vsacharmd - Coastal Perinatal Center

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7 Secrets For Pregnancy!

May 22, 2014/in Pregnancy Channel/by coastal

These are 7 great tips for pregnancy written by Dr. V Sachar.Dr. Sachar is a high risk pregnancy specialist, who has created the world’s first cosmetic line devoted toward safe, non-toxic products for pregnancy. Toxin exposure during pregnancy may be associated with the development of adult diseases later in life.These diseases may have origins early in life from toxin exposure even in utero.

1. Continue to exercise!

Continuing to exercise during pregnancy, better prepares you for your delivery, and regular exercise helps keep your weight gain in check. 30 minutes of exercise on most, if not every day of the week is recommended. Keeping your intensity to a level such that you can easily talk while exercising, will not cause any risk to the baby. Note, during pregnancy, low impact exercise, that does not expose you to injury is only recommended (no rollerblading!); always discuss your exercise regimen with your obstetrician.For more information refer here at Acog.

Safe exercise is recommended, skateboarding is NOT!

2. Don’t eat for the baby!

For the longest time, it was believed that you have to gain 35-40lbs for every pregnancy, regardless of your pre-pregnancy weight. What happened though, is that women who were already obese to start with, were becoming morbidly obese because they thought they had to. The World Health Organization and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have recognized this and recently recommended tailoring women’s pregnancy associated weight gain to their pre pregnancy weight.

Make Healthy Choices During Your Pregnancy

For more information refer here at Acog. Always discuss recommended weight gain with your obstetrician.

3. Limit Your Exposure to Toxins!

Air-pollution, second hand smoke, radiation, and even your makeup are sources of fetal toxins. Your makeup may contain parabens, lead, bismuth chloride, phthalates, and other chemicals which may be toxic to your baby, and/or your skin. Parabens are associated with endocrine disruption and future impaired fertility in the baby, and breast cancer in the mother. The surge of hormones and changes in your immune system can make your skin very sensitive to chemicals commonly found in makeup. Makeup you always used, may now cause acne, rashes, and other inflammatory eruptions. Try to use safe cosmetics that are non-toxic during pregnancy. Refer to www.VSACHARMD.com for more information and to purchase the world’s only non-toxic safe makeup created exclusively for pregnant women!

4. Caffeine Can Be Your Friend!

Many women suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome in the second trimester of pregnancy. This causes numbness and tinging in the hands, and can be very uncomfortable. Generalized pregnancy induced edema occurs around the nerves near your writs and causes compression, and numbness. Caffeine is a natural diuretic and can often control this problem. 1-2 cups a day can benefit those suffering from carpal tunnel, as well as alleviate many headaches and migraines in pregnancy! We recommend discussing this with your obstetrician before using caffeine to treat these 2 conditions.

5. Take Your Prenatal Vitamin at Night!

I have had thousands of women complain of nausea in the morning after taking their prenatal vitamin. They did not have morning sickness type of nausea. Personally, I have tried a prenatal pill too, and had severe nausea 1 hour later! To avoid this, take your prenatal vitamin with your dinner. By the time it starts to get dissolved, you will be asleep, and won’t experience all of the side effects.

6. Heartburn in Pregnancy!

Almost everybody experiences heartburn during their pregnancy. The cause is relaxation of the valve between the esophagus and the stomach AND slowed gastric emptying. These are secondary to the hormones of pregnancy, specifically Progesterone. Avoiding some of the triggers may be the easiest way to treat this condition. Caffeine, tea, tomato sauce (pizza, spaghetti), orange juice, big meals…these may all trigger the symptoms of heartburn. This occurs because the acid from the stomach rises into the lower part of the food pipe, and gives a very uncomfortable burning sensation. If avoiding these foods doesn’t help, try over the counter medications such as Tums. This is a simple fix, but doesn’t always work. If you continue to have persistent heartburn, discuss it with your obstetrician, and they can prescribe effective medical treatment. Note, heartburn, also known as gastric reflux is a major cause of nocturnal asthma. For patients with asthma, with worsening symptoms, treatment of your acid reflux may control your symptoms!

7. Varicose Veins!

Pregnancy is a major risk factor for varicose veins. They can range in severity from a cosmetic irritation, to severe pain. They occur as the pregnancy progresses because the pregnant uterus prevents blood from returning from your legs to your pelvis. It is similar to stepping on a hose; the water backs up, and the hose dilates. The hormones of pregnancy also contribute to varicose veins. Unfortunately, these veins aren’t limited to just your legs, and can occur in the vulva, and be very large and disfiguring. Hemorrhoids are another version of varicose veins! Fortunately there are a few solutions. Elevating your legs whenever possible will help eliminate the force of gravity. The most effective however is medical grade support hose. If you are at risk for varicose veins, be proactive; get support TED hose earlier, go prevent their formation, vs after they have formed. 4For those with painful varicose veins in the vulva, there are support hose for this as well. Discuss this with your obstetrician, and they can give you a prescription. They may be a little expensive, but using these will prevent further varicose veins from developing and alleviate some of the discomfort. For hemorrhoids, a stool softener, high fiber, and lots of water will also help.

For more helpful pregnancy hints, instructional pregnancy videos, upcoming podcasts and to get more information about the world’s first non-toxic makeup exclusively for pregnant women, please go to www.VSACHARMD.com.

Note: Before making any medical decisions in your pregnancy, discuss them with your obstetrician. The views in this blog are for information and entertainment only, not to be taken as medical advice.

Asthma in Pregnancy

May 16, 2014/in Pregnancy Channel/by coastal

What is Asthma?

Asthma is a respiratory condition characterized by an airway that is hyper-reactive to triggers, and these triggers cause inflammation. The triggers can be varied, such as seasonal allergies, cockroaches, pet hair, weather changes, perfume, tobacco smoke, acid reflux, carpet fumes, food allergies…As we grow older, we may acquire new sensitivity to things. The symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, difficulty in breathing, daytime and nocturnal cough. The good news is that this condition is generally reversible with medication. The management of asthma revolves around eliminating environmental triggers, education and compliance with therapy.

Asthma in Pregnancy

Generally in pregnancy, 1/3 of patients with asthma get better, 1/3 have the same symptoms, and 1/3 get worse; if you have asthma, there is about a 70% chance your condition will improve or stay the same.

The management of asthma follows the same guidelines as if you weren’t pregnant; most asthma medications are safe for pregnancy, and should not be stopped when you find out you are pregnant! Talk to your obstetrician before you decide to stop any asthma medication.

If asthma is adequately treated, your outcome in pregnancy is good.

Asthma is divided into 3 basic categories, mild, moderate and severe. These are determined by your symptoms and your spirometer. If you have moderate to severe asthma you need a tool to determine how your asthma is. Your spirometer is a key tool that can tell how you are responding to treatment. You should know what your average peak flow rate is. To determine your peak flow take a deep breath and blow as hard as you can into your flow meter. The normal values for women run between 350-550. When you have an asthma attack, using your peak flow meter can give you a measure of how severe your asthma is. For instance, if your normal peak flow is 500, and during an attack, your peak flow is 350, then your Peak flow is (350/500 x 100=70%) 70% of normal. This would put you in the Moderate Asthma category.

Treatment

Asthma treatment during pregnancy is dependent upon your severity and you category. The treatment protocol is called step-wise therapy. Start with the minimum treatment necessary to control symptoms and add additional treatment in a step wise fashion to control more severe disease.

Mild asthma: occasional asthma (up to twice/week) with wheezing controlled with occasional use of an inhaler such as Albuterol or Ventolin. These medications are safe for use in pregnancy.

Moderate asthma: Daily frequent attacks, more than twice weekly nocturnal asthma attacks. PEF between 60-80% of normal. If you are in this category, you may need an inhaled steroid inhaler in addition to your albuterol/ventolin inhaler.

Severe asthma: Continuous daytime symptoms or PEF of 60% or less. This category is most concerning. In this category, you may need long acting albuterol, an inhaled steroid, and additional medications such as oral steroids, a nebulizer and/or other anti-inflammatory medications. People with asthma are at risk for a severe asthma attack called status asthmaticus which can be life threatening. If you have asthma that is not responsive to treatment and/or is getting worse, you need emergency treatment.

Uncontrolled asthma is associated with low birthweight, preterm delivery, low birth weight, perinatal mortality, preeclampsia and congenital anomalies. Well controlled asthma is associated with good outcomes.

The primary objective of asthma treatment is to decrease the number of asthmatic outbreaks. If you need to use your bronchodilator more than twice per week, you may benefit from inhaled corticosteroids. Talk to your doctor about your symptoms, and have your treatment individualized to meet your specific asthma needs in pregnancy.

In recent years, GERD, or acid reflux is known to be an important asthma trigger for nocturnal asthma. The addition of a proton pump inhibitor such as Nexium can alleviate this. Unfortunately TUMS, or Pepcid sometimes aren’t strong enough to completely eliminate the acid production, and stop the reactive asthma. This can be a very important treatment in the overall management of asthma that is resistant to traditional treatment.

For severe outbreaks oral steroids can be used for short durations with a nebulizer. Note, if these are used in the first trimester there is an increased risk of cleft lip and palate.

Well controlled asthma does not additional fetal testing for fetal surveillance. Labor and delivery is not associated with any worsening of asthma symptoms, however labor inducing medications such as prostaglandin F2alpha should be avoided as it is associated with bronchospasm, and may trigger a severe asthma attack.

The treatment of asthma in pregnancy involves both you and your doctor; together with good compliance, excellent outcomes in pregnancy can be achieved.

This post was brought to you by www.VSacharMD.com

We have created the world’s first and only safe, non-toxic makeup for pregnancy. Toxin exposure during pregnancy is now associated with adult onset diseases such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, obesity, Alzheimer’s Disease, polycystic ovarian disease, diabetes and many others. These toxins build up over time, through bioaccumulation. At VSacharMD.com we recognized that regular makeup may have toxins associated with endocrine disruption, skin irritation, and even cause acne. We wanted to give women a safe alternative for their cosmetic needs.

Why is Non-toxic, Safe Makeup in Pregnancy Important?

May 15, 2014/in Pregnancy Channel/by coastal

Congratulations!! You are pregnant! This is one of the most exciting and special times in a woman’s life. Now it’s time to plan for a safe pregnancy.

Everybody is concerned about toxins. Pesticides, cigarette smoke, pollution, bisphenol A (BPA), organic, gluten-free…these phrases are thrown at us countless times per day in magazine ads, news reports and commercials.

What about in pregnancy? What should you do? Does it matter?

In 2004, and 2009, two different studies from the Environmental Working Group examined newborn’s blood, and found over 200+ toxins in newborn’s blood! Some of these toxins were pesticides, Bisphenol A, mercury, some are known to cause cancer, and some are known to be neurotoxic. The babies were exposed in utero to these chemicals directly from the mother’s exposure.

Some of these toxins can have an immediate affect, such as low birth weight. But some cause problems later in the child’s life. There is a phenomenon called bioaccumulation,where small amounts of toxin are absorbed, but as the baby grows, these small amounts build up and become toxic to the child.

These toxins can come from multiple sources; food, air, and even makeup.

A healthy environment is important during pregnancy. In a recent study released in February 2013, it was found that pregnant women who were living in cities with higher pollution were more likely to give birth to underweight babies. Clearly, exposure to a high toxin burden, can adversely affect your babies growth.

What about toxin exposure through skin? Is your makeup safe for your pregnancy?

In March 2013 the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act was introduced in the US Congress. It aims to ensure that all personal care products are safe by establishing a system to assess the safety of makeup and cosmetic ingredients and to phase out the most harmful substances that are suspected of causing cancer, reproductive harm or other adverse health effects. Toxin exposure in makeup has got the attention of the US Government!

Did you know that there is lead in many brands of makeup in the USA today!The lead content comes from the use of dyes to give color. The FDA tested commonly used lipsticks and reported their findings in this detailed report:
http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/productandingredientsafety/productinformation/ucm137224.htm

This report will surprise you!! There is no safe level of lead. Lead should not be in any of our products. Even though the individual amounts in each lipstick maybe small, a phenomenon of bioaccumulation occurs. This is when repeated levels of low amounts,build up over time, and can become toxic levels. In pregnancy, lead can be transferred to the fetus as early as the first trimester, and is associated with neurodevelopment delay.

We carefully choose every ingredient to ensure that there is no lead in any of our products.

How can a fetus get exposed to toxins in makeup? This is described as transdermal absorption or across the skin absorption.

Figure 1: Chemical Absorption by Fetus

After the chemicals pass through the skin, they get absorbed into the bloodstream. The mothers blood directly goes to the baby along with nourishment, oxygen etc. The mother’s blood goes to the placenta which is the interface between the mom and the baby. Nourishment, oxygen and other substances get transferred to the placenta, and then from the placenta to the baby via the umbilical cord.

Figure 2: Fetal blood circulation

Chemicals found in cosmetics have been found to affect both the mother and the baby in a number of ways. Most commonly, they interfere with hormonal balance amounting to what is commonly known as endocrine disruption. This can occur in the mother, and the baby. For instance, in pregnancy, exposure to parabens, and phthalates may be associated with reproductive anomalies in the baby later in life. For the mother, prolonged exposure to certain chemicals such as parabens may be associated with breast cancer. The European Union classifies pthalates as a suspected endocrine disruptor on the basis of evidence that it interferes with hormone function, and as toxic to reproduction on the basis that it may cause harm to the unborn child and impair fertility. As well, Health Canada notes evidence suggesting that exposure to phthalates may cause health effects such as liver and kidney failure in young children when products containing phthalates are sucked or chewed for extended periods. Parabens can mimic estrogen, the primary female sex hormone. They have been detected in human breast cancer tissues, suggesting a possible association between parabens in cosmetics and cancer. Parabens may also interfere with male reproductive functions.

You probably have parabens and a number of other toxins in your makeup, and aren’t even aware! Check the labels of your cosmetic products.

Pregnancy is the most important time to protect yourself agains toxin exposure. Limit yourself from pesticides by washing all produce, don’t expose yourself to pollution and cigarette smoke, and try to choose safe makeup.

Now there is a safe makeup alternative for pregnant women. To give women a choice in their makeup, I have created the world’s only safe, non-toxic makeup exclusively for pregnancy. I have removed potential toxins, lead,allergens, and irritants from our ingredients. This is the world’s safest makeup for the mother AND the baby. We feel that our makeup is the best natural, and toxin free makeup that is safe in pregnancy. Go to www.VSACHARMD.com to get more information.

Perfect Gift for a Baby Shower

May 14, 2014/in Pregnancy Channel/by coastal

A baby shower is a time of joy and celebration for every expectant mother. The original intent for a baby shower was for women to share wisdom and lessons on the art of becoming a mother. It has now become a festive occasion celebrating the pending arrival of the new baby. Mothers and friends get together to give gifts to the expectant mother, tell stories and have fun. Traditional gifts include diapers, maternity clothes, blankets, baby bottles, clothes, and toys.

What About Cosmetics??

Traditionally this is not a common gift, but now there is a new product on the market that every pregnant woman will need: safe, non-toxic makeup for use during pregnancy. Dr. Vik Sachar is a double board certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and High Risk Pregnancy Specialist who has created the world’s first makeup exclusively for pregnancy. Traditional makeup has many chemicals which are known to be toxic. Many of these chemicals are called Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. The World Health Organization and the United States Congress are addressing toxins in many products including cosmetics. They are concerned about the short term and long term effects on people. Many diseases such as obesity, breast and prostate cancer, infertility and others may be associated with toxin exposure. The concern is that these exposures start early, maybe even during pregnancy, and over time the levels accumulate and may cause disease; this phenomenon is known as bio accumulation.

One of the most susceptible populations to these toxins are women who are pregnant.

“Whatever a woman is exposed to during pregnancy, it gets absorbed, and travels to the baby through the bloodstream and can affect the baby later in life” says Dr. Sachar. “Today it is known that babies are born with over 200+ toxins in their blood. I created this line to give pregnant women a choice for safe, non-toxic makeup during pregnancy.”

You can find more information about Dr. Sachar’s line V.Sachar MD at his website, www.VSACHARMD.com, www.facebook.com/VSACHARMD, and follow him @VSACHARMD.

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