When you are expecting a child, everything suddenly become experts in what you can and should do, and what - is strictly forbidden. To refuse a second cup of coffee after dinner, or to agree to postpone the trip to Europe, which you have long dreamed of, not easy, but numerous medical studies show that pregnant women need to take special care (especially when you consider that these nine months can affect the entire future life of the child).
1. Alcohol
How much you can consume alcoholic beverages during pregnancy? According to popular belief, alcohol is contraindicated for pregnant women at all.
Because alcohol is not one of essential products, without quite possible to do during the year (during pregnancy and subsequent breastfeeding). Why take the risk? Alcohol consumption during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage and early birth. Moreover, some studies have also shown that the periodic consumption of alcohol during pregnancy increases the probability of the birth of a stillborn child. Alcoholism mother leads to the formation of fetal alcohol syndrome in the child, which may include congenital malformations, hypoplasia of the different parts of the brain, mental retardation
Mental retardation - if the mind is underdeveloped
, The coordination of movements, aggressive behavior and so forth. Disorders.
Observations have also shown that the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy in some cases leads to leukemia of the child, reducing sperm production in males at puberty and some epigenetic changes in mice.
The dangers of alcoholism and regular consumption of alcohol are well known, but how much is harmful to the child, if the expectant mother occasionally miss a glass of your company? Unfortunately, the exact information is not, as most studies have examined the effect of alcohol on the development of the unborn child. But, according to the World Health Organization, even a minor consumption of alcohol during pregnancy (1-4 glasses of light wine a week) can lead to growth retardation and, as a consequence, cognitive and sotsioemotsionalnym malformations in the baby, which begin to appear at the age of 3 - 5 years.
2. Coffee
Caffeine and coffee, the most popular product, it contains, for several decades remained the subject of controversy in the medical community. It is well known that caffeine through the placenta into the bloodstream of the fetus and can accelerate the rhythm of his heartbeat and breathing. But nobody knows how it is harmful to the child, and whether it is harmful. As in studies of the effects of alcohol, when studying the effects of caffeine on the fetus is taken extremes - or zero eight cups of coffee per day.
However, one thing is for sure: the caffeine impairs the absorption of iron in the body of the mother, which in theory could lead to iron deficiency anemia. Because pregnant women are initially predisposed to anemia, consumption of caffeinated products can have unpleasant side effects: dizziness, fatigue, and heart rhythm disturbances.
A retrospective study involving women, pregnancy who came to the sixties, showed that increased consumption of caffeine causes cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) in boys, even to the exclusion of other factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking and exposure to chemicals. In the absence of such studies, experts recommend that expectant mothers to limit the consumption of coffee, but not completely eliminate it from the diet.
3. Hot Tub
When the mother's body temperature rises above 39 degrees Celsius, it slows down the heartbeat, and the embryo receives less oxygen. Increase in body temperature as a result of illness or under the influence of external factors also increase the risk of miscarriage in the first six weeks of pregnancy.
The main thing - to avoid a critical fever. Hot Tub, if not boiling, and if it does not cause discomfort, hardly will have negative consequences. But hydrotherapy bath
Sauna and health: the benefits and harms of bath procedures
, Sauna or hot tub is not recommended.
Pregnant women living in tropical climates should ensure that, in order to avoid overheating - do not go out in hot weather and use air conditioners to avoid extreme temperatures. What we can advise women who want to continue to exercise during pregnancy?
Overall, this is a purely personal matter. Some women are able to continue to train later date in a familiar mode, while the other painfully react to any physical force that accelerates the heart rate. Remember, when a disturbing symptoms - weakness, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, or dehydration (dehydration) - must immediately stop the activity and consult your doctor or midwife, no matter how much you are accustomed to exercise. Always listen to yourself, to your body, and not just during pregnancy.
4. Hair coloring
Hair coloring at the beauty salon may seem to some a controversial decision, but experts claim that this procedure is completely safe for both mother and child.
However, one study conducted in 2005, yet showed the negative impact of hair coloring
Hair coloring - Beauty lossless
on the child's body: the use of hair dyes during pregnancy (and during the month before conception) increases the risk of neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer, the child.
Scientists still do not know how the hair dye linked to cancer; This issue requires further study. Paradoxically, the unstable and tint paint more harmful to the child's health than the resistant paint. Perhaps this is because the unstable ink is used more often.
5. Flights
Some diseases that arise or occur in women during pregnancy, can cause difficulties in air travel. For example, hypertension (high blood pressure) in pregnant women (a phenomenon known as preeclampsia) increases the risk of blood clots, which is dangerous in the long air travel - if for a long time to be in an awkward sitting position, may develop deep vein thrombosis.
But the opinion that the flight can cause miscarriage, wrongly. The reason for it was the study of the influence of hops on pregnant women, the object of which was a flight attendant. As it turned out, in the first trimester flight attendants continue to work, it was raised risk of miscarriage compared to their colleagues who are on vacation, after learning about the pregnancy. Scientists have come to the following conclusion: air travel slightly increase the risk of complications during pregnancy and a high percentage of miscarriages can be attributed to increased work stress
How to beat stress? Create an oasis
Or any other factors.
Many doctors forbid their patients to fly after 36 weeks of pregnancy, but it is not possible associated complications, and the probability of premature birth: they simply do not want a woman went into labor on board the aircraft. In addition, a qualified medical care is not available to all parts of the world.
