Taking care of yourself or the mom to be during pregnancy is of paramount importance. Obviously, your gynecologist will give you general guidelines, but there are certain measures that you can take and things that you can do on your own. Following are some general tips that will help you take care of yourself during pregnancy
Educate yourself on what constitutes a good and healthy diet for pregnant women. Your doctor might not ask you to avoid eating outside, but if you know that you have a sensitive stomach, then common sense dictates that you should stay away from uncooked foods, and avoid eating in unhygienic places where you're unsure about the cleanliness and food cooking procedures. Don't eat street foods in the summer and monsoon seasons when food tends to get spoiled easily.
Most importantly, be particular about eating a well-balanced meal regularly and not to fill up yourself with empty calories.
Does the posture you sleep in matters? Yes, it does. If you'll sleep on your back while you're pregnant may harm your back, as the added weight of the baby sits right on your spinal cord. The best sleeping position during pregnancy is sleeping sideways (or SOS, sleeping on side). Sleeping on your left side increases the amount of nutrients and blood that reach the placenta and your baby. Keep your knees and legs bent, better yet, put a pillow between your legs. Sleeping in this position also ensures optimal oxygen flow to your little baby.
It goes without saying that you should not smoke at all when you're pregnant, try not being around someone who is smoking too for the risk of passive smoking. About drinking, you might have heard or read in several places that red wine is fairly safe during pregnancy. However, while pouring yourself a glass of red wine to unwind at the end of a tiresome day might still be questionable, but refusing it is an unquestionably safe bet. Well, the decision is totally up to you. If you feel an uncontrollable urge for a drink (which is quite normal) you could consider going for a small glass of red wine. But if your craving is not so strong and you can resist it, consider opting for an alternative non-alcoholic drink such as a juice or a mocktail. A small cup of mild coffee a day is also fine, but needless to say a cup of fresh juice is even better. Again, the decision is totally yours!
No, I don't mean that you should hit the gym or gear up for a marathon. A short walk every day is more than enough. Why you should exercise is because you should keep your leg muscles strong, this will help in the delivery process. But do check with your doctor before kick starting any exercise routine.
Spend some time reading daily. No, this doesn't mean that your baby would grow up having an innate love for literature, but reading is certainly a relaxing activity. Try to read something that feeds your interest, something humorous that would keep you light-minded, travel looks/travel logs and cookbooks would also do. Try to avoid reading depressing books, as they might put you in a serious mood and you'd feel low all day. Pregnancy generally can be a very stressful time and reading is a great way to divert your mind and let loose of all the stress and laugh. The effects of heartfelt laughter are surely going to have a positive impact on your baby.
If you're not the reading kind and you find reading highly tedious then you can listen to music! Listening to soothing music and also, playing music can be a great way to pass your time. If you don't know how to play an instrument and you've always wanted to then what better time than this! Continue listening to music even when your baby is born (because playing music would be next to impossible then), and you'd be surprised to see your baby calm down as soon as you put on some music.
Health Care Tips that can be Taken by Pregnant Women for a Healthy Pregnancy
Pregnancy is normally a period of forty weeks or a tad bit more than nine months. It doesn't matter whether you already are pregnant or you are planning to get pregnant, you need to plan out everything meticulously, stay organized and most importantly, take care of yourself and your baby as well.
Although almost all women have different pregnancy symptoms, some of the most common symptoms are morning sickness, missed menstrual periods, sleepiness, backache, food cravings, nausea and vomiting among many others. Some women have these typical symptoms either throughout the pregnancy period or for a couple first few months.
Taking care of the diet is very important throughout the period of pregnancy and even after that. Make sure that you pay attention and take fully nutritious foods even if you have some specific food items' cravings. Try to avoid foods with empty calories, fast foods and street foods. If you eat a proper balanced diet, it will keep you as well as your child healthy. Also try to limit your intake of tea & coffee (also avoid green tea) as an excess of caffeine results in health problems later, after the child is fully developed.
The first trimester or three months of the pregnancy is full of changes within your body. Pregnancy is usually calculated from your last period, although the conception might have normally occurred after a week or two. In most cases, no symptoms are immediately noticed in the first four weeks. The only thing that a woman might mark is missing her period.
During the first three months, the cells of your baby multiply extremely fast in this time. You need to be very mindful and cautious and report any if you notice any kind of stomach pain or bleeding during this time immediately to your doctor. You could feel exhausted and suffer from bad cases morning sickness a few times. But if the sickness is too often and too bad then you should share it with your doctor.
The middle three months are usually free from any complication and are most often enjoyable for the expecting mother. You can see the baby bump growing gradually in size and enjoy the first blissful movements of the baby inside your womb. Try to include lots of vegetables & fruits in your diet during the second trimester and drink a lot of water to avoid constipation.
By the last three months, you will feel that your body is becoming very heavy, you might also feel heartburn and also feel unable to eat large meals. You may also get breathless while moving around, don't worry when all this happen it's quite normal. You have to be careful and stay alert for symptoms as your baby might arrive any time now. Keep direct contact with your doctor and contact her/him as soon as you have fast & severe contractions.
Every woman experiences her own share of health issues during pregnancy. These health problems could either be conditions that already existed in you or developed later during the period of pregnancy. Therefore, care must be taken to make sure that the health of the unborn baby, as well as the expecting mother, is well and considerably free from major complications.
Here are some common health problems during pregnancy.
Most women experience issues related to skin and hair during pregnancy, which again is attributed to hormonal changes. If you already have freckles or moles, they might get darkened and you could develop new dark patches over your skin. But don't worry as these are temporary changes that will go away gradually post delivery. Similarly, you can incur changes in the texture of your hair, they might appear oily, or you could experience hair fall, in some cases pregnancy may cause you to have great hair! You can deal with the negative issues by seeking advice from a dermatologist.
Cramps are characterized by sharp and sudden pains that are felt in your feet or the calf muscles and are commonly experienced during the night while you are pregnant. The exact cause of the cramps is not known yet, but observations show that cramps can be managed if you follow a regular physical activity routine, whereas while sleeping if you place your feet over a pillow, basically a little higher than your body could help a great deal. Make sure that you perform some leg and ankle movements so as to improve and maintain proper circulation, which is found to reduce the pain that cramps cause.
Dizziness is one of the common pregnancy problems, which too is mainly caused by hormonal changes. Besides hormonal changes, if your body is not maintaining a proper circulation, which means, if there is a lack of sufficient amount of oxygen in some parts of your body, it will make you feel dizzy and might cause you to faint. Dizziness can also be experienced if you get up suddenly from a continuous sitting position, or when you go out right after taking a warm bath. Therefore, it is advised that you must make not make sudden movements try to keep your movements slow and casual. If you feel dizzy while standing, try to sit down as soon as possible to prevent the risk of falling down and hurting yourself or your baby.
Mostly during the first trimester itself, most women suffer from constipation. This like many others is caused due to the hormonal changes taking place in your system. Constipation is characterized as an additional strain that one goes through while passing stools or when you are likely unable to empty your bowels with irregular bowel movements. Constipation can be avoided if you would include lots of fiber in your diet, foods such as whole grain cereals, pulses, legumes, grains and lots of fruits and vegetables. It can also be dealt with by intake of lots of water, and following a regular workout routine. Why a workout routine? So that you do not remain stagnant in the physical activities. In some cases, iron supplements may cause constipation, so inform your doctor if you feel the reason could be iron supplements.
This is another common health issue that women experience during and after pregnancy. Sudden movements, sneezing, coughing, and even laughing hard can cause a small leak in urine. Don't get worried this is a temporary condition which is caused by the laxity in the pelvic floor muscles. Therefore it is advised to practice a kegel exercise (that is pulling in of the vaginal muscles so as to tighten them). During the period of pregnancy, this condition of laxity in the muscles occurs so as to ease the baby for delivery.
Frequent urination is an issue that occurs during pregnancy, you feel like passing urine more than usual during the day as well as night. The need for urinating frequently is a result of the baby pressing down on your bladder. This is a natural condition and that does not mean that you stop or reduce your fluid intake due to this because remaining hydrated is highly essential during pregnancy. You can try to take in fewer amounts of fluids during and right before bedtime so that your sleep stays relatively undisturbed by frequent visits to the bathroom.
Pregnancy makes women feel warmer more than usual. This is also caused by hormonal changes and so it is wearing comfortable loose clothing is recommended; preferably wear layered clothing so that you can remove one easily whenever you feel hot. Try to stay in a cool environment and opt to wear garments made out of natural fibers.
Hi! I’m Gunjan, a self-proclaimed tea fanatic and intrigued with alternative ways to lead a healthy life. I firmly believe that we should take care of our bodies because it’s the only place we live in.
