Pregnant 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)

During the monsoon, there is an increased chance of getting a cold or other gastrointestinal infections, particularly for pregnant women. You should take steps to ensure that your food is taken care of in addition to the standard precautions like frequently washing your hands and avoiding contact with ill people. The following advice can help you stay healthy throughout the monsoon season. Home Cooked Food As the weather cools down and the rains begin, our appetites change and we start craving comfort food. However, for pregnant women, it's important to be careful about what they eat during this time. While there are many tempting options available, home-cooked food is always the best choice for a pregnant woman's diet during monsoon. Not only is it more nutritious, but it's also less likely to contain harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Instead of reaching for deep fried snacks or fast food from outside, you can enjoy tasty and nutritious quick meals that are cooked at home. For example, roughly diced boiled potatoes that are seasoned with some salt and pepper work perfectly, these could even work great when mixed with some curds and sprinkled with just a little bit of sev for some crunch. Staying Hydrated Pregnant women must take care of hydration, this is especially true during the monsoon season as we do tend to consume less water due to the wet and humid climate. Dehydration, however, is a dangerous condition to have during pregnancy as it can can lead to complications such as urinary tract infections, preeclampsia, and preterm labour, and hence, must be avoided at all costs. While water is always the best choice for staying hydrated, pregnant women can also opt for homemade fruit juices, coconut water, and buttermilk. It is important to avoid sugary drinks, caffeine, and alcohol, as these can actually worsen dehydration. Pregnant women should also consume fibre-rich food, which will help to regulate digestion and prevent constipation, which is a common problem during pregnancy. By following these simple tips, pregnant women can stay healthy and comfortable throughout the monsoon season. Eating Fresh Food During pregnancy, pregnant women frequently experience cravings for specific meals, but it's crucial to make sure that these cravings are healthful. Prepackaged sugary or fried foods may appeal to some women's cravings, but they also raise the risk of gestational diabetes, excessive weight gain, thyroid problems, and other metabolic diseases. Instead, women should concentrate on eating nutrient-dense fresh fruits and vegetables, which are crucial for preserving pregnancy wellness. They also aid in blood sugar regulation, which helps lessen cravings for sweet meals. During the monsoon season, there is an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables that are easily available. Oranges, berries, spinach, sweet limes, cabbage, grapefruits and many more such fruits and veggies are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Pregnant women should take advantage of this by including them in their diet. This will not only help them to stay healthy, but it will also ensure that their baby gets the nutrients it needs. As a precaution, pregnant women are advised to avoid consuming raw foods during the monsoon season. Generally, raw foods can contain bacteria and microorganisms that cause food poisoning. Therefore, pregnant women should eat cooked food instead of raw food during the monsoon season. While monsoons are refreshing, it is advisable to take safety measures to avoid contracting any food-borne infections or other health dangers. The health of the mother and unborn child is extremely vulnerable during pregnancy, and it is crucial to ensure the ideal growth of the child. Expectant moms should take enough protein, calcium, iron, vitamins, folic acid, and iodine in their meals in addition to maintaining a healthy diet and nutrition. A healthy and safe pregnancy will be ensured by taking all of these additional safety measures throughout the monsoon season. (Rohit Shelatkar, VP at Vitabitotics, Fitness & Nutrition Expert) Read More► Simple Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Fat Loss Journey

Washington- Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy was not associated with complications at birth such as preterm birth or babies born underweight, according to a study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Pregnant women with Covid-19 are at increased risk for severe illness and adverse birth outcomes, yet many remain reluctant to be vaccinated. To explore the effect of Covid vaccines in pregnancy, the CDC evaluated 46,079 pregnant women in the US between December 15, 2020 and July 22, 2021. Among more than 10,000 women who received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, the rates of preterm birth were 4.9 per cent compared to 7.0 per cent for roughly 36,000 unvaccinated women, researchers said in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published on Tuesday. Further, the report also showed that Covid vaccination did not increase the risk of delivering a baby who weighed less than usual for the number of weeks of pregnancy. These data support the safety of Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy, said Heather S. Lipkind, from Yale University, US, in the report. "Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy was not associated with preterm birth or small-for-gestational-age at birth overall, stratified by trimester of vaccination, or number of vaccine doses received during pregnancy, compared with unvaccinated pregnant women," Lipkind added. Women with symptomatic Covid-19 during pregnancy have a more than two-fold increased risk for intensive care unit admission, invasive ventilation, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and a 70 per cent increased risk for death, compared with nonpregnant women with symptomatic infections. Thus, the CDC recommends Covid-19 vaccination for women who are pregnant, recently pregnant, who are trying to become pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future. However, vaccination coverage among pregnant women has been low due to concerns regarding vaccine safety. In the CDC report, the women became pregnant between May and October of 2020, before vaccines were available. Nearly all who were vaccinated got the shots in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. Some 96 per cent of them had received at least one dose of an mRNA vaccine from either Pfizer, or Moderna. The remaining women received the single-shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. There was no difference in outcomes based on the timing of vaccination, or on which mRNA vaccine was received or how many doses. "Results have consistently shown no increased risk when stratified by mRNA Covid-19 vaccine dose, or by second or third trimester vaccination, compared with risk among unvaccinated pregnant women," Lipkind said. Read More► Current Vax Effective Against Severe Omicron Outcomes: Study

New York- Covid-19 infection during pregnancy leads to distinct immune changes in mothers and babies, according to a study. The researchers found that Covid-19 dysregulates maternal immune response, with different immune signatures between mothers with asymptomatic and severe disease. "We know that pregnancy increases maternal risk for Covid-19, but relatively little is known about the long-term consequences of in-utero exposure for infants," said Jae Jung, Director of the Cleveland Clinic Global Center for Pathogen & Human Health Research. The study highlights "how important it will be for long-term follow-up after pregnancy to catch and hopefully prevent any unforeseen long-term health conditions related to prenatal infection,"Jung added. For the study, published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine, the team involved 93 mothers with Covid-19 and 45 of their infant children who were exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The research team studied immune profiles for more than 1,400 cytokines and other inflammatory proteins collected from peripheral and cord blood samples. The researchers compared maternal blood specimens collected close to the initial detection of SARS-CoV-2 and at different time points throughout pregnancy and delivery. They found that compared to mild or moderate disease, pregnant women with severe Covid-19 exhibited significantly more inflammation and elevated levels of a protein called IFNL1 (interferon lambda 1) and the receptor it binds with, IFNLR1, which plays a critical role in protecting against viruses. "This increase in interferon lambda signaling may help explain why we see relatively little direct transmission of Covid-19 between mother and baby during the period right before or after birth -- what we call vertical transmission," explained Suan-Sin (Jolin) Foo, a research associate in Dr. Jung's lab and co-first author on the paper. Despite the lack of evidence for robust vertical transmission, the researchers found that SARS-CoV-2 infection alters maternal immunity at delivery and that gestational SARS-CoV-2 exposure alters infant immunity at birth. At delivery, the women exhibited dysregulated levels of several cytokines that are associated with pregnancy complications, including MMP7, MDK, ESM1, BGN and CD209. Among infants, prenatal exposure induced the expression of cytokines related to T cells, which are a type of immune cell involved in recognising and attacking specific antigens. The majority of births within the cohort were healthy, but there was a high incidence of some complications, including preeclampsia and foetal growth restriction. More research will be necessary to understand the extent to which the observed immune changes are related to these clinical outcomes, the team said. Read More► How Covid-19 Exposed Vulnerability in People With Diabetes