Nigerian government rejects call to increase fuel price

The Nigerian government will not increase the pump price of petrol despite a demand that it should do so, officials have said.

The forum of former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on Sunday called for the price increase by calling for a removal of price cap in the pricing template.

A removal of the price cap would mean that marketers would be free to sell petrol at their desired price, based on several factors such as the exchange rate and international crude price. With the Naira exchange rate going down by over 50 per cent to about N412 since the current petrol price was fixed, approving the recommendation would have meant Nigerians pay more for petrol.

The Nigerian government through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, however, said on Monday that it will not accept the advice.

The former GMDs had in a 12-point communiqué at the end their meeting with the incumbent GMD of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru, said the price cap of N145 per litre of petrol was “not congruent with the liberalization policy.”

The removal of the cap under a liberalised market environment would allow marketers of petroleum products to sell products at any price to enable them recover cost.

The Forum said the current ceiling price of N145 per litre did not factor the current foreign exchange (FOREX) rate and other price components of the pricing template, like crude oil cost and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) charges, which remain uncapped.

While stating the government’s response, the acting Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Sotonye Iyoyo, said the proposal was the personal opinion of the former state oil chiefs.

“If it was a recommendation, that is what it is – a personal opinion. I’m not aware government is planning any fuel price increase. We are in a liberalised market already,” she told PREMIUM TIMES.

The spokesperson of the NNPC, Garba Deen Mohammed, also described the advice as an “opinion.”

“The forum was expressing its opinion, which it is entitled to,” Mr. Mohammed reported. “NNPC is a player in the petroleum industry and has a right to have its views about the industry. Nobody is bound by the opinion.”

In the communiqué, the forum also asked the federal government to include funding of joint venture operations as first line charge to guarantee sustainable oil and gas production and national reserve growth.

The industry has, for years, been contending with challenges of dwindling investments to grow production and national reserves, due to inability of government to meet its funding obligations to the joint venture regularly.

The meeting also reviewed issues affecting operations of the oil and gas industry as well as recommendations to resolve them.

The issues include the insecurity in the Niger Delta, NNPC’s poor corporate reputation, poor state of the country’s refineries, current state of petroleum products supply pricing template, and need to focus attention on the Chad Basin in the ongoing frontier oil exploration activities in the northern part of the country.

Other issues include operations of the National Petroleum Investments Management Services, NAPIMS; Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB; NNPC’s relationship with its partners; NNPC’s dwindling revenue base and rising debt profile as well as its widening pension funding gap.

During the meeting, Mr. Baru presented the status of NNPC’s finances and the state of the oil and gas industry, spanning his management’s 12 business focus areas towards restoring the corporation on the path of growth and profitability.

In its review of the current state of industry and ways to resolve issues militating against its progress, the meeting was concerned about declining production levels and the consequences on the country’s revenue.

On insecurity, the meeting noted the threat to oil production and damage to the Niger Delta environment. It said there was need for government and security agencies to refocus their engagements with the various host communities to build sustainable partnership toward a lasting solution to the problem.

The former GMDs urged government to ensure the refineries were refurbished using the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), while their operations were restructured as Incorporated Joint ventures (IJV) modelled after the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), with credible technical and financial partners.

The meeting also asked the government to ignore the proposal in the draft PIB for an NNPC investment subsidiary, NAPIMS, to be removed from the state oil firm. it said that would inhibit its effective function as a national oil company in comparison with its peers in other countries.

On its dwindling revenue base, the former GMDs said they were concerned with the situation and called for particular attention to be focussed on revenue generating entities – the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, the retail arm, and the refineries – to restore its growth and profitability.

Worried by the high level of NNPC’s debt profile, the former oil chiefs urged its management to urgently ascertain its true financial status and immediately decide on the most appropriate capitalization model.

“If the current situation remains unchecked, it could lead to the crippling of the corporation and the nation’s oil & gas sector, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy,” they said.

Iran shuts 800 shops for selling ‘unconventional’ coats

Iranian police said they had closed more than 800 clothes shops to stop them selling “unconventional” women’s coats, state media reported on Monday.

A further 3,000 shops have been sent warnings, the IRNA news agency reported.

A new fashion for women’s coats — known as “manteaux” in Iran — with English phrases printed on the back had attracted the attention of the authorities, who passed new regulations in July.

The coats in question tend to have nonsensical phrases such as “Keep Calm I’m the Queen” written on them, but they also have short arms and no buttons in the front.

Under Iranian law, women must wear a manteau, or similar item, that loosely covers the whole body from the neck down to the knee.

AFP

I never warned Buhari against seeking re-election in 2019 – Obasanjo

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has distanced himself from reports claiming that he warned President Muhammadu Buhari against seeking re-election in 2019.
A report credited to the former Chief Press Secretary to Obasanjo, Alex Nwokedi, on Saturday, had said the former President warned Buhari against seeking a second term.
But reacting to the report, the former President in a statement by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, described Nwokedi as an “enemy of democracy” who is against “freedom of speech.”

In the statement issued on Sunday, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the former President disclosed that he had not spoken to Nwokedi in the last three years, and wondered why any news would be attributed to him.
According to Obasanjo, “My belief is that democracy allowed for anybody including President Buhari for that matter to contest any election and it is the prerogative rights of Nigerians to vote or not to vote for them.
“I have not communicated with Alex in the last three years, so how could a story be credited to me, when I did not authorize such or communicate with him in the last three years? Obasanjo queried.
He further said “not even me, can advise my children not to seek for elective post. It is part of freedom of democracy.

Son of Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi 'doesn't like football'

The oldest son of Argentina superstar Lionel Messi won't be following in his footsteps it seems, as he doesn't like football.

Three-year-old Thiago Messi is often seen with his mother, Antonella Roccuzzo, in the stands at the Camp Nou watching his father. But it appears he doesn't share Leo's love for the game.

"I see that he doesn't like football that much so I leave it," Messi told TyC Sports channel as reported in El Mundo Deportivo. "I'm not the type to buy him footballs or force him. [But] Now the club has started something for the children and we'll see if he gets hooked."

Messi, who is also father to 11-month-old Mateo, says his first-born has inherited something from him though.

"He has come out very competitive," he added. "He wants to win at everything. I also like to win so I don't let him. Even when we climb the stairs and he wins, he makes sure to tell me."

Gonzalo Higuain transfer fee 'more logical' than Paul Pogba's - Crespo

Hernan Crespo has said Juventus did not pay over the odds for Gonzalo Higuain -- but indicated that Manchester United may have done so for Paul Pogba.
Juve brought in Higuain, last season's leading Serie A goal scorer, from Napoli for €90 million (£75.6m).
General manager Beppe Marotta insisted it was an investment the club would have made even had they not been set to recoup that money and more from the £89.3m (€105m) sale of Pogba.
And Crespo -- the world's most expensive player when Lazio signed him from Parma for €55m in 2000 -- told La Nacion: "You don't get anything for free, even less so in football.
"If they spent that much it is only because Higuain is worth it or at least they expect to get a return on him.
"I believe it is far more logical to pay €90m for Higuain, who has just scored 36 goals, than spending €110m on Pogba.
"With all respect -- and he is a great player -- goals are what make the difference in world football."
Crespo, who scored 323 goals during his career, is currently out of work after coaching Modena in Serie B last season.

Driver on phone crushes security guard to death

The family of Effiong Etim has been thrown into mourning after he was allegedly killed by a company driver, Henry Uduze.

PUNCH Metro learnt that 47-year-old Effiong was returning from work on his motorcycle when he was allegedly crushed to death by Uduze on Omole Estate Phase II.

Witnesses said the suspect was receiving a telephone call when the incident happened.

Our correspondent was told that Effiong, a security guard, gave up the ghost at the Accident and Emergency Centre at the tollgate area, Ikeja.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the accident happened around 9am on Monday.

He said, “The company driver was coming out of a bank when he was distracted by the call he was receiving. He crushed Effiong and hit another motorcyclist. The back tyre climbed Effiong’s head, but the second victim survived.

“The driver wanted to run away, but the security man at the bank held him. The case was reported at the Isheri Police Station.”

The victim’s wife, Dorothy, a housemaid, said she was at her workplace when she was called that her husband had been taken to a hospital by men of the Federal Road Safety Corps and the police.

She explained that she rushed out and met her husband at the emergency centre.

She said, “His head was bandaged. His private parts were connected to a pipe. He could not open his eyes or talk. He was writhing in pain on the bed. After a brief moment, a nurse sent me out.”

The mother of seven children told our correspondent that the family was given a referral to the Gbagada and Lagos Island general hospitals, adding that the two hospitals said they didn’t have a bed space.

Dorothy said the family secured a bed space at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, and they were asked to pay N50,000 for the treatment and drugs the victim got at the emergency centre.

She said, “One of the boys of the man that hit my husband said they could only afford N30,000. When I rejected the money, the policeman who accompanied us said if I didn’t take it, they would leave me to bear the burden alone. Since I was helpless, I had to take it and I added the remaining money.

“When it was evening, a nurse at the centre said she didn’t want to break the news to me directly, but since I had refused to go home, she had no choice. She said my husband was dead.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that the corpse was deposited in a mortuary, while the victim’s wife was taken to the Isheri Police Station to make her statement.

Dorothy said the suspect’s company’s lawyer offered N30,000 as payment for her husband’s mortuary bill, adding that the lawyer said her family would be compensated “based on our worth.”

“My church got a lawyer for us and after the lawyer spoke with them, they promised to give us N250,000. But what will I do with that? All I want is for them to bury my husband and help my children. I want them to give my children scholarships,” she added.

The victim’s family’s lawyer, Mrs. Nike Olawepo, said efforts to see representatives of the suspect’s company had been abortive.

She said, “The suspect hit the victim with his company’s vehicle. All efforts to see the company’s  representative have proved abortive; they seemed not to be bothered at all. A lawyer, who claimed to be representing the company, said the company can only assist in burying the deceased with N250, 000 and that after the burial, the company will profile Etim’s family before it could think of what to do about the case.

“The deceased, who was from Akwa-Ibom, was the breadwinner of his family of eight and also has aged parents in the village. The family is staying in a single room at Olowora and they are indigent. If this case is not properly managed and investigated, the family of the deceased will suffer double jeopardy.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, promised to call back our correspondent, but she had yet to do so as of press time.

Punch

Dozens die in suicide bombings across Syrian cities held by Assad forces

Dozens of people have been killed in an apparently coordinated string of bombings across government-held cities in Syria, as battles that have drawn in regional and international powers rage throughout an embattled country carved into competing spheres of influence.

Syrian state media said at least 40 people had died in six suicide bombings in the city of Homs in central Syria, the suburbs of Damascus, the suburbs of the coastal city of Tartus, and the Kurdish-controlled Hasakah city. Dozens more have been wounded.

Police in Tartus said a car bomb detonated on the main road leading into the city, and a second suicide bomber killed several who had gathered in the aftermath, killing 30 people and wounding 45. Two other bombings near Damascus killed one person and injured three, while a car bomb in Homs city killed four people and injured 10.

In Hasakah, which is controlled predominantly by Kurdish paramilitaries known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG), five people were killed in the city centre after a motorbike laden with explosives was detonated. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on its news agency Amaq.

Tartus has remained loyal to the government of Bashar al-Assad throughout five years of civil war and has been largely spared the destruction wrought on other parts of the country, emerging as a relative haven for refugees who wished to remain in Syria. The area is also home to Russian naval and air force facilities, with Moscow directing its aerial campaign in Syria from there.

In May, Tartus and neighbouring Jableh city was hit by a string of suicide bombings orchestrated by Isis, in which 184 people were killed and more than 200 wounded.

The latest bombings came amid multiple battlefield defeats by Isis and other significant developments over the weekend that have added another layer of complexity and suffering to a war that has claimed nearly half a million lives and displaced half the population.

In Aleppo, which has been divided for four years into interlaced zones of opposition and regime control, forces loyal to Assad succeeded on Sunday in reimposing a siege on the rebel-held eastern districts, only a month after it was lifted in a rebel offensive.

The Syrian government and opposition activists said troops loyal to Assad, backed by the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, took control of a military complex and academy south-west of the city in an area called Ramouseh, once again severing rebel supply lines that had linked the besieged eastern half of the city with territory controlled by the opposition in the surrounding countryside.

A rebel coalition known as Jaysh al-Fateh – which includes the former al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, previously known as al-Nusra Front – had succeeded in breaking the siege by taking control of Ramouseh, though little aid had made it through the battle-scarred neighbourhood.

Burning calories all day

Up your burn

If you can get to the gym every day and blast off 500 calories, then that’s awesome—but if you follow up a morning workout by sitting at a desk for eight hours, then you may not be too pleased with how long it takes you to start noticing weight falling off. Luckily, there are stealth ways you can turn up your calorie burn all day long. Lose more weight in less time with these expert tips.

Rise and sweat

If you know you have limited time to get to the gym in the morning, set your alarm to go off 15 minutes early. “Do something first thing to get your metabolism stoked—try a circuit of the tried-and-true basics, like jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches and squats,” suggests Alonzo Wilson, founder of Tone House in New York City.

Do the “1 times 10” trick

“I try to find 10 opportunities during the day to raise my heart rate for one minute at a time,” says Tony Horton, creator of the new P90 DVD. The added oxygen will keep you alert, activate your heart, lungs, legs and brain—and even burn as many as 300 to 400 calories a day, he explains. Try doing 10 squats at the top of every hour or walking lunges on your way to and from the bathroom.

Do grunt work

Jobs today require less physical effort than they did 50 years ago. Translation: We’re missing out on burning roughly 100 calories each day, found researchers from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Longer commutes, as well as meetings via Skype, have us in office-chair-potato mode. Make up for the loss by doing manual tasks, advises trainer Adam Rosante, author of The 30-Second Body. For example, copy documents (12 calories), tidy your cube and water your plants (15 calories total) and stand while filing (18 calories).

Keep it cool

Pump your AC a little earlier than usual to melt fat. Keeping your home on the chilly side can increase your body’s brown fat by up to 40 per cent, per a study in the journal Diabetes. When activated by cold temperatures, brown fat burns calories to help your body stay warm, even when you’re just sitting around.

Hit the floor

Park it on the ground when you watch TV and you’ll incinerate more calories than if you were lounging on the couch. “When you sit on the floor, your muscles have to support you, and you work harder to stand up,” says biomechanist Katy Bowman, author of Move Your DNA.

Stop multitasking

Carry in groceries one at a time to sneak in more steps, advises trainer Lisa Kinder, of the 10 Minute Solution: High Intensity Interval Training DVD. “Something that might normally take you two minutes has now become a 10-minute activity,” she says. Hey, it kills off 89 calories!”

Let your phone nudge you

Set your smartphone alarm to go off every 30 minutes as a reminder to get up. “Before you know it, hours can go by without leaving your desk,” says celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, author of 5 Pounds. Activity Trackersdon’t help if you’re not actually moving.

Health.com

Mother Tongue: A close look at Parents and Children. By Henry Kwaghkule

Mother language or Mother tongue, which is also widely known as dialect or native language, is the indigenous language of one’s parents which is usually the first language learnt by him/her. In the same vein, it is also referred to as the language of one’s ethnic group. Suffice to say that, one’s mother tongue is an apparent indication of where he/she hails from.

Mother language is often regarded as one’s ‘first language’.Therefore by contrast, a second language is any language that one speaks other than his or her first/native language.

The mother language is noted as ‘first’, because it is regarded as the most important language spoken by anyone due to its hereditary value as well as its cultural impact on the concerned individual.

No doubt, mother language or first language contributes immensely in a child’s personal, social, cultural, intellectual, educational and economic lives. Personal, in the sense that a child’s first (native) language is critical to his or her identity. Social, in the sense that when the native language of a child is not maintained, important links to family and other community members may be lost. Cultural, in the sense that sustaining a child’s mother tongue would help the child to value his or her culture and heritage, which contributes to positive self-concept

Furthermore, the intellectual aspect of it is that, when students who are not yet fluent in their second/official language such as English or French, but have switched to using only the said official language, would have the tendency of functioning at an intellectual level below their age thereby resulting to academic failure. Educational-wise, students who learn second language and continue to develop their native language would have chances of higher academic achievement in later years than those who learn their second language at the expense of their first language.

More so, economically, there are available better employment or job opportunities in Nigeria and this help with the ability of language flexibility. A Hausa man prefer working with a native speaker of Hausa language for easy flow of the sector wisely in language mutual and the ability to understand the language.

THE UNCIVILIZED ATTITUDES OF SOME PARENTS TO THE MOTHER TONGUE.

In the 21st century, the era of globalization, economic experience and civilization, most parents have deviated from impacting domestic education and proper teaching of their immediate language to their children, they prefer teaching them English, French and possible Spanish. Most parents talk to their children in English not knowing that the child is not originally English mother tongue.

A thoroughly research have shown in Nigeria that most people don't pray in their mother tongue. They look at English as a Heavenly language that if one pray using the language God will answers the prayer quick. There is no language that is inferior to God. You can not subject your culture or what God has given to you.

Also some parents in our contemporary society makes a hick and uncivilized statement that " My children don't speak their language unless you speak English to them." As you teach your children English, try to teach them your native language as well.

A case was observed in Aliade 2008 where a Tiv guy who was born and brought in a barracks through his parents serving Nigeria Army. The man and his wife been Tivs could not teach their children Tiv language. They never one day greet their children in Tiv Language.

After retirement from from Nigerian Army, he took his children to Aliade. In Aliade the children were very stubborn, his first son had a serious issue with another boy from a different family that calls for the interrogations.  The boy was known to be speaking Vulgar languages as English.

The elders of the community ask him what is his preferred language since he can't speak  native language.

The boy answer he will speak English, when they allowed him to speak English language. The boy that his father nurture English in him could not speak the English he claimed to know. The other boy was ask to speak, He speak Tiv language fluently with wise words and proverbial talks of the Tiv people making him to win over the English barracks boy who the parents speak English day and night.

Many people have confidence in mother tongue, because it has less errors than English. So parents who don't teach their children in their mother tongue are ashamed of their God given language. If you as a parent you do not teach your children the mother tongue, they will surly grow up and feel like they don't have that connection with their culture.

Parents should endeavors to awaken the spirit of communicating to their children in their mother tongue and encourage them to speak it as well.

Parents should also encourage their children to always listen to Cultural songs oral poets of their indigenous language. Example in Tiv language poets, parents can allow their children to listen to songs of Augustine Tarkaa Golozo, Hemen man Dondo, Kuje Yum, Ignatius Tondo Kumbur,  Gari Kwagh-bo, etc to get intouched with Africanality. Gospel songs of language too is a good recommendations.

Also parents should always try to interpret Proverbs our their languages to their children equally children should value their mother tongue.

CONCLUSION, Language is an arbitrary vocal symbols by which we communicate to many others but it differs in Languages. If you a Tiv man you must know how to speak Tiv fluently and do it to your children, not silence them. As they learn English as an official language, endeavors to teach them your dialect as well.

Negative impressions on our mother tongue is becoming inferior, we must deviate from this impression and rethink to value what God has given to us...

Henry Kwaghkule is a poet, and a script writer.

Kwaghkulehenry@gmail.com

Ikoyi Lagos.

08064705340.

Economy Recession: Stop crying like helpless baby – PDP tells APC

The Peoples Democratic Party has asked President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress, to face the challenge of putting the economy in a good shape instead of “crying like a helpless baby.”

It also said that the ruling party lacked vision to run the economy.

The main opposition party, which ruled the country from 1999 to 2016, also said that the APC’s incompetence and poor handling of the economy caused recession.

Consequently, it said that President Buhari and the APC should stop blaming former President Goodluck Jonathan for the current state of the economy.

The spokesperson for the PDP National Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said this in a statement he signed in Abuja on Sunday.

Adeyeye said the PDP had noticed that some governors of the APC had also joined the fray by blaming the former ruling party and Jonathan for the current hardship in the country.

Specifically, he mentioned the Governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, as one of those who he said were of the opinion that the last PDP administration was responsible for the current economic recession.

Adeyeye said, “It is really disappointing that a notable personality as highly-placed as a state governor could be drawn into making idle and pedestrian claims without the benefit of facts.

“It is either he does not realise the obligation of speaking responsibly in that position or he is grossly ill-informed.

“In which case, we could only try to put the facts before him, and hoping he would recognise them.

“In the first place, this blame is misplaced because our elementary understanding of economics teaches us that the major cause of recession is inflation and poor handling of the economy given that the higher the rate of inflation, the more impoverished people become, industrial production and GDP decline resulting in massive job losses.

“Perhaps, we should quote those who should know and tell Governor Badaru that wrong economic policies of the APC-led government caused the current stagnation and recession in the country.”

Adeyeye referred the ruling party and the government to a statement credited to the President of the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association, Mr. Larry Ettah, a few days ago to buttress his point.

He said, “Ettah did not mince words when he said a few days ago that, ‘It is quite evident that the lack of clarity about the economic agenda of the current government contributed to the current economic stagnation and recession.

“‘In recent times at our AGMs, we have variously described our operating environment as challenging, unpredictable, unstable and energy sapping. These words are of course, true and descriptive of what our members have experienced in keeping their businesses afloat.’

“However, beyond that, we make bold to tell Governor Badaru that Jonathan and the PDP government saw this coming since 2011, and wanted to deregulate the sale of hydrocarbons in 2012, but Badaru and his co-travellers who are now in the APC frustrated the effort.”

He added that the former administration also wanted to encourage more savings in the Excess Crude Account and set up the Sovereign Wealth Fund but that “the Badarus of this world” who he said played politics with serious national issues and were state governors at the time took the Federal Government to court and did everything to frustrate the effort.

“Thank God some of them are among the ‘best brains’ in the APC Federal Government of today,” Adeyeye stated sarcastically.

He said that Badaru should know that it would be difficult to plant grapes and harvest mangoes.

Apart from this, he alleged that it was no longer a secret that the policies and statements made by key government actors had not been business-friendly.

This action, he added, made some Nigerians and foreign businessmen to take their hard currencies out of the country.

He said, “When professionals were advising the government to woo investors, characters like Badaru were busy demarketing Nigeria all over the world.

“They should be reminded that great leaders take over countries either in recession or war and still succeed in turning them around; quite unlike the prevailing situation where a ruling party plunges the economy into an avoidable recession, only to turn round and begin to whine helplessly like a baby.

Adeyeye called on the Federal Government to stop the blame game and look inward towards resolving the recession by inviting economic experts irrespective of their political leaning to join hands with the administration at these trying times.

Seven health mistakes all pregnant women make

You already know you should eat healthy, exercise and keep your prenatal care appointments, but when it comes to other decisions you might have misconceptions about your pregnancy health.

Here are seven of the most common mistakes pregnant women make and easy ways to fix them.k

1. Overlooking the Zika virus

As of August 25th, there have been 624 reported cases of pregnant women in the U.S. with lab evidence of the Zika virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Although women have been advised to avoid travel where Zika has been circulating, women who live in those areas or decide to travel anyway might not use insect repellant or use the wrong type of insect repellant to prevent mosquito bites, said Dr. Alyssa Dweck, a board-certified OB/GYN in Mt. Kisco, N.Y. and an assistant clinical professor at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Dweck recommends pregnant women and those planning to become pregnant use insect repellant with DEET sprayed on their clothing, not directly on their skin. If your sexual partner has traveled to an area with Zika, you should also use condoms to prevent the spread of the virus.

2. Treating pregnancy like a condition

“The greatest mistake I’ve seen women in pregnancy make is this idea that somehow it’s a much different state than the rest of their lives and that they have to change everything that they do,” said Dr. Jennifer Lang, a board-certified OB/GYN in Los Angeles and author of, “The Whole 9 Months: A Week-By-Week Pregnancy Nutrition Guide with Recipes for a Healthy Start.”

Remember that pregnancy is natural and normal and although you might have to avoid certain foods like sushi, pregnancy shouldn’t be a free pass to overindulge on foods you crave.

“If it’s not a great idea to do when you’re not pregnant, it’s not a great idea to do in pregnancy,” she said.

3. Eating for two

Nearly 50 percent of women gain more than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy, according to a study in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

“Women think that because they’re pregnant they have to double their calories and it couldn’t be further from the truth,” Lang said.

Women who are obese during pregnancy have an increased risk for miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth and difficult deliveries, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, preeclampsia, sleep apnea and blood clots. Infants born to obese mothers are also more likely to have birth defects and be obese themselves later on in life.

The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends women with a normal body mass index (BMI) get an extra 340 calories a day in the second trimester and an extra 450 calories a day in the third trimester.

If you’re carrying twins or multiples, or you’re overweight or obese when you start your pregnancy, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian nutritionist about a plan that’s right for you.

4. Avoiding sex

“Some women feel incredibly sexual during pregnancy and others feel like, ‘No way, no how,’” Dweck said.

Unless your doctor has told you that there’s a medical reason why you shouldn’t have sex, there’s no reason to avoid it. In fact, if your pregnancy is full-term, sex may actually jump-start labor because the prostaglandins from semen may soften the cervix and cause uterine contractions.

You can get creative with different positions to make sex more comfortable, but it’s important to avoid lying flat on your back because it can compress the vena cava, the vein that returns blood to the heart.

5. Opting out of vaccines

Pregnant women may decide not to get the seasonal flu shot over concerns about its effectiveness or safety. Yet it’s the best way to avoid serious complications from the flu, which pregnant women are at risk for because of the changes to the immune system that happen during pregnancy, Dweck said.

In fact, a study in the journal Pediatrics showed that 90 percent of women didn’t get the flu vaccine, yet the infants of mothers who did had a 70 percent reduced risk of the flu.

What’s more, infants of mothers who receive the flu vaccine in the third trimester are 33 percent less likely to be hospitalized for respiratory illness in the first six months after they’re born, found a study presented at the Options for the Control of Influenza 2016 Conference in Chicago.

The CDC also recommends women receive the whooping cough vaccine during the third trimester of pregnancy to protect their babies from the disease before they receive the vaccine at two months.

6. Neglecting your core

Exercise is healthy for you and your baby but many women avoid training their abdominal muscles during pregnancy because they fear they could hurt themselves or their babies while others don’t even realize they should be doing it, said Leah Keller, a pre- and post-natal fitness expert in San Francisco, California and creator of The Dia Method.

The core muscles can help to prevent falls and injuries that are more common during pregnancy and make delivery shorter and easier. Training the core during pregnancy can also help prevent damage from diastasis recti— the separation of the rectus abdominis muscles that affect approximately sixty percent of first-time— singleton pregnancies.

To make sure you train safely, ask your physician to recommend a program or a trainer who has experience with prenatal fitness and diastasis recti.

7. Overdosing on vitamins and supplements

You already know you need to take your prenatal vitamins, but if you’re loading up on extra vitamins and over-the-counter herbal supplements, there’s no evidence it can help and it could actually be harmful to your baby, Lang said.

A better way is to get your nutrition through food. A whole-foods, primarily plant-based diet, will likely give you the right amount of nutrients you need.

“It’s the way our body was meant to assimilate vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in combination with this very complex blend that tends to be absorbed more optimally by the body,” Lang said.

If morning sickness or food aversions get in the way and you think you need a supplement, check with your doctor first to make sure what you’re taking is safe.

 

Source: Julie Revelant (FOX)

Why we took over Jonathan cousin’s firm – Army

The Nigerian Army has explained why the men of the Army Headquarters Garrison, Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja, took over the premises of a company belonging to Mr. Robert Azibaola, a cousin of former President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said that the land in question belonged to the Army.

Usman said the Army decided to take over the property because the service did not want any further encroachment on the property.

He stressed that the Nigerian Army would not tolerate any encroachment on its land.

“The said property is on Nigerian Army’s land and the Army will not allow anybody to encroach on its land.

“Consequently, the property has to be sealed to prevent further encroachment,” he stated.

Soldiers had taken over the premises of Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited, owned by the former President’s cousin, located along the Kubwa/Asokoro Expressway on Saturday.

The company shares boundary with the Luigi Barracks of the Nigerian Army.

Meanwhile, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on Sunday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to caution the Nigerian Army for alleged arbitrary use of its powers and use of brute force on innocent citizens. Falana made this call in a statement, which he made on the heel of the invasion of the premises of Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited on Saturday.

The lawyer said the Army took possession of the property, owned by Azibaola, without a court order.

He said, “Sequel to the illegal action of the Army of occupation, the innocent workers in the company have been sent to the unemployment market. Although the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has charged Mr. Azibaola to court for alleged criminal diversion of $40m from the office of the National Security Adviser, he pleaded not guilty to the charge and has been granted bail.

“The implication of the plea is that he is presumed innocent until the contrary is proved by the prosecution.

“Therefore, if the Nigerian military authorities had wanted to dispossess him of the property in question, they ought to have applied for a court order. But by taking over the property under the pretext that it constitutes a threat to a nearby military barracks, the military authorities took the law into their hands.

“The forceful seizure of the property should not be tolerated in a civilised society which operates under the rule of law.”