Monday April 30, 2012

Plan your pregnancy, expert tells mums

Compiled by LEE YEN MUN, NG SI HOOI and A. RAMAN

PLANNING one's pregnancy enables parents to have healthy and beautiful babies, reported Metro Ahad.

Having a proper plan in bringing up a family means that the mothers will be more prepared for their pregnancy, said paediatrics consultant and genetic specialist Prof Dr Zilfalil Alwi of Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.

“The first three months of pregnancy are critical as this is when the eyes, limbs and heart of the baby are being formed.

“If the pregnancy is unplanned, the mother may fail to take care of the unborn baby, especially on matters of her diet and environment, which may affect the foetus' growth,” said Prof Zilfalil.

His remarks were accompanied by a four-page spread in the tabloid, featuring parents of three local artistes known for their beauty.

One of those featured, Noor Kartini Noor Mohamed, 48, a mother of 10, received modelling offers, even after her fifth pregnancy more than 10 years ago.

She is the mother of actress Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor, who is also known as Lofa.

“I monitor my diet and take health supplements. I also drink warm water before and after a shower,” said Noor Kartini, who hails from Pasir Mas, Kelantan.

Besides that, it had been a ritual for her family to recite the al-Fatihah and al-Ikhlas verses of the Quran three times before entering a bathroom and to immediatley shower the whole body on entering it.

For actress Rozita Che Wan's mother, confinement practices after a delivery were of utmost importance.

“I was very disciplined during confinement, especially when it involved food.

“After every pregnancy, I worked hard to regain a slim body and would wake up early and drink plenty of warm water,” said Bedah Saad, 59, who has five children.

Prof Dr Md Nasir Ibrahim, 53, credited his children's beauty to luck and genetics.

“My wife and I do not have any secret to our children's looks. It could be due to our multi-racial genetic make-up,” said Prof Md Nasir, who is father to five daughters, including model and actress Anzalna, 24.

> The tabloid also highlighted the discovery of more bone fragments and teeth believed to belong to murder victim Nor Ain Shafnie Mohd Azizi, 16, whose body was found burnt in an oil palm plantation near her home.

The find was made by a group of villagers.

A resident, Mohd Joni Ishak, 37, said he had gone with a few friends to the site where Nor Ain's body was discovered and found teeth and bone fragments under a bundle of dried leaves.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.

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