Embry Women’s Health wishes everyone: “Happy Mothers Day!”

Mother’s Day is a special day for everyone when we honor and show our gratitude and love to our mothers and those that are mother-like to us. On this day we show that we are thankful to have them in our lives by doing nice things for them or by giving them presents. Although Mother’s day is mostly celebrated in the spring months, like either in March or May, the dates greatly vary from place to place. This year Mother’s day in the United States will be celebrated on the second Sunday of May month i.e. May 10, 2020. To commemorate such a special day, let us highlight and explore the significance of the health of mothers. 

Because mothers are a great part of the family and have a significant role in the life of their children, it gets all the more important to take care of their well being. According to the Millennium Development goals improving the health of mothers was one of its main eight aims in the year 2015. Sustainable Development Goals came into being after the Millennium Development Goals in order to carry on its goals. The Sustainable Development Goals have set a target to change the world by the year 2030, and as a way to work towards that they have come up with 17 goals out of which one is maternal health.

The mortality rate of mothers has greatly reduced by as much as 50 percent after the year 1990 with a decline of 2/3rds in countries of North Africa, Eastern Asia, and Southern Asia. However, the mortality rate of mothers is still very high, especially in countries where people have low incomes. Each year as much as 830 women lose their lives due to causes that are preventable pertaining to childbirth and pregnancy. About 75 percent of these causes include blood pressure while being pregnant, unsafe abortion, bleeding, certain infections, complications related to delivery, etc. 

In around 2 to 8 percent of pregnancies, pre-eclampsia occurs, which is also the most common cause of maternal mortality. These can be avoided if pregnant women get proper treatment.

From the year 1990 to 2015, the mortality rate for mothers saw a decline from 385 to 216 cases per 100000 births. One of the major contributors to the child and maternal mortality is adolescent pregnancies. If we look at global numbers, the second most leading cause of deaths are the complications related to childbirth and pregnancy, the first being due to suicides. The risk of deaths due to complications are higher in those that are below the age of 15 years. Sustainable Development Goals also aim to provide easy access to reproductive and sexual health services, family planning, education, etc. to the people. 

In the year 2015, among the countries where people had low incomes, the maternal mortality rates were 239 per 100000 births. This is almost 20 times more than in countries where people have high incomes. In such countries, the maternal mortality rates accounted for just 12 deaths per 100000 births. The high number of maternal mortality rates show the lack of adequate health care services in these countries. 

With proper health care services, the complications related to pregnancy can be managed to a great extent, and also the cases of maternal mortality can also be avoided. In order to reduce the cases of maternal mortality and morbidity, proper health care and medical services need to be made accessible by everyone. This should be done without discriminating against anyone on the basis of their ethnicity, age, and background. Additionally, discrimination and violence against women should also be tackled to prevent cases of maternal mortality.

On this mother’s day, let us pledge to work towards a better future for all the mothers and to improve maternal health as mothers are the ones that build a nation in the real sense. 

Below are the things that all mothers should definitely devote time to in order to live a long and healthy life.

Below are the things that all mothers should definitely devote time to in order to live a long and healthy life.

  • Eat Well

All mothers should take care of their health by eating well. A balanced diet with lots of green vegetables and fruits may help in reducing the risk of developing some cancers and other serious illnesses. Fruits and green vegetables also provide vitamins, fiber, and minerals, etc. that are essential for the body. Since fruits and vegetables are chock full of fiber, they are good alternatives to junk food as they do not have that many calories and fat in them. Apart from that, reducing the amount of too much sugar, fat, salt, and calories in the diet is also recommended. 

  • Get Good Sleep

Getting less sleep is also associated with a large number of debilitating diseases like heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, along with depression. Therefore it is important to sleep for at least 7 to 8 hours each day. 

  • Stay Stress-Free

Managing stress is also important in order to lead a healthy life. A stressful life also leads to developing mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, etc. Some of the ways in which stress can be managed are by:

  • avoiding alcohol and drugs
  • finding support
  • connecting with others socially
  • staying active

  • Share Your Health History With Your Doc

Since family members have similar lifestyles, environments, genes, and behaviors that may affect their well being and also their susceptibility to some illnesses, that is why sharing your health history with your doctor is very important. 

  • Reduce Risks with Timely Prevention

Women that develop complications related to pregnancy may face problems later in their lives. Issues like diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy can risk a woman to develop heart problems and metabolic disorders as they age. The risk of such diseases can be prevented by following lifestyle rules like:

Before conceiving talking to your doctor about any underlying conditions that you might be suffering from like eating disorders, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, high blood pressure, etc. 

  • Get Timely Screening

Depression is very common, whether you are pregnant or not. If someone shows signs of depression, they should talk to their doctor about it. If someone is self-mutilating, then again, it gets important to discuss this with their doctor. 

Health Precaution For a Healthy Life

Mothers lead a very busy life; they have to juggle everything from their families to work. This often leads them to not get enough time to take care of themselves that much and so they might have to face some health-related issues because of that. In order to prevent the many types of health-related complications that women are likely to develop as a result of not being able to take care of themselves properly, there exist some precautions that might help in maintaining their health. These are:

  • Stress management

One of the most common signs of stress, not getting enough sleep, dehydration is a headache. This are common among all busy mothers. Because of work-related stress and responsibilities at home, a lot of mothers complain of getting headaches. To prevent it, mothers should stay hydrated as much as they can and also work towards managing stress.

  • Take a Balanced diet

In order to live a healthy life, one more thing that is important is taking a balanced diet. A balanced meal has a lot of vegetables and fruits in it. A balanced diet is necessary to provide the body the much-needed dose of vitamins and minerals. Aside from that, junk food and sugar should be avoided as much as possible. These have empty calories and are devoid of any nutrients.

  • Meditate

Working mothers have to deal with a lot. From taking care of their families, helping their kids with their school work to leading a stressful life at work leaves no time to take care of one’s mental health. Because of leading such a stressful life means that a lot of mothers are dealing with mental health issues and anxiety. In order to help you with anxiety, meditation can help a lot. 

  • Make To-Do lists

One thing that comes in handy in order to manage stress is making to-do lists. A to-do list helps you to remember things and, as a result, helps you avoid unnecessary stressing over things.

  • Be More Active

Having a sedentary lifestyle is not only bad for your overall health, but it is also notorious for causing backaches. Aside from maintaining a good posture moving around as much as you can help avoid back and neck pain.

  • Take Supplements

A lot of women tend to ignore their health as a result of having to juggle home and work. Poor eating habits can cause deficiencies of certain minerals and vitamins in the body. Eating a nutritious and well-balanced diet is very important, and if you are not able to dedicate enough time to meal prepping, you can talk to your doctor about taking supplements. 

  • Get Yourself Checked

New mothers that have resumed their office work often have to struggle with a condition known as Mastitis. Mastitis causes the breast tissues to get inflamed, and sometimes they also get infected. It causes pain, swelling, and redness. This happens as while working, it is not possible to regularly take time out to pump breast milk. A delay in that results in milk getting accumulated in the breasts, which causes a lot of discomfort and pain. If you see signs of Mastitis is best to consult with your doctor as soon as possible.

Final Thoughts

A lot of deaths related to pregnant women, along with pregnancy-related complications, mostly happen in the absence of proper care. Therefore it is imperative to take care of your health, eat a healthy and well-balanced diet, sleep adequately, get at least half an hour’s worth of exercise daily, stay hydrated, and go for regular checkups. These steps are crucial to maintaining good health of mothers and also preventing the causes of maternal mortality.