Articles

Should I have the flu jab? I feel worried as I have heard lots of scaremongering!

I am having the whooping cough injection next week as I will be 28 weeks by then.  Should I also have the flu jab? I feel worried as I have heard lots of scaremongering! Yes!  The general advice at the moment is that all pregnant women should have the Flu Jab regardless of how far along they are in their pregnancy. In very simple terms, when you are pregnant, your immune system is suppressed and you are therefore more at risk of contracting the flu and any complications associated with it.  These complications include pneumonia and dehydration and can be harmful […]

I have gone deaf in one ear. I haven’t had a cold or been swimming! Could this be pregnancy related?

During pregnancy, all your mucus membranes will become thickened- and you will produce more mucus.  You will also have more blood flowing around your body during this time, which can cause the blood vessels in the lining of your nose and ears to swell, causing congestion in these areas.  This may manifest itself as a stuffed up nose, sinus problems or even a temporary deafness.  With the ear, the Eustachian Tube, which is designed to drain mucus from the middle ear, can become blocked more easily during pregnancy and can make you feel like your ear is blocked whilst slightly […]

New Screening Test for Downs Syndrome

All women of all ages have a small risk of delivering a baby with a physical or mental handicap.  In some cases, the handicap can be the result of a chromosomal abnormality such as Downs Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome or Patau Syndrome. A new, non-invasive test has been developed to more accurately estimate the risks of the fetus having one of these syndromes.  By analyzing DNA in the mother’s blood, alongside the traditional Nuchal Test, this new test is able to identify more than 99% of fetuses with Downs Syndrome. The test does not provide information on physical defects, such as […]

New Page on Group Strep B Infection

click here to read our New Page on Group Strep B Infection

New Section on Multiple Births

New section on Multiple Births

Eating Fish in Pregnancy. Confusing Research!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9593862/Eating-fish-in-pregnancy-may-protect-child-from-ADHD-research.html

Delayed Cord Clamping

Until recently, standard practice in most labour wards was to clamp and cut the umbilical cord immediately after birth.  However, more recently, evidence has emerged to support the idea that delaying the clamping of the cord could have beneficial effects for the baby. At birth, the flow of blood through the umbilical cord usually continues for a few minutes. The additional blood transferred to the infant during this time is known as placental transfusion. For a full-term infant, placental transfusion gives the infant an additional 80–100 ml of blood. Very quickly, the additional plasma from the placental transfusion is broken […]

Pregnancy- Is it possible not to know?

Taken from BBC Online A British servicewoman who gave birth to a baby boy in Afghanistan on Tuesday is understood to have been “astonished” to discover she was pregnant. The woman, who had been stationed at Camp Bastion in Helmand province since March, only learned she was going to give birth when she complained of stomach pains to military doctors. Most women will find it incredible that a pregnancy would go unnoticed for several months or more, since there are numerous of signs of pregnancy. A woman’s periods stop, morning sickness often occurs in the early stages and women feel […]

If you dont want to wet yourself in late pregnancy- DO YOUR PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES!

This Article is taken from Reuters Pregnant women who exercise and strengthen their pelvic muscles are less likely to have problems with urine leakage in their third trimester, a new clinical trials finds. Experts have long recommended that pregnant women do so-called Kegel exercises to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor, including the muscles that help control urine flow. The exercises may help manage urinary incontinence – a common problem in pregnancy – or help prevent it from arising after childbirth. Still, there have been questions about just how effective Kegel exercises are in preventing incontinence – particularly the […]

What does the Shape of your Bump Really Mean?

Mother and Baby Magazine offers some insights into the shape of your bump! DOES A HIGH BUMP MEAN IT’S A GIRL? No! The tighter your abdominal muscles (affected by you age and fitness level) , the higher your bump! DOES A LOW BUMP MEAN IT’S A BOY? No! Carrying low is a sign that your stomach muscles are not as strong as they once were.  This is normal. DOES A BIG ROUND TUMMY MEAN IT’S A GIRL? No! A short torso means you have less room for your uterus to grow up, so your bump will get wider.  Or your […]