Pregnant women always suffer from a fear of weight gain and out of shape problem after child birth. However proper workout during pregnancy helps to control weight and prepares you for childbirth by strengthening muscles and building endurance, and makes it much easier to get back in shape after your baby's born. You just need to check with your doctor before starting any physical workout.

Walking: One of the best cardiovascular exercises for pregnant women, walking keeps you fit without effecting your knees and ankles. You can do this anywhere, doesn't require any equipment apart from a comfortable pair of supportive shoes, and is safe throughout all nine months of pregnancy.

Swimming: Healthcare providers and fitness experts believes swimming as the best and safest exercise for pregnant women. Swimming is ideal because it exercises both large muscle groups (arms and legs), provides cardiovascular benefits, and allows expectant women to feel weightless despite the extra pounds of pregnancy.

Low-impact aerobics: There are many aerobic classes especially for pregnant women, this gives you a surety that you are safe and also share experiences with other to be moms.

Yoga: Yoga can help maintain muscle tone and keep you flexible with little if any impact on your joints. But you may have to augment a yoga regimen with walking or swimming several times a week to give your heart a workout.

Stretching: Stretching is wonderful for keeping your body limber and relaxed and preventing muscle strain. Add stretching to your cardiovascular exercises to get a complete workout.

If you are pregnant and want a well behaved child, one glass of wine everyday works great. You might be surprised. But it's truth, according to a new study, it's been proved that pregnant women who have one glass of wine during their first trimester have better behaved children than normal women.

Its true doctor recommends not having alcohol during pregnancy but limited quantity doesn't have any negative effects on your fetes. In fact researchers recorded the behaviour of women who consumed alcohol during pregnancy and then compared the behavioural and emotional patterns of their children during their early teenage years.You will be surprised to know that they noticed this group of children had lower risk of becoming depressed or reacting aggressively than kids of mothers who never had alcohol during pregnancy.

Inspite of all the studies, choice is yours as it's your baby and you can be the best person to judge.

Source: Dailymail

For the couples experiencing male fertility problems or those who have been unsuccessful with less advanced treatments, IVF is often the best alternative to achieve pregnancy. IVF is simply the uniting of egg and sperm in the lab - in vitro. Subsequently the embryos are transferred into the uterus through the cervix and pregnancy is allowed to begin. IVF involves collecting eggs and sperm from you and your partner and placing them together in a laboratory dish for fertilization.

Who needs IVF?

• If woman's fallopian tubes are blocked or damaged, this can make it difficult for the egg to be fertilized or for an embryo to travel to the uterus.
• Male factor can include a low sperm count, problems with sperm function or motility which can inhibit sperm from fertilizing an egg on its own.
• Abnormal uterus shape, fibroid tumors, or exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) as a fetus.
• Ovarian issues.

You must consult your doctor to know the best treatment for your infertility.

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Birth defects are the abnormalities of structure, function, or body metabolism that are present at birth. When you are pregnant knowingly or unknowingly few of your behavior and lifestyle can be a threat to your baby and they may have birth defects. Most of the birth defects are treatable, often immediately after birth or even before birth. It's especially important to know the risk factors involved and how to prevent birth defects. As only by taking precautions you can give birth to a healthy baby.

Causes of birth defects:

• Genetic problems caused when one or more genes don't work properly or part of a gene is missing.
• Having an extra chromosome or some missing part of a chromosome
• Exposure of the mother to chemicals such as mercury or to radiation during the first three months of pregnancy
• Less nutritional food diet of pregnant mother
• Prenatal development of the fetus may also be affected by disease that the mother contracts, especially during the first 3 months of pregnancy
• Smoking, intake of alcohol, or drugs during pregnancy
• Some therapeutic drugs taken by pregnant women have also been shown to produce birth defects.

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