The benefits of yoga during and after pregnancy

Pregnancy is a beautiful event in a women’s life, but also a hard thing on our body. During pregnancy, our body goes through several substantial changes, and we often have a hard time recovering after the birth of our baby.

The main principles of Yoga lies beneath the basis of attaining a healthy body and mind through the practice of Yoga. Better, the use of prenatal yoga dvds is a great way to get ready to the deliver day and will allow your body to recover faster and with more ease to your pre-pregnancy body state after the birth of your little one.
Prenatal yoga dvds and classes are an easy and convenient way to stay in shape, which will benefit both your baby and your own body. You don’t have to be an active yoga practitioner (or yogi), or even have ever tried yoga before doing prenatal yoga.

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First time practitioner
Because it is composed of soft movements, many women were not physically active before their pregnancy find yoga more suitable to their needs. There are several levels and types of yoga. When pregnant, choose specifically prenatal yoga classes or pregnancy yoga dvds. This targeted type of yoga will suit you best as the instructors adapted the movements and poses for you. The best is to start prenatal yoga during the first trimester of your pregnancy.

Experienced practitioner

Are you a yoga expert, spending several days doing yoga, hot yoga, pilates? Well you will be glad to learn to you can keep doing your favorite activity throughout your pregnancy. However, because you belly will grow, there will be a need for a few adaptations. Those pose adaptations are necessary to make you more comfortable, but also to ensure baby’s safety. If you are pregnant are taking yoga classes, make sure to let your teacher know that you are pregnant so they can let you know what poses you should not do. Also, bear in mind that you do not need to practice at the same pre-pregnant state intensity level. If you are purchasing prenatal yoga dvds, make sure to choose the ones labeled prenatal.

At home or in class?

The choice is yours! They both have their advantages and disadvantages. At home, you can decide when you want to do it, and prenatal yoga dvds cost only a fraction of what you could pay for course! On the other hand, in class you will get to interact with other pregnant women. This is a good way to exchange tips and to find out how other women are doing through their pregnancy.

After birth

Yoga is a good way to recover after your child’s birth. But don’t rush back into yoga the day after you delivered! Most doctors recommend at least six weeks to recover, and ever longer if you had a cesarean section. Before resuming your yoga session, wait for the OK from the doctor.

For more information about prenatal yoga dvds, visit Baby Heartbeat Monitor now.

Are you trying to get pregnant? Unfortunately, many couples will tell you, conceiving is not always as easy as it may sound. So are there secrets on how to increase fertility? Yes there are, and also, there are many programs and kits available for you that will help you follow a strict plan in order to increase your fertility.

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According to a study published by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, there is a 80% decrease of infertility risk due to ovulatory disorders when women follow at least 5 of the following healthy lifestyle tips. So here’s in 7 steps how to increase fertility in women.

1. First step is to maintain a healthy weight. Gain some weight if you are too skinny, and lose weight if you are overweight. To find out whether you are in the healthy weight range, calculate your BMI. Your BMI is considered to be healthy if it is between 18.5 to 24.9.

2. Consume more whole grain food and reduce excessive consumption of sugars and refined carbohydrates. Refined carbohydrates are any food that have been processed to strip the bran and germ from the whole grain. Common examples of refined carbs are white bread and pasta made with white flour.

3. Reduce your consumption of trans fat. Also called trans fatty acids or partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats are the result of adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils so they can be more solid. Common examples of trans fat food is margarine, fried foods and hydrogenated oil.

4. Increase your consumption of fibers. Fiber-rich food are slowly digested carbohydrates and can improve fertility. Some great sources of fibers are vegetables, fruits and, of course, whole grains.

5. Increase your consumption of vegetarian proteins rather than animal proteins. Typical sources of vegetarian protein sources are beans, lentils, spinach and beets.

6. Exercise regularly. If you can’t go to the gym, take the stairs or walk to work. Remember that even physical activity such as brisk walking will benefit you when done on a regular basis (daily or almost daily) for at least 30 minutes.

7. Consume at least one portion of full-fat dairy. Common examples are a cup of whole milk, full-fat yogurt, or 1-2 slices of cheese. Recent studies have shown that full-fat dairy more than low-fat or non-fat dairy can increase fertility in women.

By living a more healthy lifestyle, you will not only feel better overall, but you will increase your chances or conceiving in the near future. If you don’t know where to start, there are great pregnancy & fertility programs that can help you. So remember, one of the secret to increase your fertility is to follow a strict meal and exercise plan.

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For more information on how to increase fertility, visit Baby Heartbeat Monitor.

Pregnancy tip – Basal Temperature Thermometer

The ABC of using a basal temperature thermometer

What is basal temperature

Basal body temperature or BBT is the lowest temperature your body will attain at rest. When ovulating, due to hormonal changes, your body temperature will increase by up to 0.5-1 degree Fahrenheit or 0.25-0.5 degree Celsius. This change in temperature can be used to monitor and estimate what day you are ovulating, and is a great indicator if you are trying to conceive.

Basal temperature thermometer vs Regular thermometer

If you are trying to conceive, a basal temperature thermometer can be very helpful. The basal body temperature thermometer can be used to help predict your fertility period, hence your day of ovulation. A basal temperature thermometer is much more accurate than a regular one, used for fever. As a matter of fact, the basal temp thermometer will measure temperatures by 1/10 of a degree compared to the best regular thermometers that can only go up to 2/10 of a degree increment. Some BBT thermometer have convenient features for women monitoring their ovulation, unlike regular thermometers. So if you are looking to conceive, it is best to buy a basal body temperature thermometer for optimum accuracy.

Basal Temperature Thermometers

There are two types of BBT thermometers : digital basal temperature thermometer and glass basal temperature thermometer. With today’s technology, a digital basal temperature thermometer is the best option. Basal thermometer kits include a blank basal body temperature graph that you can use to chart your own basal temperature over the month.

Digital Basal Thermometer If you are planning to conceive, the BD digital basal thermometer is a helpful tool to help you map your basal chart on a daily basis. The BD digital BBT thermometer includes convenient features, such as  a memory recall and a back light feature. Reading in less than 30 seconds, they are so much faster than the glass ones.

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Vist Baby Heartbeat Monitor for more information about pregnancy tips such as natural ways to increase fertility or other information about using a basal temperature thermometer.

Why you should be working out while pregnant

Too many women believe that it is not OK to exercise during pregnancy. Whether you were an active person before pregnancy, or totally out of shape, the facts are that working out while pregnant is OK, even recommended!

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Note: If you are planning working out while pregnant, consult your physician first. Your physician will be able to give further advice on what to do and what not to do. This applies to all women, even if you consider yourself a healthy women.

Physical changes during pregnancy

During pregnancy, physical changes will occur to your body, some obvious, other less visible, but all important for the baby’s arrival.

1) Your will go through hormonal changes : increase in the levels of the hormones (relaxin, elastin, estrogen and progesterone)that will help soften the connective tissue surrounding the joints, a necessary step for child birth. However, other weight-bearing joints can also affected, such as the knees, ankles and hips can also be affected.
2) Throughout your pregnancy, the blood volume increases as well, by almost 50% in some cases, hence elevating by as much as 15 beats per minute the pulse at rest.
3) Increase in size of your uterus will result in a saddle back posture (lordotis).
4) Increase in the size and weight of breasts will pull your shoulders forward.
5) Weakening of the core muscles to allow the skin to relax and stretch.

Working out while pregnant for a healthier pregnancy

Although you should consult with your family doctor first, most physicians and obstetricians will encourage their patients to exercise on a regular basis throughout their pregnancy. Unlike your may believe, exercising is not harmful to the baby and will have a positive effect on the soon-mom-to-be.

As a matter of fact, working out will give you more energy. When exercising, the body stimulates the flow of adrenaline which provides in return more energy. Changes in hormones can lead to emotional changes, and exercising will also help boost the self-esteem as well as the mood of the pregnant women. But more importantly, working out while pregnant can reduce some of the discomforts of pregnancy and strengthening of your core muscles will allow to have a better posture. Moreover, some studies have shown that exercising will help you recover to a pre-pregnant state faster.

Because of hormonal changes and because lots of nutrients and energy is used for development of the baby, pregnant women can be subject to food cravings, leading to fat weight gain unrelated to the development of the baby. If this is your case, this extra and unnecessary weight gain can be controlled through exercising and following a healthy food plan.

Again, we stress that before starting an exercise plan and working out while pregnant, it is important to consult your physician to know if there are any exercise limitations due to your overall health, age or any other physical conditions.

There are a lot of programs and kids that will allow you to control your weight, stay tone and remain healthy throughout your pregnancy. Check out Michelle’s Ultimate Pregnancy and Post-Pregnancy Kit now and find how you can stop gaining unnecessary pregnancy weight and get through pregnancy feeling fit, toned and healthy now. Need more information? Find it on our 3 great exercise programs article.

For more information, visit baby heartbeat monitor.