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How much movement you should feel and how to relieve hemorrhoids
|  | Hemorrhoid help
Try these tips to relieve the discomfort of hemorrhoids and prevent them from getting worse:
• Wipe with care. Use soft, unscented, white toilet tissue or medicated moist towelettes.
• Take a warm sitz bath. Soak your bottom for ten to 20 minutes a few times a day.
• Cool off: Some women find comfort from ice packs (wrapped in a soft covering) or cold compresses medicated with witch hazel.
• Stay regular. Eat a high-fiber diet, drink plenty of water (at least eight glasses a day), and try to exercise regularly.
• Don't "hold it." Go as soon as you have the urge to move your bowels, try not to strain, and don't linger on the toilet.
• Do your Kegels. They'll increase circulation in your rectal area and strengthen the muscles around your anus.
• Try to avoid sitting or standing for long stretches.
• Ask your practitioner to recommend safe topical anesthetics or medicated suppositories. | | You should be able to feel your baby's movements strongly now. Your practitioner may ask you to spend some time each day counting kicks and will give you specific instructions on how to do this. Let her know if you ever notice a decrease in activity. You may need a nonstress test or biophysical profile to check on your baby's condition. You're more likely to be plagued with heartburn and constipation as your abdomen gets more crowded. These discomforts are partly caused by the pregnancy hormone progesterone, which relaxes smooth muscle tissue throughout your body, including your gastrointestinal tract, and slows your digestion. Another problem you can credit to your growing uterus (and constipation) is hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids – which are swollen blood vessels in your rectal area – are common during pregnancy and usually clear up soon after delivery. Why is my hair getting thicker? It's not your imagination – your hair is thicker than normal now. But you're not actually growing more hair; you're just losing it more slowly than you usually do. Here's what's going on: Normally, most of the hair on your head is growing and the remainder (about 5 to 15 percent) is in a resting stage. After the resting period, this hair falls out and is replaced by new growth. During pregnancy, higher levels of estrogen make the growing stage longer, so fewer hairs are in the resting stage and fewer are falling out each day, and you have thicker, more luxuriant tresses. After you give birth, though, your estrogen levels drop and more hair will enter the resting stage and fall out. This postpartum hair loss can be alarming, but it's totally normal. | | | It's the Law: Deciding whether to go back to work after your baby is born
| | ADVERTISEMENT |  | | You may feel pressure to have your long-term work plans figured out before you take maternity leave, but you're not legally required to do so. In fact, under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, as soon as you tell your employer that you're sure you won't be returning to work, your employer is no longer obliged to continue your healthcare coverage and hold your job. (If you say that you want to return, but might not be able to, your employer is still obligated to cover you.) For this reason, many women wait until the end of their leave to tell their employer that they're not coming back. Waiting to tell may have consequences of its own. If, at the end of your FMLA leave, you voluntarily choose not to return to work in order to care for your healthy newborn, your employer can seek to recover any contributions made on your behalf toward healthcare premiums or other benefits while you were on unpaid FMLA leave. Your employer can't seek reimbursement if you're unable to return to work because of your own or your newborn's serious health condition or because of other reasons beyond your control. One way around this is to return to work for at least 30 calendar days after your leave ends. At that point, you've returned to work in the eyes of the FMLA. Note that some part-time workers, newer employees, and employees of companies with fewer than 50 workers aren't covered by the FMLA. However, some states have their own laws regarding family and medical leave. If you took maternity leave under terms that were better than those of the FMLA – through your state's family and medical leave law or under your employer's own policies – and you decide not to return to work, make sure you understand any requirements for notifying your employer and any consequences you could face (such as having to return the benefits you received).
• Some women shout the news of their pregnancy from the rooftops – even at work. Others keep their baby secret until their belly gives them away. How long did you wait before telling your boss?
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Buying Guide: Safety Monitors Is my baby safe? Is he sleeping? Does he need me? Safety monitors are the easy answer to these nagging questions, and have become an indispensable tool, offering peace of mind for first-time and experienced parents alike. | |
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What's your position on cord blood banking?
| Erica Breneman
Obstetrician in Oakland, California, and mother of one | I really think that the United States should have large, public cord blood banks. The chance that your own child will develop a serious disease like leukemia is quite low, but there certainly are cases in the population as a whole. Given the absence of public cord blood banks, I don't encourage or discourage cord blood banking. If families can afford the fees, and if they wouldn't be able to forgive themselves if they didn't do it and their child developed a problem, they should do it. The only real drawback is the cost. | MaryJane Lewitt
Certified Nurse-Midwife in Atlanta, Georgia, and mother of two | Cord blood banking is a relatively new option for people. In the future, cord blood may be used to heal the heart after a heart attack or repair spinal cord damage in addition to its current use in bone marrow transplants after leukemia treatment. For many people, however, the current cost of cord blood banking is prohibitive. I recommend that my patients weigh the costs against the potential benefits and make the decision that's best for them. I don't encourage or discourage the idea. | Samantha Maplethorpe
Family Physician in Issaquah, Washington, and mother of three | This is a personal decision for parents. I recommend that they talk to their doctor to review any questions they have about cord blood banking, either for personal use or for donation. | | | | Expert Advice: Is it safe to get Botox treatments during pregnancy?
|  Expert: Lori Wolfe, board-certified genetic counselor and director of the Texas Teratogen Information Service for the state of Texas If you used Botox before getting pregnant, it's unlikely there's any risk to your baby. Studies have shown that when Botox is injected into facial muscles, the small amount used doesn't circulate through your body, and therefore it's unlikely to reach your baby. However, Botox use by pregnant women has not been studied. So if you're pregnant and are considering Botox now, I recommend waiting until after you deliver your baby. | |
Also This Week ... | | | ADVERTISEMENT |  | |
 If only you'd known you were going to trade...
• Monthly PMS for nine months of weeping
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• Sex for gas
• Zinfandel for Ovaltine
• Birth control for laxatives
• Going to the gym for getting up to pee
• Your waist for a hot-air balloon
• Kickboxing for kick counts
• Your innie for an outie – a way-outie
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• Freedom for the most intense love you've ever known
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