RISKS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT DURING PREGNANCY

Consider potential hazards at home (eg, pets or farm animals, domestic chemicals) or at work.

ENVIRONMENT DURING PREGNANCY 

Women exposed to sheep should be warned of the risk of Chlamydophila abortus at lambing time, which can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.

Advise to wash hands after gardening and to avoid cleaning cat litter trays during pregnancy to avoid toxoplasmosis.

Advise a woman planning pregnancy to read product warnings before using chemicals.

HAPPY PREGNANCY 

Advise a woman who is planning pregnancy and is concerned about work exposure to hazardous substances, infections or radiation, to disclose her intention of becoming pregnant to her employer, if possible, so that a risk assessment may be carried out in advance of pregnancy.

Where she does not feel able to disclose her intention of becoming pregnant to her employer, she can obtain information about the risk of exposure to specific substances by contacting the Health and Safety Executive. 

SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY

Smoking during pregnancy can affect your unborn baby. There are several different problems that are included in dangers of smoking that can create problems to your unborn baby and also for you.

SMOKING DURING PREGNANCY 

Smoking in pregnancy is associated with a large number of adverse effects in pregnancy including:

1. Intrauterine growth restriction
2. Premature delivery
3. Placental problems
4. Smoking makes it harder for a woman to get pregnant.
5. Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely than other women to have a miscarriage.
6. Smoking can cause problems with the placenta - the source of the baby’s food and oxygen during pregnancy. For example, the placenta can separate from the womb too early, causing bleeding, which is dangerous to the mother and baby.
7. Pregnant couple Smoking during pregnancy can cause a baby to be born too early or to have low birth weight - making it more likely the baby will be sick and have to stay in the hospital longer. A few babies may even die.
8. Smoking during and after pregnancy is a risk factor of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is an infant death for which a cause of the death cannot be found.
9. Babies born to women who smoke are more likely to have certain birth defects, like a cleft lip or cleft palate.

Facts

Cigarette smoke contains more than 2,500 chemicals. These chemicals affect your unborn baby but the degree to which is still not clear. Carbon monoxide and nicotine are the main causes of this. Carbon monoxide bonds with hemoglobin to form a molecule that can decrease your baby’s likelihood to obtain oxygen. Nicotine also is a cause which can cross through the placenta of the unborn baby, where it increases the level of toxicity greater that the level that you experience while smoking. The severity of smoking during pregnancy is very high and can be fatal at times.

Prenatal Smoking Causes Childhood Cancer

Unborn baby

Facts state that a woman who smokes during pregnancy has the chances of having an underweight baby and also the chances of giving birth prematurely is higher leading to other serious health problems which include cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Dangers of smoking also include the baby’s chances of having congenital heart defects.

Pregnancy complications

Pregnancy complications also may arise when woman have a smoking habit during this stage. Issues in the placenta are one of the most common pregnancy complication and also placental abruption. Smoking during pregnancy also causes premature rupture of your membranes which make your baby to be born prematurely.

Pregnancy Smoking 

Your baby after birth

Your baby has the chances of having side effects after birth if you smoke regularly during pregnancy. This includes reduced lung capacity, withdrawal symptoms and the higher chances of infant death syndrome also known as SIDS. Also woman who smokes during pregnancy, may have their babies exhibit excessive jitteriness and agitation which makes them feel harder to soothe and comfort. SIDS is three times as higher if you smoke during pregnancy.

Considerations

There also times when you think that your unborn baby can only get hurt by your direct smoking, but there is also more to it. Second hand smoke i.e.; smoke from another person’s cigarette which you inhale can also affect your unborn baby’s health massively. Your 20% more likely to give birth to a low birth weight baby even if second hand smoke is your only exposure to the harmful chemicals in smoke.

Stop Smoking and Get Happy Pregnancy

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION DURING PREGNANCY

High levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy result in fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). There are various components including growth restriction, intellectual impairment, facial anomalies and behavioural problems.

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION DURING PREGNANCY 

When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, such as beer, wine, or mixed drinks, so does her baby. Alcohol passes through the placenta right into the developing baby. The baby may suffer lifelong damage as a result.

Babies with FASD can have brain damage, facial deformities, and growth deficits. Heart, liver, and kidney defects also are common, as well as vision and hearing problems. Individuals with FASD have difficulties with learning, attention, memory, and problem solving.

Babies with FASD

Advise women planning a pregnancy to avoid alcohol completely during the first trimester, as there appears to be a small increased risk of miscarriage associated with drinking alcohol.

There is no clear safe level of consumption but if women choose to drink alcohol during pregnancy, particularly after the first trimester, they should be advised to drink no more than 1-2 units, no more than twice a week. At this low level there is no evidence of harm to the unborn baby.

Advise to avoid becoming drunk and binge drinking.

Where a woman is unable to reduce her alcohol consumption with support in primary care, offer specialist referral.

LEAVE ALCOHOL AND GET HAPPY PREGNANCY

FOLIC ACID AND PREGNANCY

Supplementation with folic acid is one of the most significant preventative interventions available in the preconceptual/antenatal period:

All women should take at least 400 micrograms/day whilst trying to become pregnant and for at least the first three months of pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs).

Women at high risk of NTD should take a higher dose of 5 mg/day until 12 weeks of pregnancy. High risk is defined as:

Where either partner has an NTD or has already had a pregnancy affected by NTD.

Family history of NTD.

Anti-epileptic medication.

Coeliac disease.

Diabetes (type 1 or 2).

Thalassaemia trait (5 mg daily until birth of the baby).

Haemolytic anaemia, particularly thalassaemia or sickle cell anaemia (5-10 mg until birth of the baby).

Women with a BMI >30 kg/m2.

Folic acid, is an important B-complex vitamin found mostly in leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli and romaine lettuce.

Numerous studies have shown that women who get 400 micrograms daily prior to conception and during early pregnancy reduce the risk that their baby will be born with a serious neural tube defect by up to 75%.

These defects involve malformation of a structure in the fetus called the neural tube.

As the baby develops, the top part of this tube helps form the baby's brain, and the bottom part unfolds to become the baby's spinal column.

The most common neural tube defects is spina bifida.

When the neural tube fails to close properly, serious brain and spinal problems can be the result.

This is very important during the first three months of pregnancy. This is the period when all the organs of the baby’s body are formed and when optimum nutrition is extremely important.

he benefits of folic acid foods seems to have this profound effect on the prevention of neural tube defects because this vitamin is crucial in the development of DNA.

As a result, juicing recipes which contain foods with folic acid, can play a large role in cell growth and development, as well as tissue formation in the fetus.

The incidence of this condition is far higher when mothers have had a nutritionally poor diet with inadequate supplies of folic acid.

Foods high in folic acid should be consumed in their raw condition as cooking it will destroy most of this vital nutrient.

If these foods are taken in the form of freshly extracted juicing recipes they will provide the benefits of folic acid as well as the numerous additional vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

Juicing for you and your baby's health is the single most powerful and the fastest way to get foods high in folic acid into your system.

TIMING OF PREGNANCY

In couples having regular sexual intercourse every 2 or 3 days, and not using contraception, 84% will become pregnant within a year, and 92% within two years. The rest may take longer to conceive, and some may need help or intervention.

The optimum biological age for pregnancy is between 20-35 years of age.

The best time to get pregnant and have sex intercourse is the so-called "fertile fertility window." The fertile fertility window extends for 6 days starting at 5 days before ovulation until the day of ovulation. Your most fertile days are the 1-2 days before and the day of ovulation 

When is the best time to get pregnant?

The fertile window which is the best time to get pregnant has been defined as the days of the menstrual cycle during which intercourse is most likely to result in pregnancy. This fertile window extends for 6 days starting at 5 days before ovulation until the day of ovulation. Your   fertile days are the 4-5 days before and the day of ovulation, but the most fertile days are just the 2 days before and the day of ovulation.

Sexual intercourse the day after established ovulation is unlikely to improve your chances getting pregnant. and chances getting pregnant if you make love after ovulation is nearly zero.

Increasing amounts of estrogen in the cervical mucus and reproductive tract of a women approaching ovulation generally allows the sperm to live for up to 6 days.

Does timing of  intercourse improve your pregnancy chances?  

Studies have shown that even in women with regular cycles, ovulation can possibly happen any time, so "timing" of intercourse and trying to answer the question when is the best time to get pregnant has never been shown to significantly improve your pregnancy chances. You are probably not improving your chances of getting pregnant if you wait with intercourse until the temperature goes up or the OPK has become positive. You may already have ovulated by that time, and sex after ovulation is unlikely to get you pregnant.

Every day versus every other day?

Couples who tried to get pregnant were previously told to have sex once every other day during their fertile days. Recent studies have shown that for the average couple who is trying to conceive the best time to get pregnant is that they  should make love regularly 2-3 times a week, every week because you don't know exactly when ovulation happens.

 In addition, you may improve your chances if you have sex once a day (as long as his sperm are OK) during the fertile 4-5 days prior to, and the day of, ovulation. In those rare circumstances when the man does not have enough sperm (oligospermia), the old rule of once every other day still holds true.

Couples who tried to get pregnant were previously told to have sex once every other day during their fertile days. Recent studies have shown that for the average couple who is trying to conceive the best time to get pregnant is that they  should make love regularly 2-3 times a week, every week because you don't know exactly when ovulation happens.

 In addition, you may improve your chances if you have sex once a day (as long as his sperm are OK) during the fertile 4-5 days prior to, and the day of, ovulation. In those rare circumstances when the man does not have enough sperm (oligospermia), the old rule of once every other day still holds true.

Sex during fertile days: % Pregnancy

• Sex every day: 37% Pregnancy
• Sex every other day: 33% Pregnancy
• Sex once a week: 15% Pregnancy

ANXIETY IN PREGNANCY

Feeling anxious about your baby's health, the birth and your ability as a parent are all perfectly natural. If these feelings begin to get in the way of your happiness however, it may be time to take action.

Common symptoms of anxiety :

Feeling on-edge all the time - it is natural to feel anxious occasionally throughout your pregnancy, but if you are starting to feel anxious constantly, or about non-specific things, it may be worth seeking help.

Anxiety/panic attacks - in some cases, these feelings become overwhelming for both the body and mind, resulting in a panic attack.

Avoiding people/situations - sometimes the very thought of being near to a person or place that instills feelings of anxiety means you avoid them at all costs. This can have a negative impact on your life.

Difficulty concentrating - you may find yourself struggling to focus on one task at a time or you may become easily distracted.

Anxiety, stress and depression often go hand in hand, with one leading to another if not treated. For your best chance of avoiding this it is advised that you seek professional help from a qualified professional such as your GP or a counsellor.

ANXIETY IN PREGNANCY

Anxiety towards the birth

If you are pregnant with your first child it is normal to have some anxiety about the birth. It is something you will have never experienced before and understandably you will be unsure of what to expect. Even if you have had children before, worrying about things going wrong in the delivery room is still common. This could be due to previous experiences, friends’ experiences or reading about long, painful births in the media. Whatever your reasons may be, for some the thought of giving birth becomes almost a phobia.

To manage with this type of anxiety it is recommended that you arm yourself with information. Speak to a medical professional with experience, they will be able to tell you about possible complications, how likely it is that they will happen and exactly what the midwife/doctors will do in that situation.

Reading up about the labour and listening to other peoples' experiences should also help to give you a good idea of what to expect. The important thing to remember is that every birth is different and just because your friend/cousin/sister had a difficult labour, it doesn’t mean you will too.

Try to learn some relaxation techniques such as deep breathing to control your anxiety. Reaching out about your fears before your due date will give you time to trace your concerns, gain information and develop a coping strategy before the birth. The sooner you speak out about your fears, the more time you will have to do this, so don't be afraid to voice your concerns to your GP, counsellor or support group.

Tips to manage with  anxiety during pregnancy

If you are experiencing symptoms of depression and/or anxiety during your pregnancy it is recommended that you seek professional help from your local healthcare provider. The following tips should also help you to cope with symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Exercise - when you have the all clear from your doctor, participating in light exercise such as antenatal yoga will increase your energy levels and boost production of 'feel-good' dopamine hormones.

Communicate with your place of work - working throughout pregnancy can increase stress levels, so be sure to keep an open dialogue with your boss regarding your pregnancy. Be sure to inform them that you may have to take a lighter workload and that you may need to cut down your hours.

Nap when you can - if you are struggling to sleep at night it can be helpful to take 20 minute cat-naps throughout the day to revive you.

Take care of yourself - this is the time to put yourself and your health first. Treat yourself to long baths, massages and nutritious food.

Get support wherever you can - this may come from your partner, friends, family, counsellor or support group. Ask for help when you are struggling - nursery decorating parties can be a fun way to make a time consuming job less stressful.

Be Happy in Pregnancy 

Take notes - if you are suffering from 'pregnancy brain' it can be hard to keep track of things like appointments, errands and birthdays. To help you keep on top of things, try keeping a notepad with you at all times and jot down important dates and things to remember.

Practice saying no - pregnancy is often a time when you come face to face with your physical and mental limitations. Even if you are known as the ever-helpful friend who says yes to everything, now is the time to start saying no and prioritise yourself over others.

Learn relaxation techniques - this can simply be a case of breathing deeply when you feel anxious or taking it one step further with yoga or meditation. Find something you can incorporate into your daily life to help reduce stress levels.

How can a counsellor help with  anxiety during pregnancy?

If you feel you are suffering from antenatal depression or anxiety it is essential that you seek help. As tempting as it may be to bury your head in the sand and ignore these feelings, dealing with them now will save you a lot of time, energy and heartache later. It also means you will experience a happier, more relaxed pregnancy which can only benefit your child.

A qualified counsellor can provide space for you to vent your concerns or frustrations in a safe, non-judgmental environment. They will also be able to talk you through your feelings so you better understand why they are occurring, as well as offering coping mechanisms and relaxation techniques.

ANTENATAL DEPRESSION IN PREGNANCY

Most of us are well aware of postnatal depression and the associated symptoms, but a lot of people are still unaware of the effects antenatal depression can have. When you fall pregnant your body is put under immense stress, causing your hormones to work overtime. Not only does this lead to a range of physical symptoms (including morning sickness) it can also lead to the amplification of certain emotions.

ANTENATAL DEPRESSION IN PREGNANCY

When you begin to feel stressed it's these hormones that can, in some cases, lead to antenatal depression.

By understanding the causes, symptoms and treatments of antenatal depression you will be better informed and able to reach out if necessary.

Depression in Pregnancy

Causes of antenatal depression

What causes depression differs from person to person, and sadly there is rarely one single cause. The following list contains some of the more common causes of antenatal depression:

1. Hormonal changes - sometimes the simple upset of your body's hormone balance is enough to trigger depression.
2. Relationship issues - perhaps your partner isn't as supportive as you hoped, or maybe you're going through this alone, either way relationship problems can often spark feelings of depression.
3. Financial worries - concerns over the amount of money you'll need to raise a baby is a common worry among expectant mothers.
4. Despair over morning sickness - for some, this symptom of pregnancy is debilitating and can even lead to hospitalization, leading to feelings of hopelessness and depression.
5. Lack of sleep - pregnancy related insomnia and general exhaustion could lead you to over think situations and magnify negative emotions.
6. Family issues - when you become pregnant a spotlight is often shone on your own family life and previous rifts and tensions can become exaggerated.

Hormonal Changes

Symptoms of antenatal depression

There are likely to be times during your pregnancy when you feel down and unable to cope. While this may be common, it does not mean you need to suffer in silence. For some, these periods pass after a good chat with your other half, but for others it can turn into more than a 'blue day' and become antenatal depression.

The following symptoms are common in those suffering from depression during pregnancy, if you are experiencing similar feelings it may be worth speaking to your GP who can advise you what to do next.

1. Feeling tearful - your emotions will be running high due to your hormones during pregnancy regardless, but if you are feeling more tearful than expected, it may be a sign that you're not coping.
2. Feeling numb/empty - for some the implications of pregnancy are too overwhelming and the mind switches off. This may lead you to feel a numbness or emptiness at a time when you are expected to be overcome with joy.
3. Guilt/shame - there are a lot of expectations associated with pregnancy, and when you don't feel what you are expected to feel, it can lead to intense feelings of guilt and even shame for having negative thoughts.
4. Isolation - this can be especially true if your friends have not had children or if you come from an emotionally closed family. Feeling alone in your pregnancy often evokes feelings of panic and depression.
5. Insomnia - many women find it hard to sleep during pregnancy due to bodily changes, but for some it is a busy mind keeping them awake. This feeling of not being able to switch off and rest can lead to exhaustion, exaggerating negative emotions.

Feeling tearful

Tips to manage with depression during pregnancy

If you are experiencing symptoms of depression during your pregnancy it is recommended that you seek professional help from your local healthcare provider. The following tips should also help you to manage with symptoms of depression.

Exercise - when you have the all clear from your doctor, participating in light exercise such as antenatal yoga will increase your energy levels and boost production of 'feel-good' dopamine hormones.

Communicate with your place of work - working throughout pregnancy can increase stress levels, so be sure to keep an open dialogue with your boss regarding your pregnancy. Be sure to inform them that you may have to take a lighter workload and that you may need to cut down your hours.

Nap when you can - if you are struggling to sleep at night it can be helpful to take 20 minute cat-naps throughout the day to revive you.

Yoga is Miracles in Pregnancy 

Take care of yourself - this is the time to put yourself and your health first. Treat yourself to long baths, massages and nutritious food.

Get support wherever you can - this may come from your partner, friends, family, counsellor or support group. Ask for help when you are struggling - nursery decorating parties can be a fun way to make a time consuming job less stressful.

Be Happy in Pregnancy

Take notes - if you are suffering from 'pregnancy brain' it can be hard to keep track of things like appointments, errands and birthdays. To help you keep on top of things, try keeping a notepad with you at all times and jot down important dates and things to remember.

Practice saying no - pregnancy is often a time when you come face to face with your physical and mental limitations. Even if you are known as the ever-helpful friend who says yes to everything, now is the time to start saying no and priorities yourself over others.

Learn relaxation techniques - this can simply be a case of breathing deeply when you feel anxious or taking it one step further with yoga or meditation. Find something you can incorporate into your daily life to help reduce stress levels.

How can a counsellor help with depression  during pregnancy?

If you feel you are suffering from antenatal depression or anxiety it is essential that you seek help. As tempting as it may be to bury your head in the sand and ignore these feelings, dealing with them now will save you a lot of time, energy and heartache later. It also means you will experience a happier, more relaxed pregnancy which can only benefit your child.

A qualified counsellor can provide space for you to vent your concerns or frustrations in a safe, non-judgmental environment. They will also be able to talk you through your feelings so you better understand why they are occurring, as well as offering coping mechanisms and relaxation techniques.