Womens Care Archives - Page 6 of 12

August 11, 2023 By Monika Raj Leave a Comment

Why Is Folic Acid Necessary During Prenancy?

Having a healthy baby means ensuring you’re healthy too. One of the most important things you can do to prevent birth defects in your baby is to get enough folic acid in a day, especially before conception and during early pregnancy. Most birth defects occur during the first 28 days of pregnancy, usually before a woman even knows she’s pregnant. If you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, it’s critically important to have enough folic acid, a synthetic sort of vitamin B9, also referred to as folate.

Why Is Folic Acid So Important?

Folic acid helps prevent ectoderm defects (NTD) – serious birth defects of the medulla spinalis (like spina bifida) and therefore, the brain (anencephaly). The ectoderm is a part of the embryo from which the spine and brain develop. Neural tube defects occur at an early stage of development, before many ladies even know they are pregnant, which is why it is vital to start taking folic before you start trying to conceive.

Your body also needs it to form normal red blood cells and stop a kind of anaemia. It is also essential for the assembly, repair, and functioning of DNA, our arrangement, and a basic building block of cells. It is particularly important for the rapid cell growth of the foetus.

The CDC ( Is this the US body? ) recommends that you simply start taking folic acid tablets a day, for a minimum of a month before you become pregnant, and each day while you’re pregnant. When getting pregnant, women who have already had a pregnancy suffering from an ectoderm defect, should consult their healthcare provider.

How Much Of It Do You Need?

Every woman of reproductive age must get Folic acid per day , whether she is planning pregnancy or not. The recommended dose for all women of childbearing age is 400 mcg of folate every day . If you’re taking a multivitamin a day , check to ascertain if it’s the recommended amount.

While you’re trying to conceive: 400 mcg
For the primary three months of pregnancy: 400 mcg
For months four to nine of pregnancy: 600 mcg
While breastfeeding: 500 mcg

If you’ve already had a baby with an ectoderm defect, getting enough vitamin B9 may reduce your risk of getting another child with a ectoderm defect by as much as 70%. When taken before and through pregnancy, Folic acid also protect your baby against:

Cleft lip and palate
Premature birth
Low birth weight
Miscarriage
Poor growth in the womb

Some rice, pasta, bread, and breakfast cereals are fortified with folic acid. These foods are labelled “enriched.” may be a specific sort of folate that doesn’t generally occur naturally. Foods rich in folic acid include leafy vegetables like spinach, lettuce, etc. and fruits like oranges, tomatoes, papaya and avocado. In addition to eating foods with folate from a varied diet, women can get the required dosage from:

Supplements that have folic acid
Eating fortified foods
Getting a combination of the two: taking a vitamin that has folic acid in it and eating fortified foods.

If you are taking folic acid every day, take it at the same time each day, either in the morning or in the evening. Take your tablets with a glass of water. You can take them with or without food.

If you forget to take the required dose, take it as soon as possible. Proper and adequate intake of folate rich foods makes a healthy baby and a cheerful family. Eat right and stay healthy.

If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below! Don’t forget to share it with someone who may need it. You can find more articles on Women’s Health here. You can also use the Women’s Care feature in the GOQii App to track your menstrual cycles, pregnancy and more. Download the app now.

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July 14, 2023 By Prachi More Leave a Comment

Nourishing Women’s Health: Essential Nutrients for Every Stage of Life

A woman’s journey through life is marked by remarkable milestones and transformative changes, from the onset of puberty to the joys of pregnancy, the nurturing of new life through lactation, and the transition into menopause. Throughout these stages, the female body undergoes significant hormonal fluctuations, making proper nutrition a vital aspect of maintaining optimal health. By ensuring the intake of essential nutrients, women can support their overall well-being and safeguard against potential deficiencies.

Essential Nutrients For A Healthy Diet In Women

Let’s explore key nutrients crucial for women, including iron, folic acid, calcium, vitamin D, choline, and magnesium. By understanding the importance of these nutrients and incorporating them into a well-balanced diet, women can empower themselves to thrive at every phase of their extraordinary journey.

Iron: It plays a vital role in the formation of red blood cells, transport of oxygen to different parts of the body, building immunity, etc. but is unfortunately most commonly deficient in women worldwide. This deficiency is due to poor nutrition consumption and loss of iron during menstruation which can lead to anemia. To avoid the same, its important to include Iron rich foods like green leafy vegetables, legumes, organ meat, chicken, nuts, tofu, etc. Iron gets effectively absorbed in the body when combined with Vitamin C, hence, adding citrus fruits, broccoli, and bell peppers to meals will be of great help.
Folic acid: This vitamin has a special role to play during the child bearing age of women. During pregnancy, Folic Acid helps in the development of the neural tube that will develop into your baby’s brain and spinal cord. Apart from this, it also plays an important role in the formation of red blood cells, deficiency of which can lead to anemia. We can include green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, and broccoli to ensure you’re getting a good amount of this vitamin!
Calcium: During adulthood, adequate calcium consumption is necessary to ensure good bone and muscle health, sending & receiving nerve signals, releasing hormones & other chemicals but after menopause, the fall in estrogen levels causes decreased calcium absorption. This can lead to fragile bones. Hence, its advised to further increase calcium consumption after menopause. We can do so by including dairy products, green leafy vegetables, tofu, nuts like almonds , chia & sesame seeds.
Vitamin D: This sunshine vitamin is necessary for absorption of calcium & phosphorus in body. It also helps to build immunity, cell growth & reduce inflammation. If not absorbed in the body adequately through sunlight and diet, it can cause symptoms like bone pain, low mood, poor muscle strength, constant tiredness, frequent infections, and weight gain. Exposure to sunlight, adding food rich in Vitamin D like fatty fish, egg yolks, fortified cereals, and fortified milk helps when deficiency is minor. In case of severe deficiency, its advisable to take supplements.
Choline: It is one of the necessary nutrients for women during the phase of pregnancy and breastfeeding as it plays an important role in the child’s growth . It also helps to maintain good brain health & nervous system, muscle control, and cell formation. Including whole eggs, organ meats, fish, Soyabean, wheat germ, chicken, almonds, kidney beans, quinoa, and cottage cheese is a good way to keep its deficiency away.
Magnesium: This is a mineral which is necessary to ensure proper functioning of muscles & nerves. It helps in protein production but its deficiency during pregnancy can lead to serious complications like gestational diabetes, restricted fetal growth, preterm labor, and pre-eclampsia. Eating a diet which includes nuts, pumpkin seeds, green leafy vegetables, beans, legumes and peas will help.

All in all, a well balanced diet rich in all food groups is the key to good health. If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below and share it with your friends and family too!

Find more articles on Women’s Health here. For further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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June 29, 2023 By Arooshi Garg Leave a Comment

How Good Nutrition Before Conception Can Affect Up To 3 Generations

We usually lay a lot of emphasis on the pregnancy and postpartum diet, however, a new study suggests that a gene called VTRNA20-1 which is responsible for reducing the risk of future diseases for a developing baby is directly related to nutritional status of a mother before pregnancy.

A mother’s pre-pregnancy diet is directly related to the foetus’s genetic makeup and immunity. If a mother is nutritionally deficient before conception, it may lead to radical and permanent change in the unborn child’s genetic makeup responsible for immunity and future risk of cancer.

Factors That Determine The Health Of The Unborn Child

A mother’s environment, nutritional intake, and mental health status determines the long term health of the unborn child.

Few nutrients are said to be extremely essential for a healthy pregnancy and should be included in a women’s diet in the pre-pregnancy period. Some babies are born with spina bifida, brain defects, preterm births, or underweight babies which is directly related to a mother’s pre-pregnancy weight and nutritional adequacy.

As soon as the egg is fertilized, the embryo starts using the mother’s nutrient stores to support its growth. Essential nutrients like Zinc, Iron, Folic Acid are needed to support development and growth of the main body organs in the developing foetus.

How Does Good Nutrition Before Conception Help?

Let’s look at the role good nutrition and the lack of it play during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and childbirth.

Women in the higher BMI range have an increased risk for pregnancy induced diabetes or high blood pressure which can lead to improper foetal development. This could affect generations to come! It is extremely essential to monitor weight and be in a BMI range that is below 25.
Folate or Vitamin B9 is a very important vitamin for the development of the brain and spinal cord of the baby. Deficiency of which can cause neural tube defects or Spina Bifida, where the backbone encasing the spinal cord doesn’t develop properly, exposing the spinal cord. This can lead to intellectual disability or paralysis which might be carried on to generations to come as a hereditary issue. Folic acid is a very essential nutrient found in nuts, legumes, orange and yellow fruits.
Calcium is extremely important not only for the unborn child but also for the mother to maintain good nutritional status. As the embryo grows, it starts drawing minerals like calcium, zinc and magnesium from the mother’s body. Inadequacy of these nutrients might lead to poor bone development, poor muscle and nerve fibre expansion. In turn, the mother’s bones also weaken, putting them at risk of osteoarthritis in the future.
Iron is required in good amounts in maternal stores to prepare the mother’s body for the needs of the foetus during pregnancy. Anaemia or iron deficiency is related to increased foetal morbidity. Affected mothers may experience breathlessness, fainting, tiredness, palpitations, and sleep difficulties. Most of the iron transfer to foetus happens in the third trimester and is the most important phase where iron reserves of the mother should be extremely good. A good iron reserve ensures that the blood supply in the developing baby is proper and any blood loss that happens during delivery doesn’t prove to be fatal for the new mother.

In short, if a mother’s diet and nutritional status are poor before conception, it might lead to a plethora of adverse outcomes that might continue for generations to come.

I hope this write-up helps to-be mothers lay more focus on correcting their nutrition before conceiving which helps them as well as their unborn babies to be at a lesser risk for any genetic or nutrition-induced life threatening outcomes!

If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below and share it with anyone who needs to read it! Find more articles on women’s health here. You can also seek advice and guidance from a certified expert during your pregnancy, by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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June 7, 2023 By GOQii Leave a Comment

Endometriosis: A Silent Menace Disrupting Women’s Lives

Earlier this year, GOQii conducted a focused group study among 3000 women to understand which health issues they are facing. The Women’s Health Matters survey highlighted some key issues such as menstrual problems, PCOS, hypothyroidism, UTI, Fibroid and issues with infertility which continue to persist despite the increased focus on women’s health. Apart from these issues, we also found a looming threat to women’s health in the form of endometriosis.

We found that approximately 6% of women suffer from endometriosis. As compared to the other issues, this percentage might seem small but endometriosis is a growing issue among many women. Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age in India and is increasing in prevalence.

What Is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a painful and debilitating disease that affects many women. It is a condition in which the endometrium, the tissue that lines the uterus, grows outside the uterus and onto the ovaries, fallopian tubes, peritoneum, and other organs in the abdominal cavity.

This can cause severe pain during menstruation, severe pelvic pain, and infertility. The cause of endometriosis is still unknown, and the exact biological mechanisms are yet to be determined. However, research has suggested that genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors may contribute to the development of the disease.

Hormones such as estrogen and progesterone have been identified as potential culprits, as they have been found to stimulate the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. Additionally, genetics may play a role, as endometriosis appears to be passed down through families.

Environmental factors may also contribute to the development of endometriosis. Exposure to certain chemicals, such as dioxins, can increase the risk of developing the condition. Additionally, prolonged use of hormonal contraceptives and intrauterine devices has been linked to the condition.

As per the survey, 57.1% of the women surveyed have been suffering from endometriosis for anywhere between 1-5 years.

Symptoms Include:

Painful periods
Pelvic pain
Cramping
Abnormal or heavy bleeding
Pain during or after sex
Difficulty getting pregnant
Fatigue.

Other symptoms may include bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, nausea, and painful bowel movements. Endometriosis can also cause emotional distress and depression. Some women may experience pain in their lower back, thighs or rectum. The long term health issues involving pain, fatigue and depression can lead to a reduction in quality of life, as well as decreased productivity.

How Can You Manage Endometriosis?

Managing Endometriosis can be a challenging affair but it is not impossible! Here are several tips and strategies to keep in mind:

Consult with a healthcare professional: It is crucial to work closely with a healthcare professional experienced in endometriosis. They can provide a proper diagnosis, suggest treatment options, and offer ongoing support.
Educate yourself: Learn as much as you can about endometriosis. Understanding the condition, its symptoms, and available treatment options will empower you to make informed decisions about your health.
Pain management: Pain is a common symptom of endometriosis. Explore pain management strategies such as over-the-counter pain relievers, heating pads, hot baths, relaxation techniques, and gentle exercise. You might need prescription medications in case of severe pain.
Manage stress: Stress can exacerbate symptoms, so it’s important to find effective stress management techniques. Engage in activities that help you relax, such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing exercises, or engaging in hobbies you enjoy.
Diet and nutrition: Some individuals find that certain foods worsen their symptoms. Consider keeping a food diary to identify potential triggers, such as caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, or high-fat meals. Eating a balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins can be beneficial.
Exercise: Regular physical activity can help improve overall health and reduce symptoms. Aim for moderate exercise such as walking, swimming, or cycling. Consult with your healthcare provider to determine the best exercise plan for your specific situation.
Support network: Seek support from friends, family, or support groups. Sharing your experiences and concerns with others who understand can be comforting and provide valuable insights and coping strategies.
Self-care: Prioritize self-care activities which help you relax and promote wellbeing. This can include getting enough sleep, engaging in activities you enjoy, setting boundaries, and practicing self-compassion.

Last but not the least, awareness of the condition is needed so that women can seek help early and receive the treatment they need to ensure that they are able to manage their symptoms and live full and healthy lives.

If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below. Know someone suffering from this condition? Share this article with them. Find more articles on women’s health here. To help you manage women’s health issues, get expert advice from our coaches by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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