A healthy pregnant woman equals healthy baby, this means if a pregnant woman should take care of herself during pregnancy in terms of diet, exercise and taking nutritional supplements the baby will come out healthy with normal birth weight and no congenital problem. What are the factors that cause a low birth weight in pregnancy?

Low Birth Weight in Pregnancy

First, what is a low birth weight actually? A low birth weight is defined as having a weight of less than 2,5oo grams. It is also described as small for gestational age and intrauterine growth restriction. One of the causes of low birth weight are placental problem like pre-eclampsia which reduces blood flow to the baby, so, if there is less blood distribution to the baby then the baby is getting less nutrients and oxygen which then lead to growth restriction.

Having a twin or multiple fetuses may also cause low birth weight because they don’t have as much larger room to grow. Some other causes are pertains to medical and emotional problems such as infection, low caloric intake, chronic illness such as diabetes, heart, kidney and lung problem, stressful life including financial problem, taking illegal drugs, drinking alcohol and smoking all these contribute in slowing down the growth of a baby.

When you are pregnant it is part of the process that you will feel back pain because pregnancy and back pain go together. I think everybody wants to know why pregnant women suffer from back pain. It is because during pregnancy the body produces a variety of hormones and one of it is relaxin which causes the ligaments and pelvis to soften to allow the baby to pass through the pelvic inlet. In addition to that the uterus is growing thus t changes the center of the gravity, the abdominal muscles becomes overstretched. Is there any way to get rid of back pain?

Pregnancy and Back Pain

Prevention is always better than cure, prevention is the best way to free yourself from back pain, here are some tips like practice a good posture, wear low heeled shoes and wear maternity pants, lift properly don’t bend at your back or lift with your waist, sleep on your side not on your back and try heat, cold or massage at your back it might help you as well. You can make your back strong by doing your regular physical activities of course it is also nice to know your limit. Maybe you can try acupuncture, yes they say it’s safe during pregnancy and it can help relieve back pain. That is all you need to know about pregnancy and back pain.

Have you ever heard of a 4-D ultrasound scan? Have you ever asked yourself or have you ever wondered what are 4-D Ultrasound scans? A 4-D ultrasound scan is a moving 3 dimensional images of your baby. Though a 4-D ultrasound scan is quite expensive however you will be overwhelmed and you will enjoy in seeing the movements and condition of your baby in 3 angles and you may see it over and over again because you may be given a recording of it on DVD, isn’t it amazing?

4-D Ultrasound Scans

This is also helpful in detecting early congenital defect or problem of the baby while still in the utero. The best time to have a 4-D ultrasound scan is just like the 3-D scan which is between 26 and 30th week of pregnancy because in this time the baby has a very little fat under her skin in which it can help visualize other parts of the body clearly like, you will be able to see the shape of the mouth and lips, nose and you might even capture your baby yawning and most of all you can get an idea of whether whom he looks like, does he looks like mom or dad.

Now, you might ask who are qualified to do a 4-D scan. They are done by internationally qualified sonographers wherein you can ask and discuss about the progress and development of the baby inside the mother’s womb.

If you read this word the first thing that comes into your mind is knowing what is amniocentesis (amnio) means, and how is it done. This is also known as amniotic fluid test which is a procedure done by medical professionals and this is used in diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections in which a small amount of amniotic tissues/fluid is extracted in the amnion sac and submit it for examinations.

Amniocentesis (Amnio)

This is usually performed in second trimester from 15 weeks of pregnancy. The procedure done is letting the mother take analgesic first to relieve the pain or let her feel less discomfort when a needle is inserted in her abdominal wall then passing through the uterus then to amnion and this done also with the aid of ultrasound guidance and extracting at least 20 ml of amniotic fluid. The following patients who are required to have amniocentesis are those with family history of genetic abnormalities, if an ultrasound showed congenital problem in the fetus and if the mother is more than 35 years old.

What are the common chromosomal abnormalities that can be detected in amniocentesis? These are Down Syndrome, Trisomy 13, Trisomy 16, Fragile X, neural tube defects and later it can also detect infection, Rh incompatibility and prediction of maturity of the lungs. The earlier the detection of abnormalities the better because there will be an early medical management. So if you are pregnant try and seek amniocentesis (amnio) test.

I think many women are very particular about what are the risk factors for miscarriage because they don’t want that what they have made will just put into waste, it’s a drastic and unacceptable event. So, what are those risk factors for miscarriage?

In medical factors pregnant woman have a greater chance of miscarriage if she gets pregnant when she’s more than 35 years old, having a known recurrent miscarriage cause like septate uterus, certain bacterial and viral infections during the period of pregnancy especially in early pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, a known chronic medical illness, pregnant women who are obese and malnourished, and conceiving after infertility.

Risk Factors for Miscarriage

Moreover, lifestyle of a pregnant woman is also considered a great risk like using substance abuse, drinking alcohol, smoking, taking some herbs and drugs which are also known to be teratogenic and occupational exposures to chemicals.

Here are some other factors that possibly can contribute to cause of miscarriage such as high caffeine intake, chronic stress and anxiety and exposure to radiations. It’s been a wrong misconception of everybody if sexual intercourse can also cause miscarriage, well medical experts says that it cannot. All of these risk factors for miscarriage will be lessen if you go hand in hand, you help yourself by avoiding those avoidable factors that can cause miscarriage and of course have a regular prenatal check up to your obstetrician and follow that they say.