Your pregnancy questions, answered

It’s safest to stay within about an hour of the hospital while you’re pregnant, since complications can arise at any stage. If travel is essential, these guidelines may help.

First trimester (up to 13 weeks): travel is likely to be safe once you’ve had a normal ultrasound. There is still around a 2% risk of miscarriage, which can involve bleeding that needs a D&C.

Pregnancy hormones raise your risk of blood clots in the legs, so at any stage avoid sitting for long stretches. On a long flight or car trip, get up and walk at least once an hour.

20–36 weeks: travel needs special consideration and is strongly discouraged if you have any risk factors for preterm birth — a history of preterm labour or delivery, previous cervical surgery, infection, or a uterine anomaly. If travel is essential, book an appointment shortly before you leave.

Exercise can strengthen the muscles used in labour and delivery, ease some discomforts, and lift your energy. What’s right for you depends on your health and how active you were beforehand.

Now isn’t the time to take up a demanding new sport, but if you were active before you can generally continue within reason — you could keep playing tennis, for example, unless you have particular problems or feel very tired. A good rule of thumb is to limit yourself to about two-thirds of what you could manage before pregnancy.

Most healthy women with an uncomplicated pregnancy can keep working right up to the end, though some need to make changes. If a problem may be related to your job, raise it at an appointment. Expect to lean on family at home as tiredness increases later on.

Saunas, hot tubs and tanning booths aren’t recommended during pregnancy — the extreme heat could potentially harm your developing baby. Very hot baths are best avoided too.

The fumes from latex (water-based) paints aren’t considered a specific risk to your baby — mercury hasn’t been used in latex paint since the early 1990s — but it’s always wise to paint in a well-ventilated area.

Avoid the fumes from oil-based paints, turpentine and paint thinners. And skip the ladder while you’re pregnant, to avoid a fall.

For a healthy woman with a normal pregnancy, intercourse is safe right into the last weeks. Different positions may be more comfortable as your pregnancy progresses.

Your doctor may advise limiting or avoiding sex if there are signs of any problems in your pregnancy.

There’s no scientific evidence on hair dyes and perms in pregnancy, but these exposures seem unlikely to be harmful.

Colds are miserable at the best of times and a little more concerning in pregnancy. Often you can ease the symptoms at home:

• Run a cool-mist vaporiser or humidifier at night to keep the air moist and secretions flowing.
• Gargle warm salt water (1 teaspoon of salt in half a cup) every four hours while awake to loosen mucus and soothe a mild sore throat.
• Use any brand of saline nose drops at bedtime and first thing in the morning.
• For aches, plain Panadol — two tablets every four hours if needed, up to six in 24 hours. Preferably not in the first trimester, and not at all in the week before your Nuchal Translucency scan.
• For a cough, hold 1 teaspoon of honey with 2–3 drops of lemon juice in your mouth until the honey thins, then swallow.
• Actifed or Sudafed can be used for congestion as directed on the pack — preferably not in the first trimester.
• Increase fluids (especially water) to about two litres a day, and get extra rest.
• Take your temperature by mouth twice a day.

“Any calorie is a good calorie” right now — eat whatever stays down. These suggestions can help settle nausea:

• Eat small, frequent meals — around six small meals and snacks a day.
• Drink fluids between meals rather than with them, and keep drinks chilled.
• Choose foods at room temperature or cooler; hot food can trigger nausea.
• Dry toast, plain crackers or dry pre-sweetened cereal can help settle things.
• Tart or salty foods like lemons or pickles may ease nausea.
• Decaffeinated drinks are often well tolerated — but skip diet drinks, you need the kilojoules right now.
• Eat slowly and rest sitting upright for about an hour afterwards.

Foods that are often harder to tolerate: greasy or fried food, very sweet food, spicy food, and anything with a strong smell. A stuffy or warm room, or cooking smells, can make things worse — loose clothing and fresh air help.

If vomiting continues, stop eating and drinking until it settles, then reintroduce small amounts of clear fluid (broth, jelly, or apple, grape or cranberry juice, and iceblocks). Ask us about medication that can help control nausea. For a full list of foods to avoid in pregnancy, just ask us at your next visit.

Headaches are common in pregnancy and usually aren’t a sign of anything serious, though how often and how severe they are can vary. You can take two Panadol, and it’s worth checking with us about which medications suit you.

Heartburn is that burning feeling rising from the stomach toward the throat, when stomach acid is pushed up into the oesophagus. Pregnancy hormones slow digestion and relax the muscle that normally keeps acid down, and your growing uterus presses on your stomach — so it’s very common.

• Eat five or six small meals rather than two or three large ones.
• Don’t drink large amounts of fluid with meals — a big glass can fill the stomach like a small meal.
• Avoid spicy or greasy foods that cause gas.
• Don’t eat or drink in the few hours before bed, and wait two hours after eating before exercising.

Antacids such as Gaviscon can help — the liquid works better than tablets. If heartburn is frequent and only briefly relieved, let us know.

At least half of pregnant women experience constipation. Hormones slow the digestive tract, iron supplements can contribute, and later on your uterus presses on the rectum. To help things move:

• Drink plenty of fluid — at least 6–8 glasses of water a day, plus 1–2 glasses of fruit juice such as prune juice.
• Go easy on coffee, tea and cola; they’re dehydrating and can make stools harder to pass.
• Eat high-fibre foods — raw fruit and vegetables, bran cereals, raspberry-leaf tea and psyllium.
• Move daily; walking is ideal.

Haemorrhoids — swollen veins around the rectum — often go hand in hand with constipation and can be painful. Straining and hard stools make them worse and can cause them to protrude.

They usually improve after the baby arrives. To ease or prevent them, avoid constipation, eat a high-fibre diet, and drink plenty of fluids. Please don’t use over-the-counter remedies without checking with us first.

Some swelling (oedema) is normal, most often in the legs, and tends to settle overnight. It can appear in the last few months and is often worse in summer. To help:

• Elevate your legs when you can — rest with them raised on a footstool or pillows.
• Rest lying on your side.
• Avoid socks or stockings with a tight elastic band.
• If you sit or stand a lot, move around regularly rather than staying still.

Leg cramps are more common in the last three months. Make sure you’re getting enough calcium (around three glasses of milk, or a supplement) and potassium (oranges or bananas). Stretch your legs before bed, and avoid pointing your toes when stretching or exercising.

Extra pregnancy hormones can make gums swell and bleed. Brush and floss regularly with a soft toothbrush, and have a dental check-up early in pregnancy. Local anaesthetic is safe if you need dental work, and dental x-rays should only be done if necessary and with your abdomen shielded.

Yeast (thrush) infections are common in pregnancy. Over-the-counter treatments such as Canesten are safe to use.

Before 12 weeks, use the cream externally only. After 12 weeks, it’s safe to gently use the applicator internally.

Most adults are immune to chickenpox, either from having had it or from an earlier mild exposure. If you’ve had chickenpox before, you and your baby are protected.

If you’re not sure, we can check your immunity with a blood test. If it’s positive, you’re both protected. If it shows no immunity, an injection called VZIG (Varicella Immune Globulin) can help prevent chickenpox — but to work it must be given within 72 hours of exposure, so contact us promptly.

Your prenatal vitamins should be the only supplement you take during pregnancy, unless we specifically recommend something else for you.

Pregnancy concerns can crop up overnight or on a weekend. During the week Dr Hassan is on call for her own patients. After hours, phone Pindara Private Hospital on (07) 5588 9888 and ask for Maternity.