#pregnancy headaches

[healthcareprovider788]

Pregnancy Headaches

Pregnancy, a beautiful journey, often comes with its share of discomforts, including headaches. While these can be bothersome, there are several effective ways to manage them naturally.

Common Causes of Pregnancy Headaches:

Hormonal Fluctuations: Shifting hormone levels can trigger headaches, especially during the first trimester.

Dehydration: Ensuring adequate hydration is crucial, as dehydration can exacerbate headaches.

Stress and Fatigue: The demands of pregnancy can lead to stress and fatigue, contributing to headaches.

Poor Posture: Maintaining good posture can alleviate tension headaches.

click here to know more about Tips for Managing Pregnancy Headaches

Natural Remedies for Relief:

Hydration: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated.

Rest: Adequate rest and sleep can help alleviate stress-related headaches.

Healthy Diet: A balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can support overall well-being.

Gentle Exercise: Regular, low-impact exercises like yoga or swimming can help reduce stress.

Relaxation Techniques: Practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or mindfulness.

Over-the-Counter Pain Relievers: Consult your doctor before using any over-the-counter medications, as some may not be safe during pregnancy.

When to Seek Medical Advice:

Severe or Persistent Headaches: If you experience severe, persistent, or unusual headaches, consult your healthcare provider.

Headaches Accompanied by Other Symptoms: If headaches are accompanied by vision changes, dizziness, or other concerning symptoms, seek immediate medical attention.

Remember, while pregnancy headaches can be frustrating, there are safe and effective ways to manage them. By adopting these strategies and consulting with your healthcare provider, you can experience a more comfortable pregnancy.

For more personalized advice and support, connect with Light Pink Care today.

[zhaoneurology]

How To Deal With Pregnancy Headaches?

Pregnancy headaches are a common complaint, especially during the first and third trimesters. They can be caused by hormonal changes, increased blood volume, dehydration, stress, or changes in sleep patterns. Although they are usually not a sign of a serious issue, they can be uncomfortable and disruptive. Here are some strategies for managing pregnancy headaches safely and effectively.

1. Stay Hydrated

Dehydration is a frequent trigger for headaches. During pregnancy, your body requires more fluids due to increased blood volume. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, aiming for at least 8-10 glasses. Avoid caffeinated beverages, as they can dehydrate you and might contribute to headaches.

2. Manage Stress

Stress is another common trigger for headaches. Pregnancy can bring about emotional changes, and increased anxiety may lead to tension headaches. Relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or prenatal yoga can help reduce stress levels. Taking short breaks and finding time for relaxation are also beneficial.

3. Maintain a Healthy Diet

Low blood sugar levels can trigger headaches. Eating balanced meals regularly helps maintain stable blood sugar. Include foods rich in fiber, lean proteins, and healthy fats in your diet. Avoid skipping meals and try eating small snacks throughout the day to keep your energy levels steady.

4. Rest and Sleep

Fatigue can exacerbate headaches during pregnancy. Hormonal fluctuations can make it difficult to sleep, but adequate rest is crucial for reducing headache frequency and intensity. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night and try to maintain a consistent sleep schedule. If you wake up with a headache, a short nap during the day may help alleviate it.

5. Cold or Warm Compress

Applying a cold or warm compress to the head or neck may help relieve headache symptoms. A cold compress can reduce inflammation and numb the pain, while a warm compress can help relax tight muscles that might be contributing to tension headaches.

6. Prenatal Massage or Acupressure

Gentle massage, particularly on the neck, shoulders, and head, can relieve tension and improve circulation, which may reduce headache pain. Some women find acupressure techniques helpful for headache relief. Always ensure that any treatments you choose are safe during pregnancy.

7. Over-the-Counter Pain Relief

If headaches are persistent and bothersome, some over-the-counter pain relievers, like acetaminophen (Tylenol), may be considered safe during pregnancy. However, it's important to consult with your healthcare provider before taking any medication to ensure it's appropriate for your stage of pregnancy.

8. Consult Your Doctor

If headaches are severe, frequent, or unusual, or if they are accompanied by other symptoms such as visual disturbances or high blood pressure, it’s important to consult your doctor. These could be signs of a more serious condition, such as preeclampsia. In summary, pregnancy headaches can often be managed through lifestyle changes, hydration, and stress reduction. While most headaches are harmless, it’s important to seek professional medical advice if headaches become unmanageable or are accompanied by other concerning symptoms.

[ginontherox]

Vulnerable: Pregnancy Over 40 And Unusual Paranoia

It’s been a long time so let’s catch up! I hope you guys have been doing great in life while we were on hiatus. I have some awesome news to share. Usually I’m pretty private about these moments in my life however, I hope that by sharing my journey I will spread some encouragement and camaraderie. I am currently 31 weeks pregnant and literally two weeks away from fabulously turning 41 years of…

[kattythingz]

Believe it / I'm in love and I mean it / Her name's Penelope and I need her to be mine

And the epic brainrot continues... This time thanks to yet another TOO DAMN ADORABLE animatic that I just had to redraw edling to, with the wonderful collaboration of @sirchenchen!!! She did Ling's design (that I had to crop WAY too much of... Full version under the cut) and I did Ed + the bg. Chen also does other art on her account so y'all better check her out 🔪🔪

Au details nobody asked for under the cut~

Ling has been the youngest king of Xing for some years now, and his council is nagging him to find a bride now that he's turned a very mature sixteen. There are many things Ling can and has fought his council on—but they won't budge on this specific matter. Thus, Ling resigns himself to opening his hand for neighboring nations.

Xerxes is one of the many nations to hear of this opening, so King Hohenheim drags his own children to the event in hopes of cementing an alliance with Xing. Al goes along with his father's will, ever the polite boy, but Ed is far from happy.

Right off the bat, there's a bit of a misunderstanding, as Xerxes arrives in their fanciest whites for the occasion... unknowing that white is Xing's mourning color. Ed is the only one to refuse to dress up like the rest, so he compromises with a fancier cut of his favored red-and-black instead.

This creates a laughable confusion as people assume Xerxes suffered a great loss. Only the First Prince seems unbothered, dressed boldly in colors not of supposed mourning.

Ling, bored out of his mind already, is naturally piqued by this rebellion, and he's compelled to talk to the First Prince—Edward—before the rest of the suitors.

("Wait. Are you saying you're only talking to me right now because you thought I was an insensitive jackass spitting on someone's grave?!")

("That does seem to be the case, yes!")

... Ling doesn't think he made the best first impression.

Edward's brother is much less of a riot, though perfectly pleasant. All the suitors are. They just... don't interest Ling. Not as much as Edward had just in that single conversation. Edward doesn't even participate in the bridal events, skipping every time in favor of hitting the town, chatting up the locals and learning their crafts. Or just finding the largest olive tree in the palace gardens and settling down to study in its shade.

Ling is in love.

Desperate now to right his wrong with Edward, Ling beseeches Athena help him court the boy of his dreams.

It's then that Athena so kindly reveals that Edward is one of the rare few scholars personally blessed by her. Xerxes has always been close to Athena, worshipping her moreso than the other gods, but Edward and Alphonse's minds are especially sharp, she tells Ling with an almost smile gracing her lips.

(He was almost made her champion; she's watched him long enough consider it. Upon further observation, however, he proved a little too soft-hearted.)

She supposes this wouldn't be such an awful union to see through. One of her brightest scholars, wedded to her chosen champion? The results oughta be fascinating, at least.

No amount of godly advice could save Ling from fumbling those first few wooing attempts, of course. But Ling is nothing if not dedicated to a good cause. And Edward might just be the best cause there is.

He's absolutely not subtle as he, too, begins sneaking away from the bridal events to seek out Ed and "run into" him several times a day. The locals have watched their young king grow since he was but a sunspot of a child. And that look right there in his eyes is positively moonstruck.

(Or perhaps... sunstruck is more appropriate to say?)

They wish their king the best of luck. Judging by Edward's impressive scowl at the mere sight of him... he has quite the challenge ahead of himself.

[paula-of-christ]

The guessing game of "why am I feeling nauseous all the time" except every pregnancy test you take is negative :)))))))

[master-jarrus]

The hard part about writing for the movie verse is everything feels wildly out of character

And like I'll admit, it kind of is.

I'm trying but it will take longer

[rxttenfish]

putting these in their own post, old conversation/discussion/lore dumps about merfolk reproduction, with date and also sometimes what prompted it

-

[Overview on what merfolk children are like, Jan 12th 2022]

The first thing to remember is that merfolk are more closely related to amphibians than anything else alive today. 

While they aren’t modern amphibians proper, and belong to an entirely different clade all their own, with themselves and the leviathans being the only extant members remaining, there’s still a lot of similarities among them. Sure, they have more derived features, but that’s just due to them ending up with selective pressures to convergently evolve things like scales and claws. And their specific reproductive strategy is one of the places where this is the most obvious.

You know how amphibians will create many squishy eggs that entirely lack a shell and cannot be taken out of water? Merfolk do the same! However, they also encountered the same issue that other tetrapods also had. Namely, that the eggs could both dry out, but also that they were remarkably delicate. Amniotes solved this issue through the creation of the amniotic sac, hence the name, allowing them to create eggs ( and, later, switch to live birth ).

The clade merfolk belong to took a... different route. As in, they never actually switched to any kind of shelled egg! They looked at their squishy eggs that needed to be laid in water, and instead decided to begin just using themselves as their pool of water.

A given merfolk will release several dozen eggs at the same time, and they’ll still be contained within the body. If these eggs are fertilized, then they’ll begin to develop and go through roughly the equivalent stages of fetal development (or, in this case, the comparison would directly go to things like tadpoles and metamorphosis). Merfolk also have a form of histotrophy, which brings me to exactly what happens during development.

Namely, in that merfolk will begin to cannibalize each other in the womb. This wasn’t universal amongst their clade, some others would simply release the young as effectively-tadpoles and others would already be inclined towards larger numbers of offspring, but among all living members, only one pup will be born at a time. While it certainly does help with things like minimizing immediately-fatal birth defects, largely this is just because of space and resource constraints. Merfolk and leviathans both are K-selected species, and having carnivorous offspring that hatch, begin to kill and eat each other in the womb, and have one remaining at the end is a fairly easy way to do so. 

This is also why twins are so rare — because it requires for two pups to make it that far without killing each other in the womb, and that thinning-out happens rather early on in gestation. There can be problems, if one kills the other far later on than they were supposed to.

Merfolk similarly have long pregnancies for this reason, as well as just how their pups are born. Namely, they also needed their pups to be able to both swim and (somewhat) defend themselves from the moment of birth, plus they are simply large animals, so they need that extra time. 14 months is the universal average amongst merfolk.

The parents will also have a hormonal shift during that time. Merfolk, evolutionarily speaking, had an issue with other merfolk killing and sometimes cannibalizing pups, and for a lot of other marine predators, mer pups make for very easy meals. So, in order to prevent this, soon-to-be mer parents will have a dip in their social needs and will separate off to themselves, to have the pup in a safe, isolated location. Similarly, they will become more irritable and defensive, protective of their new pup and very, very stubborn in not letting anyone else near them. I’ve been waffling back and forth on how intense to exactly make it, whether it be just a more emotional time or if it’s outright more of a fugue state, but regardless, they will refuse to let anyone else close to the location or to the pup, and can be a lot more eager to try and physically deter anything that is not letting them have their space. As in, there are warning signs within the Merkingdom that mean that a couple with a new pup is there, and you should turn back now unless you possibly want to get bit.

You can think about merfolk as new parents in the same way you might consider a mother crocodile. Do not approach, they are territorial and aggressive and immensely protective, and you are not uniquely safe from it.

It fades back to normal after a few weeks or so, when the pup is considered “ready” to be safely brought into the community of other merfolk. In the past, some merfolk have counted the day where it fades enough to come back as the new pup’s birthday, but in the modern era, they will often count the actual day of birth (since new parents can still easily mark that down so long as they have a clock with them and no one else is sending them into a frenzy). The parents will still stick with the pup and care for them basically until their adulthood (around the same time as it is for humans), but they will also begin communally raising the pup with everyone else. Most communities will consider any children within them to be basically everyone’s children, with some special weight given to their blood family, but largely with expectations on everyone to play some part. This is why there’s actually very little pressure for any mer that is not a royal to become a parent, but LOTS of pressure for them to be good around kids. 

It’s also a good explanation for why merfolk compulsively adopt children that they might find, even if they aren’t actually other merfolk. If the Merkingdom didn’t refuse to let anyone past their borders, then merfolk would rather quickly form a reputation for massive mixed-species families, their urge to adopt is that strong.

But all of this comes back to merfolk pups in of themselves:

Pups are born already very developed and independent. They are capable of swimming with decently powerful tails, they have very strong vocal cords for chirping and shrieking, ability to chase after small fish ( and their parents), claws, and a full set of teeth. While adult merfolk have their own dentition, as pups, all merfolk are born with a set of simple, needle-like teeth. They do not have the jaw power of adults yet, but they are perfectly adapted to eat and process soft-bodied prey and meat that has been stripped of bone, and will require being fed like this from the moment they are born. They also have a fairly strong grip — as merfolk will carry their pups a bit like sloths do. Chest-to-chest, both facing forward, with the pup’s hands beneath the adult’s arms, easily within reach to hold onto should something happen. For abyssals, they are born without bioluminescence and their fins cannot yet maintain the consistent shape of the adults’.

And, yes, if they are placed upon land at this early stage, mer pups can even begin walking from the moment of birth.

Taking care of them is, likewise, about as straining as you could imagine a baby that could run around on its own and open cabinets would be. They’re kinda feral.

-

[On merfolk war gods, April 6th 2024]

i mentioned the other day about how a lot of merfolk gods of war and violence are connected to childcare, and i've been meaning to explain it a little more-

merfolk do give live birth, and as amphibians their tadpoles go through a full metamorphosis in the womb, coming out as basically tiny versions of the adults. this is something that their specific lineage of temnospondyls specialized in, since they were actually rather terrestrial and were made to be able to travel long distances over land between wet areas and to adapt to a variety of conditions easier. oviviviparity meant that they weren't reliant on vernal pools at all, with some lineages then depositing the live tadpoles in a water source, some of them going through full metamorphosis before birth, some having more or less tadpoles in general with a variety of r- and k- selection depending on their individual adaptations.

merfolk in particular, then, are descended from a group that began to specialize not only in metamorphosis in the womb, but also in having fewer offspring that they invested greater resources into, making sure that they were as likely to survive the strain as possible. they also already fed their live offspring within the womb by both histotrophy and oophagy, putting extra resources into making sure they were healthy and strong when they were born. which is why when the lineage began to select for reduced offspring, the solution was mostly… just to keep them in longer, and to provide an additional source of nutrition in the form of intrauterine cannibalism. this guaranteed not only was only one offspring born at a time, but also that they were the healthiest among all the tadpoles, minimizing immediately-lethal mutations.

you also have the adults, who at this point in their evolutionary history, had predation by other merfolk being a major driving factor. pregnancy with this many resources going into it, even when you are a large, social predator who can afford it, is still an exhausting and risky affair, and the earliest moments of life are easily among the riskiest. merfolk have very good senses of smell and taste, making it easy for outside merfolk to find merfolk who were pupping, and if there's a strain in the social cohesion of the group they're already in, it would also be very easy for even merfolk in those early social groups to turn on one member and to enforce who is allowed to reproduce. merfolk also came from animals that lived along shorelines in loosely associated but dense colonies, and getting away from the others for vulnerable moments was already a factor.

so the answer evolution took with merfolk was to make the pupping merfolk experience a sudden massive drop in their need to socialize and bond with other merfolk, and a heightened sense of aggression towards other merfolk. this would occur around the last few weeks of their pregnancy, and would continue a few weeks after the birth, taking up a period of about a month. this would also involve usually only one other merfolk from the same social group experiencing the same shift, the hormones creating a positive feedback loop between each individual merfolk, who would essentially act as a midwife or carer for the pupping merfolk, and was enough of a guarantee that both were well-fed that it was selected for.

for modern merfolk: pupping is universally seen as the one time violence is "permitted" without question, as they experience it as nearly a fugue state where they are unable to control themselves and cannot stop the aggression they feel towards all other merfolk or other "intruders" (sharks being an example of something common for your usual merfolk that wouldn't be tolerated here). however, since they aren't violent all the time and calm down if they are allowed to be away and apart from other merfolk, the modern solution has usually been to create "pupping rooms", glorified apartments with no windows and intense soundproofing, where they can be alone and feel safe. other buildings can be converted into pupping spaces, or they can simply be places located far enough off from the main township to not set it off, but in all cases, there's a lot of warnings set up around them, with the symbols being very similar across cultures. a sort of "do not enter, do not disturb the peace, this is a nursery".

food and resources are delivered in as non-obstructive a way as possible, and usually some medical training/advice is given to the merfolk well ahead of time, since getting someone else into that space puts everyone at risk. some merfolk, however, out of cultural habit or due to having health issues, will select for "midwives" as their non-pregnant pupping partner to help care for them, a practice that is the default among the royals. its selected for primarily by time spent in close contact with each other, and involves a professional who has been trained in medicine pairing up with the pregnant merfolk for this time, going through the fugue state together, and broadly being able to better confirm the health of everyone involved.

where the war gods come in, is that merfolk often say that this sudden aggression and will to do violence comes from the (one of their) god of violence and warfare being given the domain of children and pregnancy as either a blessing or a punishment. a punishment usually involves the story of how the god came to earn the ire of the other gods, and was given this task to make up for the debt they owed, so they gave their bloodlust and terrible rage to young children and to new parents, in retribution for this insult. a blessing, however, involves them more voluntarily offering their services, and giving their battle lust and war rage to the young and vulnerable, in order to better keep them safe and to ensure they grow up into great hunters and protectors of their communities.

because of this, in areas where the pupping rooms are closed off from the outside instead of being isolated from other merfolk, shrines and tribute to said war god are set up. some of the nice royal pupping rooms have large frescos and statues outside of the area, both as a warning to keep away, and as a place where visitors will come by, unseen and unbothersome to the pupping merfolk inside, to offer tribute or make prayers or otherwise pay their respects to such a god, to ask for their blessings in warfare and honorable victory in battle or to soothe violence and rage where they see it. likewise, some military positions can only be held by merfolk who have been pregnant before.

this god, and other variations of gods of violence and warfare across merfolk cultures, often are depicted as being pregnant themselves, and/or with severe mutations that could not survive out of the womb. merfolk do know such mutations happen, due to autopsies given to pregnant merfolk who have passed away, and they're retroactively seen as being monstrous or demonic in nature, saying that they were what killed the pregnant merfolk, when often its more likely the other way around (the parent died, and because of this, this mutation wasn't just consumed by their siblings and could be discovered).

at the same time, merfolk also believe in a high plurality of even single individuals, with their spirituality suggesting that their sapience and intelligence is given through the gesalt of all these merfolk coming together as one even before birth, and seeing the intrauterine cannibalism as more spiritual and holy than how humans might see the same thing, being a combination of both merfolk's intense desire to socialize and needing their large social groups, and as a common philosophy towards hunting and the eating of other animals, which is that the animal is willingly giving their spirit and strength to the hunter in exchange for the hunter ensuring the health of all of said type of animal.

so these war gods are also, uniquely, said to be truly individual in a way that few merfolk deities are, and this being partially an explanation for how monstrous and terrifying they are, that they are removed from even the natural process that animals go through, let alone the dual process that merfolk go through. this too, also effects their policies and attitudes towards other species and why they view them as child-like and primitive, being that they are far too individual to make any accurate judgements about the world and cannot tend it like merfolk do.

[tpup]

negative test results clinking together like glasses 🍻 making out sloppy 💋 fucking each other in the sample collection basin 💧

[pakchoys]

I stopped watching bc I got sick of moffat as a showrunner and also the attempt at witty humor was unfunny and annoying 🫠

But genuinely, I'm glad it brings you joy

i actually wrote an obscenely long defence of moffat-era writing but it made me look wet so i'm scrapping that to say that personally i think that all the flaws of the era are far outshone by the moments of brilliance. capaldi's run is well written and makes me giggle

[shirayuki7]

Okay so like I can pop anytime now (37 weeks and kiddo is pushing 6-7 lbs) and I just gotta say that having an active kiddo in utero is both a blessing and a curse. The fake contractions are nothing in comparison to her little fists and feetsies sucker punching me but at least I don't have to worry about whether she's okay or not because hot damn she let's me know. Everytime the OB looks at her she says "thats one happy baby" so I gotta take her word for it because beating me up in this manner doesn't make me feel like she is happy??? But unhappy kiddos don't move so gotta take the victories where you can. Why does no one talk about how different the pregnancy experience can be for neurodivergent folks? Constant state of overstimulation and extra sensitivity and any regulation tactics not working as well or at all! My ocd increased, my tendency towards nonverbal increased, and a dozen other things about my autism in particular increased. There needs to be more studies about it and I'm lucky to have a doctor that takes my sensitivity in stride

[peachypede]

There’s a possibly (100% know ive been to the doctor its been confirmed) that I am pegant

[carletes]

Idk who decided to curse me with such a difficult first trimester idk who is so displeased about my joy that they’ve cast this evil eye on me but I hope you’re happy with my misery because you’re the only one taking any glee in it

[intothebagelverse]

stop only tagging your male/gn readers. makes it impossible to filter out content that ranges from “not my cup of tea” to “actually distressing”.

[lottieurl]

i liked jeff fine in season one genuinely but my god. the saturation of him is too much for me they’re overdoing it with him for sureee and it’s making me dislike him which is unfortunate because i was fine with him in moderation! also YESS you are so correct about the whole. shauna loving the baby thing. like sophie is fantastic she sold that as well as she could like. if i were watching those scenes without the greater context i would’ve bought it fully. but i Do have the context and so i don’t buy it. and GOD i’m mad about them not leaning into pregnancy horror or ??? showing the dead baby?? and this is just a minor thing honestly but i was kind of disappointed that the scene of the yellowjackets all bloody was just a dream like :( i’d been hyped to see what they were doing since they’ve been using it in promo for weeks. similarly to the gen rabies shot. like it was still good don’t get me wrong i loved seeing that regardless of the circumstances but. still. anyway. there were parts of that episode i loved (everything involving misty was a highlight, which i wasn’t expecting!) but. disappointed by the payoff of a major plot line. also you are so correct about jeff -cannibal laura lee anon

yeah god i wish i could get on board and be idk devastated and disturbed by the entire baby related sequence but it just does not work for me. maybe if not for the persistent thought that they were just too scared to lean into true pregnancy horror AND of showing shauna not giving a shit abt the baby i could like this slightly more but it just feels very cowardly to me. like. she can mildly dislike callie and be a shitty parent but like worst crime a woman can commit is hate pregnancy and hate her newborn baby so shauna can't hate hers. and look maybe that's not a subconscious thing guiding showrunners but idk it just feels this way to me

[zenatness]

Medvedica and Mard, a Vostroyan-Valhallan guard couple from Untouchable. Since they’ve been getting a bit more attention than usual during the most recent chapters and I miss doing portraits.

Patreon | Society6 | Redbubble