Archive for February, 2023

Link Between Headaches and Pregnancy – What You Can Do

February 13th, 2023

Being pregnant results in a lot of discomfort for women and it can become even more uncomfortable when there is a headache that accompanies the pregnancy. Many women have the misfortune of having headaches during pregnancy, so they need to find out exactly how the two are connected and how they can get rid of the headache naturally.

Because there are hormonal changes that women experience during pregnancy, headaches and other pains can typically result. Therefore, it can be deduced that headaches and pregnancy are connected due to hormonal imbalances during pregnancy.

Once there are drastic hormonal changes, the body reacts very differently to various stimuli, including things that would not normally cause headaches. Apart from the natural connection between headaches and pregnancy hormonal changes, other things can actually trigger a headache for a pregnant woman. These include muscle tension, hunger, poor posture while standing or sitting, stress, fatigue and even congestion.

What is important is finding ways to treat the headache so you can get good relief during pregnancy. Here are some of the most common and safest ways to treat your headache during pregnancy.

Cold Compress — This is an effective treatment for people regardless of whether or not they are pregnant. This would just involve doing a cold compress to the back of the neck. By dampening a towel and putting it in the freezer, it can be used on the back of the neck to instantly help ease the tension that could be causing your headaches.

Warm Compress — An alternative to a cold compress is applying a warm compress to the face, eyes and temple. Often times when congestion is the cause of headaches for pregnant women, a warm compress can help to get rid of the pain quickly.

Exercise — Often times, muscle tension triggers headaches for pregnant women. By starting a low impact exercise program, you can help to relax the muscles and yourself in the process, hence helping your pregnancy headache to go away.

Dark Room Treatment — Try resting in a dark room that is also quiet and keep your eyes closed for most of the time. You will realize that almost instantly you will start to feel relief from your headache symptoms. It won’t be long before the headache pain leaves you entirely.

Headaches and pregnancy are definitely interconnected, but the headaches can be effectively treated by simple remedies you can do at home. Being pregnant is already uncomfortable enough — you should not have to experience any other dis

Fitness and Pregnancy – Gain Pleasure by Avoiding Pain

February 13th, 2023

Would you like to learn how to avoid some of the most common discomforts of pregnancy? As your body goes through the natural progressive changes that come with the stages of pregnancy, it will undoubtedly experience stresses and strains that can cause great discomfort. Normal, everyday activities will become more and more difficult and strenuous. So Fitness and Pregnancy must go hand in hand if you want to avoid most of the unpleasant physical experiences and enjoy the best possible pregnancy. It’s important, however, to start as early in (or even prior to) your pregnancy as possible.

One of the most common complaints made by pregnant women is back pain. In fact, a recent study showed that 76% of women who participated reported that they experienced some form of back pain. This is really no surprise since a pregnant body undergoes rapid weight gain. With most of this new weight primarily distributed in the front, it causes stress on specific back muscles as the body tries to rebalance.

But don’t worry, there are several things that you can do to combat back pain and other discomforts.

S-T-R-E-T-C-H

It’s very important to stretch your tight muscles before and after any physical activity. You certainly don’t need deal with muscle strain at this point, so be sure to stretch them out. Only stretch to the point of gentle tension, hold each stretch for 20 – 30 seconds, and be sure to breathe.

Walking

Walking is a great exercise while you’re pregnant. It’s easy on your joints, relatively safe and is good for cardiovascular conditioning.

Stationary Bike Riding

This is another great choice. Once again, there’s no stress on your joints, and you’ll be safe and comfortable inside your home or gym. This exercise is even more beneficial than walking because of the increased intensity. Just be sure not to push yourself too hard.

Strength Training

Some people are surprised by this, but strength training exercises are also important, and can be done safely. Exercises such as squats, leg extensions, shoulder combos and seated curls (just to name a few) can all be done safely and effectively.

I’ll write in more detail about these exercises in future articles. For now, it’s just important to get started. Even if you’re not yet pregnant, start now. The better your condition, the more enjoyable (by that, I mean pain free) your pregnancy will be.

One final thought. This article touches on the importance of fitness and pregnancy. But fitness will also play a very large part in your recuperation after pregnancy. As you probably know, giving birth is a very traumatic experience for your body. If your body is fit prior to giving birth, it will certainly recover much faster and you’ll have a much easier time bouncing back to your pre-pregnancy weight.

Finding accurate and complete information to develop a plan that you can follow