Eat this, but not that! Try this, but steer clear of that!
A lot of advice is available to expecting mothers about how to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Your body has new nutritional requirements, safety concerns, and even limitations, although it may sometimes appear confusing or overwhelming.
Being pregnant is an exciting time that frequently motivates women to adopt healthier lifestyle habits and, if necessary, avoid things that harm their babies. Your unborn child is counting on you. Therefore, your main priorities include maintaining your health and working with your primary care provider to ensure a healthy start for your baby and your peace of mind in light of all the changes happening to your body.
Follow these seven tips for the upcoming nine months to ensure a healthy pregnancy with fewer complications.
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Get Regular Prenatal Checkups
Your prenatal appointments significantly influence your health during pregnancy and outcome. If you don’t show up for your appointments and keep skipping them, you risk having a pregnancy issue that could have been easily avoided. The first trimester is the most critical period for organogenesis, during which the fetus develops its organs. In addition, unexpected pregnancy increases the likelihood of the fetus being exposed to modifiable dangers like alcohol or drugs.
Therefore, your doctor must be up to date with your pregnancy journey to avoid negligence during the birthing process that can lead to childbirth injuries like cerebral palsy etc., or can jeopardize your baby’s life. You can check different resources such as childbirthinjuries.com to learn more about these situations and be vigilant. Hence, don’t skip your prenatal appointments, so your doctor can monitor your health and help you develop a safe labor and delivery plan.
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Eat a Healthy Diet
You need foods rich in nutrition that are wholesome and helps in the growth of your baby. Make sure you consume enough calories to keep your weight within a healthy range. For at least the final six months of pregnancy, most women require roughly 300 extra calories each day. It’s acceptable to give in to occasional cravings or treats, but watch your portion sizes. Put fruits and vegetables on half of your plate and whole grains on the other. Choose healthy snacks like low-fat yogurt with fruit or cheese with whole-grain crackers. Also, don’t skip your breakfast.
In addition to the foods you should eat to support your baby’s growth, you must avoid some things. For example, avoid eating raw or uncooked meals, rare meats, soft cheeses, unpasteurized juices or milk, lunch or deli meats, pre-made salads, and raw sprouts. Also, limit your intake of caffeinated beverages and drinks with added sugars. Since some women are susceptible to gestational diabetes, which raises blood sugar levels, it’s essential to examine the baby frequently, eat a nutritious diet, exercise, and monitor blood sugar levels.
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Take Prenatal Vitamins
Your unborn child needs essential vitamins and nutrients, including folic acid, iron, calcium, and DHA. Therefore, taking prenatal vitamins is important to ensure your baby gets all the essential nutrients. However, these supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet. Folic acid helps prevent severe birth abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord, and iron assists your blood in carrying oxygen for both you and your unborn child.
You should continue taking prenatal vitamins during your pregnancy and into the postpartum phase. An early start can also lessen the effects of morning sickness. There are also gummy forms of prenatal vitamins available over the counter if you have difficulties swallowing pills.
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Exercise and Stay Active
Although being pregnant slows you down, you still need to exercise enough to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Physical activity aids in stress reduction, weight management, blood circulation improvement, and better sleep. To learn about which exercises are safe during pregnancy, you can sign up for a relevant class.
Exercises can also help you maintain your happiness and regulate your mood. And a healthy pregnant woman is a happy one! But, more importantly, before beginning any workout program, speak with your gynecologist first and follow a safe exercise routine.
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Avoid Harmful Substances
You need to protect yourself and your unborn child from some of the health problems that are the most easily averted by abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs while you are pregnant. Smoking, for instance, can make your baby more likely to have a low birth weight and preterm birth. FASDs, or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, can result from excessive alcohol consumption.
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Get Comfortable
Comfort should be at the forefront of your pregnancy wardrobe. Foot issues such as arch and heel pain, swollen feet, and swollen ankles affect many pregnant women. Some women also experience increased dizziness or clumsiness; the last thing you want is for your clothing to exacerbate this. So instead, choose footwear and apparel that are supportive and comfortable. Your hips and back will appreciate it.
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Cut Out on Some House Chores
Cleaning the bathroom and taking care of the pets are two examples of the daily chores that pregnant women must give up. Unfortunately, the cleaning products you use may contain toxic chemicals that aren’t necessarily harmful to you. However, your child would undoubtedly be affected.
Following is a list of things you must stop doing as soon as you conceive:
- Strenuous lifting
- Using ladders or step stools to ascend
- Changing the cat litter
- Using corrosive substances
- Spending too much time standing
- Standing in or close to a heated area
Conclusion
Every pregnancy is fascinating and unique. You can become accustomed to new lifestyle habits by making changes now. You will provide your child with the best possible start in life. Whatever you eat, during and after child birth, can affect your baby. Therefore, make sure you eat healthy and drink lots of water to stay hydrated. If you want a healthy pregnancy, you need to make sure that you avoid unhealthy drinks and beverages, quit smoking, stay active by following an activity routine suggested by your gynecologist and don’t skip any prenatal appointment.