First Trimester Of Pregnancy - Health Problems & Natural Remedies

The first trimester of pregnancy includes first three months of pregnancy that begins from the first day of your last menstrual period and lasts until the end of 12 weeks. During pregnancy a woman's body changes in many ways and the first trimester is considered as a very crucial phase of pregnancy that brings different issues and concerns. These problems may be mild or severe, however most of the time they are normal and resolve with mild alterations in diet and lifestyle. But these issues if not managed on time definitely affect the health and develop negative consequences for mother as well as fetus health.

Even these problems can occur at any time during pregnancy due to hormonal variations. And most of the time pregnancies are normal.

MORNING SICKNESS

Nausea and vomiting especially in the early morning soon after getting up from the bed is a common problem in pregnancy especially in primigravidae (women having first pregnancy), this is often called "morning sickness". Mostly these problems occur in the 1st and 2nd month and relieve by the end of the first trimester. Very rarely this symptom persists throughout the pregnancy. The cause of Morning sickness is not clear yet. In some pregnant women, these symptoms are worse in the morning and ease up over the course of the day.

Natural Ways

• Before getting out of the bed taking biscuits, rusks and toasts are proven beneficial in this condition.
• Foods containing carbohydrates such as chickpeas, sweet potatoes, etc. are beneficial in this condition.
• Do not do much work because of fatigue you may also vomit.
• Apply a little black salt on lemon and lick it, it will give you relief from nausea and vomiting
• Drink one teaspoon of juice of green coriander leaves, it will help to avoid vomiting
• You will also get benefit from drinking ginger tea every morning.
• You can eat soaked dry fruits in the early morning.
• You can drink a decoction prepared from dhaniya (coriander), saunf (fennel) and jeera (cumin).

HYPEREMESIS GRAVIDARUM (PERNICIOUS VOMITING OF PREGNANCY)

Severe form of nausea and vomiting that persist for a long time, characterized by frequent vomiting. Women may experience sleep disturbance, dysgeusia (distortion of sense organs), hyperolfaction, etc. This condition will cause water, electrolytes and nutritional imbalances and can give rise to severe health issues thus, it requires urgent treatment. In this case, better to take the advice of a Physician.

CONSTIPATION

Irregular bowel movement is quite common in the first trimester. The culprit behind this is progesterone hormone which is quite high and required to maintain pregnancy. But, progesterone in our body relaxes the muscles, as we know the entire GI tract is basically a musculature which further loses its tonicity under the influence of high progesterone. Moreover, there is raised pressure in the pelvic region that in turn affects the GI motility and women may end up with constipation.

Natural Ways

• You can add a bit ghee in your diet that helps to relieve constipation and lubricates the entire GI tract, hence prevents constipation.
• Performing mild yoga like – Anuloma - Viloma helps you to keep your digestion healthy.
• You can drink a decoction prepared from Triphala.
• You can drink milk by adding a few drops of Badamrogan into it.

BACKACHE

Backache is another main complaint that occurs during pregnancy. The reason behind this is our weak and soft ligaments that creates surrounding for the viable fetus. Therefore, ligaments put pressure on the joints and produce strain, hence a pregnant woman usually feels pain in sacro-lumbar joint.

Natural Ways

You can gently massage your back region with soft oils like- Ksheerbala.

LEG CRAMPS

This condition usually arises due to the deficiency of serum calcium and an increased amount of phosphorus in the body.

Natural Ways

• You can gently massage your legs with oils like Ksheerbala and Balashwagandha.
• Increase your intake of milk and milk products to meet the normal calcium requirements..
• Increase your Vitamin B intake by consuming foods like - broccoli, spinach, pomegranate, carrot, etc.

ACIDITY AND HEARTBURN

Irregular bowel habit is the cause of acidity and heartburn. Whatever the pregnant lady eats in the pregnancy it takes time to digest and delay the absorption. Further women may experience a headache.

Natural Ways

• Take meals at proper intervals.
• Avoid taking a heavy meal at a stretch instead of that prefer small and frequent meals
• After having meals prefer a small walk.
• Consume the foodstuffs that are easy to digest.
• Add fiber-rich foods in your diet like – moong daal, green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits.
• Avoid oily, spicy, bakery products and fermented foods.
• Increase your water intake.
• You can drink a decoction of dhaniya (coriander), saunf (fennel) and jeera (cumin).

BREAST CHANGES

Mostly pregnant women complain about itching on the breast because of increased sensitivity on the breast region.

Natural Ways

• You can gently wash the thorax area with the neem water.
• You can locally apply coconut oil on the breast region.

ANEMIA

Especially iron deficiency anemia is quite common in pregnancy because of the high demands of iron in the maternal body. Lack of hemoglobin will be responsible for lack of oxygen supply in the body due to which pregnant lady may feel excessive tiredness, fatigue and lethargy.

Natural Ways

• Increase the consumption of beetroot, carrot and pomegranate
• You can consume Shakkara (Jaggery) along with roasted chick-peas.

VAGINAL DISCHARGE

Sometimes vaginal spotting can happen during the first trimester but in excess or heavy bleeding it should be ruled out because it may lead to miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. But in case of miscarriage, the bleeding will be heavy, bright red and associated with cramps.

Natural Ways

• Whether the bleeding is heavy or light you should consult your physician.
• You can eat suparipaan, it is astringent in nature thus, arrests bleeding.

VAGINAL ITCHING

Vaginal itching is also one of the major problems in pregnancy the reason is infections, it may be a sign of sexually transmitted diseases that can affect pregnancy negatively, so be careful and take the help of Doctor.

Natural Ways

You can wash your groin region with a decoction prepared from Triphala powder or Sphatika bhasma.

URINARY TRACT INFECTION (UTI)

Urinary tract infection often results due to sexual intercourse which gives rise to painful urination along with burning sensation.

Natural Ways

• Avoid intercourse.
• You can rinse your groin region with the decoction prepared from Saphatika bhasma.

ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS

Sometimes the chronic problems may flare up in this condition like asthma, thyroid disorders, diabetes, etc. so take care of your chronic ailments and go for regular checkups.

"FOR A HEALTHY PREGNANCY YOU SHOULD GIVE IMPORTANCE TO YOUR DIET, YOUR HEALTH AND DO THE NEEDFUL CHANGES IN YOUR LIFESTYLE AND FOLLOW PROPER VACCINATION TO PREVENT THREATS OF PREGNANCY"