Overweight during your pregnancy increases pregnancy risks to you and your baby.

There have been many studies which demonstrate that obesity during pregnancy is associated with serious pregnancy-related complications, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy. Problems include high blood pressure, gestational diabetes which occurs in a woman who develops diabetes during her pregnancy, and Caesarean deliveries.

Too much weight can also cause other unpleasant pregnancy health concerns, including: backache, leg pain; varicose veins and excessive fatigue.

Excessive weight gain may also cause problems for the baby. Technically, an overweight baby is one who weighs more than 4500 gm, or 9.9 lbs. Large babies make vaginal deliveries more difficult, increasing the risk for cesarean section. Overweight babies may have an increased risk for health problems later in life, such as obesity; adult rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.

Nutritional support can therefore be very important during your pregnancy to help you lose excessive weight and to support the health of you and your baby.

To find out more about Nutritional support during or before your pregnancy, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2. I have also written a free e-book on how you can improve your diet during your pregnancy, which can be obtained by clicking on my link.

Chlamydia Common in Pregnant Women

Almost 1 in 10 pregnant women (9.4%) studied by Australian investigators had Chlamydia, according to a report in the March issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. This increased to nearly 1 in 7 (13.5%) among women under 20.

Chlamydia, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy, can lead to complication during pregnancy, leading to risk of premature labour, for example. If undiagnosed, it can put the newborn at risk for conjunctivitis and pneumonia. It is also thought that it can lead to miscarriage.

Testing is simple and can be treated by one course of antibiotics, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown. However, antibiotics also destroy good as well as bad bacteria. As it is extremely important to maintain a healthy digestive system throughout pregnancy and to support the immune system, I would advise a course of probiotics if antibiotics are taken during your pregnancy. Furthermore, research has shown that prebiotics taken during pregnancy can lower the risk of babies developing allergies, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown.

To find out more about Nutritional support during or before your pregnancy, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2. I have also written a free e-book on how you can improve your diet during your pregnancy, which can be obtained by clicking on my link.

PCOS helped by vitamin B therapy

A recent study was undertaken among women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome. It was hypothesised, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy, that intervention using an isoform of inositol (myo-inositol), belonging to the vitamin B complex, would improve the insulin-receptor activity, restoring normal ovulatory function.

PCOS is often characterized by lack of ovulation or an absence of periods. In addition, 30-40% of PCOS women have impaired glucose tolerance, and a defect in the insulin signaling pathway seems to be implicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. PCOS patients are subfertile as a consequence of such ovulatory disorders, which makes pregnancy very difficult and often need drugs, such as clomiphene citrate or follicle-stimulating hormone, for ovulation induction, which increases the risk of multiple pregnancy and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

The outcome of the study demonstrated that twenty-two out of the 25 (88%) patients restored at least one spontaneous menstrual cycle during treatment, of whom 18 (72%) maintained normal ovulatory activity during the follow-up period and a total of 10 pregnancies (40% of patients) were obtained.

It is known says, UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, that vitamin therapy as well and dietary changes can help with PCOS and glucose tolerance.

To find out more, please contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT). Melody offers pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2.

Smoking - reduce the risk to your baby by quitting within the first 5 months of your pregnancy

Recent research suggests that if mothers to be quit smoking within the first five months of their pregnancy then the damage done to their babies may not be as severe compared to the negative health affects among babies whose mothers have smoked throughout their pregnancy, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy.

The study does not suggest for one minute that smoking is safe, but that most damage is done to babies in the last 4 months where growth of the baby (and brain development) is most evident.

If you smoke throughout your pregnancy says, UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown:

¨ There is a higher risk of miscarriage, complications during pregnancy and complications during labour in women, and
¨ A baby is on average 4lb lighter. As low-weight babies have a higher risk of death (such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS) and disease in childhood, this is extremely serious.

There are many ways nutritional therapy can help support you while giving up smoking, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown. As smoking can upset your blood sugar balance, one of the first things I look at, are ways to regulate your blood sugar. Many foods can also upset your blood sugar levels, as well as other stimulants such as coffee, tea, alcohol and chocolate. There are also a number of supplements that may help reduce your craving for nicotine.

To find out more, please contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT). Melody offers pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2.