tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57331209543606469882024-03-07T23:11:46.108-08:00FLORA INITIATIVE FOR MOTHERSCoordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-50704100024308340572010-11-30T09:53:00.000-08:002010-11-30T09:53:18.400-08:00POSTPARTUM CHANGES VI: POSTPARTUM NUTRITION TIPS<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-collapse: collapse; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">EAT MORE OF THIS:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AND LESS OF THIS:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">DRINKS</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Drink more fresh fruit juice, milk, water, herbal teas.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Drink fewer juice drinks with added sugar, and less soda, coffee and tea, and any alcoholic drinks.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;">FRESH VS.</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FROZEN</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fresh or dried vegetables, fresh tomatoes, fresh oranges, avocados, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, bananas, pineapples, raisins, dates, and nuts like walnuts and peanuts are all good as meals and snacks.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fresh foods lose vitamins fast the longer they are canned, cooked, or frozen. If you want to stock up, though, frozen foods are your best choice because vitamins last a little longer frozen than canned.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;">UNPROCESSED</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FIBER</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Try more whole-wheat, or corn bread; brown or wild rice; pasta without heavy sauces; whole-grain and high-fibre foods like oatmeal, rice, beans, and bran muffins.</span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Try less white bread, white rice, croissants, sugared cereal, graham crackers, doughnuts, pancakes, and waffles; bleached and processed grain loose vitamins and isn’t as good for your digestion.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;">COOKING</span></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">STYLES</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Baked, grilled, or steamed foods are better; raw or very lightly cooked fruits and vegetables can be tastiest and are definitely most nutritious!</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Fried foods, food cooked in heavy sauce or lots of fat or oil, and boiled foods have lost lots of vitamins.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">PROTEIN</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Chicken or turkey, fish, lean red meat, dried beans and peas, and peanut butter are good ways to get protein!</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Avoid fatty meat like bacon, sausage, and pepperoni. Red meat (lean or not) and fried meat (like burgers) are okay only once in a while.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CALCIUM</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Try more whole, low-fat, or skim milk, cheddar or cottage cheese, plain yogurt, dark leafy greens, mackerel or sardines.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Try less flavoured milk, milkshakes, ice cream or frozen yogurt, flavoured yogurt, flavoured pudding or custard, cheesecake, and creamed soup.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;">SWEETS</span></span></span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Instead of refined sugar, try more honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup (just a little); carob bean (if you can get some around here) is a healthier chocolate taste-alike! Fresh fruit makes the best snack.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Avoid white, or refined, sugar; candy and chocolate; ice cream; cakes, pastry, and cookies; and fruit in heavy syrup.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 62.1pt;" valign="top" width="83"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #45818e;">FATS</span></span></span></b></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 184.3pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Try vegetable oil (like corn oil or olive oil), oil-and-vinegar dressing, and margarine in small amounts.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 215.7pt;" valign="top" width="288"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Avoid butter, cream cheese, lard, cream sauce, and gravy in large amounts.</span></span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #45818e;">FOOD SAFETY</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">It is very important that your meals or snacks are prepared carefully to ensure that no harmful germs get into the food. New mothers recovering from childbirth may become ill more easily, and newborn infants do not have resistance to germs or food poisoning. Avoid food poisoning by:</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">cooking all meats and eggs completely, and avoiding raw eggs and meat</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">keeping all refrigerated foods cold enough to prevent the growth of bacteria</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">washing your hands well before preparing a meal and in between touching cooked and raw foods, and keeping preparation surfaces (countertops, cutting boards, etc.) clean</span></span></b></span></div><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span>Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-48905486137868624502010-11-25T18:03:00.000-08:002010-11-25T18:03:00.111-08:00POSTPARTUM CHANGES VI: DIET AND NUTRIENTS<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">It is important to make sure that you’re getting the nutrition you need after childbirth, especially if you are breastfeeding your baby. If you are concerned about losing weight and gaining muscle as soon as possible, keep these points in mind:</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You lost about ten pounds during delivery: the baby, the placenta, and amniotic fluids.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Much of the swelling and weight on your body for the first week or two is made up of the remaining fluid and tissue in your uterus, which is coming out gradually as lochia. Most of the extra water your body stored during pregnancy will leave your body through urination and sweating.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Producing breast milk uses many calories. This means that you must try to eat the most nutritious foods you can to keep your energy up and to pass important vitamins and minerals to your baby. As long as you try not to eat more than you need, and make sure the food you eat is high in nutrition, you will lose extra fat naturally as you breastfeed.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dieting is not recommended until six weeks after childbirth if you aren’t breastfeeding. <span style="color: red;">Dieting is not recommended at all while you are breastfeeding.</span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you diet, talk to a health care provider about getting the nutrition you need and making sure you won’t be losing much more than a half pound every month. Don’t forget to include an exercise program to build strength while you lose fat you don’t need.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">The nutrients that are most important to breastfeeding mothers and babies are generally those that are important to everyone. If you are breastfeeding, you may need to eat more of certain foods to take in enough for two, and you may also feel thirstier than usual. It is important to eat and drink frequently when you breastfeed—you can probably trust your body to crave the foods you need the most. Here is a list of foods containing the nutrients your body needs:</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">WATER:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Clear water, juices, soups</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FAT: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, etc.), lean meats, nuts, oils, eggs</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CARBOHYDRATES:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Whole grains (not bleached or processed), rice and pasta, nuts, fruits, vegetables</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">PROTEIN:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Dried beans, nuts and peanut butter, eggs, dairy products, lean meats</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">VITAMIN A</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: Carrots, sweet potatoes, and dark leafy greens like spinach, ugu</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">VITAMIN C:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, berries, potato skins</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CALCIUM:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Dairy products, greens, dried beans, some fish</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">IRON:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Spinach (ewedu), whole-grain foods, lean red meat, dried fruit</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-family: "Cambria", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Products That Pass Into Breast Milk</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Certain common products pass into your breast milk and may affect your baby’s health as</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">well as yours. Some of these products are caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate, colas), tobacco, artificial sweeteners, alcohol (beer, wine, liquor), aspirin and ibuprofen (acetaminophen is usually not harmful in small amounts), cold medications, and weight-loss medications. Call your health care provider to ask questions before using these products. Do not use illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine or crack, heroin or methadone, PCP, LSD, amphetamines, ecstasy, hashish, and so on). Prescription drugs should be taken only on the advice of your health care provider.</span></span></span></div><span style="color: #674ea7;"></span>Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-70213303198646362212010-11-20T09:56:00.000-08:002010-11-20T09:56:39.203-08:00POSTPARTUM CHANGES V: EXERCISE<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #990000;">Exercise is an important part of your body’s return to normal after pregnancy and childbirth. Moving around soon after delivery will not only make you feel better, it will also keep blood clots from forming in your legs or pelvis. Very light exercise, such as gentle leg or tummy lifts, is a good way to stimulate healing and get you on the road to regaining your pre-pregnant strength. Try to keep good posture while walking, standing, or sitting. This will stretch your muscles and help you feel better. Movement may be difficult at first, but keep trying. The results will be worth it!</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #990000;">Consider the following:</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Walk and move around a little as soon as you are able.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Practice good posture: stand up straight; gently contract your tummy as you move to take pressure off your back muscles; and concentrate on relaxing your neck and shoulder muscles—good posture shouldn’t make you stiff!</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be conscious of how you place your legs when sitting or in bed. To keep your blood flowing, try not to cross your legs, flex them too tightly, or position them with pressure against the back of the knees.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can try leg exercises in bed. Bend and straighten your knees, pressing the back of your knees into the bed and then relaxing in gentle rhythm.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Performing Kegel exercises will help return muscle tone to an area stretched during childbirth. Try to squeeze the muscles you use to control the flow of urine. Simply tighten and relax ten times, for about ten seconds each time, and then rest. You will improve bladder control and help your perineum heal faster by increasing blood and oxygen flow to the tissue. You may even improve sexual intercourse with this muscle control, since you are also exercising your vaginal muscles!</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #990000;">If you gave birth vaginally, you may be recovered enough after two weeks or so to be able to exercise a little more. You will probably need more time to rest and recover after a caesarean birth or after a labour and birth with complications.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Continue, and maybe increase, your Kegel exercises.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Exercise your pelvic muscles. Lie on your back and tighten your lower belly while supporting your lower back. Gently lift your hips for five seconds, release for two seconds, and repeat. This exercise will help to firm your loosened abdominal muscles.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Exercise your legs: first, tuck your hips forward and firm your abdominal muscles and buttocks. Keeping your back straight and your arms stretched in front for balance, slowly and smoothly bend your knees and squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor, hold for two to five seconds, and then slowly and smoothly stand up. Be careful not to lock your knees or bend them too far.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have your health care provider help you plan a light exercise program as you recover. Plan to increase your activities once you’re able. Swimming (six or more weeks after childbirth) and walking are good choices for getting back in shape after a pregnancy, since they put less strain on joints.</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t forget the three most important companions to exercise: warm-up, stretching, and cool-down!</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #660000;"></span>Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-41981046444878446612010-11-15T17:32:00.000-08:002010-11-15T17:32:00.507-08:00POSTPARTUM CHANGES IV<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Cambria", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">POSTPARTUM <span style="color: red;">WARNING</span> SIGNS</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As time passes, be aware of the changes that are happening in your body. They are a good way to tell how you are healing. You will probably heal with few, if any, problems. But in order to take good care of yourself, you should be able to identify any changes that are not normal. Contact your health care provider if any of the following symptoms appear:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">fever higher than 100.4°F (38°C)</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">sharp pains in your abdomen, breast, or chest</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">blurred vision or dizziness</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">headache that does not go away</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">severe pain or burning sensation in your legs (this pain could be a sign of phlebitis)</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">foul smell or an unexpected change in your lochia; you should not see bright-red bleeding or clots after the first postpartum week</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>localized swelling or tenderness in your breasts</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">burning or urgency when you urinate; being unable to urinate</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri;">crying spells or mood swings that feel out of control</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri;">thoughts of harming yourself or your baby</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Cambria", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">SLEEP AND REST</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the days and weeks after your delivery, you’ll be constantly reminded to rest. Why? Because resting helps you heal and gives you the energy you need to be a mother. You may have so much to do every day—feeding and caring for your baby, getting used to this new stage in your family life—that you may ignore your own needs. It’s no surprise that the most common complaint heard from new mothers is that they just can’t shake off that tired feeling. How much rest is enough? It depends on how much energy you have day by day. If you need more rest, try making time for sleep and relaxation by:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">scheduling periods of rest along with your other activities; for example, try to nap when your baby naps</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>avoiding noise and distractions, including many visitors and phone calls </span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if you are having trouble resting, thinking of ways you used to relax before or during your pregnancy—take a warm bath, ask someone for a back rub, listen to music, go for a walk</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">viewing feeding your baby as a time for you to enjoy each other’s company, and making feeding time a restful and calming time for yourself and the baby</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-78522091132749323252010-11-11T13:53:00.000-08:002010-11-11T14:47:05.022-08:00POSTPARTUM CHANGES III: AFTER CAESAREAN BIRTH<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If the delivery of your infant required a caesarean incision, or “c-section,” you’ll have some extra concerns to keep in mind while you heal. Remember, you’re healing from major abdominal surgery as well as from childbirth!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you are asked to stay in bed, or if the effects of anaesthesia leave you too weak or nauseated to walk comfortably the first day, you can begin some simple leg exercises. Bend and stretch your knees, or press the back of your knees into the bed and then relax your legs in gentle rhythm. These exercises will help prevent blood clots from forming in your legs.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your staples will probably be removed after four to six days. Your internal stitches will dissolve on their own.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the caesarean involved surgery to your abdomen, you may not be able to start eating solid foods right away. If you’re unsure, ask your health care provider.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many new mothers have constipation and gas pains at first. Walking, light exercise, drinking plenty of water, and eating high-fibre vegetables, fruits, and grains will help. If constipation becomes a problem, contact your care provider.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As you heal, you will need to make sure your incision is healing normally. Contact your care provider if you have a fever or if the incision becomes red or swollen or oozes pus.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It will take four to six weeks to feel fully recovered from surgery. Allow yourself enough time to rest and to heal! Don’t expect to recover as quickly as you would if your baby were born vaginally.</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 38.05pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Remember, if can’t stop feeling emotionally down or you have thoughts that are quite disturbing, do not keep it a secret. Talk to someone about it especially your healthcare provider</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></div>Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-84938117400750519762010-11-06T17:55:00.000-07:002010-11-06T18:29:27.447-07:00POSTPARTUM CHANGES II: MAKING YOURSELF COMFORTABLE AND PREVENTING INFECTION<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The perineum is the area between the vagina and rectum. This area may be swollen and painful after stretching to allow your baby to be born. Your doctor or midwife may have made a surgical incision, called an episiotomy, to enlarge the vaginal opening. This area may also be painful. During the time that the lining of the uterus and the episiotomy are healing, you will want to be extra-careful to prevent infection. It is important to keep your perineum very clean. Each time you use the bathroom or change your pad, be sure to remove the pad from <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">front to back </b>and clean the area from <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">front to back</b> (from your vagina to your rectum). After going to the bathroom, you can squirt yourself off with warm water, using a squirt bottle, and then pat yourself dry with clean tissue. You may feel discomfort or pain in this area for two or three weeks. There are several different ways to relieve the soreness and keep down swelling:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Place an ice pack on the perineum continually for the first 24 hours to minimize swelling.</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Have your nurse show you how to use a sitz bath. A sitz bath is a small tub you place on the toilet. It can be filled with warm or cool water, whichever is more comfortable. As you sit on the toilet, the water washes over your perineum, relieving pain and speeding healing. Many women find this bath very relaxing and soothing. Women who are extremely uncomfortable may find it soothing to use cold water and add ice to the tub. When you are at home you can clean your bathtub well and sit in there if your perineum is still uncomfortable. If your doctor or midwife placed stitches, they will dissolve over time. </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Be sure that the water you sit in is not extremely hot, since this could dissolve the stitches prematurely.</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If your health care provider suggests a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">spray or ointment</i> for your perineum to relieve pain, read the instructions on the container. Most can be used three or four times a day. There are also small pads containing witch hazel that can be placed on the sanitary napkin and placed against your perineum to relieve pain. Talk to your health care provider about these options if not suggested.</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your doctor or midwife may also prescribe an analgesic for the pain.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-family: "Cambria", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Lochia</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your body will begin to expel the blood and mucus built up in your uterus. This flow is called lochia, and it will last about four to six weeks. For the first three days, your lochia is dark-red and made up of blood and some small clots. From the third to the tenth days, the fluid is pink or light-brown. Finally, the discharge will turn to a yellowish-white mucus and lasts for another two to eight weeks. Lochia should have a clean smell, like fresh blood or mucus. The amount of lochia may increase slightly when you first get out of bed in the morning, when you breastfeed, or when you stand up after lying down for a period of time. Contact your health care provider if: </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">your flow suddenly becomes heavier than it has been,</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if it is bright-red beyond the first three or four days,</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or if you notice large clots or a foul odor at any time.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your lochia suddenly becomes bright-red or contains clots after it has turned paler, this should also be reported to your health care provider.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-family: "Cambria", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Uterus</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your uterus will gradually shrink over the next six weeks, though <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">it will probably never be as small as before your pregnancy </b>(Mums, please believe me on this one!!). </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the first week or two, you can make sure your uterus is shrinking normally by gently pressing down and feeling it through your belly. <span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong>PLEASE DO NOT PRESS HOT WATER AGAINST YOU TUMMY, IT IS AN ARK AGED TECHNIQUE THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN UNSAFE!!</strong></span>Have your nurse or doctor show you how to do this correctly. Your uterus should feel firm and round. The top of your uterus is normally just below your bellybutton on the first day or two after birth. It should descend one or two finger-widths every 24 hours. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the second week, you should no longer be able to feel your uterus, since it has grown much smaller. You can also wear a <strong>post pregnancy girdle</strong> to help with the uterus shrinking. Its also a great idea to have that girdle on while you excersice!!</span></span></div>Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-25624621242917504352010-11-02T18:09:00.000-07:002010-11-02T18:16:09.278-07:00POSTPARTUM CHANGES: TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The moment you’ve waited and planned for—your child’s birth—has arrived. The first days and weeks with your newborn will be a very busy time. One of your greatest challenges will probably be to find time to take care of yourself. Fortunately, there’s much you can do to help yourself to heal and to adjust more easily to the changes in your life. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During the first few hours or even days after giving birth, you can expect to feel both very excited and very tired. You may feel very happy or you may feel sad immediately after birth; you may want to gather friends and relatives around you to celebrate the birth, or you may want private time to start breastfeeding as soon as your baby is ready. It can be helpful to talk about how the labour and birth went with your nurse or doctor. Just don’t forget that both you and your baby need and deserve a good, long rest after the exercise of childbirth! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The period during which your uterus repairs itself and returns to normal size and during which most of your physical recovery takes place—the first three months or so after childbirth—is called postpartum(don’t be confused-the word postpartum has many definitions; this is just one of the many). Understanding the changes that affect your body during this time will help you know that you are recovering well.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s take a look at a few body changes you may encounter. </span></span></div><br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-collapse: collapse; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 47.95pt;" valign="top" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 106.3pt;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE FIRST HOURS AFTER BIRTH</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 106.3pt;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE FIRST WEEK AFTER BIRTH</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 99.25pt;" valign="top" width="132"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE SECOND WEEK AFTER BIRTH</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: black 1pt solid; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 102.3pt;" valign="top" width="136"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">THE THIRD WEEK TO THE THIRD MONTH AFTER BIRTH</span></span></b></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 47.95pt;" valign="top" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lochia</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 106.3pt;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The placenta separates from the uterus and is pushed out over the first 30 minutes after birth. If you breastfeed immediately after birth, that separation will often happen more quickly.</span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 106.3pt;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You will experience a vaginal discharge called lochia over the next few weeks, as your uterus heals. For the first one to three days after giving birth, your lochial flow will look much like your period. It should be dark-red or brownish. It may contain clots that should not be larger than quarters, and it should smell like blood. From days 3 to 10, this flow turns pink.</span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 99.25pt;" valign="top" width="132"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lochial flow at this time is made up of a small amount of blood, mucus, and white blood cells. The colour is pink or brown-tinged. It usually continues until about day 10. Call your caregiver if you notice a fishy odour, or if you notice a bright red colour or clots after your lochia has turned pink. After day 10, your flow should become white or pale yellow.</span><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 102.3pt;" valign="top" width="136"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">White or pale yellow lochial flow lasts from two to eight weeks. It should not contain any blood or clots and should not have an odour. If you are breastfeeding, your period will usually start again one to three months after weaning. If you are not breastfeeding, your period can return anywhere from one to four months after the birth.</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 47.95pt;" valign="top" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Uterus</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 106.3pt;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your uterus stretched to hold your infant and now needs to shrink back into a tight ball of muscle. Your nurse or doctor may gently massage the area over your uterus to feel for this tightness. Right after birth, you will be able to feel the top of your uterus just below your bellybutton.</span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 106.3pt;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your uterus shrinks a little every day. By the end of the first week, you should be able to tell that it has grown smaller.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your nurse or doctor may want to teach you how to locate your uterus and feel for firmness to make sure it shrinks about one finger-width a day. Some women will notice “afterbirth pains” that feel like menstrual cramps. These cramps are the result of the muscle of the uterus contracting back to its pre-pregnant size. These pains are usually felt more strongly by women when they start to breastfeed or by those who have given birth to other children.</span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 99.25pt;" valign="top" width="132"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By the end of the second week, you should no longer be able to feel the top of your uterus through your belly. The “afterbirth pains” you may have felt should be over.</span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 102.3pt;" valign="top" width="136"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your uterus should return close to its pre-pregnant size by the sixth week.</span></span></div></td></tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: black 1pt solid; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 47.95pt;" valign="top" width="64"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Perineum</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 106.3pt;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The area between your vagina and rectum is called the perineum. After giving birth, this area is often swollen and may have torn. Your health care provider may have made a surgical incision here called an episiotomy.</span><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 106.3pt;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your perineum will probably still be swollen, and it may be uncomfortable for the first week.</span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 99.25pt;" valign="top" width="132"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Swelling should be mostly gone by the end of the second week. If you had an episiotomy, the area may still be uncomfortable.</span></span></div></td><td style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: black 1pt solid; border-left: #f0f0f0; border-right: black 1pt solid; border-top: #f0f0f0; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: text1; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: text1; mso-border-right-themecolor: text1; mso-border-themecolor: text1; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: text1; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0cm; width: 102.3pt;" valign="top" width="136"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you have an episiotomy wound, it should heal by the end of the third week.</span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-81226807113648725742010-10-21T15:05:00.000-07:002010-10-21T15:05:31.624-07:00The Feeble Wall<b>I witnessed a death earlier today.</b> It was a woman. A mother in her forties or maybe early fifties, she wasn’t sick or in any other state, she had started the day with no inclination that something fatal was coming her way. She was just a victim of an overlooked circumstance. <br />
<br />
How did she die? There is no nice way to put it. She was stoned to death. Literarily! A fence which had been weak finally gave way and unfortunately she was the unsuspecting victim behind it. <br />
<br />
As I watched people amidst the wailing and chaos try to pull her blood bathed lifeless body out from the heap of concrete over her, I couldn’t help but harbour thoughts of accusation. <br />
<br />
Everyone knew the fence was weak. It had been that way for years and the owner never bothered to fix it. Nobody knew when it would fall or in what direction, so everyone was careful (not all the time) around it, but nobody did anything about it! We all knew it would fall one day, but no one suspected the fall would happen this way. No one thought carelessness towards the feeble wall would cost a life.<br />
<br />
But it was just a wall! A wall which was already weak by the way. How bad could the impact have been?<br />
<br />
The wall was weak but only at the bottom. The blocks at the top were strong enough to knock someone out cold. To support the stronger more visible parts of the wall, the weak bottom needed repairs or at least a support structure.<br />
<br />
It’s the same as our bodies. We may look and seem healthy in our top priority parts- brain, kidneys, stomach and all, but what about our emotional health. Most times we overlook the state of our psychological health that holds the rest of the body firmly up. <br />
<br />
The mental health of anyone particularly the new mum is important too, you know. But just like the weak base of the wall it can be overlooked and ignored until ‘that someday’ all other vital parts come crashing down. <br />
<br />
Postpartum depression is not a situation to be overlooked, it’s a health crisis!<br />
To which category do you belong?<br />
<br />
1. “It’s just the baby blues, I’ll get over it. Nobody wants to hear me cry about being unable to sleep. They’ll think I’m crazy to say I don’t feel like touching my baby. I’ll just pretend it’s not happening and maybe it’ll all go away”. <br />
<br />
Are you that mother waving off the severity of your emotional health?<br />
<br />
2. “Get yourself together woman! You are being silly and that’s the least of my concerns right now.”<br />
<br />
Are you that spouse or relative who has no time for mama drama?<br />
<br />
3. “She’s like a time bomb right now, just be careful what you say around her and try not to get into her business. We have enough problems of our own”<br />
<br />
Or are you that friend tiptoeing around the walls of her emotions, unwilling to lend a shoulder?<br />
<br />
Whatever your category, a wall is about to fall and there’s not only an undeserving baby behind it, you are behind it too!<br />
<br />
Like the base of that wall, a woman who is suffering psychologically (from a perinatal mood disorder) needs to have a support structure around her and such a support structure is really not that hard to find.<br />
<br />
If you are an expecting or new mum (you fall in this class even if your third baby just turned two!!!!), or if you are family or a close friend, you can be instrumental in getting help or becoming the support needed.<br />
<br />
How do you know a mum needs help ASAP? Check for symptoms such as:<br />
• Loss of interest or pleasure in life<br />
• Loss of energy and motivation to do things<br />
• Sleeping too much or too little<br />
• Feeling like life isn’t worth living<br />
• Irritability, anxiety, or restlessness<br />
• Feeling worthless and guilty<br />
• Withdrawal from friends and family<br />
• Eating too much or too little<br />
• Having trouble remembering, focusing, or making decisions<br />
• Crying a lot<br />
• Having thoughts of hurting self<br />
• Thinking about hurting the baby <br />
<br />
If you've noticed any of these symptoms present it shouldn’t be overlooked, find a health care provider to talk to before it gets out of hand. Like they say- A stitch in time saves nine. You could be that stitch that saves lives!!Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-59247316813618094892010-07-10T09:26:00.000-07:002010-07-10T10:02:58.626-07:00Playing God On No SleepSo a woman walks into a pediatrician’s office. She’s tired, she’s hot and she’s been up all night throwing sheets into the washer because the smaller of her two boys has projectile vomiting so severe it looks like a special effect from “The Exorcist.” Oh, and she’s nauseated, too, because since she already has two kids under the age of 5 it made perfect sense to have another, and she’s four months pregnant. In the doctor’s waiting room, which sounds like a cross between an orchestra tuning loudly and a 747 taking off, there is a cross-stitched sampler on the wall. It says GOD COULD NOT BE EVERYWHERE SO HE MADE MOTHERS. <br />THIS IS NOT A JOKE, and that is not the punch line. Or maybe it is. The woman was me, the sampler real, and the sentiments it evoked were unforgettable: incredulity, disgust and that out-of-body feeling that is the corollary of sleep deprivation and adrenaline rush, with a soupcon of shoulder barf thrown in. I kept reliving this moment, and others like it, as I read with horrified fascination the story of Andrea Yates, a onetime nurse suffering from postpartum depression who apparently spent a recent morning drowning her five children in the bathtub. There is a part of my mind that imagines the baby, her starfish hands pink beneath the water, or the biggest boy fighting back, all wiry arms and legs, and then veers sharply away, aghast, appalled. <br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />There are two very different kinds of horror here. There is the unimaginable idea of the killings. And then there is the entirely imaginable idea of going quietly bonkers in the house with five kids under the age of 7.<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <br /><br /><br />But there’s another part of my mind, the part that remembers the end of a day in which the milk spilled phone rang one cried another hit a fever rose the medicine gone the car sputtered another cried the cable out “Sesame Street” gone all cried stomach upset full diaper no more diapers Mommy I want water Mommy my throat hurts Mommy I don’t feel good. Every mother I’ve asked about the Yates case has the same reaction. She’s appalled; she’s aghast. And then she gets this look. And the look says that at some forbidden level she understands. The looks says that there are two very different kinds of horror here. There is the unimaginable idea of the killings. And then there is the entirely imaginable idea of going quietly bonkers in the house with five kids under the age of 7. <br />The insidious cult of motherhood is summed up by the psychic weight of the sampler on that doctor’s wall. We are meant to be all things to small people, surrounded by bromides and soppy verse and smiling strangers who talk about how lucky we are. And we are lucky. My children have been the making of me as a human being, which does not mean they have not sometimes been an overwhelming and mind-boggling responsibility. That last is the love that dare not speak its name, the love that is fraught with fear and fatigue and inevitable resentment. But between the women who cannot have children and sometimes stare at our double strollers grief-stricken, and the grandmothers who make raising eight or 10 sound like a snap and insist we micromanage and overanalyze, there is no leave to talk about the dark side of being a surrogate deity, omniscient and out of milk all at the same time. <br />The weight was not always so heavy. Once the responsibility was spread around extended families, even entire towns. The sociologist Jessie Bernard has this to say: “The way we institutionalize motherhood in our society-assigning sole responsibility for child care to the mother, cutting her off from the easy help of others in an isolated household, requiring round-the clock tender, loving care, and making such care her exclusive activity-is not only new and unique, but not even a good way for either women or-if we accept as a criterion the amount of maternal warmth shown-for children. It may, in fact, be the worst.” <br />It has gotten no better since those words were written 25 years ago. Worse, perhaps, with all the competing messages about what women should do and be and feel at this particular moment in time. Women not working outside their homes feel compelled to make their job inside it seem both weighty and joyful; women who work outside their homes for pay feel no freedom to be ambivalent because of the sub rosa sense that they are cutting parenting corners. All of us are caught up in a conspiracy in which we are both the conspirators and the victims of the plot. In the face of all this “M is for the million things she gave me” mythology it becomes difficult to admit that occasionally you lock yourself in the bathroom just to be alone. <br />The great motherhood friendships are the ones in which women can admit this quietly to one another, over cups of tea at a table sticky with spilt apple juice and littered with markers without tops. But most of the time we keep quiet and smile. So that when someone is depressed after having a baby, when everyone is telling her that it’s the happiest damn time of her life, there’s no space to admit what she’s really feeling. So that when someone does something as horrifying as what Andrea Yates did, there is no room for even a little bit of understanding. Yap yap yap, the world says. How could anyone do that to her children? <br />Well, yes. But. I’m imagining myself with five children under the age of 7, all alone after Dad goes off to work. And they’re bouncing off the walls in that way little boys do, except for the baby, who needs to be fed. And fed. And fed again. And changed. The milk gets spilled. The phone rings. Mommy, can I have juice? Mommy, can I have lunch? Mommy, can I go out back? Mommy, can I come in? And I add to all that depression, mental illness, whatever was happening in that house. I’m not making excuses for Andrea Yates. I love my children more than life itself. <br />But just because you love people doesn’t mean that taking care of them day in and day out isn’t often hard, and sometimes even horrible. If God made mothers because he couldn’t be everywhere, maybe he could have met us halfway and eradicated vomiting, and colic too, and the hideous sugarcoating of what we are and what we do that leads to false cheer, easy lies and maybe sometimes something much, much worse, almost unimaginable. But not quite. <br /><br />Anna Quindlen<br />Newsweek <br />July 2 issue — <br />© 2001 Newsweek, Inc.Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-75790880498467949462009-12-21T04:11:00.001-08:002009-12-21T04:53:09.345-08:00Is Massage Necessary????Its is important for new mothers to enjoy the birth experience. Why then would antenatal class instructors instruct new mothers to abstain from getting relief from body aches during the crutial periods of pregnancy?<br /><br />I recently discussed with a customer who told me that the midwife who facilitated her antenatal classes said it was wrong(I'd assume in a sinful way) to get massages for back pain. the nurse went further to say pain is what pregnancy is all about and women should endure it and resist the temptation to ease the pain. WHAT! I beg your pardon but that is just cruel! The period of pregnancy should be filled with memories of bonding and learning. Women should not be made to anticipate suffering and forced to detatch themselves from the experience because it goes a long way to affect the fetus psychologically. By the way how many of us were victims of such cruel beliefs?<br /><br />Back pain is one of the more common side effects of pregnancy. Back pain can continue throughout pregnancy and even after. If you have to carry around other small children you may find your symptoms exacerbated during pregnancy. Massage specially designed for pregnancy help relieve back pain associated with muscular tension. Here are just a few of the other benefits prenatal massage has to offer:<br /><br /> * Prenatal massage helps relieve edema or swelling by stimulating circulation throughout the body.<br /> * Leg massage can help reduce leg cramps and swelling in the legs.<br /> * Massage is very beneficial for relaxing anxiety during pregnancy.<br /> * Massage can help promote more restful sleep and help prevent pregnancy related insomnia.<br /> * Pregnancy massage may relax your baby, particularly if you have your abdomen gently stroked.<br /><br />It is vital however that women seek the assistance of a qualified professional who offers massage during pregnancy (Flora initiative for Mothers offer this service at affordable costs by the way). Massaging the wrong areas or focusing on certain acupressure points may actually trigger uterine contractions in some women. Fortunately massage therapists trained in prenatal massage know exactly what areas to avoid and what areas to focus on to provide pregnant women the most benefits during a massage therapy session.<br /><br />So what on earth is that Midwife talking about? Please share your thoughtsCoordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5733120954360646988.post-33977708585594737302009-09-07T06:57:00.000-07:002009-09-11T06:17:01.826-07:00Perinatal Mood Disorders and The Nigerian Woman<span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >Years ago issues related to Depression was overlooked by most Nigerians. Today, as we gravitate towards the life style of the 21st century, we are beginning to gain better understanding and feel the impact of depression in our society. It is no longer an issue to be overlooked especially when it affects the childbearing woman. <span lang="EN" style="font-size:100%;">It is estimated that approximately 10-15% of women perinatal experience depression, which can cause severe psychological distress for the woman as well as disturbances in infant development and family progress.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Perinatal mood disorders (PMD's)</span> may occur mildly in form of the '<span style="font-weight: bold;">Baby Blues</span>' which occurs during the first few weeks after delivery. Between 50-85% of women experience some form of the “baby blues”. In contrast to depression, women who experience the blues report feeling mood swings, irritability, anxiety and weepy. This may begin anywhere from 4-5 days post delivery and may last for a few hours or days, most symptoms subside on their own within a 2 week period. Women experience symptoms. While no specific form of treatment is necessary, sometimes the blues can lead to a more significant mood disorder.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Postpartum Depression </span>which is not as mild as the Baby blues and not as severe as pospartum psychosis usually goes undiagnosed and untreated. It usually may occur between delivery date and one year postpartum. Women in this condition may experience:<br /><br />• Feeling irritable, moody, overwhelmed, sad or hopeless<br />• Frequent bouts of crying<br />• Lack of energy or motivation<br />• Appetite Fluctuations<br />• Sleep disturbances or changes in sleeping pattern<br />• Have trouble maintaining focus or being indecisive<br />• Difficulty remembering things<br />• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt<br />• Loss of interest or joy in normal activities<br />• Withdrawn and somber<br />• Having frequent headaches, body aches and pains or stomach pain that will not subside<br /><br />While postpartum depression occurs in women who have recently delivered a baby, it is important to note that women who experience a miscarriage or stillbirth, can also go through postpartum depression.<br /><br />Finally <span style="font-weight: bold;">Postpartum Psychosis</span> may occur in extreme cases. About 2% of women fall victim of this condition.Symptoms include:<br /><br />• Rapid, manic episodes<br />• Rapid heartbeat<br />• Weight loss<br />• Irritability<br />• Confusion<br />• Disorientation<br />• Insomnia<br />• Restlessness<br />• Rapid shift in moods (going from highs to extreme lows)<br />• Erratic and scattered behavior<br />• Delusions<br />• Auditory Hallucinations that drive the mother to harm the infant, are also possible.<br />• Risk of suicide or infanticide<br /><br />Other kinds of PMD's include: Postpartum Panic Disorder, Prenatal Anxiety, Postpartum Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Postpartum Posttraumatic Stress Disorder</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" > </span> <span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >If you think you or a loved one may have PMD's:</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Talk about your feelings with people</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >you trust</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Tell your doctor</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Ask family and friends to help care for</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >the baby</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Eat a healthy diet</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Exercise for more energy</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Join a PPD support group</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Seek treatment if feelings of unhappiness</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >last longer than two weeks</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Call +2348098346461 to find treatment</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >services near your home </span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >• Visit www.postpartum.net</span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:100%;" >Unfortunately statistics of suffering women in Nigeria are unavailable, therefore how and where to find and help such women remains unclear. If you do have any info about what obtains in Nigeria do update me<br /><br />Ugbaja Pamela<br />FIM Coordinator<br />+2348037012457<br /><br /></span>Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12209107957499543175noreply@blogger.com3