Home And Family

Archive for the ‘Motherhood’ Category

Pregnancy can sometimes be seen as a two-faced affair. On one side, it represents the blissful aspirations of a woman to finally give birth to a child, and on the other side, there lurks the dangers associated with the process that could undermine the health of both the mother and her child. As such, despite the joys associated with pregnancy, the stage is nonetheless mixed with an air of caution and vigilance to assure a safe journey to motherhood.

Pregnancy as a process involves numerous risk factors, some of which are potentially fatal if ignored or left untreated. Aside from the serious complications pregnancy brings, there are also the less serious but uncomfortable complaints such as frequent urination and back pains…

Thyroid Disorders in Pregnancy

One of the serious complications that could arise during pregnancy is thyroid disorders. Thyroid diseases affect around 25 percent of all women in their reproductive age.. Not surprisingly, thyroid disorders are a major concern affecting pregnant women. Most thyroid disorders that occur during pregnancy are autoimmune in nature, which means that the body’s own antibodies can take care of such disorders. The body develops antibodies, which are directed against thyroid cells. The action of antibodies on thyroid cells does affect the functions of the thyroid glands..

Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism

In some instances, the antibodies reduce the function of the thyroid glands and the result is known as hypothyroidism, which is a reduction in the function of the thyroid glands. On the other hand, the action of antibodies on the thyroid tissue may stimulate thyroid cell function. This situation is known as hyperthyroidism because it is characterized by an overfunctioning of the thyroid. Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are anomalies in the function and state of the thyroid, which may occur during pregnancy and could bring about unwanted effects.

Careful Assessment in Treating Thyroid Disorder

In pregnancies where the mother is experiencing anomalies affecting the thyroids, medical treatment should be administered at once to avoid further complications that may worsen the situation for both mother and her child. However, in case of hyperthyroidism, caution should be exercised in assessing the symptoms experienced by the mother such as palpitations of the heart, sweating, and intolerance to heat. Although such may reveal the presence of hyperthyroidism, they are common in almost all pregnancies and are perfectly normal.

Treatment for Thyroid Disorders During Pregnancy

The following are the treatments for thyroid disorders during pregnancy.

Thyroid stimulating hormone treatment. When hypothyroidism is detected in a pregnant woman, the most common solution employed is the injection of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). The TSH will seek to balance the thyroid activity as  doctors take care to religiously monitor the hormone level in the body. One of the common drugs administered is thyroxine. Thyroxine seeks to restore TSH level to normal.

Antithyroid medication. If hyperthyroidism is left untreated, the risks involve fetal death and other maternal comlications. The most commonly used method for treating hyperthyroidism is antithyroid medication. The most commonly used drug to treat hyperthyroidism is propylthiouracil.

The inability of a person to conceive despite having regular unprotected sex is called infertility. It affects one in ten or twelve couples. In 60% of cases women are responsible and 40% of cases men are responsible. There are several causes of infertility from physical to psychological or biological.

Common physical causes in men are low sperm count, failure to deposit sperm in the vagina and obstruction of the male genital organs (epididymis, vas deferens or ejaculatory duct). Causes in women are failure to produce a sufficient number of healthy eggs, partial or complete obstruction of the fallopian tubes, endometriosis, pelvic tumors and rejection of the fertilized egg.

In few reports, it is found that in some men the regular wearing of tight underpants or taking long hot baths is associated with infertility. These raise the temperature of the scrotum.

Psychological causes like excessive tension, in either the men or women may also cause infertility. Almost every newly married couple plans to have children. They want children to satisfy family and to achieve personal growth and fulfillment. Children are also a means of rationalizing sexual activities and demonstration of sexual potency, an affirmation of masculinity or femininity.

Infertile couples now have two main options if they cannot or do not wish to adopt children or if fertility drugs are not the solution. These are: Artificial Insemination (AL) and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Artificial insemination involves collecting sperm from the man or from a donor and introducing it into the uterus of the woman at a time when the chances of conceiving are greater. The sperm samples are usually obtained by masturbation. It may be fresh, or it may have been frozen for several months.

If the man has low sperm count or physically incapable of coitus, it may be necessary for him to make several donations may be supplemented by those of a donor. If his sperms are defective, the sample used for insemination will come from a donor alone.

In Vitro Fertilization is used when the woman’s oviducts are irrevocably blocked. An egg is removed from or near the ovary. Then it is mixed with sperm. After a period of development in a glass laboratory dish, it is introduced into the uterus to await implantation. This process is also known as test tube baby. In many countries, this technique has proved successful. The chances of success are 50:50 but various religious institutions have condemned it as immoral. Moreover the cost of this technique is very high.

Surrogate Parenting is an alternative method to get child. In this method, a woman who takes the place of a sterile woman for the purpose of insemination by the man is called surrogate mother. This practice of one woman bearing a baby on behalf of another is now becoming more common. Many women are willingly coming forward to offer themselves for hire to conceive and bear children for others. But this type of motherhood is the subject of legal dispute as to the rights of the surrogate mother over the child she bears. This process is also very expensive.

Copyright © Anna Patrick, All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your website or in your ezine, make all the urls (links) active.

My mom once recounted to me that when she gave birth to me it was the most blessed, most memorable day of her whole lifetime. Looking back, i found it nuts now that I used to ask my mommy for a lot of stuff, even just to fix a simplistic problem or just plain acquiring water out of the electric refrigerator just because I was so sluggish to do so myself. My mama is stressed out most of the time because of multi-tasking between her job and tending to us that at some point in time I foreboded I would never be a mum, ever. Just reckon, having a bad job with the most awful pay, has barely the moment to relax and still takes care of us children. Who in their proper mind would desire to go through all of that? So what makes a mom? What characteristics do you have to have in order to be addressed as a mother? Are mothers really that fantastic for them to have their own annual celebration? Questions such as the latter are what kept pestering me because I didn’t know the exact reply. The day I ultimately underwent maternity is the day I had the answers to my questions. Below are the stuff I have come to realize while undergoing maternity. “Its Okay Mommy’s Here” always works like a charm when trying to make your kids stop crying; That only one pretty face exists no matter what the circumstances are and mothers have it; and that the cliche Mothers Know Best oftentimes mean I told you so or otherwise signify that you have get your mothers approval on everything even on your choice of women. Most importantly, being a mother means being the source of comfort, trust, care, and unconditional love in the family.

A bundle of emotions comes with motherhood that defies all known reason. Being a mother means giving life to your kids, teach them things, let them know right from wrong, giving them freedom to live their lives but not living it for your children, not learning it for them, not deciding it for them but in the end be accountable for them. Supporting your children in every path they take even though its the least path you would like them to take. Because being a mother is to always be there even if it hurts. Because the truth is, once a mother, always a mother. Courage. The main trait one has to exhibit in order to be called a real mother is courage. A mother can also be take the role of dad in the household, that’s what makes mothers really special. And why are they so important to be remembered because they brought you into this world and even gave up theirs so you can be happy. I already know this because of a very wonderful person in my life, my mother. Now that I am a mother my self, the best part of my life is in fact my children who values me and I will love them wholeheartedly forever.

She taught us how to walk, she taught us how to talk, she taught us how to eat and she was by our side no matter what we were going through so we decided to dedicate a day especially for her, Mothers Day. In Canada Mother’s Day is celebrated on every second Sunday of the month of May and is a day for celebrating motherhood and mothers. Every country has its own way of celebrating this day, while some give it great importance others hardly recognize it to be that significant. Mothers have a great importance for us in our lives and no matter what we do there is no way we can pay them back for what they have done for us. Carrying us in their womb for nine months and bringing us up to be what we are today is all with great thanks to her. She stands by us in happiness and joy and this day can be used as a day to pay her back and to express our love and feelings towards her. Let her know that you are thankful to her for everything she has done for you and that you will continue to love her forever. Canada florists use this day to create special arrangements of flowers as these are one of the major gifts sent on this day.

They can be for flower delivery in Canada or a flowers ordered online for Canada. There are a variety of flowers that you have to choose from, but Canada florist use red carnations mostly on this day as it is a symbol of love and the official flower for this day. Another popular color used is pink as it represents happiness and yellow as it represents friendship. Even if you are far away and everyday responsibilities do not allow you to be present with your mother on this day, you can get flower delivery in Canada. Ordering flowers online for Canada is a process of a couple of minutes where you just have to select which flower option you want to send to your mother and leave the rest to them. Imagine the happiness and joy that will appear once the flower delivery Canada appears on her doorstep and she reads you name across it. Though the ordering is being done online the flowers are delivered through Canada florists and are delivered fresh and fragrant.

You can decide whether to deliver in a vase, basket or a wrapped beautifully amongst papers and ribbons depending on what your mother would prefer the best. Serving your mother with breakfast in bed, not allowing her to cook dinner and giving her gifts and love are all traditions that are followed on this day. If mothers have passed away then white flowers are usually brought to her grave. Pampering her is the least we can in order to try and pay her back for everything she has done for us. Let this day be all about her and let her know the importance she has for you and to put it in simple words, just let her know that you love her.