I have seen many women celebrities from the fashion world who were reigning divas till their forties trying to maintain the same physique even in their fifties and sixties. They cannot even accept gray hair as part of their ageing process and want to be remembered by their adorers in the same frame as they used to be in their twenties. Although they maintain a slim stature, their fingers with more obvious knuckles and nails tell us the real story. We should rather accept what we are and emphasize on looking beautiful at every age with the additions that childbirth and ageing does to your body. I cannot take my eyes off when I look at petite teens below twenties, beautiful pregnant women below forties or women reaching their menopause with half gray hair on their foreheads and the older women with pleasant grays and a shook body.

Body naturally goes on adding weight after childbirth and women start to gradually feel this change. As it is apparent that childbirth transforms a woman, we need to understand the fact that women and men to that matter have to undergo the nature’s ordeal and accept every role. We need not stick ourselves to when we were in ours 20’s and 30’s as if it is the golden age of beauty. Many other women delay pregnancies to look younger for a longer duration of time but their children may be affected with Down’s syndrome and many congenital diseases due to delayed child bearing. Nature has perfection in it and has set every ordeal with extreme perfection. Let us start appreciating nature’s build and flaunt ourselves in every phase.

Many presume pregnancy to be a weight gaining task. It is also a myth that pregnant women need ample rest and should consume loads of food. Women in pregnancy need only an extra 300 to 500 calories towards the third trimester. The tiny soul in your fetus needs very little food but nutritious one. Exercise is recommended throughout the pregnancy. Apart from some heavy tasks not recommended by your caregiver, women are expected to be active as a normal woman does even in pregnancy. Nature has equipped our bodies and birth canal with an amazing elastic property where they go back to normalcy within months post childbirth. Abdominal binders help your belly to get tightened again providing you indulge in sufficient physical activity.

Do not get afraid of gaining in weight in pregnancy as it is very necessary for you and your baby to be safe. Feel that you are entering into another phase of beauty where you look different from what you are now. However, both of the looks are equally adorable as you are with extreme grace mentally. Flaunt every new pound that adds to your body and every new curve that joins your stature to promote you to the life’s crucial role of being a mother. Remember, you may need to continue eating extra calories even after the child birth to accommodate your baby’s feeding needs. Every inch growing on your body would be sure to add that motherly bliss and grace to your personality and you will be loved even more for what you are irrespective of your shape. However, staying healthy and mentally elevated is very essential which is the real beauty to every woman.

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The common topics women share at a kitty party or post a gym session mostly are related contraception, pregnancy, labour stories, feeding patterns etc. Being a senior mother of 3 child births, I am usually the center point for many questions related to these topics. One such a question in the post gym session was, “Is it OK to exercise while breastfeeding?” If we have a rational thought process with a reality check, we have more than half of the answers in front of us. If we have to understand about the merits and demerits of exercising, let us think rationally!!

For this, we need to think how nature has incorporated a woman’s life post childbirth? After a brief initial rest if you deliver normally, doctors make you walk around. Once you are home, you have the additional responsibility at home towards the newborn child and the possibility is higher that you move around. The extra activity may be implicitly termed as an exercise but may be a little unsystematic one. This makes us understand the basics that women can exercise post childbirth or while breastfeeding to that matter.

In fact, the exercise adds to your health and works positively for breast feeding women. You may be surprised to know that even rigorous workouts keep the volumes of milk produced in your body unaffected. There is a social stigma that the baby will reject your milk if you exercise while breastfeeding and it is absolutely incorrect. You can even breastfeed the baby shortly after an exercise session. However, this may be different in a cesarean section case as they are not permitted to exercise immediately post childbirth and the duration is little longer.

There is an article in 1992 after a study that mother’s milk is found to have lactic acid in higher proportions immediately after an exercise and babies turn repellent as the milk is not as tasty as it used to be. These studies based on the 1992 findings are now highly in debate as the current researchers are skeptical with them for multiple reasons. As the babies were fed milk using a dropper although they are not habituated to drink milk this way, the studies are not being considered.

Let us keep the findings apart as the debate is still on. As long as the baby seems satisfied with your milk, you can absolutely go ahead and nurse them after an exercise session. However, you may feel more comfortable to nurse before you exercise as you have a sense of relieving after you feed and exercising with milk on may be little heavy. But if you can carry a workout session before feeding a baby as long as your baby is happy with the milk, go ahead and have a supportive bra to get into the exercise routine.

If you gave birth through a cesarean section, your healthcare provider would be able to recommend the right workout regime for you as it may not be correct for you to get into the normal routine. Be wary while making a decision and it is your health which is important than staying fit.

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Pregnancy is the best time to learn about the benefits of breastfeeding so that you can give your baby a healthy start in life. Knowing what to expect will help you make the decision to breastfeed and make it easier to get through the rough patches.

Breast milk is the ideal nutrition for newborns as it contains everything your baby needs to grow. It has just the right combination of protein, vitamins, fat and is easy on the baby’s immature digestive system. It also contains antibodies that help your baby fight common illnesses like ear infections, colds, etc. No wonder breastfed babies tend to get sick much lesser. Breastfeeding is good for the mother too. The hormones released during breastfeeding help the mother’s body recover from childbirth and make the uterus contract back to its pre pregnancy size.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6months of the baby’s life after which nutritious solid foods must be introduced. Breastfeeding can be continued beyond the 6 month mark, alongside complementary foods, for as long as is desired by mother and baby.

It takes about 3 to 4 days for breast milk to come in and most new moms have similar questions when they start their breastfeeding journey. How much milk does my baby need? Am I making enough? The good news is that babies do not need much during the first couple of days.  As days go by your baby’s demand will go up and so will your supply.  You can tell if your baby is getting enough and feeding well if,

• Your baby wets 6 to 8 diapers a day
• He seems settled after a feed
• Your breasts get soft after the baby feeds
• Your baby unlatches on his own
• Your baby is putting on weight

It is essential that both mother and baby are comfortable during the feed. Poor latching and incorrect positions can make it uncomfortable and difficult to continue breastfeeding for 6 long months. Sore nipples, excessive back pain and general discomfort during feeds can discourage a new mother. Work on establishing a good latch with the help of experienced moms or a lactation consultation. There are many positions and holds like the cradle hold, football hold and reclining position. Finding a position that works for both you and your baby will go a long way in making your breastfeeding journey comfortable.

Priya, first time mother of a healthy 9month old says, “I almost gave up on breastfeeding when I had to go back to work 3 months after my little one was born. That’s when I turned to the breast pump.” Pumping breast milk has become a common practice amongst mothers. Mothers need not have to stop breastfeeding when direct breastfeeding becomes infeasible.

However, if for any reason you are not able to breastfeed in spite of your best efforts, fret not as there are alternatives.  Speak to your healthcare provider about it.

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Your due date is a stone’s throw away with just a few more weeks to slog. Nearing the end of your pregnancy journey, you might as well have the baby right now. At 37 weeks, your doctor has probably discussed that it’s close enough to the due date for a safe delivery. You might as well book an elective C-section, consult your partner and parents to check everyone’s availability rather than go through the last couple of weeks of the pregnancy cycle.

When inducing labor was at its peak in the last 3 decades, countless women have been told just that it was ok to deliver post completion of 37 weeks of pregnancy. However, with more scientific research coming forward those last few weeks are just as important and ‘a stone’s throw’ doesn’t always cut it.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have relooked at the definition of ‘term pregnancy.’ The last few decades have seen a tremendous rise in elective C-sections and babies being delivered pre-term and ending up in Neonatal intensive care units. Hence, there is definitely a reason to take those last few weeks extremely seriously. Here’s how American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have categorized ‘Term Pregnancy’:

• Early Term: Between 37 weeks 0 days and 38 weeks 6 days
• Full Term: Between 39 weeks 0 days and 40 weeks 6 days
• Late Term: Between 41 weeks 0 days and 41 weeks 6 days
• Poster: Between 42 weeks 0 days and beyond[1]

Unnecessary induced labor for the sake of convenience is now slowly taking a back seat for the simple reason that it can be potentially dangerous for both the mother and the baby. Induced labor or C-section should only be a means to tackle if complications arise in the pregnancy. However, if the medical reason is not compelling enough and the healthcare provider in question feels that the mother will be able to carry the baby to term, then that is the best route to take where both the mother and the child will fare better.

‘Overdue’ is also one of the terms that these guidelines have elaborated upon. According to them, going past the assigned due date by a week or two does not qualify the pregnancy as ‘over due’. The doctors are primarily concerned about the baby growing too big for the mother’s pelvis or the placenta growing old to sustain the baby. While these are valid areas of concerns, it happens very rarely.

Prior to the 80’s frenzy for C-sections and induced labor, women delivered babies quiet safely a week or two post their due dates. Agreed that those extra weeks will be uneasy and annoying, but that is no reason for having your baby before it’s ready to make its appearance into this world.

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