Pregnancy is something every woman and everyone who loves children looks forward to. As much as we welcome the baby home, pregnancy is a roller coaster ride of mixed emotions—from joyful expectations to confusing discomforts and problems
Pregnancy challenges range from mild discomforts to severe ones and possibly life-threatening cases. What adds to these challenges is that some women can’t differentiate the normal symptoms from the abnormal ones in pregnancy.
The good news is that there’s always a way to handle these problems. Expectant mothers can smile, making them ride through the home stretch of their pregnancy.
Omega Pediatrics has pulled up information for your convenience. This article focuses on the common problems experienced during the last month of pregnancy.
1. Shortness of Breath
During the last month of pregnancy, the baby keeps pushing the uterus, making it expand massively. This moves up the diaphragm by about 4 cm. from its original position, mildly compressing the lungs. All these lead to a decrease in oxygen intake.
Ultimately, you will likely experience shortness of breath. Your body has its way of managing this. Firstly, the hormone progesterone sends impulses to the brain to get you used to taking lower breaths.
Secondly, the low oxygen intake is made to stay longer in the lungs, making it sufficient for you to breathe. Lastly, the body naturally expands its blood volume so that the mother and the baby are taken care of.
But how can you handle shortness of breath in case it escalates to a level you can’t put up with anymore?
- Maintain proper posture. Straighten your head, back, and shoulders. This positioning can somehow help to enhance air intake.
- Carry out exercises. If you haven’t been in the habit, you need to do it now that you are in your last month of pregnancy. Specifically, do aerobic exercises since these enhance posture and ultimately improve breathing.
- Relax. Worrying too much about your short breathing only makes your breath shallow. Take it easy. If you feel like resting, do so; the body may not be able to do anything else.
2. Backaches
Back and hip pains aren’t surprising. However, sometimes the pain escalates enough to deserve attention. Firstly, the hormone progesterone has tremendously increased. Your joints and muscles are made to relax in preparation for your baby’s delivery.
Although this is quite healthy, a lot of pain and discomfort are felt. Secondly, you have significantly gained weight, plus the weight of the fetus. The center of gravity has changed, and you tend to lean on one side, straining your back, which causes pain.
How are you supposed to boot the pain now that it’s here to stay?
- Practice good posture. This is fundamental to easing back pain. Stand up tall and straight, with your shoulders relaxed and back. When sitting, have a backrest. Make a wide stance when getting up to lower your center of gravity.
- Do proper lifting or, if possible, no lifting at all. When lifting, squat forward with your legs as support. Avoid bending your waist or lifting objects with your back.
- Wear flat or low-heeled shoes. Wearing high heels shifts your center of gravity forward, making you trample. Low heels distribute your body weight evenly.
- Lie at your sides rather than on your back while sleeping. Keep one knee bent and have a pregnancy pillow underneath.
- Consider complementary therapy. Some research establishes that there’s a link between acupuncture and back pain relief. You can try it after consulting your healthcare provider and getting his go-ahead.
3. Urinary Incontinence
This is a condition that causes your bladder to lose control and fail to hold and pass urine properly. This is common in women following menopause, childbirth, or pregnancy. One type of urinary incontinence is due to stress, which is associated with pregnancy.
Bodily changes during pregnancy cause stress on your bladder. There’s stress when you cough, sneeze, or carry weight. The full-grown fetus and expanded uterus also add weight to the bladder. And lastly, the hormonal imbalance that takes place.
Hormonal imbalance alters the lining of the bladder and urethra. All these changes cause you to leak urine now and then, a situation that is quite uncomfortable. This can be handled, though.
- Do Kegel exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor for at least five sets daily. This involves squeezing your urinary muscles for at least ten seconds.
- Add fiber to your diet to increase roughage, thus lowering your washroom frequency.
- Eat healthily. Although weight gain is uncontrollable, eating more healthy foods lowers the chances of gaining preventable weight. The weight puts pressure on the bladder and pelvic floor, heightening stress incontinence.
- Do bladder retraining. Note down the times you’re experiencing more leaks. Plan your trips accordingly, teaching your bladder to hold urine for longer periods.
4. Vein Problems and Hemorrhoids
True to their name, these veins have shapes that resemble a spider. These appear red or purple on the face, arms, legs, neck, or other body parts. Varicose veins are a larger version of spider veins. Hemorrhoids are veins that grow in the rectum.
During pregnancy, the chances of having spider veins, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids increase. These veins become problematic only when they begin to swell, typically during the last month of pregnancy. The swelling is due to many factors.
Firstly, the body takes large volumes of blood, putting pressure on the veins that results in swelling. The second factor is the growing fetus, which puts pressure on the pelvis and strain on the veins. Lastly, hormonal imbalance slows down blood flow to the heart.
Low blood circulation exerts pressure on the small veins, thus making them enlarged and swollen. These vein complications will only end after delivery. However, here are some things you can do to make yourself comfortable.
- If you feel pain, sit in a bathtub with warm water several times a day for at least ten minutes. This redirects blood flow to the veins and rectum.
- To manage swelling, especially in the legs, apply cold compresses or ice packs. Make use of creams too.
- Avoid sitting or standing for long periods. Have breaks in between to lessen the pressure on the veins in your legs. Also, wear loose clothing around the waist, thighs, and legs so that you don’t worsen the varicose.
- If you feel constipated, ask for medication, especially stool softeners. Also, include fluids and fibers in your diet to make bowel movements easy, reducing strain on your hemorrhoids.
- Do Kegel exercises to ease your rectal muscles.
5. Braxton-Hicks Contractions
Sometimes called prodromal labor or false labor, these are mild contractions of the uterus. Unlike true labor, they are less painful and last for a short time. These contractions prepare your body for real labor during delivery.
Although lasting only for 30 seconds, they can cause much discomfort, especially if they’re frequent. There are many underlying causes. Firstly, the mother or baby has engaged in so many activities when muscles are heavily used. Hicks will be felt.
Secondly, low water volume in the body causes dehydration. The muscles tend to get stiff, and contractions will occur. Thirdly, a distended abdomen. And lastly, occasional sexual intercourse. These engage the muscles to work heavily, so hicks will follow.
Now, how can you go about the hicks?
- If you have been engaging in increased activity, then take a rest. Increased activity would mean a lot of walking, lifting, or even doing many household chores. Pause on these in your last month of pregnancy.
- Take a warm bath. You could spend as long as 30 minutes. This is a relaxing activity to soothe your tired muscles.
- Bite something. Drink water or something herbal more often to alleviate dehydration. Drink even though you don’t feel thirsty.
- Relax. And if you’re resting, relax mentally. Stay away from stressors, even if you’re in the comfort of your home.
- Closely take note of the contractions. If these increase both in frequency and strength in just a short time, see your doctor.
6. Heartburns
This is when you feel burning discomfort or pain in your mid and upper chest. Often, the throat and neck are involved. You might haven’t had this during the early months of pregnancy, but you will surely experience it during the home stretch.
The hormone progesterone is the leading cause of heartburn, relaxing the tight esophageal valve. When relaxed, acids and food undergo a back-and-forth flow less systematically, causing a burning sensation in the middle and upper chests.
The hormone progesterone also causes food to stay undigested for a long time. Due to this sticking longer than usual, heartburn may result. Another cause is the expanding uterus and the growing fetus, which exert pressure on the stomach muscles.
The added pressure on the stomach muscles causes acids to spill, resulting in heartburn. Here are some hints on how to remedy heartburn at home;
- Tame down the acidic foods in your diet to ease digestion.
- When eating, stay up to help the food stay up as well and digest fast.
- Take water after eating, not while eating. Taking water as you eat creates an overfilled environment that makes digestion hard.
- Eat not less than three hours before bedtime to give enough time for digestion.
- Wear loose clothing. Tight ones create pressure on your mid and upper sections.
7. Sleeping Problems
You will struggle to get sleep at night and during the day. You’re battling with fatigue. You didn’t get enough sleep last night; what do you expect during the day? Your belly is so big that you can hardly stay comfortably in bed.
In the middle of the night, it seems all your problems conspire to make you unable to sleep. You go to the toilet frequently. Varicose vein pain. Back and hip pain. Your mind is active. Your baby keeps kicking. You’re worried about labor and delivery.
Consequently, you cannot sleep. So then, how can you go about this problem?
- Get off your bed and do some boring tasks. Scanning and reading through the pages of a magazine will do. When done, you will be tired enough to go to sleep.
- Stop eating chocolate and drinking caffeine; they can keep you awake for the longest time.
- Do some exercises, but not before bedtime. Exercising near bedtime will just keep you active and prevent you from getting sleepy.
- Worry less about anything. At the right time, things will fall into place.
- Download sleep help programs and follow the suggested routine.
Take it Easy in Your Home Stretch of Pregnancy
The last month of pregnancy is not the easiest time of the entire pregnancy. You have battled with the three trimesters successfully. You’re now treading the home stretch. However, the problems and discomforts are going uphill and seem to be never-ending.
We have outlined these common problems and the practical ways and means to handle them. Interestingly, exercise and proper posture seemed to fit in almost all categories.
We at Omega Pediatrics hope that, with this information-rich post, we have kept you in high spirits as you await the joyous arrival of your baby. Maternal health is just as important as the baby’s health. Omega Pediatrics is with you on this fulfilling journey.
