“Motherhood is such an evolving journey”. –Solange Knowles
Pregnancy is actually one of the greatest gifts any woman can be blessed with.
Since being a little girl, Women look up to the day when they become a mother and have her own baby.
It is honestly a great responsibility to bring another human being to this world and it is hard to raise him/her correctly.
However, it is still a blessing to have someone to share unconditional love with and to have your side when you grow older.
Even though, pregnancy is great, however, the stage after pregnancy is not really an easy stage, you should know how to take care of your health and also of your baby’s health.
The Best Age For Pregnancy
As a matter of fact, a girl’s chance to get pregnant is the highest at her 20s, she is actually more fertile at this stage of her life.
However, it does not mean that a women at her 30s or 40s is not able to get pregnant at all.
No, she is actually still able, but unfortunately her pregnancy risks increase.
Why Are Some Babies Born At The Seventh Month?
Premature birth is actually one of the most common problems that face a lot of pregnant women.
There are several reasons that cause a pregnant women to give birth early, these reasons include:
- Poor nutrition
- Smoking
- Drinking alcohols
- Overweight or underweight
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Not getting enough parental care
- History of premature labor
Problems That Face The Premature Baby:
Although most babies who are born early survive, however, they face some problems, for example:
- Growing slowly
- Heart problems
- Breathing problems
- Brain problems
- Metabolism problems
- Blood problems
- Immune system problems
- Vision problems
- Hearing problems
- Psychological problems
Health Issues Of A New Mother After Pregnancy
A woman’s body after giving birth becomes weaker and she faces a lot of problems and changes in it.
So, a new mother should understand that these changes are normal and that there is solutions to the troubles she is facing.
1. Gaining Weight
Gaining extra weight during pregnancy is logical, as you are literally carrying another human being inside your body.
But, the problem continues to after you give birth to that human being.
After giving birth, you lose about six kilograms, which is approximately the baby’s weight plus the placenta and the amniotic fluid.
However, even after giving birth, your weight is still not the same as before getting pregnant.
Researches have lately proven that this extra weight is not only because of having the baby inside you.
But, there are other factors causing this weight gain, like poor eating habits and lack of sleeping during pregnancy.
Gaining weight during and after pregnancy is normal, but it is a problem that you can fix, so do not worry about it.
Do not decrease your food intake in order to decrease your weight, your body needs nutrition during this period, but, you can follow these advises:
- Decrease your intake of calories.
- Avoid added sugar, processed food and alcohols.
- Start exercising.
- Drink enough water.
- Eat a lot of fibers.
2. Hair Loss
Losing hair after giving birth is actually a very common problem, it approximately affects from 40 to 50% of new new mothers.
Fortunately, it is not a permanent problem, it happens as a result to hormonal changes and it takes between 6 and 12 months for your hair to return to its usual growth.
During the period your hair takes to grow normally, you can follow these tips to keep it healthy:
- Stop drying and ironing your hair.
- Take vitamins.
- Eat well.
- Use a high quality shampoo and conditioner.
- Apply hair masks.
3. Toothache
Visiting your dentist during your pregnancy for once at least is necessary.
Hormonal changes, breastfeeding and also nutrients transfer to your baby cause your teeth to be weaker and more sensitive.
You should pay attention to your teeth and take care of them in order to cure quickly, these are some tips to take care of your teeth:
- Brush your teeth twice a day.
- Drink enough water.
- Avoid alcohols.
- Reduce sugars.
- Take vitamins.
- Get enough calcium.
- Visit your dentist regularly.
4. Depression
Hormonal changes that happen after delivery do not only cause physical changes, it also cause psychological changes as well.
After giving birth to your baby, you will feel different feelings, including depression, anxiety, sensitivity, mood swings and unreasonable crying.
These feelings are actually very normal and common, and they do not last for too long, they can only take several days to go away without any medications.
5. What To Eat
As a new mom, your body needs to get the sufficient nutrients to provide with the energy needed.
Accordingly, new moms are always confused between what to eat and what to avoid to stay healthy and to keep their babies healthy.
After giving birth, there are some food that you should focus on, like:
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Nuts
- Fruits and vegetables
- Enough water
- Bread
- Beef
On the other hand, there are some foods that a new mom should avoid.
When a mother starts breastfeeding, everything she eats indirectly reaches her baby, accordingly it can upset or affect the baby’s health.
These foods include:
- Spices
- Chocolate
- Broccoli
- Lemon
- Onions
- Caffeine
- Alcohols
What A New Mom Needs To Understand About Her Baby
Motherhood is a totally new experience for a new mom, which puts new responsibilities on her.
A new mom should not only understand how to deal with her body or with her health, but, she should also know how to deal with her baby.
Babies do not have the ability to express what they feel or what they need, so, a mother should know how to understand the signs her baby is trying to give her.
Here are some things you should well know about your baby:
1. Why can’t the baby sleep?
One of the most common and also stressful problems for the parents is that babies do not sleep properly.
What makes this problem stressful, exhausting and hard to fix is that mothers do not understand the reason behind it.
Reasons why your new born can not sleep are several, they include that your baby may feel:
- Hungry
- Tired
- Hot or cold
- Uncomfortable
How to get the baby to sleep deeply?
- Turn off the lights.
- Reduce number of naps your baby gets through the day.
- Do not cause noises near your baby.
- Separate feeding from bedtime.
2. Why does the baby cry?
One of the most annoying problems a new mother faces is when her baby start crying for no reason.
Even though at sometimes, babies are actually crying for no reason, however, on other times, there are reasons behind your baby’s annoying crying.
This reasons might be that your baby:
- Feels hungry.
- Needs to be held.
- Is hot or cold.
- Has stomach problems.
- Needs to sleep.
- Forming teeth.
How to stop your baby from crying
Stopping your baby from crying is not an easy task at all, however, you can still try these methods:
- Gently massage your baby.
- Change your baby’s feeding position.
- Give your baby a warm bath.
- Sing to your baby.
- Hold your baby and start swinging him.
If you felt that you did your best and your baby still excessively cry, then you can better visit a doctor, too much crying might be an indicator for something.
3. How long does it take the baby to see hear clearly?
By the end of your new born baby’s first month, he/she becomes able to make eye contact and to see things that are about 12 inches away.
When your baby’s age reaches three or four months, he/she starts distinguishing colors and focusing on smaller objects.
There are some signs that indicate if your baby is having a sight problems, like:
- Not being affected by turning lights on and off.
- Rubbing eyes a lot.
- Eyes do not follow moving toys.
- Both eyes do not look or move the same way.
4. How long does it take a baby to hear clearly?
A new born baby is able to notice sudden loud sounds, but it takes the baby about three months to recognize parents’ voice, six months to look at the voice’s source and twelve months to start saying some words.
If your baby does not seem to pay attention to sounds according to the previous information, then there might be a problem with your baby’s ears, take your baby to your doctor and check.
The Bottom Line
Pregnancy and giving birth brings a lot of fun, happiness and joy to your life with it.
But, on the other hand, it brings a lo of responsibilities and duties as well, so you should know how to take it seriously.
Just like pregnancy makes you a different person and changes your perspective of life, it also changes your body and your health.
You should be patient with yourself to fix any changes caused by pregnancy and understand that these changes are totally normal.
Simply, in order to get a healthy child and a happy life, you should face some difficulties in return, don’t panic and everything will be okay.
