Do you want to enjoy sex without the fear of conception or pregnancy ? Are you looking for a short-term reversible solution? Then you should know about barrier methods and hormonal contraceptives. Many a times, women, men and couples are faced with the dilemma of what type of family planning method to choose . The most popular short-term, reversible birth control methods are hormonal contraceptives and barrier methods. Before you decide which one to choose, you should understand how each method works – in terms of the underlying principles, effectiveness, cost, user-friendliness, need for a doctor’s prescription, protection from sexually transmitted infections , whether you would be a suitable candidate for the method in terms of health, etc. How conception takes place? Men have sperms that are produced in the testes in millions each day. It is a continuous process that begins at puberty and extends up to the end of their fertile age. Meanwhile, women have ovaries that produce eggs or ovum in monthly cycles under the influence of hormones, namely estrogen, and progesterone, from puberty till menopause. During intercourse, the sperms travel up the female genital tract, and if it meets an ovum, it gets fused with it.

“I am pregnant, and I am stressed! Help me!” Sounds familiar? Don’t worry – you’re not the only one. The word “ pregnancy ” causes stress to most women, especially to first-time moms. Biological, emotional and cognitive changes, in addition to sudden changes in lifestyle, cause enormous stress to the expecting mother. It is important to note that when you’re pregnant, your fetus is dependent on you. The baby inside you is not so capable of handling stress. Stress during pregnancy can mount an inflammatory response leading to premature birth and developmental delays. It also affects the cognition of the child in the long term. Although, there’s no need to worry! All you need to do is follow these tips to handle stress during pregnancy: Accept the fact that you can be stressed. Many women feel that they will never get stressed out. Even when they are stressed, they think that they can handle it by themselves and that seeking help would hamper their self-image of being strong and independent. If you are a like this, then you have to understand that pregnancy invariably causes stress. Developing this acceptance is the first step. Many women who take time to accept this usually seek help very late.

Why natural family methods when you have other options? A significant number of couples opt for natural family methods due to religious reasons since some denominations do not accept the use of popular contraceptive practices. They advocate for a natural family method for spacing children, maintaining family size, and avoiding unintended pregnancy. They exhort their fraternity not to make use of any technique that they believe contradicts the natural process – including abortion and sterilization. This leaves many couples with no other option apart from natural family planning methods. Other reasons include low affordability of desired family planning methods, lack of knowledge about hormonal contraceptives, side effects to medicines, etc. What do natural family planning methods do? The natural family planning methods act based on the principle of fertile and non-fertile days of a woman’s reproductive cycle. There are few things you need to understand in order to practice this method- A woman’s reproductive cycle repeats every month starting from puberty till menopause. A woman is not fertile on all the days of any given cycle. The First phase starts with day one of menstruation. This is followed by few days of infertility. After this phase starts the fertile period when the ovary gets ready to release the egg.

The nutritional needs of a woman during pregnancy are very different from normal nutritional requirements. The human body requires essential fatty acids for its optimum functioning, and this requirement increases substantially for pregnant women. This is because pregnant women need to provide nutrition for themselves as well as for their fetus. What are Omega 3 fatty acids? Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the most active in this group. They form a part of long-chain Omega-3 PUFA (Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids). Omega 3 fatty acids are “essential” because they are not synthesized in the body and are required to be supplemented externally. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have unique properties and functions. EPA is beneficial for the cardiovascular system and immunity, while DHA is essential for the brain, central nervous system, and retina. These fatty acids regulate the synthesis of prostaglandins, which are necessary for the functioning of the heart, for raising inflammatory response, for the transmission of nerve signals, and for producing hormones. A deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids increases the risk of osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus type 2, and cardiovascular diseases. Why are Omega-3 fatty acids necessary during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, a woman goes through rapid changes in a very short span of time. Once a woman gets pregnant, she has to go through a lot of cognitive, physical, physiological and emotional changes. These problems get augmented when a woman is above 35. A woman has a limited number of eggs in her ovary. These eggs get released one at a time during every menstrual cycle. This implies that every cycle reduces a woman’s number of eggs. These eggs deplete over time and move a woman’s reproductive cycle into menopause. Does age really matter? The probability of conception for women is lesser they are above the age of 35 years. But, if you have a healthy reproductive cycle, there is nothing to worry about. There are women who get pregnant after 35 and deliver healthy babies. Although, since there are chances of not having a healthy pregnancy, it is advisable to meet your physician early in your pregnancy and do a complete checkup of your health status. If there are no comorbid conditions, then you can relax and opt for regular visits. But if there are factors like diabetes or cardiovascular diseases, then you need to consult specialists to aid you in delivering a healthy baby.