Healthy During Pregnancy
Whether you’re planning to start a family, or just found out that you are pregnant, good prenatal care is essential for you and your baby. Right from the 1st week of your pregnancy to the 40th, taking good care of yourself and your baby is of foremost importance. Now, you should absolutely focus on staying healthy, your new nutritional needs, safety concerns, and even limitations.
To do what’s best for you and your baby during pregnancy, here are some essential maternal health tips that will surely help you.
Whether you’re planning to start a family, or just found out that you are pregnant, good prenatal care is essential for you and your baby. Right from the 1st week of your pregnancy to the 40th, taking good care of yourself and your baby is of foremost importance. Now, you should absolutely focus on staying healthy, your new nutritional needs, safety concerns, and even limitations.
To do what’s best for you and your baby during pregnancy, here are some essential maternal health tips that will surely help you.
Healthy eating is essential, particularly during pregnancy, to ensure that you’re getting enough calories to maintain a healthy weight. Half of your plate should contain fruits and vegetables and the other half whole grains. Be careful with portions, although you can sometimes give in to occasional cravings/ indulgences. It would be best if you strictly avoided drinks with caffeine and added sugars, raw or uncooked foods, soft or unpasteurized cheese, raw or undercooked meat, raw eggs, unpasteurized juice or milk and processed or deli meats.
Apart from eating healthy, you also need a daily dose of prenatal vitamins (especially calcium, iron, and folic acid) that will help to keep you and your baby healthy. Iron supplements help the blood to carry enough oxygen; folic acid prevents severe congenital disabilities in the brain and spinal cord of the foetus, and calcium supplements take care of the foetus's calcium demands and prevent the loss of calcium from your bones. But it is important to remember that taking prenatal vitamins doesn't mean you can eat a diet lacking in nutrients. Prenatal vitamins supplement your diet and aren't meant to be your only source of much-needed nutrients.
It is essential to drink plenty of fluids, especially water, during pregnancy. Drinking enough water each day can help prevent common problems, such as dehydration, haemorrhoids, excessive sweating, urinary tract or bladder infections, and constipation faced by pregnant women.
One most essential way to ensure maternal health is to go for regular checkups with your doctor. Regular prenatal visits help your doctor to monitor both your and the baby’s health.
Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs during pregnancy. Smoking can increase your baby’s risk of low birth weight and might cause cancer, heart disease, and other major health issues. Also, avoid drinking alcohol while pregnant as it might harm the growing foetus and adversely affect your baby’s brain or spinal development.
Daily exercise enhances your chance of having a vaginal delivery and enables you to manage the common discomforts of pregnancy. Stretching also works best for pregnant women and benefits both the mother and the growing foetus and should be done only after consulting your doctor. Also, to help you push during delivery and recover after childbirth, it is advised to try Kegel exercises.
Adequate sleep of seven to eight hours each night during pregnancy is a must. While sleeping, you should try sleeping on your left side to improve blood circulation. However, it can be challenging to find the correct position, especially later in pregnancy, that allows you to de-stress and unwind fully. Practicing relaxation techniques daily like yoga, deep breathing, and meditation helps too.
You should avoid stressful situations and rely on others if you need help. You may also treat yourself to a massage, take a quiet walk, or do something relaxing and good for both you and the baby.
Vaccinations protect you and your baby from harmful diseases and infections. You can talk to your doctor about the vaccine schedule you need to follow and get yourself vaccinated accordingly. You can also get the flu shot during pregnancy.
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