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Varicose veins are usually quite harmless but unfortunately quite unsightly. They do tend to fade three to four months after your baby has been born but some do not disappear altogether.
By Mummy
Varicose veins can develop during pregnancy. This is due to the growing uterus putting pressure on the pelvic veins and on the inferior vena cava. The vena cava is a large vein on the right side of the body that receives blood from the legs and the greater part of the pelvic and abdominal organs. This increases blood pressure in the leg veins, which in turn can cause the development of varicose veins.
Due to the increase in the hormone progesterone the walls of the blood vessels relax. This can cause you to just see the blue veins under your skin, or the veins may bulge. It is possible that you may feel some pain and in most cases no discomfort at all. Varicose veins do tend to improve when pregnancy is over.
During pregnancy you're more prone to getting varicose veins in your legs. Although you can get them anywhere. Haemorrhoids, in fact, are technically varicose veins of the rectal area and some women when pregnant develop varicose veins in the vulva (the area around the vagina).
To minimize or prevent varicose veins during pregnancy try not to put too much pressure on your legs.
Try to exercise on a daily basis, even just a brisk walk. Lift you feet and legs up whenever possible. When at home and lying down try to lie down on your left side with your feet elevated on a pillow. As the inferior vena cava is on the right side, left-sided rest relieves it of the weight of the uterus. Try not to stand on your feet too long.
If you have varicose veins that are quite bad then another tip would be to put on special support tights before getting out of bed in the morning . By putting them on before standing, you'll prevent excess blood from gathering in your legs. Keep a clean pair of underwear and your tights under the pillow so you can easily put them on before getting out of bed. If you have a major problem with varicose veins your doctor can prescribe heavy duty tights but they are rather thick and can be uncomfortable in the summer.
Varicose veins can tend to itch or even hurt, but their biggest effect is probably on your vanity. Chronic circulatory problems or blood clots resulting from varicose veins are unlikely. Only about five percent of people who develop varicose veins develop small blood clots in their veins.
If you have a tender, red area on the surface of a varicose vein, a fever, leg pain, or a fast heartbeat, it is best to call your doctor or midwife immediately. In a small percentage of cases, rapid heartbeat and/or shortness of breath could be signs of a pulmonary embolism (when the blood clot has traveled to the lungs). If you experience shortness of breath and a rapid heartbeat, go to the nearest hospital, or ring for an ambulance.
Sometimes varicose veins fade on their own within three or four months after having your baby. But if not and the veins become too uncomfortable to live with, it is possible to have them corrected surgically. If you think you might want surgery, you should probably wait until you've had all the children you want because unfortunately, varicose veins tend to get worse with each pregnancy.
Pelvic Floor Exercises help to prevent problems such as urinary incontinence that could be experienced as you get older or after you have had a baby. The exercises are easy to do and can be done anywhere.
By Mummy
The pelvic floor exercises exercise the pelvic floor muscles. These muscles are located between your legs, and run from your pubic bone at the front to the base of your spine at the back. They are in the shape of a sling and hold your bladder and urethra in place.
The pelvic floor muscles give you control over your bladder and are used to urinate. They relax at the same time as the bladder contracts (tightens) in order to let the urine out.
As you get older, your pelvic floor muscles get weaker. Women who have had children may also find they have weaker pelvic floor muscles.
This can cause problems, such as being unable to control when you pass urine, reduced sensitivity during sex and small amounts of urine leaking out during an activity.
The pelvic floor muscle can be felt if you try to stop the flow of urine when you go to the toilet.
To strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, sit comfortably and squeeze the muscles 10-15 times in a row. When you get used to doing pelvic floor exercises, you can try holding each squeeze for a few seconds. Every week, you can add more squeezes, but be careful not to overdo it, and always have a rest in between sets of squeezes.
After a few months, you should start to notice the results. Your incontinence should improve, as well as the sensitivity you experience during sex. You should carry on doing the exercises, even when you notice them starting to work.
If you are pregnant, or planning to get pregnant, you can start doing pelvic floor exercises straight away. The exercises will decrease your chances of experiencing incontinence after having your baby.
The great thing about pelvic floor exercises is that they can be done anywhere, anytime and nobody even knows that you are doing them. Try and get into a routine as to when you do them for example every time you make a cup of coffee or whenever you are brushing your teeth. If you can get into this routine they will become second nature and a part of your daily life.
No baby swimming lesson this week, so I spent some time on diagrams for the assisted underwater swim.
By Dad
For some reason I thought it would be clearer to ditch the swimming pool I created for the previous teach your baby to swim diagram article, and replace it with a clear glass pool.
...... Read the rest of this Article >>Amélie and myself had our first Mother and Baby Yoga class today. I have done yoga before but I was still not sure what to expect. Both of us had a fun time so whilst the class is still fresh in my mind I will tell you more about it.
By Mummy
The Mother and Baby Yoga Class consisted of 18 mothers and their babies. The baby age group ranges from 6 weeks old until the baby is walking. The class can be attended by Mothers once the Midwife is happy with the Mother's health. This is usually when the baby is 6 weeks old. No equipment was needed for the class. A mat is provided for you and a smaller mat for your baby. I wore tracksuit bottoms, t-shirt and trainers. The class costs £4.40 for both Mother and baby and the class lasts for an hour.
There are two other Yoga Classes one of which is Pregnancy Yoga, which I will attend if we are lucky to get pregnant again. The other class is Mother and Toddler Yoga class. I will attend this class in the future if the Mother and Baby yoga class turns out to be good
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We agonised over the first round of immunisations that were due at 2 months. The controversial MMR jab is months away yet, but we were still concerned about any medical intervention. In this article we put our questions to a Doctor.
By Dad
A very good friend of ours had a lovely baby girl a month before ours.
She is a General Practioner which makes her an ideal person to put our questions to. As she works as a GP and is bound by professional duties she has asked to remain anonymous so she can give frank honest answers.
Alex:
Firstly thank you for giving us the opportunity to put these questions to you. I suppose most parents have simliar fears. You have a happy healthy baby and you are then asked to give permission for them to be injected with agents you know very little about.
After a long labour we were asked about a Vitamin K injection. I wasn't too concerned about distress to the baby, she had been through so much that a simple injection wouldn't make too much difference so I said yes. I assumed the midwife would know best, and this far she seems unaffected by it. But a friend of ours told us that is was bad news and we should have said no, which leaves me feeling unsure I did the right thing.
Do you think we did the right thing?
I think my previous article proved too good to be true. It may be a coincidence but 2 days after her first set of immunisations Amélie isn't doing too well.
By Dad
Amélie had her first set of immunisations 2 days ago. On the day she was fine, the day after she was fine but today (2 days later) she isn't too good.
When she woke up she had a bit of a blocked nose and was sneezing a lot. I went swimming at around midday and Clare took Amélie to watch. Over the space of an hour she had got much worse, her cheeks were very red and we could now hear some rattling when she was breathing. We took her right home and took her temperature which was normal.
Just a little update as we took Amélie for her first Jabs yesterday morning.
By Dad
Amélie seemed pretty normal all day yesterday after her immunisations. She took her feeds well and slept right through the night just like usual. We took her out this morning almost exactly 24 hours after her injections, she cried for a few minutes while we were getting ready to leave but seemed quite happy after that. We must have been out walking the dogs with her for at least an hour and a quick stop off to buy some supplies on the way back. She slept some of the time, the rest of the time she seemed quite happy, no crying or face pulling.
