Elizabeth Morgan

Childbirth is a momentous occasion, whether a first born or the seventh. The health and upbringing of a newborn is dependent on mother’s preparedness on how she handles this delicate issue. We can read or watch videos of childbirth but it is experience that carries weight.

The first step is to understand female anatomy and how it works during different phases of childbirth. Ovulation is one such phase of the menstrual cycle, when an egg or ovum is released from ovaries.

If this ovum meets with male sperm in its journey down the fallopian tube conception takes place. It does sound simple, but Ovulation depends on the interplay of glands and hormones. This may be one reason why some women cannot conceive. The gland that affects Ovulation is the Hypothalamus, using its hormones for communication with the pituitary gland, referred to as the master gland of the endocrine system. In turn, the pituitary gland produces luteinizing hormone (LH) and FSH.

High levels of LH cause Ovulation within two days. The cycle continues with mature follicles releasing ovum into the peritoneal cavity and then into the fallopian tube, and from there to the uterus. If the ovum does not encounter a sperm within 24 hours it dies.

Ovulation occurs two weeks before the onset of the menstrual period once every month till menopause, or break in between for child birth and pregnancy. Certain changes occur in the cervical mucus, which gets slippery and slick, accompanied by general or localized pain.

Sometimes there is delay or deviation from 24 to 35 days in the menstrual cycle, or slight fever in women who follow natural family planning methods. This persuades them to mistake Ovulation for premenstrual symptoms, if accompanied by pain and changes in body. Instead of playing guessing games, Ovulation should be confirmed with kits available in market or through blood tests or pregnancy ultrasound. Once sure, it is advisable to take precautions to avoid miscarriage or bleeding. Motherhood is something nature intended us to enjoy, and we should welcome it in all its cycles.

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Elizabeth Morgan

Calcium and magnesium are two elements that are highly essential for the body. They are mentioned together because they mostly function as a group. Calcium is the most abundant element in the body and is extremely essential for the growth and development of the bones. However it is not very easy for calcium to get absorbed within the body and hence most of it is flushed out. Magnesium is the element that helps calcium to get absorbed within the body.

Calcium and magnesium are retailed together in the form of tablets.

Since both of them are better absorbed in the body in their chelated forms, one should look for their citrates, gluconates, aspartates, glycinates or lactates in the ingredients.

When the diet is insufficient in magnesium, calcium does not get absorbed in the blood and bones. Instead, it collects in the soft tissues, leading to arthritic pains. A common misconception was that arthritis is caused due to the deficiency of calcium. It is actually not the deficiency, but the malabsorption of calcium that is the culprit.

A diet supplemented with magnesium can remedy the situation by allowing calcium to get absorbed in the blood and the bones.

Osteoporosis, i.e. the softening of long bones, is also caused due to improper absorption of calcium in the body. A diet well-balanced with magnesium can treat conditions of osteoporosis. Magnesium and calcium together can also reduce pain during menstrual cramps and pregnancy in women.

A proper ratio of calcium and magnesium in the body is 2:1. Higher proportion of calcium is required because it has difficulties in getting absorbed in the body.

It is advisable to have at least 1000 mg of calcium and 500 mg of magnesium in the daily diet.

There are many natural foods that are rich in both calcium and magnesium. Calcium is present in all dairy foods such as butter, cheese, yoghurt, etc. It is also present in turnips and kelps. Magnesium is found abundantly in nuts such as almonds, cashew nuts and brazil nuts. It is also found in good proportions in buckwheat, brown rice, dandelion greens and corn.

Refined sugar and alcohol interfere directly with the amounts of calcium and magnesium in the body. Both of these substances eliminate more magnesium out of the body in the form of urine. As a result, magnesium is unavailable for the absorption of calcium and its level goes down too. Hence, people suffering from bone related problems must reduce their intake of both refined sugar and alcohol.

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By Crystal Phend, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

SAN DIEGO, Calif., Oct. 26 — Although antidepressants may have an effect on fetuses in utero, so may the lack of the drug during pregnancy. 

 

Babies born to women with untreated major depressive disorder had significant changes in neurobehavioral function, were born at an earlier gestational age, and had elevated stress hormones, according to a small study reported at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry meeting here. 

 

"The question is, does bathing an infant in an intrauterine environment where the mother's stress hormones are high affect the baby?" said Sheila M. Marcus, M.D., of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 

 

While some evidence has suggested that the medications used to treat depression, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may have a negative prenatal impact, the issue is still unclear and little study has been done on the effect of untreated depression during pregnancy, Dr. Marcus and and colleagues said. 

 

The investigators reported the preliminary findings from 53 infant-mother pairs of 135 pregnant women enrolled in the study. Maternal plasma cortisol and other stress hormones were measured throughout pregnancy. Infant cord blood was examined for adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisol while salivary cortisol was measured for the first seven months after birth. 

 

The study by Dr. Marcus and colleagues found that infants born to women with depression were born significantly earlier. Mean gestational ages were: 

 

• 35.6 weeks for infants born to women with major depressive disorder. 
• 38.6 weeks for those of women with high risk of depression (past history of depression or Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale likelihood ratio greater than 10). 
• 39.4 weeks for those born to women at low risk of depression (no past history of depression and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale likelihood ratio less than 10). 

 

Motor maturity tended to be lower and cortisol levels higher in the infants with depressed mothers, but the differences were not significant. 

 

Regarding the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (LHPA), women who developed major depressive disorder had significantly higher cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone levels compared to low risk women (P=0.05). Cord blood of babies born to depressed mothers tended to have more cortisol, but the trend did not reach significance in the relatively small group analyzed. 

 

No significant differences were seen when the babies were scored at age two weeks on a neurobehavioral scale that describes developmental and behavioral maturation, central nervous system integrity and stress responses. 

 

The findings for infants of high risk women were: 

 

• Poorer quality of movement (-0.36 versus -0.26 low risk, P=0.07), 
• More hypotonia (0.49 versus -0.22 low risk, P>0.01), and 
• Higher stress scores (0.56 versus 0.13 low risk, P>0.003). 

 

"These findings may indicate altered neurological development," Dr. Marcus and colleagues said. 

 

The researchers cautioned that the findings are preliminary but said the study "may improve our understanding of the early genesis of mood disorders."

Additional Depression Coverage
Primary source: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Source reference:
Marcus SM, et al "Perinatal Depression: Neuroendocrine and Behavioral Impacts on the Neonate" AACAP 2006; 33:A16.

pregnancy depression health issues