Celebrating Mother's Day with some tips for a healthy pregnancy

Prenatal care is very important; not only for your baby's health, but also for yours. 

During the pregnancy period, follow the basics: eating a healthy diet, getting enough rest, not smoking, drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Schedule your first prenatal care check-up as soon as you find out you have synthoms you can be pregnant, so you can check your health condition and can find out your due date.

Don't miss any of the prenatal care check-ups, even if you’re feeling fine. You will get blood and urine tests during most of your visits and a blood pressure check at every visit. Your doctor may recommend certain vaccinations or prenatal tests at your check-ups. Prenatal tests monitor the evolution of the pregnancy and your baby's health. They include ultrasound to monitor the development of the fetus and mesure different parameters as the size of relevant organs and, if indicated, they may include amniocentesis or chronic villus sampling.

During the prenatal care check-ups, your doctor will also asks you about your family health history to see if certain medical conditions run in your family. Always tell your doctor how you’re feeling and ask as many questions as doubts you have so you are well informed about every detail on what’s happening throughout your pregnancy.

Why is prenatal care important?

Prenatal care allows you to achieve good maternal health, normal development of the fetus, and to promote optimal childbirth conditions. This way, maternal complications during pregnancy will decrease, as well as newborn complications such as low birth weight and other neonatal conditions or diseases.

Prenatal care seeks to provide education to improve the quality of life of the expectant couple, and that of the expected child. This process involves prenatal care, childbirth, and newborn care.

Prenatal care should start at the time you learn you are pregnant, ideally you should be evaluated well before the 14th week of pregnancy to assess the health of the pregnant woman, determine the pregnancy risks that may be associated with the mother's and her family medical history, and take the appropriate actions to achieve a successful pregnancy.

Warning signs to watch out for during your pregnancy

It is of the utmost importance that you know the warning signs that can occur during pregnancy. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, immediately go to urgent care:

• Excessive weight gain (more than two kilograms in one week).
• Swelling or edema in your feet, hands, or face.
• Altered vision (blurred vision, spots).
• A decrease in the amount of urine.
• Burning during urination or foul-smelling urine.
• Uncontrollable vomiting.
• Severe and persistent headache.
• Intense pain in your esophagus or stomach.
• Decrease in- or absence of fetal movements.
• Vaginal bleeding.

Running has become a cool sport. People of all ages find have found in this activity a simple way to exercise, improve their health and burn calories, not taking some preventive measures pain. For this reason, here are some tips to run following a suitable method: 
 

Getting ready to start

• First of all, each person should have clear what is the objective. If running responds to the wish of health improvement or weight loss. Once the main objective has been fixed, each one should ask for medical advice to establish the suitable physical routine.
• The evaluation with a specialist will also clarify if the person has the required physical conditions to run because overweight people cannot start running in the same conditions as those ones with low muscle mass.
• Acquire the suitable outfit for jogging. The footwear must be flexible, with good cushioning and made with light materials. As well, it must be temperature resistant. Nowadays, there are even specialized stores with applications where they measure each person’s foot determining their characteristics and goals in order to choose the most suitable shoe for running.
• Although footwear is the most important thing, clothing is also relevant. Many people go jogging very early because of their tight schedule facing very cold climate conditions. For this reason, for those who to jogging before 6:30 a.m. should wear thermal clothing, whereas those who run at noon in warm conditions should wear also sunscreen, a cap and everything required to avoid sunstroke or dehydration.
• In case of a half marathon or a marathon, it is important to remember that a previous strong training is required. To run a marathon (42 kilometers) it is recommended to train, at least, during six months, whereas in the case of a half marathon (21 km) the minimum training period is of three months.
   

When running

• Practice at least three times per week to give time to muscles to recover.
• Hydration and nutrition are essential. For 1 hour circuits, it is recommended to drink 100 cm3 of water every 15 minutes. In case of jogging more than two hours it is recommended to mix the water with sugars and mineral salts.
• If you are motivated with the exercise routine avoid those foods that do not contribute anything, such as, saturated fats. The ideal thing is to consume natural juices before running and carbohydrates, which provide energy, one hour or two before exercising.
• Fasting is not convenient because they cause that muscles will not have energy, a situation that can lead to hypoglycemia.
• Keep in mind that athletes, who run in a professional way, do it in tip toes to achieve higher speed. If you see them training in their track do not try to imitate them, because a person who runs for health reasons should make a normal step, pushing forward with the middle of the foot. Do not put the whole foot (including the heel) firmly because this can cause an injury.
• Stretching routines are mandatory, before and after running. This makes muscles to recover easier. Running without any warming may cause injuries.
   

Who should not practice this exercise?

• Those people with uncontrolled cardiovascular medical problems should not practice running. Those with a medical record of hip, ankle or knee injury that were not adequately recovered.
• People suffering from osteoarthritis because the impact accelerates joint damage.
• People with clinical obesity. Before running they should practice other types of exercise to avoid injuries. The same is recommended for people whose body mass index is below the limit.
   

General advice

• In case of feeling ill, sick, or fever it is recommended not to overstrive, being better recover first from the disease and, then, continue the routine.
• Do not exercise after consuming too much alcohol. This speeds up liver’s energy consumption and performance will not be the same due to the existence of less reserves.
• For those who want to practice more than cardiovascular exercise it is recommend doing weights or abs after running. The reason is that the muscle temperature is high and the body is prepared for the next process.
• Nowadays, there are many mobile applications that can monitor the state of the exercise. It is recommended to strive one more level each day. 

Running constitutes an exercise of personal challenges, as there is no team to compete with. Overcoming these challenges generates a greater attraction and motivation to practice it, necessary to get up each day and follow the routine.

The treatment of diabetes is dynamic. Apart from pharmacological treatment, the diabetes patient should reinforce it with a diet and practicing exercise in order to diminish the effects of the disease in the life quality.

It is important to remember that all foodstuff that is eaten is transformed into glucose. For this reason, the quantity and quality of the food becomes very important. In addition, a properly nutrition will be also helpful to control weight or, if necessary, loss it.

The following five tips are key to have food as a helpful weapon in to live together with the diabetes: 
 

1. Develop a meal plan

Every diet must be personalized taking into account the conditions of each person. As well, child’s diet is different to the one of an adolescent or an adult. There are also special situations, such as pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or kidney damage.
 

2. What kind of food to consume

It is important to design balanced menus using current products, paying attention to carbohydrates, sugars, proteins and fats. It is recommended the consumption of whole grains and fruit (not juice) due to their fiber levels. As well, it is important to acquire proteins which can be found in lean meats and consume poultry and fish instead of red meats.

It is recommended to limit foods with high levels of sugar (sweets, sodas and desserts) and to use salt in small amounts when preparing meals and snacks.
Pay attention to the amount of carbohydrates consumed per day. Refined flour bakery and foods rich in sugar increase rapidly blood glucose levels because they are quickly digested and stored in blood.

When shopping, it is important to read the labels and make an informed decision. Regarding liquids, it is important to drink between 6 and 8 glasses of water per day, as well as tea, coffee and aromatic waters.
 

3. When preparing meals…

Choose steamed, roasted, grilled or baked foods and avoid the fried ones. When using oil this should be done from canola, sunflower, corn, olive or soya. Oil must not be reused. As well, it is important to avoid margarines. For seasoning, species can be an option to avoid creamy sauces like mayonnaise.
 

4. Respect food amounts and meal schedules

As regular physical activity and medications, eating habits help to maintain desired sugar level in blood. It is important to respect the quantity and timing of meals. Meals should be defined with medical guidance.
 

5. Eating outside

Diet indications should be also applied when eating outside. It is suggested to plan ahead this activity respecting meals schedule and choosing carefully the dishes according to the meal plan. In the daily care of diabetes, the patient plays a leading role. Consequently, following the recommendations for a suitable nutrition makes the difference in how the disease affects the living standards of each person.

Dr. Ernesto Moscoso
Endocrinology
Affiliated to ColSanitas