Health
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Health

Hey Mama!  May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It’s time to focus on the signs of high blood pressure, the risks, and what you can do to avoid it. This is especially important information for pregnant and postpartum women!   High blood pressure during pregnancy is called preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a part of a spectrum of high blood pressure disorders that occurs during pregnancy:  gestational hypertension (high blood pressure during pregnancy), preeclampsia, eclampsia, and HELLP syndrome. 

New mothers sometimes forget… since it took 9 months for your body to grow and develop a baby, it can also take months to feel “normal” again after giving birth. If you’re breastfeeding, you may not feel “back to normal” until after you’ve weaned. Many women never look and feel the same after giving birth. And, truly, why should we? A woman has grown, nurtured, and given birth to another person from her own body. As a result of this physiological process, some bodily changes will be temporary, others permanent. We encourage new mothers to embrace this reality and accept it as a loving initiation into motherhood.

Attention new and seasoned mothers! Did you know there is no known amount of alcohol that is safe to drink while pregnant? Yep, that means put down the cocktail for the mocktail and trade-in regular beer for non-alcoholic beer. If you enjoy wine, try the growing array of red and white wines where the alcohol has been removed. 

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, birth defects, and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).¹   Cigarette smoking is one of the hardest habits to quit. Many smokers who successfully kick the habit lament that quitting smoking is like saying goodbye to an old friend. It takes a lot of personal strength and willpower to quit, as well as the right support system. If you’re smoking and pregnant, we hope there’s information here that will give you the conviction to quit. 

What Foods and Beverages Should You Avoid During Pregnancy?

It might be a little unnerving to know that your unborn baby can be affected by a food borne illness when you don’t become sick or show symptoms of infection. Tragically, some food borne illnesses can cause devastating and permanent effects to a baby, like neurological damage and developmental delays. Sometimes the damage from an infection is obvious at birth; sometimes it takes years to become apparent.