Nine Months : Common Concerns & Discomforts

Rash

What is it? In pregnancy, the increased blood flow makes you feel much warmer than before and also causes you to perspire more. This may result in red rashes. It is also seen to be associated with being overweight in pregnancy.

What to do?

* Try to keep the affected areas clean and dry

* Wash frequently to feel fresh * You can also try dusting some talcum powder or using calamine lotion on the rashes.

* Wear loose, cotton clothes

Reflexology

To relieve disorders in other parts of the body, reflexologists apply pressure to specific points on the foot to stimulate nerve endings. In pregnancy it can help to ease circulatory problems, backache, and general pains and is used with orthodox medicine for more serious problems like high blood pressure or pregnancy-induced diabetes. Some women use reflexology in labour as a form of pain relief.

Rhesus Incompatibility

What is it? Rhesus incompatibility occurs when a woman with a blood type Rhesus Negative (Rh-) becomes pregnant with a foetus that has a blood type Rhesus Positive (Rh+). When this occurs, there is a risk that during pregnancy, an immune response can occur by the mother's immune system against the foetus - in the worst case this can cause miscarriage, still birth and even maternal death.

Recommended Management: The recommended management of Rhesus incompatibility is with Routine Antenatal anti-D prophylaxis (or RAADP for short).

The new NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) guidance states that:

"RAADP is recommended as a treatment option for ALL pregnant women who are rhesus D negative and who are known to be sensitised to the Rhesus antigen."

There are currently two different ways to receive RAADP - either as a one-dose treatment (at 28-30 weeks) or a two-dose treatment (at week 28 and again at week 34). There is no evidence to suggest a difference between the regimens. However, use of a single dose regimen may improve compliance and reduce costs by avoiding logistical failure and additional costs associated with administration of a second dose.

It should also be noted that the RAADP treatments are recommended by the British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH). Guidelines to be given as an intra muscular injection in the shoulder (deltoid) and not in the buttock muscle (gluteal) is often mentioned.