June - July 2019

Your Pregnancy

Your Pregnancy is the only local magazine that offers relevant, credible and accurate information on all aspects of pregnancy. Its local and international experts answer all questions quickly and respectfully

Your Pregnancy2 min read
Cuddle Heaven
You are so lucky to be pregnant in winter. Pregnancy is one of the cuddliest times of your life, and winter is obviously the cuddliest season. You get to walk around with a little internal heat generator going 24/7, and this winter you are unlikely t
Your Pregnancy2 min read
Baby’s Birthday...
When you cast your eyes on your precious baby at birth, you’re meeting someone you know very well for the first time! You’ll feel that strong need to protect this perfect being with everything you have and more. For some, the love comes immediately,
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Your Say
My husband and I dated since we were teenagers, and we knew we wanted a big family one day. When I was 20 years old my doctors said without the help of fertility treatment I wouldn’t conceive my own baby. The prognosis was due to having an irregular
Your Pregnancy3 min read
LIFE is BEAUTIFUL
Phoning for your gynae appointments, emailing on the go, looking up recipes for dinner, running a navigation app to pick up the kids from nursery school – a supermom’s most trusty sidekick is her cellphone. And when your cellphone’s battery dies, you
Your Pregnancy1 min read
This Issue, We’re Loving...
Follow @lifeinthesouth and find beautiful local food photography and recipes to inspire you! Curry & Craft in Observatory, Cape Town, is where you’ll find great curries to satisfy your craving and trendy craft beers for Dad. It fills the gap between
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Q&A With Hendri Terblanche
HENDRI TERBLANCHE, 43, is a dad from Cape Town. He’s married to Giselle, 40. He’s a financial manager for MedPages, a healthcare-data-management company that collects the who, where and what of healthcare practitioners for consumers’ benefit. “I basi
Your Pregnancy4 min readRelationships
Love's LABOUR
MY FATHER-IN-LAW (spoiler – he is big in early childhood development, so his words carry extra weight, as does the fact that he delivered all four of his own children) once gave me some very kind and wise advice – your newborn is not there to mess wi
Your Pregnancy3 min readAutomotive
Buckle Up, Baby
WHETHER IT’S FOR your newborn or your toddler, one of the most important things you’ll buy as a parent is a car seat. Chicco has mastered the fine balance between safety, quality, functionality and style. Every Chicco car seat is engineered for comfo
Your Pregnancy4 min read
OMEGA Goodness
MOST OF US know omega fatty acids are good for our babies. Mostly, we know the terms omega 3 and omega 6, and we possibly know that eating one or two portions of fish per week will give us some of what we need. But what really makes the omegas good f
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Lifting Iron
IRON-DEFICIENCY AND vitamin-deficiency anaemia – two of the most common kinds of anaemia – can be caused by pregnancy. Anaemia occurs when there’s a shortage of red blood cells (or haemoglobin) in the body and can be caused by a very large number of
Your Pregnancy4 min read
Hypnobirthing Pain-free Labour Or A Pipe Dream?
“OUR CULTURE TEACHES us that birth is dramatic, painful, dangerous, or something to be dreaded,” says Theoni Papoutsis, a doula and hypnotherapy practitioner who has witnessed hundreds of births over the past 25 years. She adds that the modern concep
Your Pregnancy1 min readMedical
What To Expect
UNIT 1 An overview of the beginnings and philosophy of hypnobirthing, the history of women and birthing (including how women’s bodies are designed to give birth), the power of the mind, how fear affects labour, breathing and relaxation, and how to bu
Your Pregnancy2 min read
‘Hypnobirthing Saved My Life’
“My first two pregnancies were long and slow-going hospital births. They weren’t traumatic, but I looked back and wish I’d found hypnobirthing sooner. I didn’t do the course, I just read books by Katharine Graves and Marie Mongan because I used to do
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Breathe in ... Breathe out ...
DID YOU KNOW you take an average of 23 000 breaths a day? Breathing is something the body knows how to do and is the only function in the body that can be controlled on “automatic” (such as when we’re sleeping), or that we can take active control of
Your Pregnancy5 min readMedical
Help, I Have A Baby!
IT’S ALL INCREDIBLY exciting, finally having met your baby after all these months of pregnancy and knowing that you can get him home to start your new life as a family. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? You suddenly realise taking your baby home means
Your Pregnancy2 min read
The fourth TRIMESTER
HUMAN BABIES COME into the world far too early to be able to protect themselves or source nourishment on their own. That’s why we think the initial three months after the birth is a critical time for moms and their babies. The first three months are
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Womb To World
Before your due date, negotiate with your caregiver about skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth – even before the checks that are routinely done on your baby. Ask if these checks can be done while baby is on your chest. It’s not necessary to w
Your Pregnancy2 min readMedical
Don’t Be Stumped!
IT’S A DEFINING moment in a new parent’s life when you get to cut your newborn’s umbilical cord. It’s important that the utmost hygiene and care is taken in the moment (and weeks afterwards), because the recently cut cord can create a pathway for inf
Your Pregnancy2 min read
Steps Of Cord Care
➡ The cord can be submerged when the infant is bathed and should be washed with soap and water. ➡ After a bath or nappy change, clean the base of the cord (where it touches the tummy) with an earbud dipped in cooled-down boiled water, and then dry in
Your Pregnancy2 min read
How Well Do You Know Your REASTS
1. How many openings does a nipple have? A) One only B) About four C) I have no idea 2. Which breast size makes the most milk? A) A, B and C cup B) D, E and F cup C) Size doesn’t matter 3. What is the shape of the nipple while feeding? A) Round
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Breastfeeding WHAT THE EXPERTS WANT YOU TO KNOW
GLOBALLY, ALL LEVELS of healthcare service providers and supporting organisations endorse breastfeeding and recognise that it is best for babies. And so, whether you choose to breastfeed or not, whether you find it easy or not, and how you choose to
Your Pregnancy4 min read
Breastfeeding WHAT’S BIRTH GOT TO DO WITH IT?
ALTHOUGH A MOTHER’S motivation is an essential element to getting breastfeeding right, research indicates it is not the only one. Baby takes the lead in breastfeeding, and if he faces challenges, complications may arise. Everything that happens durin
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Max Your Milk
THE FIRST FEW WEEKS after your baby is born is an exciting time but can also leave you with little time to eat healthily or plan your meals – after all, you barely have time between nappy changes. However, eating correctly is essential to keep the qu
Your Pregnancy1 min read
Top Six Foods
Oily fish These are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are vital for your baby’s brain development. Choose pilchards, yellowtail, snoek, trout and anchovies, which are high in omega 3’s while being low in mercury. Water Drinking enough fluid is essen
Your Pregnancy4 min read
Test Your Fertility IQ
INFERTILITY IS A topic that’s often discussed, but how much do you actually know about the whole mechanism that allows your body to make and have babies? Fertility experts will agree that a lack of knowledge and misinformation can be obstacles in you
Your Pregnancy2 min read
Question & Answers
Q: I’m 36 years old, and we’ve been trying for six months now. I was on the Pill for years and years before that. I’ve noticed now that my period isn’t exactly regular – sometimes 24 days between cycles, sometimes 28. So I’m never sure exactly when I
Your Pregnancy2 min readMedical
YOUR FIRST appointment
APART FROM CONFIRMING your pregnancy, there’s a lot to get through during your first appointment. Your doctor will want to take a full medical history, a complete physical examination and may even take some blood. With all this going on, it can be ea
Your Pregnancy3 min read
The HE♥RT Of The Matter
ONLY 21 DAYS after conception, your baby’s heart begins to pulse with its first flutters. Its drumbeat will be your child’s companion right until the end of what you hope will be a long and happy life. The heart is the first organ to develop in a foe
Your Pregnancy2 min readMedical
Q & A
Q: Is it safe to dance while you’re pregnant? When should I stop? A: Tina says: Yes, it’s safe to dance, as long as it’s not high-energy hip-hop with leg lifts or movements that may cause you to lose your balance and fall. In fact, as labour day app
Your Pregnancy4 min read
EXHAUSTED? Of Course You Are...
Your body is busy making your baby’s life-support system: the placenta. Add progesterone into the mix – and it all equals exhaustion YOUR BODY IS WORKING extremely hard making a baby. This is especially true for the first trimester, when you’re busy
Your Pregnancy4 min read
Hiv+ And Pregnant
BEING HIV POSITIVE doesn’t make it easy to follow the rules: taking medication for life, avoiding infections, having regular tests and check-ups. Edith Moosa, midwife and director of the South African Midwives’ AIDS Alliance, advises that couples mus
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Q & A
Q: I am 32 years old and four months pregnant with my first baby. My worry is that I experience a lot of itching around the vaginal area. It’s so bad that I can’t resist scratching the area and therefore experience swelling. Should I be worried? A:
Your Pregnancy3 min readMedical
Fight The Flu Naturally
DURING PREGNANCY YOUR immunity may already be compromised a little so it’s worth your while to be proactive and start protecting yourself against the flu. There are several things you can do to build your immunity naturally. The key to staying health
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Top Flu-fighting Foods
A red pepper has twice as much immune-enhancing vitamin C as an orange. Vitamin C is an essential weapon in your flu-fighting food arsenal — it could decrease the duration of a cold by 80 percent and the severity of symptoms such as sniffles and a co
Your Pregnancy4 min read
Make It Personal
You can still call in the help of a midwife with a caesarean birth. Midwives provide emotional support and talk you and your birth partner through the operation and birth. Sometimes the whole process happens so fast, and it’s so overwhelming, that da
Your Pregnancy4 min read
Q & A
Q: I’m 30 years old and 30 weeks pregnant with our first child. I’ve never experienced such terrible constipation in my whole life. So far I’ve only had one morning of morning sickness, but thinking about it now, I would gladly trade the constipation
Your Pregnancy2 min read
Have A Ball During Labour!
• In the last month of pregnancy, you will find it easier than a chair or couch to get up and down from. • It encourages pelvic mobility. • It allows you freedom to rock your pelvis, change position and shift your weight for comfort. • It encourages
Your Pregnancy3 min read
The Four P's Of Labour
This is the route your baby will follow as he heads for the outside world. The passageway is made up of the pelvis, cervical opening and birth canal. During the first stage of labour, the first “door” your baby will move through is the cervix, which
Your Pregnancy3 min readDiet & Nutrition
Questions & Answers
Q: Ever since I discovered my pregnancy I’ve been passing very dark stools. At first I thought it was because of the iron supplement I was taking, but I’ve been off it for a week, and my stools are still as dark as before. I have been asking friends
Your Pregnancy4 min readWomen's Health
The Waiting Game
A NORMAL PREGNANCY lasts anywhere from 266 days to 280 days. And sometimes longer. And, 280 days doesn’t sound as long as nine months, but any woman who has ever been pregnant will tell you that even one day past her due date is one day too long. A p
Your Pregnancy5 min read
Birth Control After Baby
SOON AFTER GIVING BIRTH, sex may either be a swearword in your household, or you may be aching for some intimacy once your body heals. Either way, sex will be on the cards again at some point, so unless you want back-to-back pregnancies, now might be
Your Pregnancy5 min read
Healing After Birth
YOUR BABY’S FINALLY HERE, and you’re excited, but you’re also exhausted, uncomfortable and on an emotional rollercoaster. No matter how you birthed your baby, the physical changes of the postpartum period are immediately visible, unlike the gradual c
Your Pregnancy5 min read
“I Really Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant!”
MELISSA’S SON MATTHEW was born on 11 September 2017 in her bathroom. The doctors and nurses told the shocked parents that based on his height and weight, his gestation was around 39 weeks, so he was basically full term. And, they had no idea she was
Your Pregnancy3 min read
A Pot Full Of Love
2T olive oil1 onion, chopped2 celery sticks, chopped1 garlic clove, crushed2 cups chicken stock1T corn flour, mixed to a paste with a little cold water1 bag (400g) frozen seafood mix, defrosted small bunch dill, chopped5T sour cream (or use fresh cre
Your Pregnancy5 min read
C-section Rehab
In your second week post-op start with Exercise One and Two only. PRESENTLY, C-SECTIONS ARE recognised as a fairly routine and common procedure with minimal risk to both mother and baby. However, your body has still undergone major abdominal surgery
Your Pregnancy3 min read
Gift Horses
ONE HUNDRED YEARS ago on this very day, lo, in the hills of the West, there appeared a shining star on the horizon. Fathers everywhere didn’t know it, but they would soon be getting all sorts of cool gadgets from Cape Union Mart, shirts from Timberla
Your Pregnancy2 min readFashion
SMS & WIN!
WE’RE GIVING AWAY FIVE PIGEON CABOODLE HAMPERS WORTH R1 176 EACH! Get your hospital bag packed with Caboodle’s Smart & Sassy designer bag. It’s large enough to fit all the essentials. Your hamper includes a box of Pigeon’s award-winning Honeycomb Bre

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