Importance of Nutrition during Pregnancy

Research has shown how significant the food that mothers eat during conception and pregnancy is for the rest of a person’s life. Healthy pregnancies are attributed to good nutrition and reduce the risk of developing medical conditions later in life.

 

image:en.wikipedia.org

Eating Habits

You may have planned for your pregnancy or received a pleasant surprise after taking a pregnancy test. Regardless of what your circumstances are, your eating habits have to be evaluated. Several women start their pregnancies without the nutrients that are essential for sustaining a healthy pregnancy.

Significance of Good Nutrition

Pregnancy is the most important time for a woman to have good nutrition. Along with other healthy lifestyle changes, proper nutrition has a major impact on the health of the child when born and the rest of his or her life.

The wellbeing of children is dependent on what the mother consumes while pregnant. The lifestyle that you lead during pregnancy affects your baby’s health and the possibility of conditions ranging from diabetes to obesity.

Vitamins and Minerals

Taking folic acid is one of the most effective ways of keeping your child healthy. During the first trimester, folic acid minimizes the risk of birth defects with the recommended dose of 400 micrograms every day.

Fortified grains such as cereal and bread are also important sources of folic acid. You also need adequate amount of calcium, iron and omega-3 in your diet after you become pregnant. It is always important to ask your healthcare provider about the supplements that are required during pregnancy.

Eat Enough

• You have to make sure that you always eat enough to avoid being underweight or overweight. Focus on consuming healthy calories rather than those that are derived from fast food and unhealthy junk food.
• During pregnancy, you tend to eat more than you usually would because you are providing your body and the developing fetus with extra vitamins and minerals. Find out when your baby was conceived by using a due date calculator online.
• Gaining weight in pregnancy is normal and dieting to keep your weight down is not recommended. Although excessive eating should be avoided, you still need to eat enough and ensure that you consume food from all the food groups. You should only cut out food that is classified as unsafe during pregnancy.
• Low calorie diets can deprive you and your baby of essential nutrients. This can result in malnutrition and slow down the development of the fetus.
• Vitamin supplements enable you to get the extra nutrients that you need but you still need to consume nutrient-rich foods daily.
• Reduce your junk food and fast food consumption and opt for healthier alternatives and do not exceed the supplement dosage that your healthcare provider recommends.

Risk of Undercooked and Raw Meat

Meat that is undercooked or raw is a breeding ground for bacteria that can result in serious illnesses. This poses a major health risk to the fetus. Fish that is high in mercury should also be avoided. What you eat during pregnancy can affect the health of your child for years to come.

Pregnancy Calculators

Pregnancy calculators have made it easier for women to plan conception and prepare for their due dates. With a few simple steps, you can determine when your baby will be delivered. Learn more about the due date calculator by visiting http://www.acalculator.com/.

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5 Simple Office Storage Solutions You Can Implement Today

Have you found that your workplace is overflowing with files, stationary and other important documents? You may not need to do a clean out – you might just need some better office storage solutions. Whilst you should certainly look into the addition of better filing cabinets, cupboards and shelving, there are a number of solutions that you can implement yourself today. We have outlined some of our favourites to help you get your office together.

1.   Bill Binders
If your bills, invoices and receipts are all kept in the one place, you will find it a whole lot easier to stay organised. A binder is great for this, as you can separate it into categories (bills due, bills paid, outstanding invoices, receipts, and so on) that are easily accessible. At the end of the month, remove everything from the binder and file it appropriately or transfer to the next month (if needed).

2.   Cord Organisation
We are sure that your workplace is filled with cords of all shapes and sizes, from electrical equipment to computers. When they get tangled up, it can be difficult to know which appliance you’re unplugging (leading to some choice words when the telephone drops out). Whilst there are cord organisers available, you can make your own using a plastic or metal basket – label them using white tape!

3.   Baskets
Don’t overlook the humble basket as an office storage solution, as they are highly affordable and have many uses. This is a great way to store envelopes that need to be mailed, spare stationary items, magazines (for the reception area or that you subscribe to) and anything else you can think of. If you have a few baskets, we recommend labeling them to ensure that you don’t forget them confused.

4.   Pegboard Storage
If you have ever walked into a garage or backyard shed, you may have seen pegboards in action already – they are often used to hang tools, keeping them organised and easily accessible. A similar approach can be taken in the office – use them to hang stationary items, like rulers and scissors. This is perfect for workplaces that share these items and for individual workstations that use them a lot.

5.   Magazine Holders
Whilst you could certainly use magazine holders and bookends for their intended purpose (keeping your magazines and books together), they can also be put to a number of other uses around the office. The holders make handy in and out trays, storage for current files, making loose paper easily accessible, keeping documents and folders together, and so on. Just ensure that each is labeled to avoid confusion.

Whether you implement all of the solutions outlined above or just the ones that you believe will suit your workplace best, we are sure that you will notice an immediate difference. There are plenty of other office storage solutions out there – all you need to do is think outside the box. And don’t forget that, if your office is a little cluttered, you probably need to find something that will improve your storage for a long-term (such as a cabinet or shelving).

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Some of the Safety Tips to Keep In Mind While Operating the C Arm

C Arm, a kind of mobile X-Ray device, was first developed by the Philips Medical Systems in the year 1955. It has since then gone through a lot of variation and developments and is today extensively used in surgical procedures.  It is named C Arm because of the look of its 2 arms that form a capital C. With the use of C Arm, surgeons are now able to take real-time medical imaging during the process of surgery. This in effect means minimal invasion during the surgical procedure.

 

image:pacifichealthusa.com

The C Arms in use today have better imaging that gives better quality images and also reduces the amount of radiation as compared to the traditional X ray machines. C Arms have been able to improve the standard of patient care worldwide.

Safety Tips While Using The C Arm:

This is an expensive appliance, so most of the medical care facilities prefer to look out for ads giving information of used C Arm and used C Arm table for sale. The refurbished C Arms are as good as new in both look as well as functioning and can be procured at a much lesser price.

C Arm should always be used by a trained technician and due to the risk involved in radiation following safety tips are very important:

•  As much as possible stand away from the direct beam of radiation.
• The arm of the C Arm that has the X-Ray tube should be placed below the table or the patient. This way it reduces the risk of the operator getting exposed to radiation.
• Radiations quickly loose its intensity as it travels in air. So even if the operator takes one step back the intensity of exposure is greatly reduced. So step away as much as possible.
• If the surgeon is going to use the C Arm in a tilted form and it is difficult to step away from the radiation profile then the operator must wear protective gear in the parts of the body that fall in the profile.
• The operator should use pulse mode to emit radiations intermittently and reduce exposure.
• Do not keep pressing the foot pedal when studying an earlier image.
•  Reduce the beam size to focus on a smaller area. This will improve image quality while reducing the radiation range as well.
• Ensure that proper focal distance is maintained. Keeping too much distance will increase radiation dispersal and too small a distance can lead to skin burning on the patient.
• Reduce the extra lighting as it can interfere in the clear visibility of the fluoroscopic image.

Risks associated with radiation exposure:

All technicians who operate the C Arm machine expose themselves to the harmful effects of radiation. Over exposure to radiation can lead to many diseases like cancer, cataract of the eye and even fetal deformity. It is therefore very important for the technician to take proper precaution to prevent all health risk.

It is advised that the technicians step away from the direct beam but if it is not possible then certain protective gear is required. Lead aprons, thyroid shields, eye protection, radio protective gloves are some of the gears that will protect the technician from exposure to radiation.

C Arm is a highly effective appliance for the medical sciences and is therefore extensively used. It is the responsibility of both the medical center and the technician to minimize the risk of radiation exposure.

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Tips to Avoid Flaws While Installing the Hydronic Heating Systems

Hydronic heating installation is a long process and it needs some specialization in this field. The installer needs to check the sub-floor before starting the installation process because it may require demolition of the floor surface. This prior inspection is necessary because in this stage the installer decides about the layout of the tubes which shall be installed under the floor, and it is suggested to make a duplicate copy of the layout and keep it with yourself for future correspondence, if you need any alteration or repairing in future then you can easily identify the tube lines layout of your hydronic heating system. 

Issues with installation regarding hydronic heating panels:

Like other projects, issues occur in the installation of the hydronic heating system as well. The main reason for this is miscommunication or lack of understanding. The installer has to understand the role properly. Another problem occurs when the coordination is not good with the other things that run in the house. To provide a safe and comfortable environment it is necessary that all the systems in the house work together.

A good installer should take care not only about the installation but also about the other things that are in sync with the system. Here are a few things that can go wrong when an installer is installing the hydronic system in your house.

• No Insulation- The foundation needs to have insulation to let the system work properly. The insulation should be placed below the slab so that the heat is prevented from going down into the earth.
• No reflectors- Thanks to the improvement in the radiant flooring technology, now we can add the heating system above the floor joists. This helps in installation of the radiant on the second floor as well as above places such as crawlspaces and basements. To make it work properly, proper insulation is required to separate the heated areas. Heat reflectors are also very important for the necessity of directing the heat to the right places.
• Flaw in flooring- If you do not have proper flooring, it does not mean that radiant heating cannot be installed in your house. As mentioned before, it is a very versatile technology but certain flooring can lessen its effect. The carpet padding or the carpet itself subdues the effect of a hydronic heater.

Certain flaws should be avoided while installing the heating panels:

This was all about the flaws in your home that can affect your heating system. To install a hydronic heating system, you need to call a hydronic heating installer who specializes in installing these. There are a lot of issues that can happen while installing this system and which is exactly why you need a good and reputed professional to do the work. They should have proven track records along with strong warranty for their services. It is important to choose a certified installer because an unprofessional one can flaw your flawless house which is the last thing one would one. Here are some effects of poor installation.

•  Leakage- Since hydronic system deals with water, a small mistake and it can lead to water leaks. Water leaks lead to very poor heating effect and it remains obscured until it is investigated properly.
• Freezing- While constructing your home, the radiant floor might have been installed but it was not made functional. If there was water in the pipes somehow, then there is a chance that the water freezes in the tubes.
•  Air in the tubes- We love the fact that the hydronic heating installer do not make sound while operating. If there is air in the tubes, then there is a high possibility that it may become a little noisy. Apart from that the oxygen in the air may corrode the pumps damaging the whole system.

A good installer would check the system from all possible ways and add some preventives such as antifreeze if needed. If you want to recognize more you can also go through this link for knowing more details about hydronic heating system.

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