Women's Health Archives - Page 2 of 11

June 28, 2019 By Gitanjali Bahl Leave a Comment

5 Common Mistakes Women Make

We have always heard that women are more prone to most diseases but have you ever wondered why? Before we discuss the common mistakes that women make, take a look at this scenario…

Let’s go over the case of an average 32 year old female who has two kids, one being 5 and the other 1.5 years in age. She starts her day at 6 AM and begins preparing meals for the family. She gets her oldest child ready for school, does other chores and by the time she is free, it is 11 AM and she eats her first meal. Till her oldest child arrives back from school and till she finishes her remaining chores, she has delayed her meals, hasn’t gotten adequate rest and is fatigued.

This results in increased weight, pain in muscles, poor mental health and lack of interest in any task. This busy routine is what plagues most women in India today. It is even tougher for working women as the burden of managing work and household chores can place tremendous stress on them.

In some cases, poor health arises out of genetic composition but not always. It is also because of stress and negligence towards health.

Here Are Some of the Most Common Mistakes Women Make

1. Missing Meals, Especially Breakfast

It doesn’t matter if you’re a homemaker or an office goer, you need adequate nutrition. Most of us skip breakfast which is considered to be the most important meal of the day. Either that, or we eat late which is equally harmful. Starving the body may lead to overeating and can cause a number of problems.

2. Inadequate Nutrition

If the quantity of the meal is less, most women starve themselves and offer the meal to others or opt for the most convenient option available, despite the fact that it has no nutritional value. Both of these lead to deficiency. This is also a reason for low haemoglobin, calcium, Vitamin D and Vitamin B levels in women nowadays. Ensure that you have at least two servings of fruits and green vegetables a day.

3. Budget Management

Sometimes due to financial constraints or just to prove that they are good finance managers at home, some women deprive themselves of good and quality food, which is again wrong. Managing budget is good but depriving yourself of essential nutrients isn’t. Plan in a way that you can accommodate everything. For instance, make sprouts, paneer, curd at home which will be healthy and economical too!

4. Being Over-Organized

Some women are so busy with their schedule and are so organised, they want to finish their work first and focus on themselves later. As a result, by the end of the day, they are so exhausted that they get no time for themselves. Working is good but not at the cost of your meals and/or exercise. Fix a time for your exercise and meals and stick to it!

5. Sleep Deprivation

Due to family responsibilities, women tend to compromise sleep. Whenever there are guests over or there’s additional work, women take on the responsibility and lose out on much-needed rest. Avoid doing so at all cost! Compensate the next day. Remember that even a machine needs a break or else its efficiency gets affected.

Remember that health is wealth. To take care of the household, you first need to be healthy and fit yourself. Learn from these common mistakes women make and take a positive u-turn towards a healthier lifestyle!

#BeTheForce

May 14, 2019 By Ravishankar Balasubramanian 3 Comments

How to Create a Better and Healthy India

A girl who appeared to be on the heavier side had approached me in the walking track at the Coimbatore-Race Course. She asked me for tips on health management, weight reduction and requested me to create a group for the same. This got me thinking and I decided to pour my thoughts in this blog.

Creating awareness among women about keeping themselves physically fit is the first step towards making India healthy. According to me, healthy women are the cornerstone of healthy societies. In real terms, health and fitness are two sides of the same coin. Both are necessary to live a healthy and happy life.

There are some things that women are better at than men. But, taking care of their health is not one of them. The fact is that women are more likely than men to put off preventive care of their health. My conversations with women tell me that women rank fitness as one of their top wellness challenges. Ever wondered why?

Following are the commonly cited reasons by women as barriers to exercise:

Women are too busy taking care of others to take care of themselves. Their dedication to family presents substantial time and logistical barriers to being physically active. Several women juggle between home responsibilities and their jobs and hence seldom find time for their health or themselves.
They may not have access to resources such as parks and gyms, and more often than not lack motivation and confidence.
Reasons for weight gain may be attributed to the inheritance of genetic predisposition or caesarean sections undergone by them.
Lack of energy is yet another factor as fatigue is a by-product of a tiring lifestyle and women are often tired.
Women with low incomes are less likely to exercise regularly. They do not realize that not all exercises require expensive clothes or a gym membership. One of the most beneficial forms of exercise is free – brisk walking!
Mindset is yet another factor, as women feel that going outside for a walk or to hit the gym is not necessary for them.
Breaking the laziness barrier is the main hurdle for most people irrespective of gender.
Women feel that they are constantly being looked at by others when walking in public. They are reluctant and shy to wear jogging suits and walk with their cellulite jiggling appearance, as they feel that they will be laughed at. This is true especially among South Indian women as cultural factors play a major role in this part of India. The fear of judgement is greater than the women’s self-confidence.
Women who believe that child-rearing and domestic chores are ‘women’s work’ are less likely to take time to exercise – perhaps they feel guilty taking time out for themselves. Sexism proves to be one of the barriers.
Some others think that to be useful, exercise must be painful, sweaty and gruelling, which of course is not true.

How Can Women Improve Their Health?

Women’s roles within families have positioned them to become health managers or promoters of overall family health. It is time women wake up and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Lose weight if you are overweight – just start with 15 minutes of walking a day.
Eat a balanced diet. Cook healthy meals for yourself and your family instead of eating out or eating prepared foods.
Eat the right food in correct proportions at the right time as women have the habit of delaying their meal timings owing to the pressure of work.
Create time for walking as walking is considered the king of exercises. It contributes several benefits to the human body without risking injury or stressing it.
Regular Brisk Walking can help you maintain a healthy weight. It prevents and/or manages various medical conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Find a walking partner if you are not motivated to walk alone. For instance, your husband, parents, friends, relatives or your children. You can even join a local walking group.

Trying to postpone this wonderful aerobic exercise eventually leads to obesity and several other health issues. Without proper awareness and guidance, women find themselves totally lost when it comes to exercise. Download the GOQii app and subscribe to their service. By their coaching methodology, GOQii Coaches will guide, support and make lasting improvements to your health and well-being.

Once women get past their initial reluctance, they will tend to have a balanced approach to fitness. Women’s traditional roles within families have positioned them to directly impact the overall health and well-being of their families. Women are the backbone of India. The health and well-being of mothers is crucial to the health of their children and families and by extension, the health of a nation.

February 8, 2019 By Nilakhi Nath 1 Comment

Healthy Tips For New Moms!

Fitness For New Moms
It is difficult to describe the feeling of ecstasy that a woman experiences when she learns that she is about to become a mother. While most new mothers would be happy, there are a few new moms who wouldn’t be so sure about this “Happy” feeling. No, they aren’t necessarily anti-motherhood or anti-babies. They are going through lot of emotions which includes stress and a lot of changes in their body and their lives. Some of them say it out loud and some don’t, but the challenge remains the same for each of them.

While taking care of the new member of the family, a mother often forgets to take care of herself. Challenges that a new mother usually faces are:

Weak Back & Core
Incontinence
Stress

I am sharing some basic ways to cope with the most common challenges a new mom faces post delivery.

1. For a Weak Back & Core, start with the easiest and safest exercise –

a. Pelvic Tilt: Lie on the floor or on your bed. Place a pillow under your head. Bend your knees by sliding your feet up towards your bottom.

Tighten your pelvic floor and pull in your lower tummy muscles. Hold this for a count of 1-3 and then relax your tummy. Repeat this 10 times. Make sure you are breathing normally, as breathing is the most essential part of any exercise.

b. Pelvic Bridging: Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat. Pull in your lower tummy muscles and inhale, then exhale as you tighten your buttocks and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line. Do this 5 times and repeat in 3 sets of 5 reps exercise

Not only does this exercise strengthen your major back muscles but also focuses on your small yet very important core muscles.

c. Maintain the correct posture to avoid straining your back and core muscles

sitting_posture

Posture is an important factor for a new mom and maintaining it is extremely necessary. More often than not, new moms tend to stand, sit or even nurse their babies in an incorrect posture. The right posture is to maintain the arch of the back with the chest and bottom out. Even while nursing the baby, the mother must maintain the correct posture. Back should be supported properly and the baby must be held close to the breast so that the mother doesn’t have to slouch. The mother can keep a pillow under the baby to support her arms while feeding.

2. For Incontinence,

a. Perform the Kegel’s Exercise

Wondering how to do it? Well, worry no more. Here is the answer:

To do the Kegel’s exercise you need to first find your pelvic muscles.

How do you find the pelvic muscles?
These are the muscles that form the base of your pelvic floor. The most common way to find them is to try to stop the flow of your urine mid-steam. This tightening is the basic move of a Kegel. Let those muscles go and resume the flow of urine and you’ll have a better sense of where those Kegels are.

Now, let us start the Kegel’s exercise to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

You can do this exercise either sitting in a chair or lying on the floor. Make sure your buttock and tummy muscles are relaxed. If you are lying down, then you should be flat on your back with your arms on your sides and your knees up and together. Keep your head down, too, to avoid straining your neck.

pelvic

Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles for 5 seconds. You don’t want to strain those muscles too much by squeezing them for too long. If 5 seconds is too long for you, you can begin by squeezing those muscles for just 2-3 seconds. Repeat it 5 times. You can increase the number of repetitions as per your convenience.

Note: Bladder should be empty while doing the Kegel’s exercise.

b. Stopping the flow of Urine while urinating for 3-5 secs.
This exercise should be done once or twice in a day.

3. For Stress,

Stress during and after pregnancy is inevitable. So, what do you do about it? How do you relieve stress? The best way to tackle stress is to be aware of what causes it. In most common cases, it is because of the sudden change in lifestyle and irregular sleep patterns. Waking up every now & then to feed the baby can be very tiresome. You may also experience stress based on the changes you see in your appearance. There are many factors that may stress you out. Here are some easy ways to copy with it:

a. Deep Breathing Exercises
When stressed, we tend to do Shallow Over-breathing (taking shorter breaths), this prolongs anxiety and stress by raising the stress hormones in our sysstem. Deep abdominal breathing helps reduce the level of stress hormones in your blood and thus, relaxes the body and mind.

Breathe in through nose and let the abdomen rise, hold your breath for 3-4 seconds and slowly exhale through the mouth. Repeat it at least 5-10 times in a quiet environment for maximum relaxation.

b. Talk to your spouse about the challenges you are facing. Talking to your partner not only involves him in this transition phase of yours but, also strengthens the relationship between you two by many folds.

c. Take a Nap every time your baby is asleep. Not only your baby but even you need ample of rest. Your little one is going to keep you awake the whole night. So might as well take a nap whenever possible to catch up on the sleep you have missed. Your body needs rest to repair all the cells and tissues that were worn and torn during the day.

d. Give yourself some time and attention by doing what you love the most. Listen to music, read a book, catch up with old friends or just about anything that keeps you happy because only a happy mind can nurture a healthy body.

January 29, 2019 By Trupti Hingad Leave a Comment

Breathing Exercises During Pregnancy

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As you enter motherhood after conceiving, there are a lot of tips given to pregnant women on what to eat, how to stand, sit, how to sleep and so on.

But, one of the most important things to learn during pregnancy is how to breathe. The correct breathing technique makes a world of a difference because it helps every cell. Hence mother-to-be can master the techniques throughout pregnancy. Breathing is very important during pregnancy as it ensures efficient removal of waste from the body as well as get a plentiful supply of oxygen for both the mother and child. Effective breathing purifies and calms the nervous system and induces a feeling of pleasant well-being.

One can learn the following practices throughout pregnancy so that at the time of labour they become second nature.

Let me list down the types of breathing that can be practised during pregnancy.

Equal Breathing: While standing, sitting or lying down, breathe in fully, slowly and rhythmically, without jerks, using the whole respiratory system of the abdomen, chest, pharynx and nose. Breathe out an equal number of counts. Concentrate on breathing in = life-giving air and breathing out. A feeling of peacefulness or quietness floods in. This technique has a great advantage to relax during labour. This gentle breathing helps to relax the uterine muscles and diverts the mind.

Diaphragmatic Breathing: While lying down on the back, flex the knees and keep the feet flat on the ground or bed. Keep one hand on the abdomen and keep one beside you. Slowly concentrate on the abdomen rising rhythmically with each inhalation and relaxation during exhalation. Thus, feel the abdomen rising and falling with breathing. Count up to ten seconds. Do not use force or jerks while inhaling. It helps to deal with stress for the Mother-to-be. The diaphragm muscle is supposed to rhythmically massage the organs of the body. The massage gently encourages blood flow, lymph flow, nutrient delivery, and waste removal in the organs and all tissues of the body, including tissues in the womb. It also helps one deal with Shortness of Breath.

Chest Level Breathing: Place your hands on your chest, below your collarbone. In addition, you can have your partner place one hand at the same level on your back. Now breathe in and out through your mouth up to your hands, a shallow, slow and gentle breath. The rib cage and thoracic cavity expand to the sides, front and back for each inhalation and exhalation. Do about 10-12 breaths in 30 seconds. If you exceed 12 breaths, then slow down.

Jaw Level Breathing – “OUT”: The jaw level breathing entails simply saying the word OUT with stress on T. Do not worry about your breathing; it will take care of itself as you say the word. Count about 20-25 breaths in 30 seconds.

Rechaka Pranayam or Expulsion Breathing: Breathing out and maximizing exhalation is a secret of relaxation while in labour. Breathe in for a count of four seconds or as convenient and slowly breath out for double the count. Again, take one breath in and breathe out for double the count. This can be done whenever a contraction is felt in the first stage of labour, while the opening of the cervix is dilating. An alternative to the same is to breathe in air and while exhaling, hum Aum or any pleasing sound. Singing works on the same principle of exhalation. Mental relaxation and peace are felt.

Blowing: At times breathing in from the nose, blowing out through the mouth and repeating the whole procedure, helps a great deal. Retaining breath and thrashing around with anxiety and clutching onto things can cause tension, exhaustion and discomfort. The secret is to LET GO! You are in a partnership with your baby to help them to emerge gracefully.

The Second Stage of Labour: When the mouth of the uterus is dilated completely, is the time of actual active pushing, not before that. When the contractions come, the breathing technique at that time would be to take a breath, hold it in and push down hard as if one is expelling a hard bowel movement. While the contraction lasts, again take in a deep breath, hold it in and push as long as possible. Do these two or three times during a contraction. Between contraction, the mother should relax in abdominal breathing. Continue till the baby is out. Soon you will hear the cry of your baby.

During the Third Stage of Labour: This stage of delivery is of the placenta. Breathe normally. It usually separates and comes within five or fifteen minutes. Slight uterine contractions may be felt during this period as the placenta slips out. This is the time to relax well. There should be relaxed joyful feeling throughout.

Benefits of Breathing Exercise:

Calm deep breathing can help you deal with morning sickness in early pregnancy
Deep breathing can help you fall in deep and rejuvenating sleep. Deep breathing with active visualization of images of your muscle groups relaxing can put your body in a state of relaxation. After this, one can imagine the healthy growth of both the mother and the child to help you fall into a happy sleep.
Regular and proper breathing can help you deal with labour pain easily.
Breathing can help transport nutrients and oxygen well to the baby and result in healthy baby growth
Breathing can help you deal with, stress, depression, feeling low and unwanted advice from others during pregnancy as well.

NOTE: If you every feels dizzy during breathing practices, cover your nose and mouth with your palms and blow out once. Then breath normally. This will re-establish the proper balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your body and relieve dizziness if it is experienced.