Monday, December 19, 2011

Zoloft Birth Defects May Be a Ground for Lawsuit

Zoloft Birth Defects May Be a Ground for Lawsuit

Article by Robert Levine


People who take medications are usually informed by their health care providers to be on the lookout for adverse effects and/or side effects. The medical terminologies have been repeatedly interchanged but actually, the two have different meanings. Side effects are unwanted effects of the medication but they are expected to happen, whereas adverse effects are undesirable effects of the medication that are not foreseen to happen but can still possibly take place. Zoloft, an antidepressant, has been connected with birth defect developments in babies born to women who took the medication when pregnant. Birth defects are under adverse effects for Zoloft. Warnings were issued by the FDA on Zoloft and its association with birth defects but a woman cannot just stop the medication immediately as it is there to manage her depression. Zoloft (sertraline hydrochloride) is under the SSRI drug classification of antidepressants. This is usually prescribed to individuals with depression. It belongs to the Pregnancy Category C as indicated by the FDA which states that there is risk for the fetus but the therapeutic effects may justify the use of the medication in pregnant women. Some of the birth defects believed to be caused by Zoloft are:

• Heart DefectsThe most common heart defects associated with Zoloft are the septal defects, ventricular and atrial. • CleftsSome babies whose mothers took Zoloft during pregnancy had craniofacial anomalies such as cleft lip and cleft palate.• Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN)This defect is marked by severe respiratory difficulty by the neonate which would require intensive hospitalization. • Delayed developmentNot only is Zoloft linked with physical birth defects but with the development of the child as well. Babies born to women who took the medication when pregnant had developmental delays especially in walking and sitting upright.• Neural Tube DefectsNeural tube defects such as spina bifida and spinal cord injuries are also believed to be an effect of taking the antidepressant when pregnant. Neural tube defects (NTDs) are birth defects of the brain and spinal wire. throughout the third and fourth week of pregnancy the embryonic neural tube develops and begins to shut, forming what is going to become the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). When the neural tube of an embryo fails to shut fully, an NTD happens.

Exercise could be effective antidepressant but it might not suffice for some.These are some of the serious birth defects that can be considered as adverse effects of Zoloft and the sufferers have reportedly filed lawsuits with these Zoloft birth defects as basis.

Diet During Pregnancy - Pregnancy and Nutrition

Diet During Pregnancy - Pregnancy and Nutrition

Article by Robert Liang


Pregnancy is a very special period for a women, and even for a family, so everyone in the family would attach great importance to a pregnant women. Therefore, if you are pregnant, diet during pregnancy is the one thing that you should not ignore because you are not eating for one, but two. If you are only worrying about the little weight you are putting on, then you should give it a second thought before you decide to go on diet. You should learn to take responsibility for two of you. The first thing that you should be responsible for is to keep yourself away from malnutrition. The following killer tips will help to keep you on track and enjoy balanced nutrition during pregnancy.

Listen to Your Body

Some women tend to each too much during pregnancy while some take the opposite route. Both are not the way that things should be done. The only correct way is to listen to your body. If you feel hungry, then you should eat immediately. In this case, some quick and easy recipes will step in for assistance because they are easy to prepare and don't take much time.

Don't just Eat Everything Though

Although you should listen to your body, don't eat everything without doing any discretion. Stay away from those well-known junk foods which can do nothing but to make people fat. Involve whole grains, fruits and vegetables as the main parts of you diet during pregnancy.

They will not only provide your body and your baby with required vitamins, calories and proteins, but also help with various aspects of our health. Dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of iron which will prevent a pregnant woman from suffering from iron deficiency.

Whole grains, fruits and vegetables are also rich in edible fibers which are ideal for the health of the digestive system. With enough supply of them, the pregnant women's chances of suffering from constipation will be substantially reduced. You might have already heard that constipation is one of the major issues that happen during pregnancy.

Consult with the Doctor before Taking any Supplements

Supplements are believed to be able to supply us vitamins and nutrients like calcium directly in the form of tablets. It is not recommended to turn to them. With well designed and well prepared recipes and diet, you can get sufficient nutrients without any additional supplements. However, ask your doctor to make sure before taking any of them because some of the supplements that are available might have side effects.

How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting Pregnant

How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting Pregnant

Article by Get Pregnant


You may be wondering what your chances of getting pregnant are. If you are a healthy young woman your chances should be pretty good if you do not have any underlying medical conditions. If you are over 30your odds begin to decrease and if you are having a baby after 30 years of age you may need some special help to achieve this goal.

If it is taking you more time to get pregnant than you had planned on you may want to increase your chances of getting pregnant by monitoring the calendar very closely. You want to get an idea of when you are ovulating to determine when you are most fertile. You will want to keep track of each day you start your period and each day you stop your period. Ovulation typically occurs about 14 days after the last day of your period. This will give you a general idea of the time frame when you are most likely to conceive.

You may also want to start monitoring your basal temperature and this is a very easy thing you can do each day. If you want to increase your chances of getting pregnant you will want to take your temperature each morning preferably before you even get out of bed for the best chance of accuracy. Your temperature will rise very slightly for a few days after you ovulate. This can help you determine at home when you are ovulating and the most likely to get pregnant. It may seem discouraging that the data you needs comes after ovulation but if you monitor this for a couple of months you will see a pattern and you can start making predictions.

There are also great kits out there that are used to check for ovulation. This is a major breakthrough and an ovulation predictor kit may help you determine ovulation in a hassle free way. You use urine just like you would a pregnancy test to determine when you are ovulating. These kits have shown to be accurate and are very easy to use. This may become expensive over time and this may be one of the drawbacks. You need to make sure that you follow the directions very carefully to avoid inaccurate results.

You can increase your chances of getting pregnant if you determine when you are ovulating each month. When you determine when ovulation occurs you will feel more in control and this can help you to accomplish your goal of pregnancy.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

How to Create a Birth Plan for Your Pregnancy

How to Create a Birth Plan for Your Pregnancy

Article by Daniela ONeil


Preparing your birth plan is an important task to complete before you go into labor. Once the contractions start, it can be hard to express your wishes. Your birth plan will ensure they are respected.

The most important part of any pregnancy is the big day, the day your child is born. When you are pregnant birth is the thing you spend the most time thinking about and planning for. As a part of the preparations for the birth of your baby, you should consider making a birth plan.

A birth plan is a list of your specific wishes for how the labor and delivery of your child should proceed. It can be as simple as you wish, or as detailed and complicated as is needed to make you feel sure all of your requests are understood.

A good birth plan will include at least these basics: who will be in the room, what type of medication if any you would like to have, what sort of activity you would like to engage in during the labor, and what sort of ambience you want for the room. You can also add all kinds of details relating to the process of birth itself.

Bear in mind as you go through the pregnancy stages and the day of birth approaches that all may not go exactly as planned. If you hoped for a natural birth but complications result in a c-section, be sure your birth plan allows for this. Write down your preferences in the event of a deviation from the plan.

From the first signs of being pregnant through to the day you deliver, you will be thinking about that day. Take this time to read as much as possible and learn about your options. This way, you will write your birth plan with as much knowledge as possible.

Advice On Getting Pregnant You Can Really Use

Advice On Getting Pregnant You Can Really Use

Article by Get Pregnant


Advice on getting pregnant is everywhere and you may have heard a lot of things that are completely false. Digging through all of the information and actually finding something that works can be a much bigger task than one might think. It is possible to find advice on getting pregnant if you know where to look for it.

Finding a great internet site that offers advice for people looking to get pregnant can be a great resource that you will begin to use often. If you can find a site that offers advice on getting pregnant from people that have experienced the same problems this can be the gold mine. You may be able to ask specific questions and see the end results of what others have been through. You will have access to very personal stories and this may give you some insight on things you can do to help your own personal situation.

You may want to consult your doctor and get advice on getting pregnant from this resource. It is a common myth that fertility problems only happen in women and data shows that men and women are almost split equally when it comes to fertility and this is something that many people do not know. Both the man and the woman in the relationship should be screened for fertility issues and once this is confirmed or ruled out you can move onto the things that will help you to achieve pregnancy.

If you are over 30 your odds start to decrease when it comes to fertility and you may need some medical help to achieve pregnancy. There are many simple things you can do to increase your odds of pregnancy and you may need a simple prescription to become pregnant. You want to make sure that you act quickly because as more time goes on the less your chances are of becoming pregnant without medical intervention.

Advice on getting pregnant can be found in books and online and you may want to read all of the things that are available to you to help you understand what you can do to help you with your situation. There may be many things you can do to that you have not heard of and this may solve all of your problems. You may be able to reach the goal of pregnancy faster than you though if you take the time to educate yourself about your options and what you can do to encourage pregnancy.