Breastfeeding Mothers

Becoming a mother is an act of infinite optimism. Every mark left behind from having a child signifies the mother's status as a superhero, as children grow to perceive them as some of the strongest, kindest and wisest souls. The following postpartum signifies a period of revivification, and the hormonal turbulence can be fatiguing for the body. In such a state, it becomes even more important for new moms to plan ahead to secure health and well-being for themselves, given the responsibilities they're faced with. Thanks to the age of information, the journey of postpartum needs little demystification, and a plan with ample conviction and steady dedication can go a long way for new moms. The benefits of physical exercise on the mind and body are no longer a thing of speculation, evident from its empirical impact on people from across the world. The task to choose the right routine for oneself, a routine that balances convenience and efficacy, is what the new mom needs. Getting back to fitness can be hard, and the type of pregnancy and delivery determine when is a good time to start, and a consultation with the doctor is imperative. Let's take a look at two workout routines that can help new moms adapt to the growing responsibilities of motherhood while ensuring that they stay healthy to tend to their little ones. Postpartum Functional Training, the postpartum period requires new moms to focus on movement and feel good. Functional training is one of the most common exercises, practiced by amateurs and athletes alike, and can aid the recovery from pregnancy in an immensely effective manner. A combination of strength training, cardio, and low-intensity aerobic exercises can help new moms strengthen their muscles, boost energy, promote better sleep, relieve stress, and help them lose the extra weight from pregnancy. A combination of exercises mentioned below can form a routine that helps moms strengthen their core, achieve states of relaxation and revive energy levels to take the responsibility of motherhood head-on: Pelvic Floor Exercises Core strength can be greatly affected due to pregnancy, and it becomes more important for mothers to focus on building the strength back to return to the fitness levels before conceiving. Pelvic floor exercises such as planks, side-planks leg-lifts, Cat-Cow table tops, glute bridges, and other exercises are some of the options that can be done easily at home, without equipment. Walking Walking is a simple, refreshing, and effective way to stay active, increase energy, and improve blood-oxygenation levels, and can be done anywhere at any time. This form of low-intensity steady-state cardio can help increase stamina and make new moms proactive, and mindful, and alleviate stress levels, affected by the topsy-turvy hormonal bodily state. Postnatal Yoga, the myriad asanas, breathing techniques, and transcendental meditation are another elaborate system that new moms can access in order to take control of the period of recovery following delivery. Depending on the nature of the delivery, new moms can start yoga within a few days or weeks from childbirth. Postnatal yoga is a modified, low-intensity yoga practice that increases calmness, reduces irritability and anger, lowers blood pressure, reduces tension in the muscles, and can even benefit moms experiencing depression and anxiety. Pranayam 'Prana' in Pranayam is defined as the 'life-force', and control over the breath is one of the main ways in which the practice of yoga helps individuals achieve states of awareness and calmness. The postpartum period for mothers can be full of severe mood swings, insomnia, anxiety, and a range of other psychological problems that bear negative effects on the baby and the mother as a whole. Remaining calm and relaxed becomes imperative in the company of infants, as the propensity for fear is greater for a newborn. The various breathing exercises from yoga can help mothers to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression to achieve and in return impart the feeling of calmness and serenity that a baby needs. Asanas Yoga asanas can help greatly with building back strength, remaining active, and attaining rest and relaxation in the postpartum period. Some common poses from Yoga include the cat-cow pose, child's pose, legs-up-the-wall, and the corpse pose (sravasana). Being mindful of the body postpartum is as crucial as remaining mindful during the time of being pregnancy. New moms should prepare in advance, and consult a doctor to know when the right time to exercise begins. Exercising can be fruitful but oftentimes needs supervision. Trained professionals can help new moms choose the right programs that aid the mother in their postnatal journey of healing and being healed. (Meenakshi Mohanty is a Fitness Expert)

Jerusalem: Pregnant women's exposure to air pollution has been identified as one possible factor for low-birth-weight in babies, which can further lead to poor health outcomes, researchers have shown. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, also revealed that mothers who are underweight and come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more exposed to the possibility of being affected by air pollution. Further, the study found that the association with air pollution was stronger among female babies and first births - a fact that is thought to be due to a biological mechanism that is yet to be identified. "It is now clear that governments need to set up the infrastructure to integrate environmental and health data at the personal level," said Professor Hagai Levine of the Hebrew University (HU)-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health. The team looked at the link between air pollutant PM2.5 and the birth weight of 3,80,000 singleton babies born to mothers all over in Israel between 2004-2015. Israel, a country with the highest fertility rate among countries under OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and high levels of the air pollutant PM2.5, made it an ideal location to look for an association between low birth weight and poor air quality. The team used personal, anonymised data and detailed high-resolution pollutant data to produce more accurate statistical analysis. The model included siblings, and it enabled the estimation of the variance in low birth weight to be accounted for by variances between different mothers, leading to more accurate estimates. The data used by the research team included: personal anonymised data on the mothers, including the area where they lived and the weight of their babies at birth; and daily air pollutant concentration over each square kilometre of Israel, derived from satellite data. The study clearly showed the association between the level of the air pollutant PM2.5 and low birth weight. The association of air pollutants with low birth weight raises the question of whether the governments should take the impact on the developing baby into account and increase its efforts to reduce pollution. (agency) Read More► 'Preventing diabetes among youth, pregnant women a challenge'

After a sombre year, people all over the world are finally ushering in the festive season with more joy and hope. For many, it will also be the first time they see their extended families and loved ones in over a year. Family gatherings obviously come with feasting, food and drink, however, if you are breastfeeding your baby, then there are some foods that you might want to steer clear of. The key to a good breastfeeding diet is simply to be on a nutritious and healthy meal plan. After the rigorous process of watching what they eat, new mothers can finally relax and eat almost everything they had to give up for nine months. But this must be done in careful moderation because a newborn baby's diet is still entirely dependent on their mother's milk. Hence, it is important to make sure that mothers eat meals that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium, Vitamin A and Vitamin D. The list of foods to avoid during pregnancy is long, but thankfully breastfeeding moms can eat almost anything as long it is in moderation. The following foods should be consumed in small amounts if a woman is breastfeeding. All food items with alcohol and caffeine content should be kept to a bare minimum. Alcohol especially is tricky, because even after having waited for 2-3 hours after the consumption of a drink, a baby can be exposed to it through breast milk, and this could potentially harm an infant's development, growth, and sleep patterns. And as for caffeine, while it is much safer than alcohol, it is recommended that nursing mothers limit their intake to about 300 milligrams per day. Chocolate can be included back in the diet, as long as it is consumed in small quantities. This is because chocolate does contain theobromine, which is a stimulant and there is a small possibility of it leading to a breastfed infant being restless and fussy. Since any nutrient from the food the mother consumes gets transformed into breast milk, care should be taken to consume avoidable food items in very small amounts. Stress producing foods or high calorific foods should be avoided: Carbonated beverages, Caffeine, packaged fruit juices with excess sugar, Peppermint or gums, salad dressings with high sodium should be completely avoided. Processed foods are quick and easy to prepare especially when you have a baby. However, these foods contain preservatives and additives that are toxic for the baby which should be avoided. An expecting mother is suggested to get proper rest and keep stress at bay. While postpartum stress affects many new mothers, experts suggest that managing stress and anxiety is crucial to the well-being of both the mother and her infant. Stress may lead to reduced lactation and breastfeeding issues. Avoid binge-eating during this time, despite the erratic hours that new parents are bound to experience. Carbonated drinks and junk food cravings should be substituted with healthier food options like nuts and fruits.(Rohit Shelatkar, VP at Vitabiotics, Fitness & Nutrition Expert) Read More► Negative Calorie Food

When you become a mother, you tend to forget about your own needs because you are so focused on your child. With the baby keeping you busy all day and night, your skincare takes a backseat. It's not always changing in skin texture and looks post-pregnancy are a bad thing, but not taking care of your skin may lead to acne, melasma, stretch marks, puffy eyes, and even dark circles. Here we are sharing simple and easy tips for you to follow, to get a glowing post-pregnancy. Cleansing As you sleep, your skin goes through a renewal cycle, by dispensing toxins and debris. So you only need a light-textured cleanser to wash your face with a face wash that is suitable for your skin type. Steam Take steam for 2-3 days a week, it will help you to open up your clogged pores. Scrub & Face Pack Use a face scrub, to remove the dead skin cells, scrub your face for like 5 minutes and wash it with normal tap water. It will help you to make your skin softer and radiant, leave the mask until it dries off. Toner & Moisturizer Apply toner to your face, look for clarifying toners that rebalance your pH to maintain the pH value of your skin. In the end, you only have to moisturize your face, to give hydration. Steal Baby Products Baby products are always mild in nature so that the baby's sensitive skin doesn't have to compromise. They are created to lock moisture in babies skin. So, you can also use them. Whether it's a body oil, lotion or cream, apply some on your skin every time you're applying them on your baby. If you do this, you can flaunt your skin, this way, you don't have to dedicate a specific time every day for your skincare. Keep All Skincare Needs in One Place Organize all your skincare products in one place, this organization will help you way much better than anything. Make use of your "me time" and devote it properly to pamper yourself. Streaming Your Routine Make a proper timetable, for your week how many days you are going to deep cleanse your skin in a week. If we talk about the baby skincare routine this is important too. As the baby's skin is too sensitive and they are interacting with such a harsh environment pollution, high temperature etc. Don't worry there are some simple and easy enough tips. Here, what you should know, with regards to bath, diapering, selecting items and that's just the beginning. Bath Time Babies need two to three baths a week in warm, not hot water to stay clean. The initial step to an extraordinary child shower is to track down the ideal temperature. Tip: Fill the bath without any more than 2 to 3 creeps of water. To keep your child from getting cold while you wash them, routinely pour cupfuls of water over their shoulders. Diaper Basics There are a lot of things you'll have to do for your little one when they're an infant, like changing your baby's diaper regularly, cleaning tenderly however completely each time with child wipes. Make the surface saturated yet dry simultaneously as well. There are countless myths around diaper rashes that it is caused because of the usage of diapers. But no, it is due to a lack of attention and knowledge about the correct time to change the diaper. Else it will get worse for your child. Awareness of Products Always read the product label before purchasing products for your infant. It's ideal to avoid chemical and alcohol-based products. Use products that are made explicitly for infants. Newborn babies are so delicate, requiring a lot of care and attention. A single mistake or slip of mind can make things worse. Keep your infant's skin saturated, as well, so consistently have a stockpile of moisturizers around. But excessive oil can cause cradle caps, and dryness can create painful scenarios. If your child is facing such issues you need to consult a certified dermatologist. Read More► Turn to The Humble Coconut for Skin Care