Those Crazy Cravings..

Pickles and Ice Cream Image

Cheese Whiz sandwiches anyone? How about pickles and ice cream? Just ice? Black olives and cheesecake?

These are a few of many of the food cravings that people have claimed to have during pregnancy. A lot of the people I know gave into their cravings during pregnancy, saying it is impossible...because your body wants what it wants! While this is kind of true, it has more to do with the flurry of hormones going on in your body.

Research says that pregnant women prefer sweeter tastes over salty ones. I found this topic interesting in the fact that some people believe that these cravings MEAN something. Such as nutrient deficiencies, however there is no research to prove this. So who knows whether the link to iron deficiencies due to cravings of ice, cigarette butts, or laundry starch is true.

Some things to remember when those cravings hit is not to avoid them because it is important to satisfy your emotional feelings.....So if you are craving:

• Cranberry juice: Get the fortified stuff
• Milk or dairy: Go for it, it contains lots of protein, calcium, and other nutrients
• Ice Cream: Try low-fat frozen yogurt
• Pastries: try taking graham crackers with cream cheese and fruit preserves to get the sweetne

If your craving is a healthy one, go for it! If not, some other ways to curb the cravings include:

• Getting exercise!
• Eating breakfast
• Eat regularly to avoid drops in blood sugar
• Lots of emotional support
• Eat less unhealthy foods (i.e. substitute a fun-sized candy bar for a full-sized one)
   

 Sources:
Coping With Pregnancy Cravings 
Food Cravings and What They Mean 

Obamacare and Your Baby

Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act is a very long very in depth system of health care that many, including myself, know little about. The goal of the program is to give more people access to better health insurance with more coverage. Many people are denied health insurance now due to the fact that they have a preexisting condition. Obama wants to stress that this program regulates health insurance, not health care. This means that you can keep your same doctor and get the same services, only more will be covered by insurance and less people will be denied.

For those who are or plan to be pregnant, there are many things that may be changing, some of which have already gone into place. Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) gives more women access to guaranteed preventive women's health services. Many of those services used to only be offered by co-pay or deductibles that a lot of women could not afford.

Services that are very important and that will be covered completely are:

• Testing for gestational diabetes
• Breast-feeding support and supplies
• HPV Testing
• Almost all cervical cancers are caused by HPV
•  Many other services that will be covered can be found here.

 

 The really great parts about all of the changes to health insurance that I found were:

• If you have had a Cesarean section, you will not be denied for a preexisting condition
• Preventive care is a focus and this is important because, it is better to prevent a problem, than to treat one
• Women no longer need a referral to see their OB-GYN, they get to choose their primary doctor from their plan's list of participating providers

So with these provisions that we just learned about, the goal is to provide the best care available, with more services being available, to give your unborn child the best chance at a healthy life. If you are healthy, it is likely your baby will be healthy. So take precautions like these that will be more affordable to give your child the best chance at a healthy life.  

Sources:
Obamacare Facts

Pregnant and Diabetic

Gestational diabetes is high amounts of sugar in the blood that starts or is first diagnosed during pregnancy.
 
There are a number of things that put you at higher risk for getting it, but pregnancy itself causes hormone levels to change and those changes can affect insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. For this reason it is standard to be tested for it about halfway through pregnancy. Some signs to look out for include:

• Being thirsty
• Multiple trips to the bathroom
• Vomiting
• Weight loss
• Being tired
• Getting infections (i.e. skin, bladder, or vaginal)

The best way to keep gestational diabetes under control is to provide carbohydrates by foods that contain natural sugars and fiber to slow down the process of digestion. These foods include fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates like pasta and bread. Also be moderate in the amounts of fat and protein you eat and eat a variety of healthy foods. But don't eat many foods that contain high amounts of sugar like pop, juice and desserts. In some cases medicine may need to prescribed if diet and exercise are not controlling your blood sugar levels.
 
Doing these things should avoid any harm to your baby. But if you are worried you may have gestational diabetes, contact your doctor.
 
Sources:
Gestational Diabetes