Baby Care

Archive for September, 2009

You are waiting for a baby! When the joy and emotion on this are a little bit over, you start to think about in which hospital you would like to give birth, what medical and related legal issues you will encounter …

Your rights

The Constitution provides health right, regardless of gender, race, nationality and residence. Therefore, every pregnant woman has the right of having medical care and supervision in state and municipal health facilities free of charge at the expense of the relevant budget, insurance contributions and other income. Recently pregnant women were discharged so-called birth certificate, which is intended to provide additional funding for counseling and maternity house. This document confirms the fact that the woman should receive free medical care throughout pregnancy and during childbirth.

The certificate has two parts – one includes free supervising physician, the collection of mandatory tests, surveys during pregnancy, and the second – to pay for the maternity house. To obtain the certificate, the expectant mother must bring her passport in consultation, the policy of compulsory medical insurance card and the state pension insurance.

The important thing is that the certificate is issued 30 weeks earlier. Women don’t receive money as the price can differ depending on medical equipment of the medical establishment and paying the staff. So it turns out that the expectant mother, giving preference to certain prenatal consultation and maternity hospital, herself defines the medical institution, which receives support from the state.

Of course, in principle, the quality of service in the consultation does not affect the transfer of public money from the certificate, and in case of violation of women’s rights, pregnant may file a complaint with the agency or go to court. Nevertheless, these institutions appeared to be a better incentive than others, there is healthy competition, and beneficial to themselves, and a woman who purchased the latest equipment and medicines, improved terms of being a woman in a medical facility.

It should be noted that such a state program is intended only to state institutions, and it does not apply to private clinics and maternity hospitals.

If you have chosen to give childbirth at private maternity house…

Often a woman chooses paid medical center or a private clinic. To do this, you must enclose with the agency an agreement for the provision of paid services. In this case you are acting as a consumer and, therefore, such relations are governed by the laws on consumer protection. First of all, check for certificate and license for the selected type of activity, and what the features of working with clients. The contract should be concluded between you and the medical center; it must be prescribed by the terms and delays in obtaining medical services, payment arrangements, rights, duties and responsibilities of the parties. Read carefully and specify all details of the contract before you sign it. Payment for the provision of paid services should be done at medical institution with the use of cash machines (you must issue a receipt confirming and Proof of payment through cash). As consumers, patients in private clinics and hospitals have the right to make claims for damages caused by failure or improper performance of contract, damages in the event of injury to life and health, as well as compensation for moral damage.

Troubleshooting

However, in practice, not everything is so simple. In any case, remember that you can always consult a doctor, regardless the residence. The exceptions are small cities and towns, where the choice or transfer from one consultation to another is impossible, simply because a doctor serves a certain number of patients by law can not simply take someone else, and a woman herself cannot travel to neighboring village which may be far enough.

The main consulting physician is usually appointed by the head of the medical institution or by the choice of women, but again, provided that the desired doctor has not fixed the maximum number of services for patients, although it is necessary to write a statement and present to the chief physician the reasons why you prefer the specific physician.

According to the legislation on health care, everyone has the right to receive information about his/her health. As we have seen from the above, this applies to all, including to the future mother. Unfortunately, doctors often ignore the natural and legitimate desire of women to know what happens with them in a particular period of pregnancy, for which she needs to take prescribed medications and vitamins.

However, a woman can get the available information about her condition, including information about the surveyresults, the presence or absence of disease-related or not related to pregnancy, the diagnosis, methods of treatment, on possible options for medical intervention and its consequences.

If necessary, or if there is any doubt about the diagnosis (for example, a woman suspected medical error because of lack of haste and carelessness in the treatment of clinical data and laboratory tests) she can consult with another physician or other specialized professionals.

A woman must be provided with copies of medical records (outpatient maps, surveys, tests, ultrasonic). If the doctor suggests a medical intervention or sends her to the hospital to identify the threat of termination of pregnancy, she can waive, although the patient should be explained the possible consequences. Such a refusal is made in the medical record documents, i.e. in the map (along with explaining the implications), and signed by women and health workers. In this case, the whole responsibility falls on your shoulders. The doctor will only continue to monitor your condition and if necessary, again ask you to go to hospital.

All information relating to pregnancy is a medical secret, and its disclosure is not permitted without the consent of the woman. That exception is, firstly, if the expectant mother is a minor in order to notify her parents or other legal representatives, because due to her age and inexperience, she can not and should not take a decision on retention or termination of pregnancy, and secondly, whether there are grounds for believing that the pregnancy is a result of rape, and thirdly, by request of investigative bodies, and, finally, while examining and treating women who are not able to express their will, for example when there are distinct signs of mental disorder.

In conclusion, I would say that we can and must enjoy our legitimate rights (in this case, of course, not abusing them) and be able to defend our interests – and then everything will be well.

The desire to have a child, to take care for him/her, feed; cuddle a native little body – what can be more beautiful in this world!
Sometimes I sincerely regret our favorite men as they are not given a sense of all this.
However, the pregnancy is not only a great joy but also a great test- not only from a physiological point of view, but from the viewpoint of psychology. Before pregnancy woman could control her body. She could put on a few pounds, and then safely lose the weight in a few days, but now the obstetrician-gynecologist will follow your gained weight.
Previously, you could have a bad mood and easily to get rid of it, but now you will suddenly feel such anguish and fear that you do not know what to do and how to escape from its embrace.
How can you make all these nine months of happiness be really happy?
Fears during pregnancy
Experienced mothers say that they were not afraid of giving birth, but do not believe them; the fear of childbirth is always present in the female subconscious. If your experienced girlfriends say that they did not have fears when going to give birth – do not believe them. They were afraid! From the first days after you learn that a small and dear life is growing in your body, together with joy a fear comes to you. It applies literally to everything and it is not always easy to get rid of it.
For a fairly long time I have worked as a midwife in the hospital and if you only knew how much fear I’ve been listening! When I myself was pregnant, I was afraid of two things: to die during childbirth and that something should happen to the baby during childbirth. But these two terrors visited literally every pregnant woman. And they are natural. Because fear for relatives and fear of death should not be perceived as something wrong, it will always be typical only if it does not turn into a painful state.
But I’ve heard such things that the hair stood up on their top! I will never forget a young woman, who was holding my hand, crying and saying: “I haven’t gone to make ultrasonic observation, so I do not know who will be born – a boy or a girl. My husband wants a boy, and if it will be a girl he will not love me and won’t take her”. It’s very difficult to reassure the future mother that it does not matter who will be born – a boy or a girl, in any case the child will be a beloved one.
By the way, then, when I met the future father, he was very much surprised when I told him about the fears of his wife. He, at the very beginning of the pregnancy, jokingly said that it would be good to have a boy and only then a little girl! And since then, all nine months, the unfortunate kept this fear in her heart. Looking ahead, I want to say that she just gave birth to a boy. And everyone was happy, though, I’m sure, that if it were a girl, happiness would be no less. But the woman’s mind is ready to accept any detail.

The fear of the child appearance

As soon as you take your child in hands, the instinct will tell you what to do. But some women are afraid of a child. Especially if it is her first birth. “What to do with him/her? How do I take care?” For example, even a century before, pregnant women sewed clothes for their unborn babies – shirts, hats, socks, etc. Now, because of the very widespread prejudice, it is believed that you can not buy anything for the unborn child. Well, all right! We will not buy! But you can take a nice notebook and write in it, what you should buy, after your family will have a new member!

Once, I met a woman who in a colored notebook had written everything she needed to buy once the baby was born. She laughed and said that at every month of her pregnancy, she added new things. Then her husband, at her request, taking this notebook, after almost five days got absolutely everything! Then the happy father even complained that he had not even had time to celebrate the momentous event with friends. So much has been written in this notebook!

So do not be afraid! As soon as you take your child in your hands, the instinct will let you know what to do. And in the hospital, medical staff is always ready to show how to properly bathe and swaddle your baby and how to look after it.

The fear of pain during childbirth

Visit childbirth courses of pain fear. Do I need to talk about it? I think that’s necessary. Because, no matter how would a woman have a child, no matter how she is going to give birth, subconsciously she is afraid of pain. We all have different sensitivity. Some may be long enough to endure even the most severe pain, while others lose consciousness, even when they make the vaccine, or give the analysis of blood from the finger. It is very important to prepare psychologically. And it is very desirable to attend courses of preparing for childbirth, where pregnant women are taught methods of removal of pain during labor, how to learn to breathe during delivery.

By the way, I can say that these courses help very much. There are special exercises that can really take the twinge. And they are very simple, the main thing – do not panic and remember them when they need to be used.

Well, perhaps, the last … If you feel that you are unable to cope with these feelings and fears during pregnancy, do not hesitate and do not be afraid to ask for a good psychologist. Believe me, the advice of a good specialist can completely change your life! By the way, I have such an experience. Being pregnant, I was very afraid to walk on the streets with heavy traffic. I could not bring myself to cross the road and waited sometimes for 10-15 minutes, until the horizon was clean, and only then crossed the road. Well, I could not get rid of this fear of being put under the wheels of the car! And only the good advice of the psychologist completely freed me from this obsessive feeling.

Finally, I want to say that the pregnancy – is not a painful condition, but the most responsible and happiest time of your life. And if you understand and accept this from the very first days of pregnancy – it will be much better both for you and your baby!

Future mother often hears chilling stories about the entwining of child’s umbilical cord. What is it? Is it dangerous? How to avoid it? Is it possible to identify this pathology in advance? You can find answers to these questions in our article.

What is it?

In 14 th week of pregnancy, the placenta and the umbilical cord are finally formed. This is a structure that carries out the function of exchanging between a mother and a child. After birth, when cutting the umbilical cord, the child begins to live independently, and only navel recalls his close relationship with his mother.

Umbilical cord is a long “rope” (from 40 to 60 cm and a thickness of 2 cm), consisting of connective tissue, inside which there is an umbilical vein and two arteries. Single umbilical vein, leaving the placenta, enters the abdominal cavity of the fetus through the umbilical ring and carries oxygenated blood, nutrients and drugs that have passed the placental barrier. The blood of waste products of the baby enters the artery and then through the placenta – the mother’s body. In case of the length of vessels (usually this depends on the genes), we can face the problem of “long cord” (70 cm), one of the complications of the fetus and the formation of knots to overgrow.

Why the entwining of umbilical cord happens?

Myths:

Among pregnant women there is a belief: during pregnancy they mustn’t knit or weave, it is fraught with the umbilical cord entwine around the neck of the fetus. This belief emerged long ago, when the birth was taken by midwives. Women in those days were busy mainly with handicrafts: sewing, weaving lace knitting. Children with entwined umbilical cord around the neck were often dying – mostly due to the lack of proper experience of midwives. So only knitting was to be blamed. In fact, knitting is a great way to calm nerves, and simultaneously prepare nice and warm “clothes” for a future baby.

During pregnancy, women often hear that raising arms can lead to entwining of the umbilical cord around the body of the child. The same is said about the active gym. In fact, you should know that raising hands for a short period of time is not dangerous for your baby as well as correctly selected gymnastic complexes.

Reality:

At present, predisposing factors are the intrauterine fetal hypoxia (oxygen deficiency), mother’s frequent stress (elevated levels of adrenaline in the blood), which leads to excessive mobility of the child, and the presence of polyhydramnios gives him/her the ability to perform a greater range of motion. Therefore, future mothers should not be alarmed if their baby’s umbilical cord is entwined. The most important aspect of this problem is the child’s condition – he/she suffers from hypoxia or not.

How to recognize the existence of entwined cord?

Diagnostic algorithm for establishing entwined cord is as follows. First pregnancy, fetal CTG study, during which the likely symptoms of umbilical cord entwining are identified: in this case reveals the characteristic shape of the curve CTG with periodic deceleration of heart rate during movements of the fetus. Using only this method it is already possible to identify signs of hypoxia. Next, the ECG investigation – ultrasound (in many hospitals there is ultrasound without CTG). This manipulation is informative already in the second trimester. The most accurate method in the study of utero-placental and fetus-placental blood flow is Doppler – definition of mathematical indices of blood flow (the speed, etc.). If you suspect the hypoxia problem in a health of a fetus, all these studies should be repeated for several times, as the baby constantly moves before birth and the entwining can disappear.

How the entwining of the umbilical cord can affect the childbirth?

Entwining of the umbilical cord can be single and multiple, loose and tight, isolated and combined (around the neck and limbs of the fetus). The most common kind of entwine is isolated, single, loose entwining around the neck of the baby, that usually does not pose danger to it.

If entwined cord at the time of birth is confirmed, depending on its type, an obstetrician-gynecologist chooses the optimal tactics for giving a birth to the child. The heartbeat of the fetus is monitored on average every half hour during labor and after each attempt. If the heart rate of the baby does not correspond to normal, the doctor may apply stimulation to speed up birth. Immediately after birth the head obstetrician relieves neck of the loop cord, thus preventing its strong tension and disturbance of blood flow through it.

Only a dual or multiple entwining of the umbilical cord van be hazardous. Such case during pregnancy is considered to be a sign of a fetal hypoxia. In case of a tight entwining and the emergence of shortening of the umbilical cord during the second stage of labor there is tension, narrowing the vascular lumen, leading to a sharp decrease in blood supply to the tissues of the Child (acute hypoxia and asphyxia). Also, the tension of the umbilical cord during birth is fraught with premature detachment of the placenta. Therefore, the period after 37 weeks in the presence of such entwine often produce elective caesarean section, and if the fetus is the menacing advance of that date, the operation can be done earlier.

Is it possible to avoid the entwining of the umbilical cord?

In order to avoid this complication, future mother is recommended to minimize stressful situations, often to be in the open air, do gymnastics and do not forget about breathing exercises. All these aim to ensure that the child will not have lack of oxygen, ie hypoxia, which causes increased motor activity of the fetus. In addition, you must promptly and accurately implement all the doctor appointments, take the survey – this will allow to suspect a problem and to prevent undesirable consequences.

So, your child is already 1 year old. Every day, he/she requires more and more attention, and he/she can not be left alone in the company of a musical rug. So what he/she needs?

Toys for 1-2 year-old children
First you need to revise the arsenal of toys that are already available at home. It is necessary to remove those toys with which the baby does not play quite as well as those which are already not suitable for his/her age. Do not be afraid to do it, because you always have the opportunity to get them, believe me, the child often perceives them as entirely new.
Now let’s talk about those children toys, which should be purchased. For convenience, we have combined toys into groups by type of activity.

Handling objects
You have probably noticed yourself that after 1 year your child has become much more self-sufficient: he/she learns to use everyday objects, manipulating them in every way, trying to imitate adults. Therefore, to maintain and develop those skills they need such toys, which are small-scale analogues of real objects:
- Children cooking utensils, clothing, combs;
- Toy food;
- Dolls;
- Shovels, rakes, watering cans, fishing rods;
- A toy phone, bag or backpack.
While playing with these toys, the child learns not only to manipulate them, but also develops the skills of using them.

Visual-effective thinking
A child learns through visual-efficient thinking that is, using his/her hands. Therefore, for the development of this field the toys for children should be of different sizes and shapes that have common features. While playing with these toys, the child learns to compare their size and color, resulting in a presentation to the properties of objects. These include:
- Pyramid;
- Cubes (including soft);
- Mosaics;
- Nesting dolls.
We draw your attention to the fact that these toys should be diverse in color, shape and size. For example, if your child likes to collect a pyramid, buy him/her plastic and wooden, small and large ones.

Cognitive Activity
As you know, a child by nature is very, very inquisitive. Offer him/her toys that encourage experimentation and self-discovery.
- Boxes and jars with a secret;
- Small bowls.
Again, we note that the boxes, jars and molds should be of different sizes, colors and shapes.

Language development
Language development takes place in the process of direct communication with older child, so you need to stock up various toys and materials that encourage this communication. For exaple:
- Pictures of animals;
- Figures of animals;
- Audio recordings of children songs and poems;
- Slides (as a harmless alternative to cartoons).

Creativity and perception
For the development of creative abilities of the child he/she needs such toys as:
- Pens, pencils, paint;
- Clay;
- A set of colored paper (for applications).
By using these materials, the child will develop creativity and create the concept of colors (paint) and forms (clay).

Musical toys are designed to develop the perception of ambient sounds. These include:

- Rattles, whistles;
- Children’s musical instruments (maracas, tambourine, drum, xylophone).
Note that you should not pay much attention to electronic musical toys, because they produce sounds which do not contribute to the development of musical perception in due measure.

Physical development
Physical development plays a very important role in the overall development of the young child. For this we offer the following toys:
- Balls of different sizes (ball game);
- Mats with various surfaces;
- Slides, ladders.

Conclusions
So, we have listed the toys that a 1-2 year-old child needs for the harmonious development of all spheres of his/her activities. Of course, we encourage you to buy all these toys but do not guarantee the results. Returning to the beginning of this article, we’d like to say that a child should play and communicate, and toys are only the helpers in this game.

Here is plasticine! Some parents think that it is very “dangerous” for home furniture: sticks to everything and leaves a greasy stain, as well as the fact that a child can simply swallow it. We hasten to reassure: plasticine is an excellent material for creative work, you just need to learn how to use it.

What to build from plasticine?
Building and designing is a very important lesson for a child who develops the creativity of hand movements, spatial thinking, the concept of color, shape of objects. In addition, modeling (not necessarily from plasticine) has beneficial effect on the nervous system. In general, the benefits of modeling studies are enormous.

What kind of plasticine is better to choose?
You should choose high quality plasticine; it should be neither too hard nor too soft and stretchy. If it sticks to your hands, it will be difficult to work with it. And if it’s too hard, the children find it difficult to stretch, and parts can fall apart.
Young children in any case should not be given plasticine with a fruit odor. If the yellow clay smells like lemon, orange – orange, and red one – strawberries, then the child will not model, but lick it, but it’s not what we want him to teach.
How to start plasticine building
First, remember that during teaching you have to be near the child, not only as a “guard” (to avoid eating it), but also as a designer (to model yourself, together with the child).
Secondly, do not overdo it with the complexity of tasks for your child; do not ask him/her too much. Remember that child is only familiar with the properties of plasticine, studying them and experimenting with methods of modeling.

What can a two year-old baby do with a plasticine?

• pinch off a piece of plasticine;
• flatten plasticine throughout the palm;
• poke a finger in rolled out layer;
• roll out of it “sausages”;
• a ball that the mother rolls, а little finger to make tortillas.
• cleave it to the paper or table;
• roll large balls of palms;
• cut “sausages”.

These actions are а basis of building classes. Develop these skills, expand and improve them.

How and what to design with your baby?

Select Color
Start by selecting the color of plasticine: suggest baby to choose, for example, from two colors (you should not just offer the whole box of clay). Do not select yourself – your preferences may strongly disagree.

Warming up
When color is selected, you can not expect that the baby will start to model something. First of all, each of you “train” a little bit and then start modeling.

Main activities
Show your child how to knead the plasticine, nip off a piece for him/her and make a cake … In general, follow the basic steps described above. For the first class execution, a simple manipulation will be enough to interest the child.

”Sausages” and balls
Rolling “sausages” and balls from plasticine: two palms and one palm on a piece of cardboard or paper. The “sausage” can turn into a ring or a snake. Small balls could crush fingers.

Imprints
One of the most fascinating lessons for kids is making imprints on plasticine. You roll a flat cake of plasticine, and the baby pokes him in every way possible (or rather all that you offer him): a toy fork cap from the pen, his own finger, a spoon.

Modeling
Suggest your child to stick plasticine to a cup or any other capacity, which you can then decorate with beads or any other material – get a great bowl. For younger kids you can cut out a pattern of different figures and stick them on plasticine.

Plasticine and other materials
In plasticine modeling you can (and should!) use other materials: peas, beans, buckwheat, pasta of different shapes and colors, buttons, etc.
Roll out a cake from plasticine and ask the child to cleave small objects to them. Make sure that all these remarkable objects were placed on the plasticine, but not in his/her mouth.

Do you know that breastfeeding gives a baby not only saturation, but also love? It establishes relationship between mother and child. Perhaps, therefore, the truth remains unchanged that the best way is to breastfeed the child. But there are situations in a woman’s life when she has to feed a baby from the bottle, and squeezing becomes simply indispensable. How to overcome this problem? We tried to give some solution in this article:

When to squeeze milk?
In some cases, woman simply can not do without squeezing. It’s better to consider these cases beforehand in order to avoid feeding problems.

If you have too much milk (it happens between the second and fifth day after birth) squeezing helps the breast to relax, and your child can take it easier.

There are situations when only milk is not enough. In such cases, a woman usually wants to stop feeding. But wait! Sueezing with the help of a milk sucker will contribute to generating new milk.

After feeding your baby, you feel that your breast is not empty and you need to squeeze it, because extra milk in the breas can lead to such diseases as mastitis.

It’s not a secret that children often get sick. So if your baby is ill and does not want to suck the breast, don’t forget to squeeze breast milk every three hours. This will help to maintain lactation. If you work and want to continue to feed the baby, regular squeezing also contributes to lactation.

How else can you use the squeezed milk? For example, if you decide to go to the cinema or meet with friends, squeezed milk will be given to your child. Remember that breast milk is equally useful both in bottle, and when sucking from the breast.

How to squeeze?
Now you already know when to squeeze milk, so we’ll tell you how to do it.

First of all, it can be done manually. However, this process is laborious and time-consuming. In addition, some women argue that this is painful. Therefore, you need a professional help (preferably hospital staff, who teach this).

It is important to remember that the squeezing will be successful only if you relax and rest. First of all you should wash your hands (always before contacting with food), and wipe chest with a damp towel. Then sit comfortably and think about your kid (you can look at his/her picture) and only then begin squeezing.

A simpler version of the efficient and pain-free squeezing is to use milk suckers.

You should pay particular attention to Premium Canpol milk sucker. It has several advantages, for example, mimics the natural process of sucking the baby (if you press the knob and keep it in this position, the pumping power is reduced, just as feeding the baby). Squeeze milk safely, gently and quickly (so in case of a milk overflow it will help to keep from stagnation and inflammation of the breast). You can regulate this milk sucker yourself (you decide how often to press the handle, and how to apply the force). In addition, Premium Canpol is small and quiet, it can be used even in public places. It has a silicone mouthpiece, which stimulates milk ducts in the allocation of milk. Among other things, it is hygienic and easy to use (it consists of 5 elements). Decant the milk directly into the bottle from which you can then feed the baby, or tighten its lid, put in the refrigerator. But at the same time do not forget that squeezed milk can be stored, only observing special conditions. Here they are:

12 hours at room temperature.
48 hours in the refrigerator (temp 3 – 5 ° C).
A week in the freezer (temp – 10 ° C). First, cool the milk in the fridge.
6 months in the freezer (temp. -18 To -20 ° C).
Choose the best!
Now in pharmacies there is a very large selection of milk suckers. Electric milk suckers are the most popular ones. They, of course, squeeze milk in a better way, but many women complain of psychological discomfort. They need rest, but the sound of the engine is loud and unpleasant. The most convenient are manual ones. They mimic the natural process of child sucking. You should choose the most convenient variant yourself.

Why is it important to be engaged in sports during pregnancy? What is recommended and what should be avoided? What do you need to eat and in what quantity?

During pregnancy, various changes occur in the body. Sports and nutrition should be given an important place in maintaining the health of the expectant mother and her child.

What happens to the body during pregnancy?
Pregnancy requires huge strength. During this period the body has to deal with increased metabolism and with increasing needs for nutrients. Fortunately, the body has several mechanisms that help to save energy in favor of the developing fetus. One of the mechanisms is a change in appetite and taste. Typically, a woman eats more and selects certain foods. The second mechanism is an increasing absorption of food in the intestinal wall.
Additional mechanisms are the decreased rate of accumulation of fat and reduced physical activity. The physiological mechanism gives a woman signals to reduce the load. If you do not listen to it, the intense stress can harm the health of a mother and the developing fetus.

What is important to change in the diet during pregnancy?
The most common problem among pregnant women is the number of calories eaten per day. The answer variesdepending on the duration of pregnancy. From 1 st to 15 th week, there is no need to change the usual amount. From 15 th to 28 th week it is recommended to consume 25-30 calories for every 1 kg of your weight. From 29 th to 42 th week it is recommended to consume 30-35 calories per 1 kg of your weight. These recommendations are perfectly suited to women who do moderate exercise at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. But if training is given more attention, you need to add the missing calories.

Why is it important to be engaged in sports during pregnancy?
Sport during pregnancy has several positive aspects. For example, it controls weight, reduces the risk of high blood pressure, controls blood sugar and reduces the risk of diabetes, maintaining strength in the muscles and ligaments, improving the general well-being. Some studies has shown that sport during pregnancy shortens labor, reduces the risk of caesarean section and shortens post-partum recovery. However, this is very important that women do not use sports as a means to reduce weight, because at this stage of their life this is not a priority.

What load should future mothers take?
Modern medicine recommends continuing fitness activities before pregnancy, but in accordance with the terms they exclude certain exercises. Women, who do not have certain medical problems, can start with moderate intensity 30 minutes a day 3-4 times a week. You can do walking at a moderate pace, to participate in yoga class. Women with experience in the classroom in the gym may continue but reduce the load in accordance with the changes in the body.

Can we start doing it during pregnancy?
Moderate and regular load will only be beneficial. It is important not to begin with an intensive workload, and work smoothly.

What load should be avoided?
Expectant mothers should avoid sport activities, in which there is full contact – kick boxing and various forms of struggle. So it is necessary to give up extreme sports – rock climbing, scuba diving, etc. After the first trimester, it is important to avoid stress, which occurs in the supine position or stomach.

Can I use weight training?
Yes. This helps to maintain good muscle tone. You can perform one approach every 2-3 times a week. Between workouts there should always be a holiday in at least 24 hours.
Using weight during exercise will strengthen joints and ligaments, which will help to protect them from injury. But a dumbbell weight of 1-3 kg should be fine for exercising the muscles of the hands.

Why is it important to use vitamins and minerals?
Pregnant woman involved in fitness should be sufficient to monitor the use of vitamins and minerals. For example, calcium is needed to prevent the appearance of convulsions. Iron will keep the normal hemoglobin level, which in turn will ensure the delivery of oxygen to the muscles. It is recommended to eat foods rich in vitamins and minerals.

What should pregnant women do before classes?
Any woman sports must consume enough carbohydrates (whole wheat bread, buckwheat, rice, oatmeal, etc.) 2-2,5 hours before. Immediately before beginning you need to eat another small portion of carbohydrates – fruit, a slice of whole meal bread, energy bars, etc. If during the trainings you feel reduction in blood glucose levels, you can use sweet drinks. These quickly raise the level of glucose.

Fluid intake during exercise
The temperature in the cavity of the uterus is one degree above the temperature of mother’s body. During exercise the body temperature rises. In this connection it is necessary to strictly ensure that the temperature does not greatly exceed (maximum allowed – 38 º). The water helps to cool and prevent the emergence of fluid loss in the body. General recommendation on the use of the liquid: 1-2 glasses of water just before the start of the training and 2-3 glasses of water for every hour.

How many calories should be added in case of daily training?
Despite the fact that at the later stages of pregnancy the intensity of training decreases, the number of burnt calories during exercise increases due to body weight and changes in metabolism. Studies has shown that pedestrian walk at a moderate pace during pregnancy burns 20% more calories than the same trip before pregnancy. A walk up the stairs burns 22-25% more. From this it follows that even if the intensity of training does not increase, you will still need enough to compensate for the loss of calories. Approximate calculations suggest additional 350-400 calories per training day for each hour of exercises during pregnancy. More accurate calculations are made by a specialist in accordance with the load, weight, duration of training of the woman.

Every pregnant woman looks forward to her unborn baby’s first kick. It’s exciting, tangible evidence that you really do have a baby growing inside you and a reassuring sign that your pregnancy is going well.

The early weeks

Although you won’t feel it, your baby is already quite active by 12 weeks. Her body moves and jerks, she hiccups and exercises her tiny arms and legs. By 16 weeks, her movements are stronger and more complicated. She can punch, kick, squirm, do somersaults and even suck her tiny, fully formed fingers.

Those first kicks

At around 16 weeks, experienced mums-to-be realize that the fluttery sensation in their tummy isn’t wind, but their baby. Women describe this feeling as being like air bubbles, butterfly wings or pinging elastic bands. As first-time mums don’t know what to expect, most won’t recognize these sensations until 20 weeks or later.

Your baby’s private gym

From around 22 weeks, your baby’s movements will become stronger and more frequent. He’s now on her very own exercise regime; bending, stretching and wriggling to strengthen his muscles and bones and develop his motor ability. You may feel a short jab as he kicks the wall of your womb (uterus) or a squirm as he shifts into a more comfy position. There may be a regular pattern to this as babies tend to settle in certain positions. Before 34 weeks, a large proportion of babies will be in the breech position, so you may get some forceful kicks to your bladder or the top of your cervix.

Getting familiar

As your pregnancy progresses, you’ll begin to recognize certain moves: you may feel a series of small jerks as your baby has an attack of hiccups. A sudden noise may make her jump, or she may become active and excitable if you’re angry or frightened, as the hormone adrenaline passes to her via the placenta. Many expectant mums complain their babies are most active when they sit down or when they go to bed – this may be because when you are still and quiet, you are able to identify the kicks more easily.

Preparing for b-day

At around 34 weeks, your baby’s movements will start to get less pronounced because he’s got less space to move around. By this stage, most babies are spending a lot of time in the head-down position, so you may get the odd painful kick in the ribs. Take comfort in the fact that this means he’s getting ready for birth. You’ll soon be meeting a baby whose movements and habits you already know so well.

If the kicks stop

If your baby’s pattern of kicking changes or you don’t feel any movements for a while, it isn’t necessarily a cause for worry. Sometimes, when a baby changes position, his movements may be harder to be recognized or perhaps he’s sleeping while you’re awake.

However, you know your baby better, so if you’re at all concerned about his movements, or lack of them, see your midwife or GP straightaway. The doctor or midwife will listen to his heartbeat to make sure that all is going well. Your midwife can also give you a kick chart, which helps you count your baby’s first 10 movements each day. As long as these 10 kicks happen by roughly the same time each day, you should have nothing to worry about.
By 32 week, your baby will be moving about 375 times a day!

At the end, I want to remind future mothers: the first movement of the small baby is not only an indicator of its condition, but also the unique experience that a woman may have only in this short, but happy period of his life.

Contact your doctor immediately if:

fetal motor activity is ceased for 12 hours or more;
excessive movements in the intensity increase for several hours and does not stop when you change posture.

Why do modern children play? And anyway, do they need to do this? Here’s how today’s parents are responsible for these issues.

Playing in facts and numbers

”If you have a chance to play or be occupied with your child what will you prefer?”

18% of mothers and fathers prefer “playing”. Why? Because:

Child is interested in it – 10%

Child likes that – 8%

82% of parents prefer “being occupied” with their children. As:

It is necessary – 62%

It is interesting for me – 13%

Child asks – 7%.

Concluding the sentence, ”If my child, in five – seven years, will play a significant part of the day, then …”, parents have expressed such views:

They will have problems at school / they won’t be able to compete with their peers – 46%
If the games are educational, you can study and play at the same time – 18%

Child will study in the evening – 17%

I will be satisfied – 15%.

So, the game, according to the parents, is nice, but not the most necessary thing that must deal with every self-respecting child of preschool age. Parents must prepare their child for the upcoming adult life.

What, then, according to the parents, do they need to teach their children?

To be independent – 61%.

Obtain good-paying jobs – 53%

Be prepared for difficulties – 32%.

Making their own decisions – 22%.

Mom, play with me!

However, modern parents have difficulties to play with dolls or to drive cars around the room. They prefer “developing” games, because it requires them to lower the emotional effort. Fortunately, special educational games are invented now. But the problem is that this is not a game that your baby needs now. Of course, playing logic games is a very worthy and useful occupation, but they develop only one side of its personality. These studies in no case should not be a substitute for conventional well-known children games. Moreover, they give you a unique opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a child, taught him/her his/her system of values.

Mothers and Daughters

This name is a bit tentative. Not necessarily to play “Mothers and Daughters”, although the classical model of the family is very important – while playing children (by the way, not only girls but also boys) learn to build family roles. But in such games, kids determine not only their place (and, incidentally, a place of their parents) in the family, but also try a variety of social functions, professions, even social positions.

If your child is 2-3 years old, the basic functions of you should take the boss on you. The younger the child, the easier should be the doll. Show your child the toy, study it together, what she wears, what eyes, hands she has, etc. Be sure to name the toy. Now try to play a little scene from your own life – how you feed your baby, put him/her to bed or go for a walk. To begin with a scenario will be sufficient. Even if you don’t have any acting skills, try to “enter into the image” – change the tone and timbre of your voice, when you talk in the places of different characters.

Here you’ll need many useful accessories – a table and chair, to feed the doll, a toy bath, to bathe it, a carriage, in which it can be carried, etc.

By the way let’s about accessories. If you have not looked into the “Children’s world” in the department of dolls and doll economy yet, you’ll have a shock. Modern industry seems to have decided to recreate in miniature adult life to the last detail. You can, for example, find a toy kitchen unit with a “brand” inscription, operating electric vacuum cleaner and a plastic grilled chicken.

They are rather expensive and initially cause a tear of grudging affection – ah, if we could have such things in our childhood! But in fact, children do not need such detailed toys. Moreover, it is not useful. They close the road of fantasy and imagination. After all, only in childhood, the same stick can be a spoon, a pen, a mobile phone. This use of objects is common among children older than three years which shows that their development is on the right path.

Hide and seek

Our ancestors, from whom we inherited these games were not stupid. In this way they taught their children cope with fears of darkness and confined spaces.

All the children love to play hide and seek. Nothing can compare with joy when a child discovers the beloved parent, strung on the beck and call of the curtain or curled up in a three-destruction in the wardrobe. And by the way, this love is not accidental. After all, hide and seek helps to cope with the feeling of loneliness. And during the game he/she should some time be completely alone, even in a secret, secluded place. If your child is afraid of darkness you can turn off or even extinguish the light in one room during the game. Turning off the light, loudly say that you are there, then your son or daughter will just not go there. And hide in a dark room yourselves.

They do not only learn playing games, they live in it. And if your task is to show him/her real life, it is easier to do it with the help of the game. Do not be afraid of “simple” games – they have a profound meaning.

There is no need to bathe the child on the first day of leaving the maternity house. First, before leaving he/she probably had a hygienic handling of all the rules. Secondly, the child is very tired: the first action in his/her life, a lot of new sensations, so let him/her rest. But the second day water treatments at home should be a nightly ritual for both baby and parents. Previously, during the first bathing, grandmother gives her/him a gift.
The most common and comfortable place for bathing the child in our apartment is a kitchen, at least – a bathroom. Make sure that all the windows in the apartment are closed, so as to avoid the draft. Then heat the air in the room for bathing. In summer you can stay relaxed..
You will need usual kitchen table covered with a blanket, top diaper, then a large terry towel or a sheet (which will wipe “bather”), buckram (not to wet your terry towel), diaper for swimming. Other necessary things are a diaper, clothing, tools for processing umbilical wound and cosmetics (oil, cream, powder).

First AERIAL BATHing

Place the child on the belly, do a little massage in the form of light rubbing, turn back, make a charge for hands (to the sides and top) and legs (bent, straightened).

BATHROOM?

Before bathing, baby’s bath (large or small) should be thoroughly washed. You should agree that to do this with a child tray would be much easier. But do not buy too small bath: kids grow quickly, and it is not very convenient to keep the child in a small bath, where the hands do not turn around.

WATER TEMPERATURE
Here there are different views. The most stable and popular of them is 37 degrees of Celsius. You can look at a water thermometer, or simply omit your own elbow into the water.

Soap and sponge

Doctors advise to use baby soap and a soft sponge once a week. It is especially important to use soap, if baby wears diapers. All “complex zones” need careful washing.

Oil, cream or powders?

Everyone should decide for himself/herself. Powder removes excess moisture, but sometimes it causes additional irritation. Oil does not always suck in easily. Now there is a big and diverse choice of children creams. You can choose what best fits your child.

”COMPLEX ZONES”

In order avoid from any problems, you should have to know and inspect these zones after each bathing:
behind the ears;
neck folds (front and back);
armpits;
elbows;
hands;
navel;
under the knees.

Any cream with zinc will help you solve any disorder.

Crust

Often crust appears on the baby’s scalp. Do not try to remove all at once; in this case, you’ll risk injuring the skin. Typically, if you rub this place with baby oil, then it will be remove when combing. But it is better to consult with a pediatrician, because this can be the first sign of diathesis.

Nails

You should cut the child’s nails when needed (approximately every 3-4 days) with the help of scissors with rounded ends. I used to do it after feeding when the baby is full and happy, and its movements are lazy. Perhaps you will find your “appropriate” time.

Ears

Clean the child’s ears as soon as needed. Make a cotton tube, moisten with oil and neatly remove sulfur. For older kids you can use cotton swabs, but shove them very attentively. Sulfur is usually located almost outside of the ear canal.

Every morning

In the morning washing for babies is as important as for adults. For this you’ll need hydrogen peroxide, bandage, cotton sticks, boiled water. In the hospital it was possible to observe the daily manipulation of nurses when they treated the newborns. Now we’ll remember everything. Umbilical wound you should be process with cotton swab dipped into hydrogen peroxide (the same we do after bathing). Eyes should be rubbed with a cotton swab dipped into the boiled water, in the direction from ear to nose. For each eye we take a separate swab.