The post Your baby’s daddy may also suffer from the baby blues appeared first on All4Baby.
]]>The new findings suggest that between 5 and 10% of young men (aged 24 to 32) will experience an increase in sadness or anxiety or an inability to enjoy life during the first years of fatherhood.
Led by Craig F. Garfield of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, the investigation looked at 10,623 young men enrolled in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which examined various health factors over the course of 20 years. The participants responded to a questionnaire on depressive symptoms throughout the duration of the study.
Around 33% of the men became fathers between ages 24 and 32, and the majority of the new dads lived in the same household with their child. Based on the questionnaires, researchers concluded that young men who were aged around 25 years when they became fathers were 68% more likely to develop symptoms of depression, as long as they shared a home with their child. The symptoms were not as likely to develop among the young fathers who lived separately from their child.
“Parental depression has a detrimental effect on kids, especially during those first key years of parent-infant attachment,” Garfield points out. In 2011, the researcher published another study in Pediatrics showing that depressed fathers were more likely to spank their children.
“We knew paternal depression existed and the detrimental effects it has on children, but we did not know where to focus our energy and our attention until this study,” Garfield said. The findings suggest that young fathers could benefit from more guidance and attention to help them cope with the transition into parenthood.
(Relaxnews)
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]]>The post Treatments for your post pregnancy skin appeared first on All4Baby.
]]>Because our bodies are in an altered state while cooking up another human life, we practise the precautionary principle – meaning that most elective treatments (covering almost all aesthetic procedures), even though they’re safe, are contra-indicated until your little bundle of joy arrives.
So the best you can do, while eating for two, is to remember some preventative basics:
Postpartum, many women will have residual issues which they may wish to treat.
Some studies indicate that the two main visible effects, after weight gain, are stretch marks (50% of women) and pigmentation change (up to 80%).
While many women embrace these changes as part of life’s natural progression, it is possible to eliminate or significantly reduce them for people whose confidence or self-image has been negatively affected.
Stretch marks can initially be treated with a V-beam laser to remove redness, and then with carboxy-therapy and Fraxel laser to remove the pale scar tissue. A course of treatments is normally required over time (three to six months) for full effect.
Pigmentation, particularly on the face can be significantly reduced by microdermabrasion, TCA peels and Fraxel or Quadralase laser skin resurfacing. First time mothers should be aware that pigmentation in a first pregnancy probably indicates that the same will happen in those that follow.
About the Author: Dr Loredana Nigro is a dermatologist at Laserderm Parkhurst. For more information, visit www.laserderm.co.za.
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]]>The post Coming to terms with postnatal depression appeared first on All4Baby.
]]>It’s a time of hope and happiness, but also of fatigue and feeling overwhelmed. Depression and anxiety are common during pregnancy, and may affect as many as 40 per cent of pregnant women in South Africa.
“You are your baby’s most important person, so take care of yourself,” says the chairperson of the Post Natal Depression Support Association (PNDSA), Dr Bavanisha Vythilingum, who is also a specialist psychiatrist in a private practice.
“There is no shame in experiencing depression during pregnancy – acknowledging how you are feeling and seeking help to ensure your emotional well-being is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child.”
Most new moms have ‘the blues’ shortly after birth. For a few days, you may feel anxious, tearful, tired and irritable. This is normal and should clear up in about two weeks. If you are so blue that you cannot care for your child or yourself, have thoughts of hurting either yourself or the baby and are sad for more than two weeks, you could have postnatal depression and should seek help as soon as possible.
Postnatal depression can develop slowly and at any time during the first year of your baby’s life. If left untreated, it can escalate and affect your interaction with your baby.
About the Author: Dr Noluthando Nematswerani is a Discovery Health Clinical Specialist. For more information on Discovery, visit www.discovery.co.za. You can also visit Discovery’s YouTube channel DiscoverySA for Medical Miracle stories.
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]]>The post Tips to help you shed those pregnancy kilos appeared first on All4Baby.
]]>This means that any extra weight gained during pregnancy will soon be lost.
Although this is very exciting to all lactating mothers, it is important to understand that this is not a time for dieting. Moms should still try to consume foods of high nutritional value in order to replenish those energy stores.
An additional intake of 2000kj may be required depending on frequency and length of feeds in order for a mom to maintain her weight. Fluid requirements are also slightly increased by 500ml per day. However, moms should listen to their thirst and drink accordingly.
For formula feeding moms, the weight loss task may be a bit more challenging but definitely not impossible. The key to returning to your pre-pregnancy weight is to re-establish your pre-pregnancy routine.
That means eating and exercising as you did and not concerning yourself too much with rapid weight loss but rather, gradual and safe weight loss.
Most moms take between three and six months to return to their pre-pregnancy weight. As your baby grows and demands more of your time, you will notice that you will need to be a lot more active around the house which also helps to burn those extra calories.
Here are some general healthy eating tips for both breastfeeding and formula feeding moms:
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