All That Ever Bothers Your Mind During Pregnancy

Prerna Sinha

7 years ago

Motherhood, Pregnancy and New Baby can be very overwhelming. There are millions of questions in the minds on new moms and many variations of advice that is given to them. HIMALAYA FOR MOMS organised a webinar with Dr Hema Divakar , a senior gynaecologist with over 27 years of experience and there were some great learnings. Some of the facts she reveals are shocking–every day, 800 women die worldwide because of pregnancy-related health problems and 99 per cent of them occur in developing countries. We got answers to matters that may affect pregnant women, some common concerns and some specific unusual ones also busting some myths that we hold on pregnancy.

Questions That Were A little Out-The-Box

There is a popular trend of liposuction on the delivery table. Would you recommend this? What can be the pros and cons?

Liposuction at delivery is not recommended. Loss of blood can be a factor which will make the recovery tardy and can be risky for healing process as well. Least duration, least meddling – that’s the rule at delivery.

With the intake of iron supplements introduced at the first trimester, it causes issues such as difficulty in emptying the bowel, how can we avoid the same?

We prefer not to give iron supplements in the first three moths.
Constipation and gastric irritation are common even if the iron tablets are started later in pregnancy.
There are a variety of iron tablets and your doctor can choose what suits you best and choose a combination of iron and a laxative.

Is Lactation period the most foolproof method for not getting pregnant?

LAM is the name of the method used for exclusive breast-feeding mothers. Ovulation or egg release can resume anytime after six weeks post delivery so it’s not foolproof. Mini pill or condom should be used for fool-proof contraception.

Today we see more incidences of a special child – is there any problem with hormones in women these days or is there some other factor?

A special child may also mean – challenged child or mentally retarded child – This is either genetic or due to some complications in late pregnancy or delayed deliveries.

Why is the period painful after pregnancy?

There can be two reasons for it there is a cramping of uterus and uterus becomes harder but the solution is simple. Your doctor can suggest you certain vitamins like Vitamin E , antioxidants etc to complement pain relief in such cases.

General Questions Asked During Pregnancy

There is usually hair fall after pregnancy, how do we counter that?

Usually, a thyroid deficiency leads to hairfall. So get your thyroid checked as these counts go up and down during pregnancy.

How soon can you start exercising?

After 6 weeks of delivering the baby, it is safe to start on an exercise routine but it’s best to keep it light and moderate in the beginning. This is valid even for C-section deliveries.

What is the best solution for Cracked nipples?

It is a very common phenomenon and is very painful to feed your baby when you have cracked nipple. The best solution is to apply coconut oil or white homemade butter.

How to prevent stretch marks?

Don’t scratch the area and keep it moisturised with cocoa butter and glycerin mixed together(retains more moisture) or you can use any other moisturiser as well.

What is the optimum weight gain during pregnancy?

During pregnancy 8-10 kgs is normal weight gain but if you have diabetes then you should not gain more than 6-8 kgs.

What are the safe exercises during pregnancy? If I have been running for some time can I continue during the pregnancy?

Rigorous exercise to be avoided even in routine low-risk pregnancies. Though all routine accustomed activities are allowed, the body often can’t cope with anything strenuous. Moderation is the mantra for pregnancy

That’s all folks. Hope you picked some useful points here.

p.s. All the points mentioned above were discussed in the webinar by @HIMALAYAFORMOMS with Dr Hema. The questions were asked by people attending the webinar.

She’s the only recipient of the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the World Diabetes Foundation (Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of India) and the fifth Indian woman to receive the prestigious FIGO (International Federation of Gynaecology & Obstetrics) Women Achiever’s Award. As the president of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) in 2013-2014,