and supplemental vitamins are necessary as well.

Follow a well-planned pregnancy diet to help avoid complications such as morning sickness, fatigue, anemia, and constipation. Your healthy diet must continue after pregnancy if you plan to breastfeed your baby.

Pregnancy food recommendations

* Your pregnancy diet should include plenty of complex and unrefined carbohydrates as they contain important B vitamins, trace minerals, and fiber that are essential to a fit, healthy pregnancy.

* Appropriate quantities of yellow and green leafy vegetables are vital for the growth of the baby and the health of the mother.

* Dairy products contain calcium that will assist in the developing baby's teeth and bones. If your diet is lacking calcium your body will draw calcium from your bones to meet it's increased need.

* Avoid excessive amounts of fat must be avoided during pregnancy, as it will only serve to add excess pounds, which will be hard to lose after the birth of your baby.

* Vitamin C in generous amounts is crucial to a healthy pregnancy, bone growth, and various metabolic processes. Including berries, citrus fruits, raw broccoli and cabbage can help provide you with the Vitamin C that you need.

Ideally, your pregnancy diet should include 3-4 servings of protein and meat, 2-4 servings of fruit, 6-11 servings of grains, 4-6 servings of dairy products, and 6-8 glasses of water, milk, and juice. A pregnant mother must follow a healthy diet that will benefit the developing baby but that will also maintain her general health as well.

Exercise recommendations during pregnancy

Exercise during pregnancy will promote strength, muscle tone, and endurance. Regular activity during your pregnancy will help alleviate swelling, fatigue, and backache. If you expect to remain fit during your pregnancy you will need to work your heart and major muscle groups. The type of exercise you do during your pregnancy will depend on your fitness level prior to pregnancy. Walking, pregnancy yoga videos, and swimming are excellent pregnancy exercises combined with stretching and other low-impact activities.

Exercises that involve a risk of falling or injury should be avoided such as bicycling, racket sports, horseback riding, and skiing. You will need to alter your exercise routine from trimester to trimester to accommodate your growing body. Avoiding over-exertion is necessary to avoid complications such as faintness, dizziness, vaginal bleeding, and premature contractions. Also, make sure you drink plenty of water before, during, and after exercising to reduce the risk of dehydration, which can raise your body temperature and cause harm to yourself and/or your baby.

A regular exercise program is beneficial to both mother and child, but check with your health care provider to make sure you have no conditions or risks that will prevent you from participating in a regular exercise routine or could cause potential harm to yourself or your child.
by: Tina Titas
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Anemia During Pregnancy

Anemia during pregnancy is most commonly caused by an iron deficiency. Being tested for anemia early in your pregnancy is a good idea, but may not be enough, since anemia may still develop as your pregnancy progresses.

Although anemia is caused by an iron deficiency in your body, you will not need to worry too much about your baby, since he will be sure to get as much iron from you as he needs. Your baby will only be in danger of suffering from anemia if the situation is completely ignored.




How will I be able to tell if I am anemic?

Anemia should be easily identifiable in the blood tests that you take frequently throughout your pregnancy. The baby will start drawing on your iron reserves much more heavily around week 20, so you may develop anemia later in your pregnancy.

Common symptoms of anemia during pregnancy include:

* Feeling exhausted or weak
* Pale or light skin
* Fainting spells
* Palpitations
* Breathlessness

Who is most at risk?

Pregnant women who have poor nutrition, due to nausea and vomiting or simply bad habits, are more at risk of developing anemia. Also, women who are carrying multiple fetuses may be at a higher risk, as two babies will deplete iron stores twice as much. Women who have two or more pregnancies relatively close together may be at risk for similar reasons.

How much iron should I be getting?

The recommended daily allowance of iron is around 15mg for women trying to conceive. Pregnant women will need to consume about twice that much each day. Your healthcare provider may advise you to start taking an iron supplement, although these are known to cause constipation, nausea, and vomiting. It may be wise to simply try and include many iron rich foods such as spinach, dried fruits, or liver in your diet.

Keep in mind that your choice of beverages and other foods will affect your rate of iron absorption. Consuming foods rich in vitamin C along with the iron rich foods will facilitate absorption, while consuming caffeine will hinder it.
by: Susan Tanner
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Adolescent pregnancy: a culturally complex issue

Adolescent pregnancy is an issue that calls for more education and support to encourage girls to delay motherhood until they are ready. Theresa Braine reports.

Ayana (name changed) was married at the age of 11. Most newly-wed couples in Ethiopia start trying to conceive right away. Three years later, thanks to the Stop Early Marriage campaign, Ayana and her husband (who is five years older than her) are still attending school and have delayed having children, according to Helen Amdemikael, an assistant representative at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Ethiopia. The project is run under the auspices of the district’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and assisted by UNFPA and the Population Council, a nongovernmental organization, with policy and technical guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO). It works with...

families, community leaders and adolescents in the rural Amhara region of Ethiopia where half of all adolescent girls are married before the age of 15 in violation of Ethiopian law, which allows marriage after the age of 18.

The project encourages delaying marriage and childbearing, and also supports married adolescent girls by providing literacy, life skills and information on reproductive health.

This girl from a village in the Indian state of Gujarat was 16 when her son was born. She delivered at a hospital thanks to an innovative government programme that offers free childbirth and obstetric care for women living below the poverty line. In the primary health care centre in the Kheda district she now receives advice on breastfeeding, family planning and other health issues
WHO/M-A Heine
This girl from a village in the Indian state of Gujarat was 16 when her son was born. She delivered at a hospital thanks to an innovative government programme that offers free childbirth and obstetric care for women living below the poverty line. In the primary health care centre in the Kheda district she now receives advice on breastfeeding, family planning and other health issues

Amdemikael and other health experts are hoping for more stories like Ayana’s. Whether it happens with child brides in India or the Sudan, or unmarried high-school students in industrialized countries, adolescent pregnancy is a major contributor to both infant and maternal health problems and mortality.

Adolescents aged less than 16 years face four times the risk of maternal death than women aged in their 20s, and the death rate of their neonates is about 50% higher, according to adolescent health consultant, James E Rosen, who has been conducting a research review for the department of Making Pregnancy Safer at WHO. Health experts agree that pregnant adolescents require special physical and psychological attention during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period for preserving their own health and the health of their babies.

“The context is complicated, because cultural issues influence sexual behaviour,” says Dr Virginia Camacho from WHO’s department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development.

Her department is studying ways to prevent early pregnancy – particularly among marginalized girls – in developing countries and to find out how well health systems are addressing their needs. “Health providers must be trained to provide proper care to pregnant adolescents, as well as advice to girls who don’t want to become pregnant,” says Camacho.

An estimated 16 million girls aged between 15 and 19 give birth every year, with 95% of these births occurring in developing countries, according to the review done by Rosen. This makes up 11% of all births worldwide. However, global averages mask important regional differences. Births to adolescents as a percentage of all births range from about 2% in China to 18% in Latin America and the Caribbean. Worldwide, just seven countries account for half of all adolescent births: Bangladesh, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and the United States of America.

Dr Valentina Baltag, a WHO medical officer working on adolescent health, says that more information is needed to target this age group with suitable programmes: “We don’t know the extent to which adolescents are seeking health care and we don’t have data that is disaggregated [broken down] by age.”

This young girl from Haiti faces a higher risk of obstructed labour than a woman giving birth in her twenties
WHO/A Waak
This young girl from Haiti faces a higher risk of obstructed labour than a woman giving birth in her twenties

According to Dr Monir Islam, director of Making Pregnancy Safer, maternal and newborn health programmes need to improve the way they serve the needs of young mothers. “Making pregnancy safer for adolescents should be a clear priority for countries in their efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals,” he says.

Although the circumstances of adolescent pregnancy vary greatly, some commonalities stand out: younger bodies are not fully developed to go through the process of pregnancy and childbirth without adverse impacts. Adolescent mothers face a higher risk of obstructed labour than women in their twenties. Without adequate emergency obstetric care, this can lead to uterine rupture and a high risk of death for both mother and infant. For those who survive, prolonged labour can cause obstetric fistula, which is a tear between the vagina and the bladder or the rectum, causing urine or faeces to leak. In Ethiopia and Nigeria, more than 25% of fistula patients had become pregnant before the age of 15 and more than 50% before the age of 18. Although the problem can be rectified with surgery, treatment is not widely available in most countries where fistula occurs and millions of women are left to suffer with a condition that leads to incontinence, bad odours and other side-effects including psychological problems and social isolation.

“A lot of very young pregnant women have no access to facilities to reach professionals able to solve their obstructed labour,” says Dr Luc De Bernis, a senior maternal health adviser at UNFPA, based in Ethiopia. Given that girls in many countries marry very early, even before they start menstruating, “you can imagine that when they become pregnant they are very, very young, 13 or 14 years old,” de Bernis says. “If you go to the fistula hospital in Addis Ababa, the girls are very young and small, and you understand the magnitude of the problem. It’s a disaster.”

Poverty plays a role in whether young girls are likely to get pregnant and they then enter a vicious cycle because early motherhood often compromises their educational attainment and economic potential.

Teenage pregnancy “can really get in the way of education and other life opportunities,” says Leo Bryant, advocacy manager at Marie Stopes International (MSI), a British reproductive rights group with clinics worldwide. “In the United Kingdom we’re particularly concerned … because we have the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in western Europe.” Today it stands at 26 adolescent births for every 1000 women, according to World health statistics 2009.

Other countries in Europe have fewer teenage pregnancies because of a different approach to sex education and better access to family planning, Bryant says. In the Netherlands, with one of Europe’s lowest adolescent pregnancy rates of four adolescent births per 1000 women, sex education begins in primary school. Currently in the United Kingdom, sex education in schools is not mandatory and some faith-based schools do not provide it at all, making for patchy coverage, Bryant says. This is set to change following government plans announced in late April to make sex and relationship education compulsory at both primary and secondary school levels by 2011. ■
http://www.who.int


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Sex During Pregnancy: Is It Safe?

When a pregnant woman is dealing with nausea, vomiting and fatigue, morning sickness, and weight gain, it seems that the last thing that she would think about is sex. There are many women who are active when...

they are pregnant. But they think that engaging in a sexual activity might be bad for the baby’s health. Is it really safe to have sex when you are pregnant?

Whether this would bring good news or not, having sex during pregnancy is safe for women who have uncomplicated and low-risk pregnancies.

Normal Pregnancy Allows for Sexual Activity

If you are not sure that you are fit for such an activity, consult a doctor or a midwife. The sexual desires of a woman tend to fluctuate when she is pregnant, but the activity can become awkward and uncomfortable since the body shape of a woman changes considerably.

Always remember that staying intimate doesn’t meant hat you have to engage in sex. Closeness and pleasure can be provided by kissing, touching, cuddling, and manual stimulation. These activities are low risk, and they could not add up to the problems of your pregnancy..

You just have to make sure that your pregnancy is healthy and fit.

Some Risks and Tips

You should also know that a pregnant woman who engages in sex is not a hundred percent safe. There are risks that are associated with the activity, and here are some things to consider:

1) Never engage in practices where your partner blows in the birth canal. It can cause blockage of the blood vessel, which is potentially fatal for the baby and for the mother as well.

2) Never have sex with a partner if you do not know his sexual and health history. This is a risk factor for sexually transmitted diseases and infections, which is very serious on the baby’s part. You are not only putting your life at risk but also the life of the unborn child.

3) Don’t engage in sex if the doctor doesn’t allow you to. This might end up in early labor, potential miscarriage, bleeding, cramping, amniotic fluid leaking from birth canal, cervix problems, and a condition called placenta previa.

4) You might also consider engaging in different sex positions while you are having sex. The traditional man-on-top and spooning position is very uncomfortable for a pregnant woman. It is also important to know that a pregnant woman should not lie flat on her back because the uterus might compress the major blood vessels. This can cause pelvic pressure, intense pain, dizziness, and other uncomfortable and dangerous situations.

Having sex while you are pregnant does not have a direct effect on the baby because it is fully protected by the amniotic sac and the strong muscles of the uterus. Aside from these, there’s a thick mucus plug that seals the cervix and helps guard the baby against infection. It is good to know that the penis does not come into contact with the fetus during sex.
by: James Pendergraft

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Making Pregnancy safer

Maternal Mortality...Visit...



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