Breastfeeding can do wonders

In addition to containing all the vitamins and nutrients your baby needs in the first six months of life, breast milk is packed with disease-fighting substances that protect your baby from illness.And scientific studies have shown that breastfeeding is good for your health, too.

What Breastfeeding does to you and your baby:

• Breastfeeding protects your baby from gastrointestinal trouble, respiratory problems, and ear infections
• Breastfeeding can protect your baby from developing allergies.
• Breastfeeding may boost your child's intelligence
• Breastfeeding may protect against obesity later in life
• Breastfeeding may protect your baby from childhood leukemia
• Breastfeeding may protect your baby from developing type 1 diabetes
• Breastfeeding may protect preemies from infections and high blood pressure later in life
• Breastfeeding may lower your baby's risk of SIDS
• Breastfeeding helps you lose weight
• Breastfeeding can lower your stress levels and reduce postpartum bleeding
• Breastfeeding may reduce your risk of some types of cancer
• Breastfeeding may protect against osteoporosis later in life

Your Pregnancy: 6 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

The cells that will make up all of your baby's body parts and systems are dividing furiously as her body begins to take shape. Right now she's about the size of a small lentil bean (4 to 5 millimeters across). If you could see through your uterine wall, you'd find an overlarge head and dark spots where her eyes and nostrils are beginning to take shape. Shallow pits on the sides of her head mark her developing ears, and her arms and legs appear as protruding buds. Her hands and feet look like paddles, with thick webbing between the developing digits, but her fingers and toes will soon become more distinct. Below the opening that will later be your baby's mouth, there are small folds where her neck and lower jaw will eventually develop. (Inside, her tongue and vocal cords are just beginning to form.)
Your baby's heart (which is starting to divide into the right and left chambers) is beating about 100 to 130 beats per minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to circulate through her body. Her intestines are developing and tiny breathing passages are beginning to appear where her lungs will be. She's also starting to build muscle fibers and, halfway through this week, she'll likely start moving her tiny limbs. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to wait until you're several weeks into your second trimester before you get to enjoy feeling your baby's calisthenics.

How your life's changing:

If you haven't already, you may soon find yourself riding pregnancy's emotional roller coaster, feeling moody one day and joyful the next. Disturbing as this may be — especially if you pride yourself on being in control — what you're going through is completely normal and will probably continue throughout your pregnancy. Up-and-down emotions are partly caused by fluctuating and (in many cases) very high levels of hormones. But hormones aside, your entire life is about to change — and who wouldn't feel emotional about that?

Spotting (finding spots of blood on your underpants or toilet tissue after urinating) or bleeding is common in early pregnancy, but sometimes it can be the first sign of miscarriage. If you have any spotting or bleeding, call your doctor right away so she can determine whether your spotting indicates a potential problem.

Your Pregnancy: 5 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

Deep in your uterus your embryo is growing at a furious pace. At this point he's about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm — that will later form his organs and tissues. The cells are forming for his major organs, including his kidneys and liver, and his neural tube is beginning to develop. This neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — develops in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel. His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue. The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

How your life's changing:

Pregnancy symptoms may surface this week if they haven't already. If you're like most women, you'll notice nausea (and not just in the morning), sore breasts, fatigue, and frequent urination. All are normal, all are annoying, but the upside is that they're all a part of being pregnant and won't last forever. The outside world won't see any sign of the dramatic developments taking place inside you — except maybe that you're turning down that glass of wine with dinner. It's a good idea to avoid alcohol throughout your pregnancy since no one knows exactly how much — or how little — alcohol can harm a developing baby.

Your Pregnancy: 4 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

This week marks the beginning of the embryonic period. From now until ten weeks, all of your baby's organs will begin to develop and function. As a result, this is the time when she'll be the most vulnerable to anything that might interfere with her development.Right now your baby is an embryo consisting of two layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast, from which all her organs and body parts will develop. The primitive placenta is also made up of two layers at this point. Its cells are tunneling into the lining of your uterus, creating spaces for your blood to flow into so that the developed placenta can provide nutrients and oxygen to your growing baby when it starts to function at the end of this week. Also present now are the amniotic sac that will house your baby, the amniotic fluid that will cushion her as she grows, and he yolk sac that produces your baby's red blood cells and helps deliver nutrients to her until the placenta is ready to take over this duty.

How your life's changing:

This week, you should be able to find out if you're pregnant. How will you know for sure? Take a home pregnancy test; they're no different from the tests used in most practitioner's offices.
If the test is positive, call your practitioner's office and schedule your first prenatal appointment. Many practitioners won't see you until you're at least 8 weeks along, but if you're taking any medications — prescription or over-the-counter — ask now whether it's safe to keep taking them, and alert your doctor to any other issues of concern. You should already be taking a prenatal vitamin, but be sure to start now if you aren't. The next five weeks are critical to your baby's development. The rudimentary versions of the placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already functioning. Your baby is now exposed, via the placenta, to what you take into your body, so make sure it's healthy.

Cord Blood: What it is.

Every day, thousands of parents are choosing to give a powerful gift to their newborns: Cord Blood Banking. The following explains exactly what cord blood is and how, by storing it, you can help protect your baby's future health.

First things first. What is Cord Blood? The blood that remains in your baby's umbilical cord after it has been cut is called cord blood and is rich in stem cells. Stem cells are one of the most promising areas of medical treatment for a number of common illnesses such as heart disease and Alzheimer's. They're the body's "master" cells and can regenerate into the cells that form all other tissues, organs, and systems in the body. Many families are now choosing to bank these genetically unique cord blood stem cells for the future health of their loved ones.

More information:

What is cord blood?

Cord blood, which is also called "placental blood," is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth and after the cord is cut. Cord blood is routinely discarded with the placenta and umbilical cord.Your baby's umbilical cord blood is a valuable source of stem cells, which are genetically unique to your baby and family.


What are stem cells?

Stem cells are the body's "master" cells because they create all other tissues, organs, and systems in the body.The stem cells found in cord blood are the building blocks of your blood and immune system and most readily reproduce into:Red Blood Cells - which carry oxygen to all the cells in the bodyWhite Blood Cells - which fight infectionPlatelets - which aid in clotting in the event of injuryThere are three sources where stem cells are commonly found, they are:
Bone MarrowPeripheral Blood (the blood that circulates through your body)Umbilical Cord Blood The ability of cord blood stem cells to differentiate, or change into other types of cells in the body is a new discovery that holds significant promise for improving the treatment of some of the most common diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer's.


How are stem cells used?

Currently, stem cells are primarily used in transplant medicine to regenerate a patient's blood and immune system after they have been treated with chemotherapy and/or radiation to destroy cancer cells. At the same time the chemotherapy and radiation destroys the cancer cells in a patient, they also destroy stem cells. Therefore, an infusion of stem cells or a stem cell transplant is performed after the chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. The stem cells then migrate to the patient's bone marrow where they multiply and regenerate all of the cells to create a new blood and immune system for the patient. The promise of using stem cells for medical treatments has been the focus of research projects that are showing encouraging results. Cord blood stem cells have been "triggered" to differentiate into neural cells, which could lead to treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. They have also proven their ability to turn into blood vessel cells, which could some day benefit treatments for heart disease, allowing patients to essentially "grow their own bypass."


Are cord blood stem cells different than other types of stem cells?

Yes. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are the "youngest," safely available stem cells and they are the product of another miracle - a live birth. Freezing these cells essentially stops the clock and prevents aging and damage that may occur to the cells later in life. Another source of stem cells, embryonic stem cells, has been at the heart of heated debate. Currently, embryonic stem cells are not being used to treat humans. A third category of stem cells is adult stem cells, such as those found in bone marrow. Adult stem cells serve very specialized roles in children and adults and are not as proliferative as those found in cord blood.

Importance of folic acid

All women need folic acid. When a woman has enough folic acid before and during pregnancy, it can help prevent major birth defects of her baby’s brain or spine.

Be sure to get enough folic acid every day. Start before you are pregnant. Folic acid is needed during the first few weeks, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. And half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are not planned. That is why it’s so important to start taking folic acid each day, even when you are not planning to get pregnant.

Folic acid might also have other benefits for men and women of any age. Some studies show that folic acid might help prevent heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and possibly Alzheimer’s disease.

First feeling that you are pregnant

Most women are atleast 50% sure that they are pregnant in approximately one to four weeks. And if you are pregnant, Wow congratulations. Welcome to the world of joy and whole lot of enjoyment followed by a feeling of great achievement. It is indeed the most exciting and rewarding adventures of your life.

Your first prenatal visit may consist of:

1. Blood and urine tests to confirm your pregnancy

2. The doctor will question you about your previous pregnancies, miscarriages, family history.
The doctor may prescribe you with folic acid tablets.