Top 10 Tips For Maintaining A Healthy Pregnancy

Healthy pregnancy: If you haven’t already discovered it, there is a wealth of information on pregnancy available on the Internet, in books, and through family and friends. To say the least, it can be overwhelming. How do you know what is best for you and your child?

Here are the top 10 tips for maintaining a healthy pregnancy.

Take folic acid and vitamin D

Folic acid nearly eliminates your baby’s risk of neural tube abnormalities. It is best to begin taking it three months before conception, but if that is not possible, begin taking the suggested daily quantity now and continue taking it until the end of the first trimester.

Vitamin D aids in the development of healthy bones, teeth, and muscles in your infant. It aids in the regulation of calcium and phosphate levels in the body. These are required to maintain the health of your bones and teeth. Unless your doctor or midwife detects a deficiency, such as iron deficiency, these two supplements are all you need during pregnancy.

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Stay active

Sedentism (a lot of sitting down) is not good for you or your baby.

It increases your chances of gaining too much weight, developing gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and developing varicose veins, as well as having shortness of breath and lower back pain.

If you exercised before becoming pregnant, you can continue to do so, but listen to your body and slow down when you feel uncomfortable. If you didn’t exercise prior to becoming pregnant, you don’t have to start now; the key thing is to be active. There are some suggestions below to help you include exercise in your daily routine.

Pregnant women should exercise for 30 minutes each day, four times per week.

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Food Hygiene

While it’s fine to indulge in your cravings on occasion during pregnancy, it’s vital to remember that you only need an extra 300 calories per day. Make sure you get enough protein and calcium every day and avoid deli meats to avoid consuming bacteria that could harm your baby.

Some foods, such as toxoplasmosis and listeriosis, pose a minor risk of illness. Salmonella, for example, can cause food poisoning. Others contain excessive amounts of vitamin A or mercury, which can be harmful to your developing body.

Listeria infection is uncommon, but if it occurs, it can have serious consequences for your unborn child.

Salmonella food infection is unlikely to damage your baby, but it can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting in you. Avoid unpasteurized milk, raw or partly cooked eggs, and foods containing them (such as mayonnaise).

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Eliminate alcohol

Any alcohol you consume quickly reaches your baby through your bloodstream and the placenta.

When pregnant, there is no safe level of alcohol to consume, and the more you consume, the greater the risk of injury to your baby. As a result, it is advised that you refrain from drinking alcohol while pregnant.

It is especially crucial to prevent excessive alcohol consumption throughout the first and third trimesters.

Drinking alcohol during the first trimester can harm your baby’s growth and raise your chances of miscarriage, while it can harm your baby’s brain during the third trimester. Preterm birth and stillbirth are two more pregnancy problems associated with drinking.

Heavy or binge drinking during pregnancy is highly hazardous to your baby’s health.

Pregnant women who drink extensively on a regular basis are more likely to have a child with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). These issues range from learning and behavioral issues to more catastrophic birth abnormalities.

Exercise regularly

Regular exercise offers numerous advantages for both you and your baby. Aids in coping with changes in posture and joint tensions during pregnancy. Helps you maintain a healthy weight, even if it is usual to gain weight during pregnancy. Aids in the prevention of pregnancy problems such as excessive blood pressure and gestational diabetes. Increases the likelihood of simple labour and birth. It makes it easier for you to get back into shape following the birth of your child. If you’re feeling down, this will lift your spirits.

Always inform your fitness instructor that you are pregnant, or, ideally, choose pregnancy-specific classes.

If you participate in sports, you can do so for as long as it is comfortable for you. However, if your sport poses a risk of falls or knocks, or places additional strain on your joints, it’s advisable to cease.

Pelvic floor exercises

The pelvic floor is a broad sling of muscles located at the base of your pelvis. Your bladder, vagina, and back passage are all supported by these muscles. Because of the added strain, they may feel weaker than usual during pregnancy. Pregnancy hormones might also weaken and slacken your pelvic floor muscles slightly.

Stress incontinence can be exacerbated by weak pelvic floor muscles. This is when you sneeze, laugh, or exercise and you leak pee.

Throughout your pregnancy, you can strengthen your muscles by performing pelvic floor exercises, or Kegels. You’ll see a difference if you can do 10 lengthy squeezes of 10 seconds followed by 10 short squeezes three times a day.

Cut back on caffeine

Caffeine consumption may raise your chances of miscarriage and stillbirth later in pregnancy. Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, and energy drinks, among other things.

It may also increase your chances of having a low-birth-weight or early baby.

Caffeine use during pregnancy should be limited to 200mg per day, according to current health guidelines. That equates to two glasses of instant coffee.

Caffeine, like alcohol, maybe avoided entirely, especially during the first trimester. Decaffeinated tea, coffee, and fruit teas are all acceptable substitutes.

Consider taking the vaccinations

Your doctor will recommend the whooping cough vaccine to you. This vaccination will be administered to you in order to strengthen your antibodies. These antibodies will be transmitted to your kid via the placenta. The optimal time to get immunized to safeguard your baby is between weeks 16 and 32 of pregnancy. The vaccine can be given starting at 16 weeks, however, it may be less effective if given after 38 weeks. Flu vaccine will also be provided because there is evidence that pregnant women are more likely to have difficulties if they receive the flu during pregnancy.

Stop smoking

Stopping smoking will immediately help both you and your kid. Throwing away your smokes and vowing never to smoke again may be difficult for a few weeks, but it’s a free and safe way to quit.

By quitting smoking, you will immediately safeguard your baby from the tar, carbon monoxide, and other harmful compounds included in cigarettes.

However, if you stop smoking altogether, you may experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Cravings, impatience, anxiety, headaches, and nausea are some of such symptoms. These are normally at their worst the first day or two after quitting and steadily improve over the next two to four weeks, so stick with it!

Get some rest

The weariness you experience during the first few months is caused by elevated amounts of pregnancy hormones in your body.

Later on, it’s more likely to be because you’re getting up in the middle of the night to use the restroom or because you can’t get comfortable in bed.

Try to develop the habit of sleeping on your side. Sleeping on your side reduces the chance of stillbirth by the third trimester when compared to sleeping on your back.

If you have trouble sleeping at night, try taking a little nap in the middle of the day or going to bed early to catch up. If that’s not possible, at the very least put your feet up and relax for 30 minutes. If aches and pains are keeping you awake at night, try resting on your side with your knees bent and a firm cushion between them. Placing a wedge-shaped pillow under your bump may help to relieve back pain.