Pregnancy And The Joys of Motherhood

In the age old movies a lady who is pregnant is often shown to be throwing up in the backyard or feeling dizzy or a doctor holding her wrist to feel the pulse and announcing-‘Congrats,you are going to be a grandmother’ to the mother in law standing beside the lady on the bed.Then the whole family celebrates and pampers the ‘would-be’ mom.Everyone is happy and eagerly wait for the new born.

In those days, we had the elders in the joint family and they doted on the ‘would-be’ mom.Grandma’s new a lot about pregnancy and childbirth that they  guided the ladies and offered simple but effective home remedies and a great deal of advice.With lot of people around,the women felt safe.

But these days when the couple are working, they often live alone[nuclear families], the news of pregnancy does bring in great joy.The couple are happy and also a little anxious as to how to handle the months of being pregnant, things to do or rather refrain from during, diet, exercise and a whole lot of other things.With parents and elderly living far, far away, the girl is confused and most of the time scared or  worried if she is doing the right thing for her and her baby.

Of course there are doctors, friends and neighbors who can and will help but its really not as ‘safe’ as being with a mom or some experienced elder by the side ,rite?

Through the series of posts on pregnancy, I would like to share some things that I learnt from my own experience, advice and guidance from my mom ,grand-mom and other elderly women and of course from what I have been doing as a part of my job as a health educator.
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The topics are vast and hopefully I will be able to do 2-3 posts per week.The practices followed during pregnancy like diet , exercise and other things vary with the customs, country and the presence of any illness during pregnancy etc.These posts will give a general guideline for this period.

Here is what I plan to discuss.

1.  Pregnancy – Signs and Symptoms
2. Changes in the body during pregnancy – Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3
3. Diet in pregnancy and some healthy recipes , healthy snacks, sample menu plan
4. Nutritional need in Pregnancy – Part I, Part 2,Part 3,Part 4
5. Grandma’s remedy for some minor ailments like insomnia, heartburn etc
6. Do’s and Don’ts during pregnancy
7. Warning signs of pregnancy and what to do
8. Common discomforts during pregnancy
9. Exercise,yoga,posture etc
10. Emotional changes and psychological support
11. Common complaints during pregnancy – Gestational diabetes – Part 1 and Part 2, Hypertension, Anemia, Toxoplasmosis
12. Choosing a caregiver
13. Getting ready for labor

If I have left out anything else on pregnancy ,please drop me a line and I will be glad to write about it.