Depression - Who is Most at Risk of Depression and Anxiety?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), depression is a common mental disorder that is the leading cause of disability and the leading contributor to the global burden of disease. By 2020 WHO predicts that depression will rise to the number two contributor to global burden of disease. Who would have known?

WHO Depression Facts (from WHO):

• Depression is common, affecting about 121 million people worldwide.


• Depression is among the leading causes of disability worldwide.


• Depression can be reliably diagnosed and treated in primary care.


• Fewer than 25 % of those affected have access to effective treatments.

So what is Depression?

Depression is a common mental disorder that manifests itself in the form of depressed mood, a loss of enjoyment of living, low self esteem, inability to sleep properly, loss of appetite, low levels of energy, and poor concentration. It affects people of all ages and from all backgrounds. Some experience severe symptoms and are unable to function day to day and fatalities account for about eight hundred and fifty thousand lives yearly.

So who is most at risk?

The statistics suggest that women are more susceptible to depression than men. Approximately one in six women will experience depression at some stage in their lives while men have a one in four chance. Whilst there are factors that affect women more so than men, the numbers mask a real issue for men...

There are factors that impact on women that contribute to depression such as child birth (post natal depression), hormone changes and the multiple roles women have in day to day life (like raising children, running a home and holding down a job, all at the same time).

One of the known issues with the statistics is that men are known to be less likely to seek support for their depression. The social stigma placed on men prevents them from seeking help and consequently the numbers may be skewed. Many men consider depression as a weakness, or at least they perceive others to do so and therefore they are reluctant to step forward and admit their illness. Although this is improving today, there are still an unknown number of men who do not present for support.

Children who experience depression are more likely to have a family history of the disorder. Often one of the parents will have experienced depression at some stage in their lives. Adolescence is a period when depression seems to affect a greater number of people, particularly girls. They too have a higher than normal likelihood to have a family history of depression although not to the same extent as children.

What are the Risk Factors?

A number of factors have been recognized as increasing the risk of contracting depression. These include such things as stress, marriage breakup, relationship break down, a loss of a loved one, onset of chronic illness such as diabetes, abuse or neglect or some other traumatic event.

Summary

Depression is a major mental disorder that is prevalent everywhere, in all ages, races and genders. There seems to be a higher incidence in women but the numbers could be somewhat misleading. There are several known contributing factors, including family history of the disease.

According to WHO, depression will be a growing problem for many years to come.

Safe Abdominal Exercises During Pregnancy to Help You Stay Toned and Sexy While Pregnant

Being a pregnant mom to be is filled with all kinds of joys and excitement, especially if it is your first pregnancy. From picking baby names to getting the nursery ready pregnancy is one of the most special times in a woman's life. But it also comes with its own set of unique challenges and surprises. One of the least desirable aspects of pregnancy is weight gain. But weight gain during pregnancy does not have to be excessive. You can keep yourself fit and trim while pregnant with a combination of aerobic exercise and abdominal exercises during pregnancy.

Let's first clear up a common myth that it is not safe to do abdominal work whole pregnant. This simply is not true. As a matter of fact many experts recommend that your abdominals and your entire core should be exercised and strengthened when you are pregnant.

Why is this? Strengthening your abdominals does not only help to keep you fit it also will aid in labor and delivery. An added benefit is that toning your abdominals will help your tummy to "snap back" much more quickly after your baby is born. If you combine abdominal exercise with aerobic exercise you will be looking fantastic in no time after your baby is born.

So just how can an expecting mother exercise her abdominals during pregnancy in a way that is safe for both her and her baby?

A great place to start is with Kegel exercises. These exercises are excellent to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and you can do them just about anywhere. A simple Kegel exercise is to simply tighten your pelvic floor muscles as if you are trying to stop your urine flow. Hold for five seconds and repeat ten times.

Through your first trimester you can do just about any kind of abdominal exercises. This includes crunches, leg lifts, etc. At this point in your pregnancy you will not do any harm to yourself or your baby by doing traditional ab exercises. But you will reap the benefits of a toned tummy and preparing yourself for delivery.

As you progress past your first trimester you will want to avoid exercises that require you to lie flat on your back. At this point you can continue to exercise your abdominals using gentle standing pelvis tilts, seated belly breathing, or by tightening, holding, and releasing your abdominals counting to five at each step. Tighten (one, two, three, for five), Hold (one, two, three, four five), Release (one, two, three, four five).

When you combine aerobic exercise with abdominal exercises during pregnancy you help to ensure that you will; look great during pregnancy, have an easier labor and delivery, and get your body back to pre-pregnancy shape much more quickly. Now that is a set of triplets that any expecting mother can love.

How To Lose Weight While Pregnant - 3 Tips To Help You Lose Weight While Pregnant

Putting on extra weight while pregnant is, as we all know, part and parcel of the whole process. And it has it's plus points too - those bigger boobs make your hubby feel like a kid at Christmas! :)

But what is a normal and appropriate amount of weight to gain while pregnant? Are there any ways that we can safely lose weight while pregnant? What can you do now that will make your labour easier and help you get back to your pre-pregnant weight super fast when your little bundle of joy finally arrives?

Are you really overweight?

These days it's easy to get sucked into the media's image of what a mum-to-be should look like, what with all these celebrity toothpicks, as I like to call them, having no more than a small bump, whilst being on some faddy diet. I must stress that pregnancy is definitely not the time to be going on a strict weight loss diet. What you need is to ascertain what a suitable pregnancy weight is for you, and then take steps to try to maintain it and increase your health and the health of your baby.

Everybody is different, and every woman's body will react differently while pregnant. An average weight gain for a full term pregnancy is anywhere between 25-45 pounds, which includes the increase in the mother's blood volume, the size of the uterus, the placenta, various fluids and the baby. This is an average figure so there will be much variation either side. Check with your doctor for more advice on your optimum weight.

How to lose weight while pregnant Tip no.1 - Control Your Cravings

Cravings are one of the hardest things to deal with during pregnancy, and annoyingly, one of the biggest contributors to excessive weight gain. Waking up in the middle of the night yearning for chocolate, or ice cream with gherkins, is a well-known part of pregnancy. However, these cravings, while healthy and perfectly normal, can be controlled and there are even certain foods that can reduce your cravings. Eating foods with a low Glycemic Index (GI) can help balance your blood sugar levels and reduce the highs and lows that many women suffer throughout the day, due to their slow release of energy. This can help you in reducing the onset of any excess pounds and begin to help you lose weight while pregnant.

By craving foods with high sugar and glucose levels a vicious circle can be created because they will often make the cravings worse, affect your mood and contribute to excess weight gain.

How to lose weight while pregnant Tip no.2 - Eat More Often

"Hang on, didn't you just tell me to control my cravings Now you're telling me that eating more often will help me lose weight while pregnant? Are you out of your mind?"

This kind of sounds counter-intuitive doesn't it? The idea though is that you'll be eating smaller portions more regularly instead of 2-3 large meals a day. By doing this you're not consuming any extra unnecessary calories, but are feeding your body and the baby more regularly. This will help keep your metabolism and blood sugar at consistent levels and keep you energised throughout the day.

And yes, I am out of my mind but not because of this! ;)

How to lose weight while pregnant Tip no.3 - Exercise

Exercising regularly during pregnancy was once frowned upon, but now has seen to be a great way to stay in shape and lose weight while pregnant, avoid the aches and pains common with weight gain, and can increase energy, flexibility and make your labour significantly easier (thank goodness!).

Walking and swimming are excellent low-impact ways to keep you fit and healthy and maintaining a balanced weight while pregnant. The buoyancy you'll find in the pool will often come as a relief and an aid to your daily routine and let's you get some fantastic exercise without putting stress on your body or the baby's.

Stationary cycling is also a great way to get some low-impact exercise and build stamina.

Yoga and Pilates can be beneficial and effective ways to lose weight while pregnant but make sure you find a suitably experienced instructor who has specialised in dealing with pregnant women.

Again it's always best to check with your doctor on the intensity of your workouts, for instance, if you exercised regularly before you were pregnant then your workouts will be notably different to someone who didn't.

Choosing Health Insurance

With so many dissimilar kinds of health insurance plans and restrictions out there, it can be difficult locating the best insurance for you. However, this process is not despairing to be successful with a tiny research. There are a small proportion portions to facade for after deciding on health that prepares, and by account for them all you can generate a good decision for yourself and your family come seal health insurance.

The bulk noteworthy thing to facade for is coverage. More regularly than not, insurance will bind physician visits and fees. Your insurance ought also bind hospital expenses such as room and board in covering you are saved overnight or longer for observation or treatment. Good health protection ought also bind surgeries and any expenses connected with surgical treatment. Beyond these typical portions of coverage, wellbeing protection prepares can diverge greatly. To truly construe what coverage you would utilize and which plan would save you the bulk currency, you will deficiency to generate a items of portions that you want swathed in an insurance plan.

For instance, do you have glasses or contacts? Then you may be more interested in a plan that refuges vision - either compensating for your eye exam and/or to numerous extent compensating for your glasses or contacts. Though many population think that h. insurance refuges prescriptions, prescription coverage is presently an optional benefit. If you know that you regularly have prescription drugs to fill, locating insurance that offers prescription coverage may be a must. If you are a female and plan on having or want to have youngsters, maternity care or family planning services are also optional superiority that you may want to consider. Once you generate this must-have items of optional coverage, you can start staring for insurance(health) plans that give you the area to add these optional benefits.

Another portion you ought definitely examine is if your existing physicians or specialists are included in the health protection company's desired provider network or if you have the area to select any physician (often the covering simply with indemnity or traditional health insurance plans).

Lastly, examine price. After researching dissimilar coverage prepares and physician conditions, show higher deductibles and monthly premiums to pinpoint the best deal. Often, you can receive assembly rates through your employer, or you may pinpoint that artist organizations (for freelance artists) offer health care plans. By researching price, as well as other health insurance choices, you can generate the best picks for your family.

Changes at Puberty - Top Health Prevention Clues in Managing It

Fundamental factors that influence puberty

Different research papers have found direct genetic effects to account for at least 46% of the variation of timing of puberty in well-nourished populations. The genetic relationship of timing is strongest between mothers and daughters. The specific genes affecting timing are unknown. Researchers have hypothesized that early puberty onset may be caused by certain hair care products containing estrogen or placenta, and by certain chemicals, which are use in making cosmetics, toys, and plastic food containers.

Genetic factors account for half of the variation of the timing of puberty, followed by environment factors, which are clearly important as well. Nutrition is the most important of the environmental influence. One of the foremost observed environmental effects is high altitude. But a number of others have been identified, all which affect timing of female puberty more clearly than male puberty.

Effects of hormone and steroids
Theories derived from research work and animal evidence show that environmental hormones and chemicals may affect aspects of prenatal (before birth) or postnatal (after birth) sexual development in humans. Huge amounts of incompletely metabolized estrogen and progesterone from pharmaceutical products are excreted into the sewage systems of big cities, and are sometimes noticeable in the environment. Excessive exposure of a child to hormones or other substances that activate estrogen or androgen receptors could induce some or all of the changes of puberty.

Conspicuous level of partial puberty from direct exposure of young children to small but significant amounts of pharmaceutical sex steroids from exposure at home may be detected during medical evaluation for precocious puberty (attainment of puberty earlier than normal).

BPA (Bisphenol A) is a chemical use in making plastics, and it is often use in making baby bottles, water bottles, sports equipment, medical devices, and as a coating in food and beverage cans. Medical scientist are concerned about BPA's behavioral effects on fetuses, infants, and children. Their current exposure levels can effect the prostate gland, mammary gland, and lead to early puberty in girls. BPA mimics and interferes with the action of estrogen, which is an important regulator of reproduction and development. It diffuses out of plastic into liquids and foods that may be consumed by children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found measurable amounts of BPA in the bodies of more than 90 percent of the U.S. population studied. The highest estimated daily intakes of BPA was found in infants and children.

Effect of nutritional factor
Nutritional factors are the most conspicuous and most powerful environmental factors affecting timing of puberty. Female children are especially sensitive to nutritional regulation because more often excess calories are reflected in the amount of their body fat, which signals to the brain the availability of resources for initiation of puberty.

For most of the last few centuries much evidence suggests that, nutritional differences accounted for bulk of variation of puberty timing in different populations. Today there is a global increase in the consumption of animal protein, better dieting, and increase in childhood obesity. This have resulted in falling ages of puberty, mainly in those populations with the higher preceding ages. Available dietary energy (simple calories) is the most important dietary influence on timing of puberty. The quality of the diet plays a major role as well. As occurred with typical vegetarian, lower protein intakes and higher dietary fiber intakes, are associated with later onset and slower progression of female puberty.

Effect of obesity
Medical scientists have connected early obesity with an earlier onset of puberty in females. Obesity have been cited as a cause of breast development before nine years and menarche (commencement of menstruation) before twelve years.

Effect of exercise
Especially in females, the average level of daily physical activity has also been observed to affect timing of puberty. Increase level of exercise, whether for athletic or body image purposes, or for daily subsistence, reduces body fat and energy calories available for reproduction and there by slows puberty. The effect of exercise is often amplified by a reduced body fat mass and cholesterol.

Effect of physical and mental illness
Obviously chronic diseases can delay puberty in both males and females. Those that interfere with nutrition have the strongest effect. Inflammatory bowel disease, chronic parasite infections and tuberculosis have been notorious for such an effect.

If mental illnesses occur in puberty. The brain undergoes considerable development by hormones which can contribute to mood disorders such as Major depressive disorder.

Effect of social and stress factors
Psychological and social factors are some of the least understood environmental influences on timing of puberty. They are the least in comparison with the effects of genetics, nutrition, and general health. Mechanisms of these social effects are unknown, though different types of physiological processes, including pheromones (chemical emission from an animal that has influence on the behavior or body chemistry of another animal of the same species) have been suggested based on animal research.

The family is the most important part of a child psychosocial environment. Social influence researchers have investigated features of family structure and function in relation to earlier or later female puberty. Most of the studies have reported that menarche may occur earlier in females in high-stress households, whose parent (fathers) are absent during their early childhood, who have a stepfather in the home, who are subjected to prolonged sexual harassment in childhood, or who are adopted from a developing country at a young age. Conversely, when a girl grows up in a large family with a biological father present, menarche may be slightly later.

Wartime with threat to physical survival is a more extreme degrees of environmental stress, that have been found to be associated with delay of maturation, an effect that may be compounded by poor nutrition.

Postpartum Checkup

You will probably have an appointment for a checkup 4 to 6 weeks after delivery to make sure your body is healing without problems. If you had a cesarean birth, you may need to have your checkup sooner.

General Physical Examination

This part of the checkup includes:

• Measuring your weight. A woman usually returns to her prepregnancy weight about 6 months after delivery. The postpartum period is not a good time to diet. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet low in fat. For more information on weight loss after having a baby, talk to your health care professional, who can advise you on the best way to lose weight.


• Taking your blood pressure. During pregnancy, your blood pressure may increase. By the end of the sixth week after delivery, your blood pressure usually returns to its prepregnancy level.


• Examining your breasts. It is important to have your breasts checked for lumps and nipple problems. Your health care professional can show you how to check your breasts. Breast self-examination is important to do every month. If you are bottle-feeding, your breasts will usually return to their normal shape and size in 4 to 6 weeks. You still need to check your breasts regularly for any changes. If you are breastfeeding, your breasts still may be full and feel firm by the sixth week. Checking your breasts daily for lumps or plugged ducts can help prevent problems with discomfort or infection.


• Examining your abdominal incision. If you had a cesarean birth or your tubes were cut or tied, you have an incision. Your health care professional will check your incision to make sure healing is complete.

Pelvic Examination

This part of the checkup is an internal examination to check the health of your ovaries, uterus (womb), cervix (opening into the womb) and vagina (birth canal). Your health care professional also will check your perineum (area around the birth canal) for healing. The first part is checking your perineum. Your health care professional will examine the areas around the vagina, urethra (opening of the bladder) and rectum for healing. The second part of the internal examination is checking your vagina and cervix. Your health care professional will use a speculum to allow a visual inspection of the vagina and cervix. The last part of the examination is checking your uterus and ovaries. Your health care professional will feel the shape and size of both. Vaginal bleeding, or lochia, usually stops in the first 4 to 6 weeks postpartum. Bleeding that begins one month after delivery is usually your period.

Questions and Answers

After the examinations, your health care professional will tell you if your body is healing properly after childbirth. This is a good time to ask questions. You may be wondering about returning to work, exercising, birth-control methods or general health concerns. Write your questions on paper and take them with you to your appointment. Review them with your health care professional.

After Birth - Should You Return to Work?

Are you a woman who has just recently had a baby? If you are, congratulations! The birth of a new child is a fun, adventurous, and memorable experience. Although work may be the farthest thing from your mind right now, it is something that you may want to take the time to think about. After having a baby, a large number of women wonder whether or not they should return to work.

When it comes to determining if you should return to work after having a baby, there are a number of important factors that you will want to take into consideration. For many women, money is an issue. How is your current financial situation? Before your baby was born, were you relying on one or two incomes? This simple question may play an important role in your decision. Many women are able to stay at home with their children if they have another source of income, like a regular paycheck from their spouse or live in partner.

Although money may be an issue for you, when determining if you should return to work after the birth of your child, it is also important to examine the money that you may save. As a parent, you likely wouldn't send your child to just any daycare center. Unfortunately, daycare providers that come highly rated and recommend often have high fees. It is not uncommon for parents to pay one hundred dollars or more a week in childcare expenses, just for one child. It is also important to examine the reduction in work purchased snacks and drinks, as well as gasoline to and from work. After this comparison, you may find that staying home with your child, after their birth, is actually a cost effective solution.

When determining if you should return to work after the birth of your child, you are also urged to examine the benefits of staying home. From birth to the toddler age, children are at an important stage in their life. Many experts have stated that close contact between parents and their children can help improve their relationship, as well as improve their developmental skills, as someone is working with them at all times. These are just important factors to take into consideration.

Of course, it is also important to remember that you don't just have to be a stay-at-home mom. There are a large number of mothers in the United States who are considered work-at-home moms. With a computer and internet access, there are a number of work-at-home jobs or home-based business opportunities that can allow you to stay at home with your new baby, as well as bring in a source of income. If you have yet to return to work, working from home is something that you may at least want to take into consideration.

The above mentioned points are mostly centered on the benefits of staying at home with your child, after their birth. While there are a number of benefits to doing so, you should also know that there are a number of benefits to sending your child to daycare, as long as that daycare comes highly rated and recommended. Perhaps, the greatest benefit is the social interaction that your child will likely receive by being around other children. It is also important to mention your own needs. Working from home or staying at home with kids is a large task, one that can occasionally be stressful. That is why many mothers make the decision to return to the workforce after having a child, for their own sanity.

As you likely already know, the decision as to whether or not you want to return to work after the birth of your baby is your decision to make, but the above mentioned points are ones that you may want to keep in mind. Regardless of whether you decide to return to work or stay at home with your child, your and your child will likely have a long and healthy relationship with each other for years and years to come.