Nervous About Breastfeeding?

Whether this is your first child or your seventh, sometimes breastfeeding can seem a bit frightening. Some of the questions new mothers ask are “how do I know my baby is getting enough milk,” “how do I know if my milk has come in,”  “how often should I feed him,” and, “should I wake my baby up to feed her?”

Let’s discuss the answers to these questions.

How will I know when my milk is already here?   Your milk is present even before your baby is born; it’s simply not yet recognizable as such. This milk is a thin liquid popularly known as colostrum. Colostrum is very concentrated and contains all of the necessary nutrients your baby requires to boost his immune system. Mother Nature is a wonderful thing, ensuring that, for the first few days until your milk naturally comes in, your baby will be well nourished. Eventually, over the course of a few days, you will notice a tightening in your breasts that is only relieved by letting your baby to suckle at the breast. Read more . . .

Some Factors In Getting Pregnant

Old folks have this old saying that some couples easily get pregnant by simply looking at each other.  However, there are other couples that have tried several times but seem to be having infertility problems.

Although it may not be easy getting pregnant, hopeful couples still find the “getting to conceive” stage quite enjoyable because of the different factors involved in addition to the sexual activity between the male and female.

There are numerous medical interventions involved when one is trying to conceive. These can include health improvements, pre-conception health check-ups,  and fertility tests. In the event that the female or male is found infertile, there are other ways such as surrogacy or in vitro procedure to allow the couple to have a biological child.   Read more . . .

Expressing Breast Milk

You know breast milk is best for your baby,  but sometimes you need to use a bottle. Expressing milk from your breasts and storing it in baby bottles can, at times,  be difficult for many mothers.  Luckily, it doesn’t have to be. Following the preparations below may assist you in this process:

1.  Select the time of the day when your breasts are at their fullest to express your milk.  Usually, morning seems to be the best time for most women.  Expect to collect milk about every three hours for about 30 minutes each time.

2.  Carefully wash all of your breast-pumping equipment as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Make it a standard habit to clean the equipment immediately after each use.  This usually helps keep the items easier to wash each time. Read more . . .

Determining Your Pregnancy Due Date

A pregnancy is considered full term at forty weeks, so your estimated due date is calculated 40 weeks from the date of conception. Sadly, this system of calculation can lead to a somewhat inaccurate due date. One of the most common reasons for this due date likelihood of being erroneous is that many women do not have regular menstrual cycles. The pregnancy due date is calculated using an average menstrual cycle of every twenty eight days and the ovulation date being mid-cycle. For most women, this will simply mean that the estimated due date can be as much as a month off. It is important not to rely too much on the first due date that your health professional gives you. Many pregnancies, however, do not last for precisely 40 weeks. It is quite normal that the actual pregnancy due date is longer than this by up to two weeks.

A rough pregnancy due date is enough for most women to plan when they are going to file for maternity leave. Even if the due date isn’t entirely accurate, however,  it can be used as a good indicator of when the women can decide to stop working.  As the pregnancy progresses, the pregnancy due date can be estimated much more accurately by either an ultrasound scan or  a blood test. Read more . . .

Detect Pregnancy Earlier

There are a variety of different early pregnancy test types that can be used to find out pregnancy earlier than traditional pregnancy tests. The most common early pregnancy test used by women currently is the home pregnancy testing kit. These tests can be purchased from drug stores and pharmacies and are a reliable form of early pregnancy test. A home pregnancy kit usually admits to be at least 97 percent accurate.

It is highly impossible that a positive result from an early pregnancy test would prove to be false. These home pregnancy kits, however, are not as accurate if you use them less than one week after a missed period. This is because the levels of hCG in the urine are diluted for the first few days of pregnancy and this can lead to hCG not being traced by some of the early pregnancy test kits.

Read more . . .