Читать книгу Ultimate, Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting Guide - Lilian Paramor - Страница 19

The fitter a woman is and the healthier her lifestyle before pregnancy, the less troubling physical discomfort is likely to be in pregnancy. First pregnancies are mostly easier. These are some important factors associated with the more minor discomforts of pregnancy:

•Increased levels of the hormone progesterone stretch and relax ligaments that hold the bones together and organs in place, as well as smooth muscle fibres throughout the body. On the positive side, this is one way Mother Nature ensures an easier birth as the pelvic outlet can stretch and become roomier as Baby pushes through. Unfortunately, this effect happens well before birth and in places other than the pelvis!

•By the end of pregnancy you are likely to have picked up at least 12kg and your centre of gravity will have changed significantly.

•The shape and position of your womb may not be ideal and can cause pain.

•Some women have generally lower pain tolerance and may feel the aches and pains more acutely.

•Baby’s position and movements may well contribute to your discomfort.

Tip: Taking calcium supplements can help to alleviate many of the aches and pains of pregnancy.

There are eight main aches and pains that commonly trouble pregnant women:

1.Ligament pain

More about it:

•Ligaments are fibrous tissue that connects various bones in the body to each other and also surrounds joints to help protect them and contribute to their mobility.

•Ligament pain is common in the back, navel area, groin, hip bones, pelvis, pubic bones and thighs.

•It may feel like a stitch, twinge, burning, pulling, tightening or aching – continuously or at intervals.

•It may be in a particular spot or the pain may move from place to place.

•Intense burning in the rib area, aggravated by Baby’s kicking, may cause inflammation in the ligament and muscle fibres, called intercostal pain.

•Round ligament pain is a needling sensation in a very specific ligament in the pelvis which helps support your growing uterus.

Self-help tips:

✓Regular walking, swimming and dancing improve the strength of ligaments, lessening ligament pain.

✓Correct your posture by pulling in your tummy muscles and buttocks, keeping your shoulders back and down, and tilting your chin slightly upwards when walking – this will put less strain on your ligaments.

✓Sleep with a pillow between your knees to relieve hip pain.

✓For aching in your lower abdomen, cup your hands around the lower part of your growing belly and lift it gently for instant relief.

✓Go down on all fours and rest your head on folded arms so that your buttocks are higher than your chest, to soothe pain in the pelvic area.

✓Wear a pregnancy band in the third trimester for support which very effectively soothes ligament pain.

✓Massage painful areas with arnica oil.

✓Take the tissue salts Calc fluor and Ferrum phos to improve elasticity and strength of ligaments.

✓Ferrum phos also helps for burning ligament pain.

✓If you have a low pain threshold, take a homeopathic remedy to improve anxiety and help break the pain-tension cycle.

See your midwife or doctor:

If there are any symptoms like an abnormal vaginal discharge, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, inexplicable constipation or bloating.

2.Backache

More about it:

•Backache is often a form of ligament pain and is mostly experienced from mid-pregnancy, as the ligaments of your back relax and stretch.

•Your centre of gravity and posture change during pregnancy, putting additional strain on your back.

•Strain on the joints between your pelvis and hip bones, which is common in pregnancy, may contribute to lower backache too.

•Women often don’t take care when bending and picking up weighty objects, making lower back injury and pain more likely.

Self-help tips:

✓Prevention is better than cure and it’s all about building your strength and posture, so do yoga, walk, dance or swim regularly, before and during pregnancy, if all is well with you and Baby.

✓Alternate periods of rest and movement and do regular back-strengthening exercises.

✓Try to correct your posture by pulling in your tummy and buttocks, keeping your shoulders back and down, and your chin slightly tilted upwards.

✓Go down on all fours for instant but temporary relief.

✓Cross your hands in the small of your back and press up firmly against a wall.

✓If you have a desk-bound job, sitting on a “birth ball” can help correct posture and ease pain.

✓Wear a pregnancy belt.

✓Ask your partner to give you a back massage using arnica oil.

✓Take the tissue salts Calc fluor and Ferrum phos to improve ligament elasticity and strength.

See your midwife or doctor:

If you experience backache in early pregnancy associated with pelvic cramping or abnormal vaginal discharge; you have a fever; your urine smells strongly; or you have any accompanying signs of labour earlier than your due date.

3.Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)

More about it:

•The small, bony canal in the wrist (the carpal tunnel), through which nerves and blood vessels pass to and from the hand, does not allow much room for fluid retention – and swelling is common in this area.

•CTS refers to numbness, a clumsy feeling or severe pain in the fingers, hand and/or arm, and affects approximately 62% of pregnant women.

•There may be a loss of strength and dexterity of the affected hand.

•It may only occur at night due to pressure at the shoulder joint or because the wrists are flexed while you sleep.

•CTS is made worse by doing forceful activity.

•CTS will seldom resolve spontaneously and symptoms mostly continue for some months after birth.

Self-help tips:

✓A wrist splint helps some people.

✓Take the tissue salts Nat mur and Nat sulph to help reduce swelling.

✓Apply cool poultices (damp linen cloths wrapped around your wrists or cooling gel pads, available from large pharmacies) to reduce pain and swelling.

✓Avoid any positions or activities that worsen symptoms, and don’t let your arm hang down at your side for long periods.

✓Do gentle exercise to reduce swelling – make a fist, then spread the fingers; also gently move your wrist forward and backwards.

✓The tissue salts Nat mur and Nat sulph may help reduce swelling in the area, Ferrum phos may help for any burning nerve pain, and Kali phos helps regenerate and heal nerve injury in chronic cases.

✓Gentle fluid drainage massage to encourage movement of fluid towards the heart may help – keeping the affected hand elevated, gently stroke the hand and arm towards the shoulder; never stroke towards the fingertips.

See your midwife or doctor:

•If symptoms are not relieved by these tips, persist or become worse, steroid injections or minor surgery may be needed – this is usually very successful and is not harmful to Baby.

•Because many women still experience symptoms after birth, it can be difficult to find a comfortable breastfeeding position – see your midwife or a breastfeeding advisor for help.

4.Cramps in your feet and legs

More about it:

•This is common due to extra magnesium and calcium requirements of pregnancy, and demands on the circulatory system.

•It is most frequent in the last trimester but can occur at any time.

•It is usually most severe at night.

Self-help tips:

✓Increase your consumption of foods rich in magnesium like nuts, seeds, bananas and leafy green vegetables, and in calcium like avocados, dates, grapes, guavas, kiwifruit, lemons, mangoes and dairy products (in moderation).

✓Pull the toes of the affected side up towards your knee and massage the cramping muscles.

✓Take the tissue salt Mag phos to help improve absorption of magnesium from food and supplements and to give rapid relief during cramping.

See your midwife or doctor:

If there are pronounced varicose veins in the affected leg, it feels hot to the touch or you find the pain unbearable.

5.Sciatica

More about it:

•The sciatic is the largest nerve in the body and arises from the spinal column in the lower back. Pressure on this nerve will lead to pain and inflammation, called sciatica.

•The common symptoms include a dull ache in the buttock, sharp shooting pain down the back of the leg and in the foot of the affected side, a lame or numb feeling down the affected leg, burning or tingling in the toes and certain areas of the leg, sensitive skin and limited range of motion in the foot.

•The softening of ligaments due to increased progesterone levels may lead to a slump in posture, placing pressure on the sciatic nerve.

•In pregnancy, the body’s centre of gravity changes, further contributing to compression and irritation of the sciatic nerve.

•Occasionally inflammation of this nerve may be caused by other conditions and chronic sciatica can lead to loss of muscle power and size.

Self-help tips:

✓Good muscle tone will help prevent the onset of sciatica.

✓Rest frequently while symptoms are acute to help alleviate inflammation of the nerve.

✓Massage the affected area with arnica oil to help relieve pain, inflammation and the burning ache.

✓Wear a pregnancy band to support the entire abdominal and lower back region, contributing to less pressure and better posture.

✓Take the tissue salt Ferrum phos to relieve inflammation and burning pain, and Kali phos and Mag phos for soothing nerve pain, repairing nerves and treating muscle cramps.

See your midwife or doctor:

If symptoms persist or are unbearable.

6.Stiff, painful joints

More about it:

•This is often caused by excessive weight gain, especially if the hip, knee and foot joints are most affected.

•Pregnancy water retention may decrease mobility of the joints.

•Stretched ligaments may add to discomfort felt in the joints.

•Discomfort is mostly worse on rising in the morning and improves once the day has warmed and with movement.

•Pain is usually worse in the second half of pregnancy.

•It may rarely be related to a more serious auto-immune condition.

Self-help tips:

✓Avoid foods that are acidic or cause acidity (too much red meat, cheese, yoghurt, pickles and alcohol).

✓Ensure you do moderate but regular light exercise.

✓Alternate rest and movement.

✓Use the advice given for swelling later in this chapter.

✓Take the tissue salt Nat phos to help balance the body’s pH and Ferrum phos for burning or throbbing pain and inflamed joints.

✓Apply warmth to the affected joints to soothe pain.

See your midwife or doctor:

If pain persists or becomes worse.

7.Headaches

More about it:

•Generally, if headaches occur early in pregnancy, they’re not serious. Pregnancy supplements are sometimes the cause.

•Try to avoid taking medication, but if you’re desperate take half a dose of paracetamol.

Self-help tips:

✓Take the tissue salt Mag phos at least three times a day, followed by a warm drink.

✓If anxiety underlies the headaches, take a homeopathic remedy for stress and anxiety.

✓Avoid caffeine and rich, fatty foods.

✓Maintain a good posture.

See your midwife or doctor:

If you get headaches in the second half of pregnancy, it may be more serious, so have your blood pressure checked, especially if you find that you are swelling a lot, experience nausea, are short of breath or have visual disturbances.

8.Braxton Hicks contractions

More about it:

•Braxton Hicks are rhythmic contractions of the muscular wall of the uterus (womb) without being in labour, and are often referred to as “practice pains”.

•They may be very short or up to 15 minutes of abdominal wall tightening might be felt.

•They may be experienced as irritability rather than pain or might be quite intense.

•Anxious and tense women and those whose abdominal muscles are very toned experience more Braxton Hicks contractions.

•Baby’s every movement may trigger a Braxton Hicks contraction, especially in the third trimester.

Self-help tips:

✓Rest regularly.

✓Take a warm bath for rapid relief.

✓Massage your abdomen gently with a light oil.

✓Take a safe homeopathic remedy if you’re prone to anxiety and have a low pain threshold.

See your midwife or doctor:

If you have simultaneous vaginal bleeding and contractions.