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Treatment for Depression During Pregnancy

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Did you know about 12 million women in the US experience clinical depression each year? What happens to these women when they become pregnant? According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, 13% of pregnant woman took antidepressants at some point during their pregnancy. For many women, the choice of whether to continue with their medication when they become pregnant is a difficult one. They must weigh the risks of not treating their depression with the risk of what the drugs may do to their unborn child. The American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists … Continue reading →

Pregnancy and Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder can vary enormously in both severity and type of symptoms between person to person. Therefore the assistance of a psychiatrist will be necessary to help you manage your bipolar symptoms during pregnancy. Lithium and epilum are two of the drugs of choice used to manage the bipolar state and it is best for your baby if you can be as drug-free as possible during pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester. Pregnancy can be a physically stressful time, so ensure that your diet is excellent and you get plenty of exercise. The latter can both help with lowering stress … Continue reading →

The Fitness Blog Week in Review, November 25-December 1

Good morning and Happy Saturday! You’ve likely got plans today that involve shopping, decorating or even attending holiday events at your Church or other social function. So you’ve got a lot of plans and even if it’s just going to be a quiet day at home with your family, you’ve got things to do. So let’s tackle our week in review and highlight what we talked about this week in case there was anything you missed. Saturday, November 25 In Post Natal Fitness: Let’s Talk Moms we focused on a new topic we’re supporting here in the Fitness Blog and … Continue reading →

Why am I so tired?

I found out I was pregnant and I was a little relieved, after all I’d been exhausted all the time. In fact, part of the reason I found out I was pregnant was because I went to the doctor to find out if I was sick. I’d been so tired and that was so unusual for me. It hit me over night, it seemed. One day I was fine and then over the course of a weekend, I felt run down and almost constantly craving a nap. The Amazing Race Your body is really quite wonderful. During what is called … Continue reading →

Yoga Positions for Early Labor

The other day my doula visited our home to show us some techniques we’ll use for pain management during early labor.  Our goal is to do as much of the labor at home as possible – we’re more comfortable at home, and thus more likely to be relaxed here – and so these are some moves and positions Jon and I can do to help me get through the pain. If you get a book like The Birth Partner or other books about/that have sections on natural childbirth, these positions might be familiar to you.  I don’t know exactly what they’re … Continue reading →

Medication and the First Trimester

At the beginning of the week I cautioned against going off medication when you get pregnant.  Now I want to write a follow-up, because it actually is important to know any potential dangers with medicine and the first trimester. As a rule I’ve avoided reading lists of dangers, side effects, and rare pregnancy and birth problems.  They’ll just cause me unnecessary stress, and since pregnant women usually see their doctors at least once a month, I trust mine to keep me informed about anything that will actually/is actually affecting me.  But it is important to know that the first trimester … Continue reading →

Yoga and My Daughter

A couple of months ago I added yoga to my weekly workout routine in an effort to ease the strain from my typical high intensity cardio workouts and to help my husband strengthen his core since he refused to do anything but yoga.  Aside from the obvious struggles of exercise i.e. motivation, commitment, follow through, balance, endurance etc., there is the added difficulty of exercising with young children who basically demand mommy’s attention twenty four seven.  My three year old son has gotten really good about playing and getting a snack or drink of water for himself while I exercise … Continue reading →

Our Ninth Prenatal Visit

It has only been two weeks since my last prenatal visit. The end is in sight! Weekly visits will follow until our daughter is born! As we approach the holidays, I seem to get busier and busier. So to ensure that I could get my workout in, I awoke early, ate a Greek yogurt and did my prenatal pilates before our visit with the midwife. Both my husband and son accompanied me to this visit (we had no impending package deliveries). We entered the cozy carriage house, our son took the opportunity to run around in the open space, while … Continue reading →

Exercising in the Midst of Negativity

I have said it before and I will say it again: Exercise is hard! It takes a lot of motivation, effort, and commitment to continue to exercise day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. It is HARD! There are countless reasons why many of us cannot seem to make the commitment. Sometimes the biggest challenge in exercising is getting started i.e. putting in the workout video or going to the gym. If we can conquer that initial struggle of just getting started, the workout happens and is done sooner than we thought (it does … Continue reading →

Get Your Body Ready

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If you are trying to conceive, then you are probably wondering what, if anything can you do to optimize your chances of having a happy, healthy, safe pregnancy. Getting your body ready is a great start. I never realized how much pregnancy and childbirth truly does change a woman’s body until I had two kids. Now, I know that it affects the woman’s body both during pregnancy and after. Unfortunately, some negative changes are permanent, but getting your body in the best shape possible before pregnancy is the best way to bounce back after the baby arrives. Here are a … Continue reading →