[إيليا]

الحمل والمشاكل الصحية المصاحبة للحمل
Pregnancy symptoms
During pregnancy a woman's body undergoes a number of changes to allow the fetus to develop inside the womb. These changes can cause various symptoms, but these are not usually serious and tend to disappear without any treatment during pregnancy or soon after the birth.

Nausea and vomiting
Widely known as morning sickness, feeling or being sick during pregnancy normally occurs from about the sixth until the fourteenth week of pregnancy. However it can start as early as the first missed menstrual period and continue until later into the pregnancy. Although the name suggests nausea and vomiting occur only in the morning, they often occur throughout the day.

The exact cause is unknown, but it is thought to be linked to hormone changes. It is rare for vomiting to cause a serious medical problem.

Nausea and vomiting usually stops by about week 14 of pregnancy, without the need for any medical treatment. There is evidence that taking ginger capsules can help. Ginger tea or ginger biscuits may also be helpful. Some women find that eating dry crackers before getting out of bed in the morning can be effective.

Any woman with severe sickness that does not stop should seek medical advice. Severe vomiting can interfere with nutrition and can cause dehydration. The medical term for it is hyperemesis gravidarum, and it may require hospital treatment.

Urinary symptoms
In the first three months of pregnancy, many women find that they need to pass water more often than normal. This is a result of hormonal changes, and because the enlarging womb pushes on the bladder resulting in a smaller bladder capacity. This frequent need to urinate is also common in the four weeks before the birth, as the baby's head enters the pelvis and further presses on the bladder.

During the rest of pregnancy, there is an increased risk of developing a urinary infection. This is because hormones and the enlarging uterus can slow the passage of urine out of the body.

To help prevent urinary infections, women should drink plenty of fluids and not delay when they get the urge to pass water. Drinking cranberry juice may also help.

If a urinary infection is not treated, it may spread upwards to the kidneys and damage them, so it is important not to ignore any pain or burning sensation on passing water. If the symptoms continue, a doctor may need to prescribe antibiotics.

Fatigue
Extreme tiredness is very common in pregnancy, especially during the first 12-15 weeks, because the woman's body is under extra strain.

To help cope with this, women may want to take naps whenever possible, and try to go to bed earlier.

Extreme fatigue can sometimes be a symptom of anaemia. Any woman who is worried about this should speak to her doctor, midwife or obstetrician.

Constipation
Constipation is common in pregnancy for several reasons. Hormone changes slow the passage of food through the gut, while the growing uterus can put pressure on the rectum. Iron supplements, often given to prevent or treat anaemia in pregnancy, can also make constipation worse.

Drinking at least six to eight glasses of water per day, and eating a diet rich in fresh fruit and wholegrain foods can help prevent or relieve constipation. For more information on diet during pregnancy, please see the separate factsheet on Antenatal care.

Breast soreness
Sensitive, tender or sore breasts are commonly one of the first signs of pregnancy. This usually improves after the first trimester. Wearing a comfortable, supportive maternity bra should help.

Itchy skin
About 20% of pregnant women get some kind of skin itchiness. When this occurs over the abdomen, it is probably caused by the skin stretching. But it's also common to have itchy palms and soles of the feet, which is thought to be caused by increased hormone levels.

Itchiness can usually be relieved by applying a simple moisturiser such as aqueous cream, which is available inexpensively from pharmacies.

In rare cases, generalised itchiness in the third trimester can be a sign of a liver problem called obstetric cholestasis. Any woman with widespread itching should consult her GP or obstetrician.

Backache
Backache can occur in pregnancy owing to the increasing size and weight of the womb and the breasts, and because pregnancy hormones loosen the ligaments that attach the spine to the pelvic bone.

Backache may be relieved by resting, having warm baths, or massage. If pain is severe, a doctor may prescribe painkillers (such as paracetamol) that are safe to take in pregnancy.

Leg cramps
Leg cramps can occur during pregnancy. The exact cause of these is unknown, but doctors think they may be related to changes in the blood circulation in the legs, and the extra weight being carried. Leg cramps are most likely to happen in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

Leg cramps may be relieved by stretching, walking, warm baths and massage.

Swollen ankles
Swelling (oedema) can affect the extremities, especially the ankles and toes, often later in pregnancy. The swelling happens when the enlarged womb presses on the veins that come up from the legs, leading to accumulation of fluid around the ankles.

Swollen ankles may be relieved by elevating them when sitting, wearing waist-high support tights and exercising.

Pins and needles
Pins and needles, especially in the hands, can be accompanied by some pain or numbness and occasionally weakness in the fingers. Usually this is caused by fluid build-up around the wrists, which compresses the nerves that run to the hand muscles and skin. This is known as carpal tunnel syndrome and tends to occur when there is also swelling in the ankles. For more information, please see the separate BUPA factsheet on Carpal tunnel syndrome.

If finger pain or numbness is an ongoing problem, a doctor may suggest wearing a moulded wrist splint, especially at night.

Varicose veins
These are enlarged veins, usually in the legs. They often develop or become worse during pregnancy because the growing uterus puts extra pressure on the veins in the pelvis and legs, and because hormones cause the walls of blood vessels to relax.

Pregnant women can help to relieve the symptoms or reduce the risk of getting varicose veins by getting regular gentle exercise, not crossing their legs when sitting, putting their feet up when possible, and putting on support tights or stockings before getting out of bed in the morning.

Varicose veins often improve or disappear after the baby is born. For more information, see the separate factsheet on Varicose veins.

Piles
Piles (haemorrhoids) may first appear or become worse during pregnancy and result from changes in the circulation of blood around the pregnant woman's body. They may also develop during labour when the woman is pushing.

Women can reduce the risk of getting piles by making sure they don't become constipated, and not ignoring the urge to open their bowels. Piles can be relieved with over-the-counter creams, available from pharmacies. Taking warm baths is helpful for some women.

Like varicose veins, piles often improve or disappear completely after the baby is born, but occasionally surgery is needed. For more information, please see the separate factsheet on Piles.

Medical problems
The symptoms described so far are common in a normal pregnancy and generally clear-up without medical treatment. However, there are a number of less common pregnancy-related conditions that may need medical treatment. For more information, please see the separate factsheets on Anaemia, Pre-eclampsia, DVT and Diabetes in pregnancy.

Identifying problems
Pregnant women should attend regular antenatal appointments so that any problems with the pregnancy are picked up. The GP, midwife or obstetrician will ask about any symptoms, and conduct a number of tests. These include:

monitoring blood pressure
monitoring weight, which can increase more than expected if a woman retains a lot of fluid
taking a urine sample - a simple dipstick can immediately indicate any sugar, protein or blood in the sample, which can help identify an infection
a blood test, which is taken at the start of pregnancy and then as required during pregnancy to check for anaemia
For more information please see the factsheet Tests in pregnancy.

Any woman who is worried about her symptoms can seek advice from her antenatal care provider at any time.


مرض البوليما والأنوركسيا
What are anorexia and bulimia?
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two main eating disorders. People with anorexia have extreme weight loss as a result of very strict dieting. Some people may also make themselves sick, abuse laxatives or do excessive exercise to try and lose weight. In spite of this extreme weight loss, people with anorexia believe they are fat and are terrified of becoming what is in fact a normal weight or shape. About four out of ten people with fully established anorexia make a full recovery, and others improve. Only about three in ten continue to have major long-term illness. Untreated, about 15 per cent of all sufferers will die from the disorder within 20 years of its onset.

People with bulimia nervosa crave food and binge eat, though they are not emaciated. Afterwards they make themselves sick or misuse laxatives to get the food out of their bodies. Sufferers are very afraid of becoming fat.
Who has anorexia or bulimia?

Anorexia nervosa most commonly starts in the mid-teens. About one in a hundred 16 to 18 year olds has the illness. It is much more common in girls. Bulimia nervosa usually starts when people are a little older, but is again more common in girls. Bulimia is more common than anorexia, although people with anorexia in particular do not always ask for treatment.

Occasionally men develop eating disorders, but anorexia nervosa is rare. Male development in puberty is very different from that of females. Related bodily concerns are different and less often lead to the extremes of dieting which commonly precede anorexia nervosa.

What causes eating disorders?
Eating disorders may develop partly in response to difficult life experiences such as abuse or social pressures arising in puberty and in growing up. They are also more common in cultures where it is considered desirable to be slim. Genetic factors seem to be important, especially in anorexia. Sometimes people with an eating disorder are depressed, and they may have obsessions.

What treatments are available?
Mental health professionals need a variety of skills to treat people with eating disorders. A doctor can help diagnose the illness and any associated physical problems resulting from it. In both anorexia nervosa and bulimia, self-help strategies can be very helpful. If this approach does not work, health professionals may suggest a course of psychotherapy. If someone has lost a dangerous amount of weight, the first step will be to help the person start to regain that weight in order to survive. Some people with anorexia may need to be admitted to hospital and the nursing staff has an important role in supporting the patient in the early stages of treatment. Psychological and psychotherapy skills are also necessary at this acute stage, so that the mental health team can begin to understand why the illness developed and how to help the person to overcome it.

In anorexia, this talking treatment will involve the individual with the illness and sometimes other family members. The long-term aim will be to help that person change their attitude, behaviour and ways of thinking, and enable them to cope with the strains of life without the illness as a protection. Shorter-term expert talking treatments and also specific cognitive behavioural treatments are often effective with bulimia nervosa.

What can society do?
We can strive better to understand the distress that underlies and drives these disorders. We can provide access to such information and develop health promotion campaigns aimed at teenagers and young people. Information on how to cope with feelings and fears about growth or about being too fat is useful. We can offer more support in secondary schools and user-friendly services for troubled teenagers.



تعدد زيجات الرسول صلي الله عليةواله وسلم
The several marriages that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) contracted have been much misunderstood and subjected to derogatory remarks beyond all limits of justice and decency. Notwithstanding the fact, that the institution of polygamy existed before the advent of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and a majority of Biblical prophets were polygamous, our critics single him out "heaping abuses, calumny and derogatory epithets, upon him." 1 The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) contracted a number of marriages after the age of fifty-three. The accusation of being licentious is nothing but a product of their own fertile imagination. Dr. Besant refutes this assertion: "But do you mean to tell me that the man who in the full flush of youthful vigour, a young man of four and twenty (24), married a woman much his senior, and remained faithful to her for six and twenty years (26), at fifty years of age when the passions are dying married for lust and ***ual passion? Not thus are men's lives to be judged. And you look at the women whom he married, you will find that by every one of them an alliance was made for his people, or something was gained for his followers, or the woman was in sore need of protection." 2

The famous author of the book called "Mohammad and Mohammedanism", Bosworth Smith explains: "It should be remembered, however, that most of Mohammad's marriages may be explained at least, as much by his pity for the forlorn condition of the persons concerned as by other motives. They were almost all of them with widow who were not remarkable either for their beauty or their wealth, but quite the reverse." 3 The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) contracted marriages either for the protection of the females whose husbands had died for the cause of Islam or for cementing the bonds of love with those who could by their position and influence be of service to Islam or for the benefit of humanity at large. "In every single case it was a personal sacrifice on the part of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to have contracted the marriage, or circumstances obliged him to do so whilst there was as yet no law limiting the number of wives." 4 The ladies who married the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did so of their own volition. None of them was forced into marriage.

The youthful days of the Prophet prior to the beginning of revelation, "were free from every blemish; neither his worst enemies during his life nor the mud-slinging critics of the later times have ever been able to find the slightest fault with this critical period of his life. His veracity, chastity, innocence and pureness of heart were proverbial for he never indulged in anything unbecoming of a true should youth like him." 5 From twenty-five years up to the age of fifty he remained with a wife older than him. During this period of his age he remained devoted to his wife and even after her death he remembered her with love and compassion." 6

It is narrated on the authority of Jabir ibn Abdullah that Abu Jahl and some of the chiefs of the Quraish approached the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "If you are anxious for leadership, we are prepared to declare you our leader, if you need riches we would collect for you an enormous amount of wealth that will suffice not only for you but even for your descendants; if you are impelled by ***ual urge, you may chose ten beautiful damsels out of the whole tribe of Quraish. The Holy Prophet kept silent and did not utter a word. When their talks concluded, the Holy Prophet recited the following verse of the Qur'an : "Beneficent God! A revelation from the Beneficent, the Merciful : A Book of which the verses are made plain, an Arabic Qur'an for a people who know – good news and a warning. But most of them turn away, so they hearken not" (41 : 1.4).

The Holy Prophet concluded his reply on the verse : "Then if they turn away, then say: I warn you of a scourge like the scourge of 'Ad and Thamud, (41 : 13)." 7 This solitary event is enough to refute the charge of licentiousness. The worldly pleasures had no significance for him. "His was a life of perfect sublimity and single-minded devotion to Allah, absolutely free from the taints of base desires." 8

A Western biographer of the Holy Prophet pin-points the common weakness of the occidentals who try to bring in a verdict on the marriages of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him): "Muhammad's married life must not be looked at from an occidental point of view or from that set by Christian conventions. These men and women were not occidentals and they were not Christians. They were living at a period and in a country where the only known ethical standards were theirs. Even so, there is no reason why the codes of America and Europe should be considered superior to those of the Arabs. The people of the West have many things to give to the people of the East. They have much to glean, too, and until they can prove that their way of living is on a higher moral standard than any body else's, they should reserve judgements on other creeds and castes and countries." 9

The Holy Prophet lived a simple and modest life. Being the Head of State, the Chief Justice, the Commander-in-Chief, the instructor etc., he was the most busiest man of his time, still he spent considerable part of his nights in prayers and meditation.10 His furniture was simple (i.e. mats, jugs, blankets etc.). His life was so simple that his wives did not have worldly comforts. Could this be a life of a lustful and passionate man? At the advent of Islam in Arabia the practice of polygamy was common and deeply rooted in the social life." 11 He contracted various marriages in accordance with the custom of the country.

The limitation of the number of wives was fixed at the end of the eighth year of Hijrah and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had married all his wives before that period. He was commanded by Allah to keep those whom he had already married but was forbidden to marry any more.12 The Quranic verse, "It is not allowed to take wives after this, (33 : 52) implies that the Holy Prophet, like all his other acts contracted those marriages perfectly in accordance with the will of the Lord. There was a divine purpose behind them and when it was achieved a restriction was placed upon him." 13

The above facts clearly belie the wrong notions that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) contracted these marriages in response to physical needs or biological pressures. Those who doubt moral integrity or spiritual excellence of our Prophet, (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) should answer questions such as: "Why did he start his first marriage at the age of 25 years after having had no association with any female? Why did he choose a twice-widowed older lady who was 15 years senior to him? Why did he remain with her until her death when he was over fifty? Why did he accept all those helpless widows and divorcees who possessed no particular appealing qualities? Why did he lead such an austere and hard life, when he could have had an easy and comfortable course? Why did he con-contract most of his marriages in the busiest five years of his life, when his mission and career were at stake? How could he manage to be what he was, if the harem life or passions overtook him