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Shortness of Breath During Pregnancy - Reasons & Prevention
One of the most common symptoms of pregnancy is breathlessness, or. However, facing trouble breathing while pregnant is a symptom not many women know of and it usually catches them by surprise.
Here is a quick look at the different aspects of breathing problems during pregnancy that you may encounter.
Is Breathlessness During Pregnancy Normal?
Yes. Most women face problems with catching their breath during their pregnancy. As your body undergoes many changes, including a drastic change in the levels of your hormones, one of the first things you will notice is a change in the way you breathe. Your breaths become more laboured, deeper, and more frequent.
About 75% of women experience breathlessness in their pregnancy. It is perfectly normal to have a breathing problem during pregnancy while engaging in any physical activity.
What Causes Shortness Of Breath In Pregnant Women?
Finding yourself suddenly short of breath while you are trying to stay as healthy as you can for your pregnancy can be quite alarming. It is crucial that you educate yourself on the causes of breathlessness while pregnant.
First trimester
You are likely to face breathlessness during early pregnancy as it is one of the first symptoms of pregnancy. Your baby needs oxygen as well as blood supply for development. As your body begins to share its oxygen supply with your baby, you can experience breathlessness.
During this trimester, the focus is on increasing your lung capacity by expanding the rib cage. You will notice this change as your clothes will get tighter. The hormone progesterone will be created in excess which will overstimulate your respiratory system.
Second trimester
In this stage, your body’s hormones are the primary reason you will continue to feel breathless. The capillaries in your lungs will swell while the muscles around them will relax. All of these physiological changes will result in shortness of breath. The hormones will regulate your breathing pattern into taking deeper and more frequent breaths.
Third trimester
As your baby begins to grow, your uterus will push against all other organs. This includes your diaphragm. In most cases, the diaphragm will shift up to 4cm. This pressure makes it hard for your lungs to expand fully, thus causing breathlessness and discomfort. You will feel more pressure if you are carrying the foetus high, have lots of amniotic fluid, or have multiple pregnancies.
Remedies To Relieve Shortness Of Breath During Pregnancy
Since breathlessness is a natural physiological response by your body to being pregnant, there isn’t any particular cure to this condition. However, there are many ways in which you can relieve the discomfort as well as manage the condition. Here are a few of them:
Make sure your posture is conducive for your lungs to be able to function at its best. Stand or sit up straight with your shoulders back and your chin up. This posture allows for your lungs to expand with no hindrance.
Use extra pillows to prop yourself when sleeping. If you are used to sleeping on your side, make sure you prop up your head. This ensures your passageway remains unobstructed as you sleep.
Don’t forget to relax. When pregnant, you must take care of all your needs and put special emphasis on keeping calm. If you begin to feel breathless, take a break immediately. Concentrate on relaxing and getting your breath under control for the next 20 minutes. Once you feel comfortable again, you can continue with your activity.
Breathing exercises are a great way to regulate your breathing troubles. These exercises must concentrate on chest breathing as abdominal breathing will be compromised. While practicing breathing exercises, concentrate on the movement of your ribcage. It must move outward as you inhale.
Regular exercise can help with a host of conditions. Talk to your doctor about a form of exercise most suited for you. You can choose to incorporate yoga or an aerobic exercise like swimming into your daily routine to build stamina.
Sometimes, breathlessness can be resolved by something as simple as your changing your position. Remember to keep changing positions and find one that you feel most comfortable.
How Long Does Breathlessness In Pregnancy Last?
Once you start feeling symptoms of breathlessness you are bound to continue doing so till the end of pregnancy. Once you give birth, the levels of progesterone will come back to normal almost immediately. Your ribcage and respiratory tract will take longer to come back to normal.
However, if this is your first pregnancy, then your baby will drop to the pelvis by the 36th week. After this, you will find considerable relief from any breathing troubles.
Will Breathing Problems During Pregnancy Affect My Baby?
Breathlessness is a common condition. As long as you do not experience other symptoms, such as chest pains, you and your baby should be safe. Your baby will continue to get ample amount of oxygen through the amniotic fluid. Remember, the function of progesterone in your respiratory system is to ensure that you take in copious amounts of oxygen.
In case you are still worried, feel free to talk to your doctor about all your concerns.
Is Breathlessness During Pregnancy An Indication Of A Serious Problem?
Sometimes, the breathlessness you experience could be indicative of any other underlying issues you might have. It is best that you keep tabs on all symptoms you experience. You could be experiencing breathing problem during pregnancy due to the following issues:
Anaemia is a condition where due to lack of iron, the count of your red blood cells (RBC) reduces drastically. Since the RBCs are responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the different parts of the body, your lungs feel extra pressure to work harder to meet the demands of an oxygen starved body. If you are anaemic and are pregnant, the condition could worsen as your baby requires ample amounts of oxygen supply for healthy development.
If you already suffer from asthma, your pregnancy could make the condition exacerbated. Common respiratory illnesses like the flu could also snowball into a much serious issue if left untreated.
In case you experience serious symptoms like chest pain, a quickening of the pulse, and your fingertips becoming cold, you could be suffering from a serious heart or lung condition. Rush to the emergency room if you experience these symptoms along with shortness of breath.
You must tell your doctor about all previous medical conditions. This way, they will be able to create a plan for yourself that is most suited to your needs.
How To Prevent Shortness Of Breath?
There are many ways to make sure that you do not have trouble breathing in pregnancy. Here are a few:
Make sure that you stay hydrated. Avoid drinks like coffee, tea, soda, and alcohol. Dehydration is one of the key factors affecting breathlessness.
Avoid too much physical activity. Excessive strenuous activity will worsen your breathing troubles. Make sure you get people to help you with any daily chores or activities that are physically strenuous.
Eat healthy. More stress cannot be put on the positive effects of eating a healthy diet especially when you are pregnant. You must maintain the ideal weight during your pregnancy since fitness levels are a huge factor with it comes to trouble breathing while pregnant. Make sure you eat foods that are rich in iron like red meat and green leafy vegetables. Remember to take vitamin C supplements as it affects your body’s ability to absorb iron.
Conclusion
Feeling breathless during your pregnancy is a common physiological condition. You must ensure that your doctors and caretakers are informed of this condition along with any other pre-existing ones. Keep track of the symptoms and do not hesitate to discuss them with your doctor. Read more
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Being a First-time Mommy in a Foreign Land, With a Different Culture and Difficult Pregnancy
It was January 2016, and we were shifting to Seoul, South Korea from Bangalore, India, for two years. It was my first foreign stay, that too in freezing temperatures...it was -8 degrees when we reached there. On the morning of 26 April 2016, around 5:00 a.m., we discovered that we are pregnant. 'Oooh', 'wooow', 'hurray', 'oh shit'...those were the mixed reactions I had in the most beautiful moment of my life. Yes, I will be a mother soon.
Here began the challenges I faced.
I was in a foreign land alone - only with my husband - in a place where people didn't know my language. In South Korea, very few people know English - even their official language is Hangul. My husband was at office that day; I took a deep breath and decided to be very strong and start working hard to be a mother. I took a taxi to the nearest health centre, and got my basic tests done there, got free medicines, a pregnancy kit and a document for go-un credit card which had 500,000 krw pre-loaded from the government to use for pregnancy. I already researched this all before going to the health centre. Because no one knew the language, I used Google translator. I started learning basic Hangul and joined many Facebook groups of being a mother and foreigner in Korea, which were of great help.
My first trimester was full of morning sickness and uneasiness...I couldn’t eat anything or even drink water sometimes. I used to feel so alone and helpless...but thanks to my husband who was very supportive, his love and care kept me motivated and get going. We wanted to have our child in Korea itself, so I was not going back to India, and someone from home could come only for a few weeks. I decided that it was our responsibility, and that I was going to do everything on my own without asking for outside help.
I had many challenges and difficulties during my pregnancy - finding a good hospital with a female gynaecologist (as there were mostly male gynaecologists, and I preferred female), especially one who could speak English, was very rare. We had to shift our home and settle at a new place, knowing the new place, all the weakness and vomiting that made me lose 10 kg in my first trimester. Things were better in my second trimester, and then I got diagnosed with diabetes in the last of my second trimester. This was the most difficult part because we had close to no options to eat out because we are Muslims, and I can hardly find halal food or totally vegetarian food in Korea, and I didn't want to start insulin. Instead, I wanted to control it with a diet. I had no energy to cook food, and no options to eat out. I somehow read and found options to eat, most of which was besan cheela and raw veggies. I survived my third trimester on that. Eating the same tasteless cheela daily was very difficult, but I did it.
My baby movements were very much; even today, she is hyper active. Finally, after all those days, the day arrived on 28th December 2016 - I delivered my baby girl, Haaniya. We were blessed to have her; next, we had parenting hurdles.
After her birth, she slept just for 3-5 days as a newborn. Then, her total sleep was, in total, a maximum of 12 hours till she was 5 months old. I used to be awake day and night because she would sleep just for half an hour and wake up. Those days were really tough. Then, she started crawling and making a fuss and not sleeping. My husband and I started getting into fights because both of us were tired of not sleeping and looking after that hyperactive baby. She is so hyperactive that once, a doctor advised me to see a psychologist for her, who later said that everything was fine; she was just a hyperactive baby.
Finally after weaning her after 1.7 years, she started sleeping a little better. It was after 1.7 years that I had a dream for the first time. I felt, 'oh, I haven't had a dream in so long because I wasn't having sound sleep.' She is two now - still a lot active, sometimes sleeps very less and wakes up during the night, but time is better - we are in India and we have so much help and ease here.
Getting pregnant in a foreign country, shifting there, language and food challenges, health challenges, loneliness, finding a good doctor, giving birth, parenting, shifting back to India and settling down. It was a long, hectic journey - but when I look at my daughter, I feel like the bravest, strongest and happiest mother.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and positions (including content in any form) expressed within this post are those of the author alone. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The responsibility for intellectual property rights of this content rests with the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with him/her.
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Sour Cream Pancakes
This is a recipe where you can ask your toddler and her friends to pitch in and make the batter for you to cook. You'll be a popular mom, but prepare to have your kitchen turn into a big mess! If you can bring yourself to, give them the ingredients, tell them what needs to be done and stand aside - just supervise, don’t interfere!
Serves
Preparation Time
Cooking Time
4 People
10-15 Minutes
10-15 Minutes
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1⁄3 cup flour
1 tbsp (tablespoon) sugar
1⁄2 tsp (teaspoon) baking soda
1⁄4 tsp salt
Method
Step 1
Break the eggs into a medium sized bowl and whisk until well blended. Next, pour in the sour cream. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients become moistened. Make sure that the batter doesn’t get over mixed. This is the step where you can involve your kids.
Step 2
Keep a large non-stick skillet on medium heat, and let it heat up a bit. Take a spoonful of batter and working in batches, drop it onto a skillet for each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 min on both the sides until they are golden brown.
Step 3
Serve topped with honey, maple syrup or any other syrup of your choice.
Nutritional Information
Calories
282 Kcal
Proteins
7.7 g
Total Fat
14.5
Total Carbohydrates
30.5 g
Cholesterol
107 mg
Sodium
62 mg
Potassium
144 mg
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Dr Vandan H Kumar has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
4 hours ago
Q. is it normal for toddlers get cold and gone in one day in these summers
Dr Vandan H Kumar
Paediatrician
3 hours ago
A. yes that's fine
you can go for home remedies like tulsi ginger honey (add honey if child is more than 1 year of age) combination which can be diluted with water and given frequently to the child.
also u can give turmeric with warm milk one or two times everyday.
give warm water to drink as well as nasal saline drops frequently. d
try to prevent temperature variations around the child that is from hot to cold and cold to hot environment.
keep the child well covered.
if the palms and soles of the child are cold then the child is feeling cold and you have to take preventive measures to make the child warm
Nikitha has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
3 hours ago
Q. from which month weight will gain
Nikitha
Mom of a 9 yr 5 m old boy
3 hours ago
A. hello in the first one baby weight will reduce and then it will start increasing and baby gaining a minimum of 600 g to 800 gram per month then it is a good weight gain and absolutely nothing to worry or not a problem and if the BM is S not sufficient you can give infant formula milk stage 1 using a bpa free bottle like babyhug
Dr Priyanka Kalra has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 4 months
3 hours ago
Q. mam i am 21 week continuing in my pregnancy but my baby not moving as much
Dr Priyanka Kalra
Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
3 hours ago
A. pl do ultrasound. better to show to specialist always as they get the correct diagnosis. try to avoid self and extra medication that will only complicate this and create more damage to the child
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due this month
2 hours ago
Q. #asktheexperts what is muconium staining?
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
2 hours ago
A. due to feetal distance that will be mcconium passing in the uterine cavity itself. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 2 months
2 hours ago
Q. #asktheexperts What should I buy for my baby however I'm just expecting in 2 month
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
2 hours ago
A. you can get information regarding essentials of the new ones watch any YouTube channel. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Rashmi has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 5 months
1 hour ago
Q. I got faint line all my pregnancy test and I missed my periods for 10 days but USG and TVs test confirm there is no pregnancy is there any chance that it is very early stage that's why it is not visible???? or TVs test is the last thing that can tell that really there is no pregnancy
Read moreRashmi
Mom of a 9 yr 7 m old girl
1 hour ago
A. I think it would be advisable for you to get an ultrasound done with your doctor that’s going to give you a clarity because if there is a pregnancy it would be visible at least at least that sack is visible if it’s a regular pregnancy so it would be advisable to have a test with your doctor
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