Pregnancy opinions

Recently, my sister-in law just go pregnant with their first baby.  This is an exciting thing in any family, at the same time can be an alternate period of anxiety and relief.  There are many factors to consider like the diet, the appetite, the pre-natal check ups, getting ready financially for the delivery and among other things, taking those OB-prescribed vitamins.

Here are a few items that my wife and I have picked up along the way in taking and choosing vitamin-mineral supplements for the pregnant one.

A. Not all vitamin supplements are created equal- it is a fact that there is a certain level of commercialism with pharmaceutical companies in the Philippines and your doctor may have prescribed you a supplement that you have never heard before or worse has a funny sounding name.  My advice: SKIP IT.  Instead of buying that supplement with the certain brand, talk to the pharmacy and ask for a BRANDED counterpart.  Yes you may be thinking about the cost, but would buying the prescribed version justify the quality of the ingredients that you or the little one may be absorbing? Nobody knows, and I bet even your doctor does not even know.  It is a known fact that the quality of the vitamins one is taking has a direct proportion to absorption.

B.  Take that folic acid- this is otherwise known as Vitamin B9.  And it is scientifically proven to minimize and even extinctify (new word for you)  physical deformities in babies.  Issue like hare-lip, spina bifida and other physical abnormalities or neural tube defects can be greatly prevented by having a regular dose of this.  It is even helpful for those who are having a hard time getting pregnant and is beneficial for both men and women, increasing the sperm count and the quality thereof and also increasing the fertility in women.  Like I mentioned, find a brand that comes from a reputable company and not necessarily the brand that was written on the pad.

C. No contact for the 1st trimester- should you or shouldn't you.  Some say that it is alright unless the doctor says you can't.  In my book and this is only my OPINION- if it is your first and you do not know the odds, it is better to be safe and abstain just to give the fetus a greater chance to develop in the womb.  By approaching this logically, chances of a successful pregnancy increases.

D. Say NO to alcohol, smoking & too much sugar-  I think this does not need further discussion.

E. Stay out of stressful situations and refuse to overwork- Trying to be more aware of your daily disposition can be a useful tool and knowing when you are really getting stressed.  Now, I am not saying that you stay in bed all day and chill so that you can avoid stress.  What I am really saying is that you know where you are in the work environment and if you feel that load on resting on your mind, you can always take a break, do breathing exercises or distract yourself for awhile. 

F.  Don't be too crazy about dairy pregnancy formulas- we live in a country where the population is just nuts over milk.  Our children are fed formula milk even after 1 year to which one foreigner observed to be strange. Now they are trying to take the milk formula to cater to the pregnant women.  The fact of the matter- Milk is OK if you can tolerate it.  Many cannot so many do not.  Milk is not for EVERYBODY and has been determined to be an allergen to those who are not aware that there is such a thing as Milk allergy.  Get calcium from other sources or better supplementized together with VITAMIN D3.

G. Have a happy disposition- Your moods may be hard to contain at times but you can do a lot through decision making by being aware of them and taking steps to regulate them.  The emotional factor in being pregnant will have a big impact also on the genetic code being imprinted on the baby as he develops.