NewMamaz: Obese Moms-to-Be Shouldn't Eat for Two

NewMamaz: Obese Moms-to-Be Shouldn't Eat for Two: Hi friends, i came across this article and i thought it is worth sharing for those who have not seen it. Women we have been hearing this so...

Obese Moms-to-Be Shouldn't Eat for Two

Hi friends,
i came across this article and i thought it is worth sharing for those who have not seen it. Women we have been hearing this song when you are pregnant everyone keeps telling you that you are ok eating too much because you are eating for two.
Some of us we take the nine months of pregnancy as an opportunity to eat whatever we feel like eating since we think that there is no need to watch your weight because you are big anyway. Well, i have news for you... LIZ SINTAY and SUZAN CLARKE of ANDREA CANNING, wrote the below article;

It's become common for pregnant women to be told that they're eating for two. But is that really necessary?

Not only is it unnecessary, but it could be dangerous for women who are overweight, according to researchers involved in the first clinical trials to help obese moms-to-be to control their weight during pregnancy.

The study by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research aims to avoid the complications commonly associated with obese moms-to-be such as high blood pressure, diabetes, bigger babies, C-sections and birth injuries.

More than half of women in the United States are overweight or obese when they become pregnant, and most go on to gain more than the recommended amount during pregnancy, according to Kaiser Permanente.

Current guidelines suggest that women of normal weight gain between 25 and 35 pounds during their pregnancy, and suggest an 11- to 20-pound weight gain for obese women. 

I was at 60kgs when i conceived and i gained 15kgs

 

 

 

Study researchers acknowledged that their investigation was a challenge to national guidelines.

"It is counterintuitive, I think particularly in our culture, where eating for two has become a common concept," said Dr. Kim Vesco, an obstetrician/gynecologist who is directing the ongoing study. "We're asking pregnant women to stay within 3 percent of their baseline weight. So, for a 200-pound woman, that would be six pounds."

Jamie Martin of Portland, Ore., gained more than 40 pounds in her first pregnancy, so she thought the goals of the Healthy Moms study would be impossible for her.

"You're taking women like me, notorious for gaining more than they're supposed to. And now you're saying to go to the other extreme," she said. "And you go, 'wow, I don't know if I can do that.'"

But it's critical that obese women try.

"These women are already carrying between 50 and 100 extra pounds -- and for them any more weight gain could be very dangerous," said Vic Stevens, a research psychologist and principal study investigator.

Last year the trial enrolled 180 obese pregnant women from Washington state and Oregon.

Participants Will Be Followed During, After Pregnancy

The study is still recruiting pregnant women.

Participants are all members of the Kaiser Permanente health plan, and they will be followed throughout their pregnancies and beyond to find out how much weight they gained, how large their babies were, how the babies grew and how they were fed, whether the women had birth complications and how much weight they kept on one year after giving birth, among other study objectives.

Click HERE for more information about the study.

Participant Already Sees Change, Is Optimistic

Preliminary results are expected in three years, but researchers believe the outcome will be that participants will have controlled their weight and delivered healthy babies.

Jamie Martin has already seen remarkable results.

At 7 ½ months pregnant, she has only gained 6 pounds. At this point in her last pregnancy, she had already gained 35 pounds.

"The first couple of weeks I had to really, really focus," Martin said. "And then, as I started to feel healthier and better, I started to get more of the fruits and vegetables in. And it just got progressively easier," she said.

Martin is allowed only 2,000 calories a day. She attends weekly nutrition sessions and keeps a food diary, helping her fight cravings.

NewMamaz: Postpartum Depression

NewMamaz: Postpartum Depression: Postpartum depression seem to be a very sensitive topic that need s more details for mothers, especia...

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression seem to be a very sensitive topic that need s more details for mothers, especially new ones to know more about it. I have a friend who has been trained to counsel mothers with postpartum depression.

I believe soon we will receive a piece from her so that we hear from the expert, what is all about the postpartum depression. 

For now let’s look briefly into development of our babies.

Babies Reaching their Milestones

Have you heard people saying that baby girls grow faster than baby boys? i mean it Is easier for a baby girl to reach her milestones than it is for a boy. Mothers need to know when to expect what, it is very important, don’t just sit there and wait just because you have never had a baby before so you feel comfortable not knowing what is happening in your baby’s world.

But, then again, you need to realize your baby does not have to develop the same way your neighbor’s baby does, even if they were born on the same day and they are of the same sex. Mothers always have something to worry about, we look at our one day old baby and wonder when they are going to say MAMA, can’t wait for the first tooth or step and a lot more down the list.

Do not go panicking thinking your baby is abnormal by looking at someone else’s baby BUT learn to be very observant, know the time frame and if you feel that the expected time has passed and nothing is happening not even a sign then talk to your pediatrician about it. All mothers should be researchers I guess, look at for answers to all your little doubts, observe every step of your baby development and be very careful of bla bla blas with no logic behind them.

There are so many website with such information, it is good to read different articles and not to rely on the first thing you read on the internet, remember many are opinions and may not necessarily be useful to your case. It is very important to be selective on the kind of information you are looking for.

Talk to you soon I have got to run

NewMamaz: Welcome to the World little Angel……

NewMamaz: Welcome to the World little Angel……: My Angel, The Day her life on this earth and mine began. I saved all my energy for her (if you kn...

Welcome to the World little Angel……

My Angel, The Day her life on this earth and mine began.

I saved all my energy for her (if you know what I mean)..I know, I have been told and I have even seen in the movies that when babies come out they cry like they are hurt or something. Ooooooh Lord, it didn’t not happen to my angel until five minutes later, those minutes were the most painful, most long waiting I have ever experienced in my entire life. I would take the labour pain and the nine months all over again not to go through those minutes, THEN, only THEN I knew what it means to be given a gift by GOD which is literally a PART of your own flesh.

Ah! Let's not talk about this, cause there those who have been through worse experience than this. Let’s just make it short and say GOD sent angels too help and finally my baby cried.

What Next…………….

One week old, my new hobby is to watch her in her sleep

I have always been so afraid of tiny babies, I mean newborns, Now, here is my own and I’m suppose to hold and protect her. I don’t remember any nurse directing me how to breastfeed my baby and I think I did not for hours and I know that was wrong. Thinking about it now, this could be the reason why I could not get milk for two or three days.

The baby was given to me and I was there staring at this little angel, couldn’t move it, didn’t even know I was suppose to check if she has poo pooed, by the time I was reminded to check the poo was all over her and I could not clean her (I’m SCARED ) I will hurt her doh!. Thanks to GOD the nurse helped but of course with some lecture.

Two nights went by without me closing a single eye, just staring. Went home with a hungry baby, crying like I don’t know what, and she caught fever. I remember there was a moment that I cried out so loud that my sister whom I went to stay with in the first week also started crying. She was so worried about me and I was so worried about my baby.

All of a suddenly I felt like no no no! I did not sign for this, the baby is ill, can’t stop crying, don’t have milk to feed her……………………and since I had not slept for two nights my body was exhausted, I wanted to run away. My mother was around, a few cousins and my sister but with all that help at the end of the day when the baby cant stop crying they all take her back to the mother. Even if they decide to keep trying, a mother cannot rest hearing a baby in pain.

Many mothers if not all go through this Postpartum depression and this is the time where mother needs a professional help that I don’t think many of us get. Our supporting system is not very clear. This is why we need to talk about these things so that a mother does not feel guilty about the way she feels. You may think that you do not deserve to be a mother or you are the worst mother, Nooooo you are not darling, it is a big change and your hormones change and everything around you changes at once, it is too much to bear.

Partners who get a chance to be there for their women should also be prepared for the changes so that they can be a little more supportive. I’m talking to MEN right now………….. the hustles we put you through for nine months and the pain we got through during labour is nothing compared to the abruptly change  a mother go through, well, I don’t know about others but as for me I wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for GOD.

Thanks also to the social help because nowadays people share their common experience online. Opening up to your friends and mothers who go through the same things help new mothers to get along with the changes. This is why we are here, to share and to open up before things get worse. Social support helps a lot, we have groups on facebook and all over other networks for mothers to share their worries and fears, let’s involve ourselves with the rest of newmamaz around the world.