chatwithketch

Q: Hello Dr. I have been married for four months. But each time I complain of being sick, my hubby as well as my family members always thought I was pregnant. And each time the result comes out negative, I always sensed a change in their tone. Now my question is, is it normal for them to feel that way about me? Or is it that I ought to have been pregnant by now? I’m not anxious about being pregnant but their anxiety is making me feel somehow. Please, I need your advice.

A: My darling, please do not feel ‘somehow’. It is absolutely outrageous how the African society puts pressure on newly-weds to start having children once they are married. Four months!!! Really? This is the time for you and your hubby to bond and understand yourselves. Nobody should be putting undue pressure on you. I actually expect hubby to ensure that you are not subjected to unwarranted stress over this matter.

Is it normal for them to feel that way? It’s certainly common in Africa…that does not make it okay neither should it be considered normal. While on this subject, please remember when you become a mum and your son or daughter gets married not to also put this pressure on them. I keep asking myself how come this cycle of mothers/relatives who pressure on couples to have babies never seem to completely phase out. We need to consciously make an effort to stop this!

Medicine does not even recognize that there is a problem with conception until after one full year of trying to get pregnant! And people are already counting at four months! When people are not on your case for not having a baby, then they are on your case for not having the right sex of babies…When does this all stop?
So, what to do? Hold your peace and be at rest! Eat well, take care of yourself and try not to let it all get to you. See if you can explain to hubby how this ‘unwanted’ attention puts you under pressure. Hopefully, he gets it and protects you. Gentlemen on this forum, please remember that part of your job description is to protect the one whom you swore to love…your wife 😀

I hope that very soon, we won’t have to hear of these sort of situations in our clime. For this to happen, we all need to join hands in ensuring that we do not contribute to the stress these newly-weds and other people who do not have children (for whatever reason whether by choice or circumstance) have to go through.

For related posts, please click on these:

Daily Health Tips: I Don’t Want To Lose My Home Because I Only Have Daughters.

Daily Health Tips: Am I Ovulating?

Have a goodnight, y’all 😀

Are you pregnant and eating for two? Well, you need to read this!

I’m sure everyone has heard the ‘eating for two’ fable 😀 It is indeed, an old wives’ tale because if you were eating for two, the assumption would probably be that you should double your calorie requirement for a day….so for a woman that probably means you can get away with taking in as much as 4000 calories per day!!! That’s a recipe for disaster.

Pregnancy is associated with increased cravings and of course growth of the baby, but you do not need significantly more calories to cope with this state. The recommended weight gain for pregnancy is 8 – 16 kg in all (with an average of 12kg).
Let me break it down for you.

During your first trimester, you actually do not need more calories than when you were not pregnant. You can continue with the activities you used to do before including exercise. However, exercise should be toned down from vigorous to moderate. Moderate exercise is any physical activity that you perform that but you’re still able to carry on a conversation without running out of breath…that’s as simple an explanation as it goes 😀 It includes walking, swimming, dancing, pregnancy exercises (these are taught in some antenatal classes), stretching and relaxation exercises. Remember that you must never start on any exercise regimen without discussing with your doctor who knows your specific medical history.

Please remember that you should never exercise to the point of exhaustion, not to over-heat yourself and not to carry on any jumping etc…partly because you are prone to injuries of the ligaments (like sprains)and because, it’s just not safe at the time. I always used to know I was pregnant whenever I sprained my ankle…it happened in 2 out of 3 pregnancies! It may not be an exact science, but it worked for me :D. Just kidding…don’t try this at home 😉

During your second trimester, your calorie needs start to increase. This is when you need some more calories. How much more calories do you need to ensure your baby is well nourished but not overly so…and that keeps your weight in check? Get details from the book, Just For The Health Of It. You can get a copy via the shop now link on our facebook page. Or you can get it through:

1) Jumia.com. Just click on this link http://www.jumia.com.ng/jumia-books-just-for-the-health-of-it-with-dr-ketch-179486.html and get a copy. You have the option of paying when the book is delivered to you or paying online. This service is available all over Nigeria.

2) Another option for those in Lagos is Laterna Bookshop on 13, Oko-Awo Close, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Street,. Victoria Island.

3) If you’re outside the country, please visit Amazon through this link http://www.amazon.com/Just-Health-Ketch-Pregnancy-Parenting/dp/9789398026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426246647&sr=1-1&keywords=just+for+the+health+of+it+with+dr+ketch+olalere+nkechi

Here’s to a healthier you!

Whenever the weekend comes along, people get up to speed with cooking and laundry. Have you ever wondered whether you’re doing your laundry right? Think your family is protected because you wash everyday…or every weekend? Let’s do a reality check.

Here are our top tips to prevent the spread of germs through laundry.

• Wash dirty clothes as soon as possible. The longer the germs are allowed to breed on the clothes, the more difficult it will be to get rid of all of them in one wash. This is even worse for damp clothes like towels for obvious reasons and underclothes too. Panties should be washed after wearing once (which is usually from morning to evening)…and this rule also applies to guys 😀

• Sort the laundry before washing. Apart from ensuring that the clothes are sorted according to colour and thus, do not run the risk of staining other clothes, this also ensures that delicate clothing are separated. Panties, underpants, children’s clothes and towels should generally be washed differently: do not wash adult clothes with children’s clothes and do not wash undies with regular clothes.

• As much as possible use warm water (about 40 degrees centigrade) to wash your clothes. This provides an impossible temperature for the germs to thrive.

• Lots of people of people would wash their hands after handling very dirty laundry for the simple reason that their hands feel dirty afterwards. But would it readily cross your mind to wash your hands after handling your load of just washed laundry…supposedly squeaky clean? No. But there are still germs swimming all around the surface, which ordinarily should be ‘killed’ as the clothes dry…so you should get your hands washed.

• Ensure that your clothes dry thoroughly before you wear them. Apart from the dead rat smell of those damp clothes people wear 😀 germs are likely to still be on them. In fact, this is one of those places where modern technology appears to win the competition with old tested and trusted. Using a tumble dryer gets the clothes dry faster and reduces the time available for germs to multiply. Air drying on the other hand promotes the growth of germs as the clothes remain damp for a longer time before drying.

Have a great weekend, y’all 😀

Q: Please ma’am, I delivered my first baby in 2012 through Caesarian Section, due to placenta previa, type 2. After 10 months, I conceived. I had another Caesarian Section because the baby is too big….and after 1 year, I am pregnant again and I’ve worked on how to achieve a small baby. Please, I want to know…are there any chances of me delivering through the vagina?

A: Hello dear, thanks for writing in. I’m a bit curious about how you are working on achieving the small size for your baby! I hope you’re not one of those funny ‘lemon and ginger’ or ‘tea only’ fad ‘diets’. They are absolutely useless! Eat well…nutritious, balanced diet with more fruits and vegetables. Remember that causes of big baby include diabetes, excessive weight even before pregnancy etc

For more on this subject, please click on this link: https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/02/17/daily-health-tips-help-im-pregnant-and-my-doctor-says-my-baby-is-too-big/

Can you deliver vaginally? Yes, you can. A few years back, having had one C-section meant you could still try for a VBAC (pronounced Vee-Back and means Vaginal Birth After a Caesarian) but once you’d had two C-sections, you could only have subsequent children with the same procedure. That thinking has changed now and having had 2 C-sections may not be an automatic sentence to the knife, anymore 😀 However, there are a few factors that influence the decision for or against a VBAC. An important factor is that people who have had a transverse cut C-section (Lower Segment C-Section in which the cut on the abdomen is made from in the lower abdomen running from left to right) are more likely to be successful candidates for VBAC than those with vertical cuts (classical C-section in which there is a longitudinal cut on the abdomen). So, be guided by your doctor and remember that just because your doctor has said it is okay to try for a vaginal birth after a Caesarian Section does not necessarily mean that it will be successful. The woman may very well still end up having a Caesarian Section if a vaginal delivery is tried and it fails.

Generally, there’s really no specific number of C-sections that a woman is meant to have (especially in centers with significant technological advancement), though about 3 used to be the mark. There are women who have had than 3 and are alive to tell the story. Having said that, the more the number of sections, the more the risks and complications the woman is exposed to.

Common risks and complications include:
• Weakening of the wall of the uterus wall with risk of uterine rupture!

• Healing after a C-section comes with development of scar tissue which may subsequently cause adhesions as they cause abdominal organs to stick to each other. This may lead to obstruction of the bowel or even block the fallopian tubes, leading to infertility. These adhesions may develop between the uterus and the bladder making it easier to injure the bladder with subsequent C-sections.

• Placental problems may occur in people who have had C-sections as the placenta may be implanted too deeply into the womb or there may be placenta previa. In these instances, removing the placenta presents a challenge and may result in profuse bleeding which requires blood transfusion.

For more on placenta previa, please click on these:

Daily Health Tips: Can Placenta Previa Recur In My Pregnancy?

Daily Health Tips: Placenta Previa

Have a good night, y’all 😀

Q: Hello Doctor. During the time of breastfeeding (0 – 6 months), is it okay to feed the baby with other milk? And according to medical recommendation, when is it the right time to start mixing other kinds of milk like Lactogen with breast milk?

A: Thanks for writing in. Is it okay to feed your baby with other milk during the first six months? No! During the first six months, your baby should be getting pure, unadulterated breast milk. After this period, you can now include infant formula. Remember that your baby should not get regular cow milk until he/she turns 1 year old.

For more tips on breastfeeding and weaning, please click on the following links:

Daily Health Tips: Should I Exclusively Breastfeed My Baby Beyond 6 Months?

Daily Health Tips: Storage Of Breast Milk Re-Visited

Have a great night, people 😀

Okay, the most popular question I’ve received over time is how to lose the pregnancy belly whether after vaginal birth or Caesarian Section. Honestly, I’ve got no easy answers. It’s diet and exercise….oh and breastfeeding. But breastfeeding is not very helpful if one is not exercising and watching their portions. Again, the dictum of feeding for two here doesn’t count.

Exercise should focus, initially on pelvic floor exercises especially if you’re leaking urine when you cough or laugh. To locate your pelvic floor muscles, try holding your urine when you feel pressed. If you are successful, then you have located the muscles you need. Then empty your bladder and lie on the floor. Contract those same muscles and hold the contraction for about 5 seconds and then relax it for about 5 seconds. Gradually build this up to holding the contraction for 10 seconds. Repeat this about 3 times a day. Once you no longer leak, you’re ready for your exercises.

Want to know the diet to focus on, what exercises to engage in, when to start, the role of breastfeeding in your weight loss program after having a baby etc? Get details from the book, Just For The Health Of It. You can get a copy via the shop now link on our facebook page. Or you can get it through:

1) Jumia.com. Just click on this link http://www.jumia.com.ng/jumia-books-just-for-the-health-of-it-with-dr-ketch-179486.html and get a copy. You have the option of paying when the book is delivered to you or paying online. This service is available all over Nigeria.

2) Another option for those in Lagos is Laterna Bookshop on 13, Oko-Awo Close, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Street,. Victoria Island.

3) If you’re outside the country, please visit Amazon through this linkhttp://www.amazon.com/Just-Health-Ketch-Pregnancy-Parenting/dp/9789398026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426246647&sr=1-1&keywords=just+for+the+health+of+it+with+dr+ketch+olalere+nkechi

Here’s what someone who has read the book had to say: ‘Hey Doc! I finally got your book!!!! Great read. I think it would be sold in every hospital, women’s ward& it makes for great wedding gift& baby shower gift.’

Have a great week ahead y’all 😀