Pregnancy Questions

Mineral substances

Iron – plays great role in blood development process.

Sources of iron: salads, spinach, prunes, apples, grapefruit, lemon, buckwheat or oat cereals, rye bread, meat, animals liver, egg yolk.

Iodine – is necessary for thyroid gland formation.

When it is not enough iodine, fetus thyroid gland development takes defective way.

The sources of iodine: sea fish, sea food and algae, meat, eggs, milk, beet, carrots, salads, potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, apples, grapes, plums.

Potassium – essential for normal cardiovascular system action, and metabolic processes.
Sources: apples, plums, apricots, peaches, gooseberries (eat berry), blueberry, dried apricots, raisins and oat cereals.

Potassium is a component of bone tissue, it takes care of blood coagulation, and normalizes the nerve-muscle system activity.

Sources of potassium: milk and dairy foodstuff, eggs yolk and rye bread.

Magnesium – activates the ferments. Not enough quantity of magnesium disturbs the nerve system and muscle action.

Sources: bread made of rough grinding flour, buckwheat and oat cereals, kidney beans, peas.

Sodium – regulates body water exchange. Sodium lowers the nerve system irritability and pain sensation.

Source: common salt.

Phosphor – takes part in bones development. Phosphor is a ferment component, so called cells energy storage.

Source: fish and seafood, cheese, cottage cheese, milk, nuts, bread, kidney beans, peas, oat and buckwheat cereals.

Liquids: pregnant woman have to take 2.0 – 2.5 liter of liquid per day. The half of this amount is in daily foodstuff, and consequently 1.0 – 1.2 liters of liquids from additional stuff. If facing edema during last weeks of pregnancy, you can reduce liquid usage up to 3-4 cups per day (0.7 – 0.8 liter).

We advise you to use more juice, stewed fruit drinks, kissel (a sweet drink resembling thin jelly) and spring water. You can use also tea or coffee in reasonable amounts and of course not very strong. It is forbidden to use any alcohol during pregnancy, even light beer or wine.

First quarter

At the first quarter of pregnancy there are active body rearrangement going on, in other words the body tunes to new condition. This period for all attention have to be on the baby, your caprice and desire will go at the second plan. Eat low calorie food; use much fruits, juice, stewed drinks from dried fruits and rosehip decoction. You can also fast, it is not forbidden; just try to hear what your body wants. Ask your healthcare professional about appropriate diet and multivitamins. We consider the folic acid as the main vitamin for the first quarter of pregnancy.

Second quarter

The food calorie is a little bit higher than in the first quarter. Pregnant woman should be in shape at the birth time. In parallel with food changing there are special exercises to increase physical activity. You need energy and power; visit pool, try to be more times at open air and so on. We advise to eat meat and fish at the first part of the day (breakfast, lunch, mid day snack). For the dinner prepare some cottage cheese pancake, curd-vegetables dishes (baked pudding) or stewed vegetables. Better to avoid fried meat (possible heartburn). Use minimum amount of canned food, smoked food, marinades, spicy, fatty food and sausages.

Third quarter

Beginning from third quarter we recommend to reduce the calories of food, basically at the expense of floury and pastry foodstuff, less use fat meat, fat cheese and sour cream. It is more important when you over carry (overdue) the baby.

It is desirable to loose a little bit weight before childbirth. This will increase muscles elasticity (flexibility).

Instead of a fatty tissue, muscles make the birth.

It is possible to judge a correct set of foodstuff based on the general condition (good feeling, well being), basic analysis (blood test, urine test, arterial pressure), and by the weight gain of pregnant woman.

But the weight is not main indicator of the normal pregnancy duration; more important is your self wellbeing. It is important to be conscious that total weight of mother consists of few components, which are applied to each person. Nevertheless try to not overload your body by overeating!

Nourishment during pregnancy

Correct nourishment during pregnancy is one of the most important requirements for successful pregnancy process and childbirth, because nutritional support is not only for mum, but also for baby. Daily food allowance has to have enough quantity of proteins, vitamins and microelements in comparison with nourishment before pregnancy.

Proteins are so called basic build materials. During pregnancy proteins provides baby development, placenta and womb progress, mammary (lactiferous) gland and breast development, and also reserve things that will be used during breastfeeding.

The daily amount of proteins should be not less than 100 grams during first half of pregnancy and about 120 grams at the second half. Animal origin proteins and vegetable proteins proportion should be 50/50. Pregnant woman need to eat 100-150 grams of low fat meat (chicken or fish), and also milk or dairy-sour foodstuff at least 0.5 liter, cheese, cottage cheese and eggs. These all foodstuff consist of easy digestible proteins, amino acids in optimal proportions.

Fats – are energy source. Additionally fats take part prostaglandin development process. Prostaglandins are stuff that responsible to improve cardiovascular and digestive systems, and have positive influence during childbirth procedure.

Daily portion of fats should be about 80 grams, and approximately 30 grams from 80 should be vegetable fats. We recommend you to use sunflower, olive, nuts and corn oil and high quality butter and melted butter.

Do not use combined fats, margarines, lard and something similar to these foodstuff.

Carbohydrates – the energy basic source for humans during metabolism processes. When it is not enough carbohydrates, the body starts to use proteins and consequently less stuff goes to baby, and the development process become worse. The body resistances become low, and nervous system goes down.

Normal quantity of carbohydrates should be about 350 grams per day for the first part of pregnancy, and 400 grams for the second part. After giving birth you should decrease carbohydrates portion and total calorie content.

The used carbohydrates have to be so called good carbohydrates. You can find it the following foodstuff that rich with cellulose: brown bread (rye bread) made of rough grinding flour, crops, vegetables, fruits and berries.

We name sugar, sweets, white bread and rolls, spaghettis the “bad” carbohydrates, and you need to reduce the usage of these foodstuff.

Vitamins are very essential for pregnancy process and as a final result to have a healthy baby. Vitamins are taking care of biochemical and physiological processes in the body.

It is especially important for future moms to take enough vitamins, because even at the most balanced and rational nourishment we observe deficiency of vitamins in majority times. That is why experts recommend to use multivitamins during pregnancy.

Specifics of pregnant sex activities

Husbands are also have low sex desire, when they see belly size changes, and so on (everyday life changes, bassinet, baby clothes and baby carriage purchase etc).

In any case, during pregnancy it is necessary to be ready that the quantity of contacts will be reduced a little, and also positions (poses) will be restricted.

There are 2 forbidden things for females during pregnancy:

1. Cunnilingus (oral genitals stimulation of females)
2. No any to do any sexual relations with someone else (possible infection of both, mother and baby)

If childbirth finished well, if there where no any ruptures, cuts or surgery – in this case you need to rest about 6-8 weeks. You have to be patient, because milk from nipples will go away during sexual stimulation, and naturally the womb is not lubricated well. Ask your professional obstetrician (or midwife) questions about contraception.

In spite of widespread opinion, the female gonad (ovary) recovers in parallel with breast feeding. Most probably you may have fecundation (impregnation) and as a result – unwanted pregnancy.

In summary we say – “you can do sexual activities during pregnancy and after childbirth, but very gently and gingerly”.

First quarter of pregnancy

At the first quarter usually sexual desire of females is low. Several factors have influence: smell and taste changes, vomiting, nausea and pregnant toxics. Also very common are: drowsy state, drooped and whining conditions. A nipple pain gives not very comfortable feelings for females. They can react very inadequate to any everyday situation and activity, and husband afraid of that. Couples reproach and wrong each other, and they think that there is no way back again. But it is not so bad as it looks like, because some time later everything became good.

Second quarter

At second quarter of pregnancy (4^th to 6^th month) usually the feelings of females is good. No fears and anxiety. Baby’s movement make the mother happy, she feels that everything is ok. The size of belly is very sexy, and it does not bother her. Father’s have also great influence, he prepare himself for the role of family head; this is the time of second honeymoon of couples.

Doctors also consider this period as very positive one, and they recommend having sex during second quarter of pregnancy. The fetus is finally fixed in the womb; he (she) is well protected.

Third quarter

During third quarter of pregnancy the couple’s sex desire again lower because of several reasons. First of all it is connected with physical uncomfortable condition of female (big belly that make it difficult). Second is that sexual activity at this period is painful for female. Frequent emotions changing are also one of the reasons. They afraid of birth process and this is of course affect on the sex desire. Husbands are considering more problems that they will have, and so on. Man always thinking about organizational problems: to buy all necessary for the baby (a carriage, a bed etc.), to choose together with wife maternity home in which their baby will be born, to arrange a short holiday, to help the wife in the first days after coming home. All these issues are reflected in sexual activity of the future daddy and mummy. Don’t forget about pregnancy sexual activities contradictions, which are:

1. Real threat to have miscarriage.
2. Womb bleeding or blood discharge.
3. Habitual non carrying of pregnancy
4. Fetal liquid leak.
5. Low position of placenta.
6. Multiple pregnancy.
7. Infections that will transfer via sexual actions.

Sex during pregnancy

All pregnant women and their husbands are always interesting in the question whether it is safe to have sex while she is pregnant. Is it possible to have sex or it is better to abstain. The problem has series of solutions. Some of them keep on having sex as before some of them totally refuse it. The best way is to consult with the specialist. No body rejects the fact, that during the pregnancy and after that sexual life (and other thing too) undergo some changes.

If there is no medical contraindications (as the pregnancy is endangered, miscarriage, non carrying of pregnancy, vagina bleeding, premature births, fetus surrounded flow of liquid, low position of the placenta, multi fetus pregnancy, presence of infection of sexual organ one of the parents) it is possible to have sex during the pregnancy. In some cases it is even necessary.  Moreover, the recent scientific researches have proves fact.

Here are some positive facts about sex during the pregnancy:

1. You don’t harm baby when you do sex. The Mother Nature has tried to keep baby under several protection layers: the forward abdominal wall with muscles, double fatty layer, a thick junction tissue; the womb that consist of fetus cover, fetus bubble with water (water smooth out all vibration around) and mucous membrane that tightly cork up womb neck.
2. The pleasure hormones that mother receives during sexual action are also positive for baby.
3. Long sex activity abstention for the pregnant woman promotes the negative emotions accumulation.
4. You do not need to practice safe sex or use contraceptive medicine.
5. Useful substances that exist in the sperm are necessary for the future mum: ferments and prostaglandin (male hormone) is good for womb neck. These substances promote womb neck softening, and as a result easy child birth.
6. Sexual activity exercises the womb muscles and this means productive birth activity, good womb neck action, and clear labor pains.
7. Orgasm also stimulates womb muscles, which is positive for mother. But we don’t recommend doing sexual action if it is almost birth time (a few weeks or days before) because, it can provoke early birth.

We will mention that mom’s sexual attraction either increasing or decreasing during pregnancy. This depends on the beginning of sexual activities of woman, hormones quantity at different time of pregnancy.

Sometimes sexual attraction desire with fetus development and both partners remember this period of life as the one of the best. The main idea is that woman did not feel any shameful things. Do not afraid and wait, take your time while the sexuality is ok.

Also we have other time of woman that decrease or totally loose the sex desire, because of calm (tranquility) hormone production and the body adjusts to maternity. If it is first childbirth, we recommend for husbands to be very attentive and take care of future mom’s, the sense fear (phobia) is common at this time. Husbands need to be patient to their wife’s; they need maximum attention and endearment. They say if the future baby is boy, the mother’s sexuality is high (because of male hormones), and in the opposite for girl baby.

Graphically the sexual desire of pregnant woman looks like curve: first 3 month low desire; another 3 month normal desire and the last 3 month again low desire. Why it is so? Because at first quarter of pregnancy usually females face with: vomiting, low mood condition (easy cry, not stable condition of soul, anxiety), fatigue and pregnant toxics.

Next quarter of pregnancy is better than first one. The phobias go away, mood condition is high, and everything is ok. Doctors recommend doing sexual activities at this period of pregnancy. The fetus is fixed and secure, and there is no any hormonal changes foresee.

And again at the last quarter of pregnancy we see low sexual desire. The fetus made the belly bigger, which is physically inconvenient, and might be painful. These emotional changes generate fear feeling before birth.

The third quarter of pregnancy

Each time visiting doctor, you should give urine test.

During 7^th to 8^th month period you should visit the doctor one time in 2 weeks, on 9^th month of pregnancy – once a week. Also before everyone arrivals to the doctor it is necessary to hand over the urine analysis.

The doctor will check the arterial pressure, the protein and sugar level in the blood, uterus position, heart activity and attitude of fetus.

Vaginal test also double should be checked.

Certain test like: blood test, AIDS test, syphilis, the biochemical analysis of the blood is taking one more time.

You should pass one more ultrasonic test between 34^th and 36^th weeks. It is to check the placenta (how old is the placenta), estimation and the condition of the baby.

Another test is cardiotocography. This test allows to track heart activity of the baby and uterus muscle activity.

You need to discuss with the doctor some issues concerning childbirth, for example when to call medical care service, when or how to choose the maternity hospital etc.

Some recommendations how to be ready for medical examinations and tests:

1. Many tests required an empty stomach (biochemical test, on hormones, syphilis, a hepatitis etc.). Last food intake should be not less than 8 hours before the test. Even a cup of juice or tea is not allowed.

2. Before giving blood test eat simple food, avoid using sugar, fried and fatty food.

3. Do not run or walk in a fast way blood test.

4. Try to not be nervous during tests because your mood is transferred to the baby.