Pregnancy & Childbirth

Throwing baby showers is a time-honored way to celebrate the impending addition of a new member to a loved one’s family. Traditionally, a baby shower is a “girls only” event, often hosted by the baby’s godmother, but today baby showers can be hosted by any friend or relative of the mother-to-be, and can be attended by whomever the host wishes to invite. The general purpose of a baby shower is to give useful gifts to the expectant mother, such as layette items, baby toys and clothes, and often gift certificates for useful things. It is not untoward for the expectant parents to draw up a “wish list” of items they especially need but may be having difficulty affording.

Baby showers are a relatively recent tradition, generally credited as having their start in the US. A baby shower is usually a relatively casual event, held in the afternoon or early evening, often with refreshments provided and sometimes party games held as well. It is not uncommon to have a potluck shower, where guests each bring a food item along with a gift, although fully catered showers are also quite common. Party games, if the host chooses to have them, generally center around the general theme of the baby and pregnancy, ranging from themed versions traditional games like charades to activities such as guessing the circumference of the pregnant guest-of-honor.

While many parents-to-be look forward to having a baby shower, some social groups feel such celebrations are best left as family affairs, or believe that it is bad luck to celebrate a birth before it happens. If you offer to host a shower for an expectant friend, don’t be hurt if she politely declines. In other cases, the mother-to-be may have multiple showers! Perhaps one for co-workers and casual friends, and one for close friends and family. Some women have a baby shower only for their first child, while others may choose to have one for every pregnancy.

Baby showers are not bound by rigid traditions to the same extent as weddings and other life events, so don’t be surprised if a new friend’s baby shower is nothing like the last one you attended. There is really no “wrong” way to throw a baby shower, so if you have been charged with hosting a shower for a friend or relative, it’s an “anything goes” affair (so long as you have the guest of honor’s stamp of approval for your plans!).

Simone writes for a parenting advice site where you can read information on many aspects of pregnancy, birth, and caring for your baby and toddler.

It’s all great to hear advice during your pregnancy, especially unwelcome advice. I’m sure you’ve been told by one person or another how to live. Am I right? It only gets worse the further along in your pregnancy you are. Someone will want to tell you that you shouldn’t bend, or walk a certain way, not to pick up a baby in case you hurt the one in your stomach or put yourself in labor. As the pregnancy gets closer to the due date you’ll be told many different home remedies of how to put yourself in labor. Got a headache? Someone can tell you exactly what to drink to get rid of it without any medication, remember it is important to ask a doctor before trying to take something you’ve never tried before doing it. But the most fun I have during the course of the 9-10 months stretch is hearing all the wives tales, also known as myths.

I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to even care at this point what sex the baby is, all you want is for the morning sickness to stop. You may even be counting down the days until the first trimester is over. Chances are if you morning sickness someone is bound to tell you what sex of the baby is. One wives tale is if you are having severe morning sickness is a sign you are having a girl.

Here’s a wives tale that is a lot of fun and you can test it on everyone in your household. Take a thin piece of string or your hair, slide your ring down it, hold it above your belly and let the ring dangle above it. If the rings spins in a circle it is a boy, but if it goes from one side to the other, it is a girl. Once you’ve tried it out on your tummy, get someone in your house and do it above their hand. Does the ring spin in a circle above your husband’s hand? Hmm, is it really and old wives tale or is there really something to it?

Many women claim to suffer from bouts of heartburn during the pregnancy, according to the old wives tell this would mean your baby will be born with a head full of hair.

Right before the end of your first trimester your doctor will listen to your baby’s heart rate, this is to make sure the baby is doing alright. The wives tale goes, if the heart rate is high it is a girl and a low one is a boy.

Ever have someone tell you that you are carrying high or low and wonder what that really means? Basically if you are carrying your baby low it is closer to your abdomen, a high baby is closer to your chest. Look at yourself in the mirror. How is your baby sitting? The old tale says that if you are carrying high it is a girl, carrying low is a boy.

Wives tales can be a lot of fun but keep in mind these aren’t fact. Don’t go preparing your child’s room just because one of these told you, you were going to have a girl.

Acne is so rude that it does not even spare the pregnant women. Many women complaint about the occurrence of acne or worsening of acne during pregnancy.

If you thought acne was a thing of the past you may be surprised to find that acne during pregnancy is quite common. Just as hormonal fluctuations during puberty can result in a surge of pimples, so too can pregnancy. If you already suffer from adult acne you may find your situation a bit worse during pregnancy. Fortunately a dermatologist can help alleviate some of your discomfort from acne during pregnancy. There are some medications or creams that may be safe for use for acne during pregnancy. By and large however, normal acne associated with pregnancy need not be treated and generally resolves on its own in a few short months.

Women often get more irritable with the acne as it also affects their relationship with their husband. But, what is the treatment for this or what is the ultimate acne solution. Well, there are lots of medications available for treating acne of this kind.

Acne can be treated by a dermatologist in non-pregnant women through prescription drugs such as Accutane, Retin-A, and Tetracycline. However, use of these drugs is discouraged by pregnant women or women trying to conceive and should be thoroughly discussed with your health care provider and dermatologist.

Often, it has been seen that the acne break outs return to normal condition within a month or two after the baby is born. With the effectiveness of some medications in treating acne there are also some which can have an adverse effect. So, doctors often recommend the intake of oral medications during pregnancy as medications constituting retinoic acid are dangerous for the unborn baby. You should also follow some do’s and don t ’s to control your acne while protecting the baby. These are:

1) Clean you skin to keep it oil free during pregnancy. Always use an oil absorbing micro fiber cloth for washing your face to keep your skin acne free.

2) Extra care should be taken to not rub near the outbreak area as it would result in more zits and adversely affect the acne prevention process.

3) Daily exercise would increase the blood circulation flow thus helping the skin to tone and become healthy.

4) You can also control acne during pregnancy by using lots of water while cleaning to get away with the residual soap resulting in collecting bacteria or irritating the skin.

5) Wash the infected areas very gently with an oil-free mild soap. Take care not to over-cleanse, you could strip away too much oil. Your body wants to remain in balance and over-cleansing tells your pores they need more oil, thus increasing the glandular production activity.

6) Use plenty of water when you cleanse in order to rid your body of residual soap that may collect bacteria or irritate the skin.
So, these tips should be followed and maintained to control and prevent the occurrence of acne during pregnancy.

Alien writes for skin disorders. You can get more info on how to get rid of blackheads and for acne treatment.