The second part of this blog deals with the substances that we should avoid during the nine months of pregnancy. If we get these out of the way, a relatively smooth pregnancy can be ensured. I shall try to list almost all the things you need to keep yourself away from in a normal pregnancy, however, if you have any health issues prior to the pregnancy or any problems in previous pregnancies, I would still recommend you taking up the issue with your obstetrician or dietitian.
Despite the fact that alcohol consumption is uncommon in the women of our society, it is still important to mention that it is one of the food items that must be completely avoided during all three trimesters. Alcohol consumption leads to fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol distress disorders. This includes restricted growth both before and after the birth of the infant along with congenital abnormalities, facial dysmorphia and neurodevelopmental delay.
Since smoking happens to be far more common than alcohol consumption and has significantly increased in younger women in the last few decades, it is important to discuss this in detail. Another factor that makes it important is the fact that quitting smoking is generally harder that altering other eating habits, especially when we take into account the passive smoke a woman may be exposed to.
While considering pregnancy, one might wonder when is the best time to quit smoking. Well, the answer to that is quite clear and exactly the one you must be thinking as well. Consider quitting before pregnancy, however, if due to certain reasons that has not been achieved, it is highly recommended that smoking be stopped during gestation. There adverse effects of smoking (active or passive) include risk for preterm births and miscarriages, early placental abruptions, low birth weight, congenital defects like eye defects, club foot and allergy and obesity. Maternal smoking has also been found to be a major factor in sudden infant death syndrome or crib deaths.
Tea, coffee, cola beverages and energy drinks are the items we consume without any thought and they are a part of the daily routine of most people. Apart from other constituents, all these are rich in a alkaloid commonly known as “caffeine”. Now caffeine is not really toxic like the substances I mentioned earlier and in order to understand why we need to limit the use of caffeine we need to understand its metabolism during pregnancy. To put it in simple words, during pregnancy the time that caffeine stays inside our blood is increased three to four fold as compared to its normal half life. Therefore, we need to limit the use caffeinated drinks. However, we are still allowed 200 milligram of caffeine intake every day which makes it approximately 3 of cups of coffee everyday. (depending upon the strength and the size of the cup) That is quite a considerable allowance for a pregnant woman and a breast feeding mother. However, if the intake of caffeine exceeds more than that there are certain adverse effects such as fetal growth retardation and fetus small for gestational age.
There are three important foodborne illnesses that can affect a pregnant woman. Next, I am going to discuss these three foodborne illnesses in detail emphasizing on the food items that need to be avoided in order to avoid these diseases.
Listeriosis is caused by a bacteria known as listeria monocytogenes. This disease can transmit from the mother to the unborn child and create problems like pre term labor, neonatal meningitis and even death. A study suggests that 20% of pregnancies infected by this bacteria result in spontaneous abortion or stillbirth. An important factor to remember here is that pregnant woman are more susceptible to the infection by this organism a compared to others. However, it is really simple to avoid this infection. Women should practice basic rules of hygiene, wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly and completely abstain from half cooked meat products like salami, raw meat/ sausages, smoked fish, soft cheese and precooked or prepackaged salads.
Thankfully, pregnant women are not more susceptible to salmonella, however, it still is quite dangerous and can result in spontaneous abortions and complications like septic meningitis. Salmonella is found in foods of animal origins. So, pregnant women must avoid raw and uncooked meat and poultry foods at all costs. This includes undercooked or raw eggs. Women are mostly unaware of the products that may contain raw eggs, for example hollandaise sauce, mayonnaise, tiramisu, caeser salad dressing, home made ice cream, cookie dough and frostings.
Toxoplasmosis gondi, an intracellular parasite, happens to be the source of this infection which is carried by cats in their feces and carried in raw and uncooked meat. The infection is dangerous as it can lead to various congenital malformations especially cardiac abnormalities in the fetus. Hence, all pregnant women should practice strict hygiene around cats, cat litter should be disposed off daily within 24 hours and gloves should be used handling. The cat litter box should also be disinfected on a daily basis. Apart from this, freezing meat to -20 degree Celsius kills this parasite.
This was a brief summary of the food items that need to be avoided during gestational period. In my next blog, we will discuss about the adequate weight change during pregnancy and the proportion of foods that need to be increased during different trimesters.
Dr Rizwan Uppal, the founder of IDC, believed that proper and timely diagnosis is the key to successful treatment. An all under one roof diagnostic service with the name of Islamabad Diagnostic Center (IDC) Pvt. Ltd was established in the beautiful City of Islamabad more than a decade ago.
This brain child of Dr Rizwan was not possible without the support of his two brothers and Executive directors, Dr Rehan Uppal and Dr Imran Uppal. Since the day of inception, Dr Rehan has been a great assistance and immense help in IDC progress and evolution. IDC’s main strength lies in use of state of the art technology, in the hands of qualified and experienced team of doctors and technologist on 24/7 basis. There is still no such setup of equivalent scale and quality in Pakistan.
IDC is one facility where both laboratory and Radiology services. The widest spectrum of in house laboratory tests and imaging investigations are available nowhere, other than at IDC. To further widen the services of rare but important tests, IDC is now offering a unique service of sending samples to UK at The Doctors Lab (TDL), and Germany, Synlab on daily basis at no extra cost.
The small and humble setup of IDC established more than decade ago is now spreaded nationwide. IDC now has a branch network of more than 2 dozen outlets and mini IDCs, with a staff of more than 300 doctors and technologist and supporting staff, working day and night to offer the best diagnostics to the patients and doctors. IDC is actively participating in external and internal quality assurance Programs from UK EQAS and USA (CAP) , NEQAP, PNRA) and ISO certification. The IDC is also involved in academic and research activities. It is affiliated with Irsa University. IDC pathologist and doctors are part of Nafees Medical College academic faculty.
IDC has the vision to provide health for all through better medical diagnostics.
IDC has taken lead in providing all type of novel studies like Real Time PCR for Hepatitis B/C and MTB, CR DR system, latest Open MRI, Digital CMOS OPG and 4D real time ultrasonography, Digital Holter Recorder & Ambulatory BP Monitor, ETT, Spirometry, Mammography, Fluoroscopy and ECHO in Rawalpindi & Islamabad tests that are not available anywhere in Pakistan are carried out in collaboration with SynLab Services (Germany) and The Doctor’s Lab (TDL) UK. Besides quality, accuracy & reliability, IDC takes pride in offering quickest turn-around times (TAT). Special cold chain shipment is provided by FedEx & DHL to meet IDC standards.
Dr. Essa’s labortary & diagnostic center founded in 1987, has rapidly achived its reputation as one of the leading laboratories in pakistan
Essa Lab specializes in a wide range of testing services available to patient’s physicians and hospitals. It pledges to provide its clients with clinical laboratory analyses that meet the required standards of quality and accuracy, using state-of-the-art equipment and methodology, thereby providing trusted & reliable results.
Prof Dr. Essa M Abdulla recently received the Eli Lilly Gold Medal 2000, presented by Prof Ata-ur-Rahman, Federal Minister of Science & Technology, for the most outstanding Microbiologist and teacher in Pakistan. The laboratory founded in 1987,when Prof. Essa returned after having a rich teaching experience for 40 years abroad.
CERTIFIED From ISO and Our organization aspires to achieve commendable standards of performance, giving physicians and patients the personal and professional commitment they expect and deserve.
In 1996, we set out to establish a medical diagnostic center that caters to the needs of patients and diagnosticians alike. Our focus has always been on providing a quality service in a timely manner. We take pride in the fact that years later, today, with a network of collection centers in and out of Lahore, AL-Nasar Lab® & Diagnostic Centre remains the provider of a wide variety of medical services for the most competitive rates in the industry. Our Mission is to provide reliable, timely, high quality, cost-effective and innovative diagnostic services & information to our patients and clients
We are only one in Lahore who provides DEXA scan, A DEXA scan is a special type of X-ray that measures bone mineral density (BMD). DEXA stands for "dual energy X-ray absorptiometry". This type of scan may also be called: a DXA scan. a bone density scan
Our quality management system is certified by TUV AUSTRIA.
Excel Lab was founded upon core values of patient priority and accurate testing. During the past 25 years we have built up a legendary reputation for excellence in both, from a small local lab we have grown to become a regional network. However, our goal remains unchanged – to serve each patient with the same care and service that is at the core of our organization.
Excel Labs utilizes state of the art equipment from top international manufacturers. In addition, the reagents used for testing are purchased directly from the authorized dealers in Pakistan to ensure that “cold chain” requirements are met. All this, along with a rigorous QC and QA program ensure that all results are of international standard.
Excel Labs is the only lab in Pakistan to have participated in the external Quality Assurance program of the College of American Pathologists for more than 20 years. By doing so, we have successfully met the CLIA standards specified for US labs
Excel Labs has also developed and implemented a quality management system that complies with the international standard ISO 9001:2008.
Al Razi Healthcare (Pvt.) Limited is a state-of-the-art private healthcare facility centrally located on M.M. Alam Road, Lahore with a focus on providing excellent hospital services supported by high quality Radiological and Laboratory diagnostics. The company operates through two main facilities; Al Razi Hospital and Al Razi Laboratory.
The hospital itself has been operational for over 5 years, providing healthcare facilities to both walk-in and corporate clients. We have over 50 foreign qualified consultants at our facility representing all major specialties such as Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Dermatology, Oncology, General Surgery, Dentistry, Palliative care etc. The hospital also offers round the clock Emergency Services and Home Services including visits from doctors and co blood sample collection obtained from the privacy and convenience of a patient’s own home – at no extra cost.
Al-Razi truly excels is in providing outstanding Radiology Services with its state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment which includes a Digital X-Ray, Dual Source 64 slice CT, and an Open bore 1.5T MRI. This equipment is by far the most highly advanced in Pakistan.
The Diagnostic Center. Aznostics private Limited is a company dedicated to providing high quality and ethical radiology and pathology diagnostics services. Established in 2011, it has in a short time developed a reputation for providing excellent consultative and investigative services and has opened satellite branches in Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot. We have a full range of radiology and pathology services.
We are a group of leading physicians most of whom have trained overseas and held teaching and research appointments Aznostics has a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in particular. We hold a weekly tumor board meeting for this and are heavily involved in a charitable low cost hepatitis screening and treatment program. We are a socially responsible group and take part in many health related initiatives including blood camps, anti-smoking campaigns and hepatitis awareness.
Our laboratories are furnished with state of the art equipment and instruments, according to the most recent advancements in international laboratory and radiology industries. Combined with modern information systems, we can confidently identify our patients through digital bar-coding techniques and are able to track and monitor all tests accurately and efficiently. Our reports are available online and can be accessed from anywhere.
The combined experience of our management teams, help our clients to interact and discuss any enquiries they may have about the laboratory or radiology services provided by the Diagnostics center Network.
Working as one highly efficient team, our supporting departments are confident in providing the highest quality services throughout the Pakistan. Our clinical management teams are professional, highly qualified scientists that have vast experience in the field of medicine, clinical pathology and information technology. Such a formidable combination of scientific and managerial expertise, allow us to assist our referring doctors and clinicians.
Innova is a name of Quality and Care. We guarantee excellent facilities, provided by a team of highly qualified doctors and specialists in a very compassionate, comfortable yet professional ambiance.
With its state-of-the-art technology, Innova offers outstanding services in areas of Endocrinology, Hematology, Clinical Pathology, Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Histopathology. In addition to our diagnostic services, our esteemed clients enjoy our luxurious customers services by having an easy access to their reports via web-based reporting, free urgent reporting, SMS reporting services, WhatsApp reporting on request. Last but not the least, we also provide “Free” home sample collection services. Stay connected and enjoy our constantly evolving innovative services.
Established in 1984 in Lahore, Al-Noor Diagnostic Centre (ANDC) has been constantly facilitating the nation in the field of diagnostic services. Being a three storied building, which is situated in the heart of Lahore (Shadman), ANDC aims to provide diagnostic facilities along with other medical services under one roof. All the diagnostic facilities are supervised by the leading, highly experienced medical professionals. We guarantee quality healthcare services for your relevant medical conditions. ANDC is fully equipped with multiple high-end sophisticated ultrasound machines, 128 slice MDCT which is also capable of performing cardiac CT, MRI, fluoroscopic machine, CR system, mammography, OPG, CBCT and DEXA scan. ANDC has developed its reputation with state-of-the-art equipment and by providing outstanding, accurate / precise diagnostic services.
Citi Lab and Research Centre was established in 1986. The lab is facilitating superior quality diagnostics services to its customers through a very e!cient network of labs and collection points. We use fully automated instruments for lab tests with best accuracy and precision. This enables the lab to report test results quickly without ever compromising on quality. It is because of this reputation of uncompromising quality and quick reporting time that is the reference lab of choice for multiple hospitals and labs.
Citi lab and Research Centre has an extended nationwide network of laboratory collection centers running under strict guidelines and standard operating procedures to ensure provision of quality testing services to people all over Pakistan. An advanced patient data management system is available where test results are saved within the labs Information System, an in-house built software system, and can be easily accessed online.
Lab one was incorporated in the year 2003 by Prof. Dr. Javed Asif and Mr. Mumtaz Khan. Since then Lab One continued to facilitate patient care by providing high quality, cost effective and certified laboratory testing to patients and referring centers all over Pakistan. Lab One is one of the leading state-of the-art laboratory in Lahore and serves a critical role in the health care perpetuity. We offer reliable test and efficient delivery of reports providing quality health care. Lab One aims not to earn but to serve the patients with its best resources and abilities.
