Pregnancy is a challenging period in a woman’s life, nothing less than a roller coaster ride.
You are often unsure if you will survive this with the excruciating backache and unending nausea. But the excitement of becoming a mother, holding your baby, and touching their tiny, beautiful face is overpowering. This anticipation and excitement keep you going, motivating you to hold on for a little longer.
But are you aware that there are ways that can make your pregnancy easier?
These ways ensure that you and your baby remain healthy during the pregnancy. Read on to learn about it.
- Get regular prenatal care
Now that you are pregnant, you must be very careful about your health.
Talk to your doctor about everything you might have in your mind. Talking about issues such as how to maintain a healthy weight, the schedule of prenatal visits, and the diet you should take must be your priority. Many doctors don’t book an appointment until you are already eight weeks pregnant.
Don’t forget to discuss the risk of birth injuries and what you should do to prevent them. Talking about birth injuries is essential because you can take all the precautions for a safe pregnancy. And if, after precautions, something goes wrong, you can hold the doctor responsible.
You can get all the legal details related to birth injuries from the Birth Injury Justice Center and get all the support. The more careful you are, the more you can drive out the chances of something terrible happening to your baby.
- Quit smoking
Smoking is not good for anyone, but its effects are much more severe for pregnant women and their unborn babies. Smoking during pregnancy exposes your child to health problems that can cause lifelong impairment.
Smoking increases your chances of miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight baby, underdeveloped baby, cleft lip, premature labor, and the like.
The more you smoke, the more you put your baby in harm’s way. But cutting down the number of cigarettes you smoke does not reduce the risk of smoking-related harm to your baby. The only option is to quit smoking completely at the start or before pregnancy. This will keep you and your baby safe.
- Eat healthy food
The food of an unborn baby is tied to what the mother eats. So, you are not just eating for yourself, but for your baby too.
Don’t eat anything that harms your baby. For instance, pregnant women are advised to avoid eating mercury-containing fish such as sharks, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel, etc. But, just to be safe, you should be careful with all types of fish. Instead of fish, you can opt for other risk-free, healthy options.
Include the following food in your diet during pregnancy.
- Lean meats
- Fruits
- Whole-grain bread
- Vegetables
- Low-fat dairy products
A diet consisting of healthier portions of the above-mentioned food element ensures you and your baby are well-fed and have no chance of receiving any harm.
- Supplements and vitamins
Eating a healthy diet is necessary, but often, your food does not fully satisfy your nutritional requirements. Therefore, doctors prescribe additional supplements to make up for the deficiency.
The essential nutrients you need during pregnancy include iron, calcium, and folic acid. If your doctor does not prescribe any prenatal vitamins, ask about them yourself.
But taking vitamins and supplements doesn’t compensate for eating a healthy diet. Or you should not assume that since you are taking supplements, you are allowed to eat unhealthy food lacking in nutrients.
Whether your doctor prescribes any vitamins or not, eating a healthy diet is a must. Always remember, prenatal vitamins are given to make up for a deficiency and not replace the nutrients you get from food.
- Cut your caffeine intake
High caffeine intake during pregnancy is linked to miscarriages. It reduces blood supply to the fetus and constricts growth. So, it is better to reduce your caffeine intake or reduce it totally to eliminate even the slightest risk.
If you find it hard to cut out your coffee intake cold turkey, here is what you can do.
- If you take multiple cups of coffee every day, cut it down to one or two
- Gradually reduce the intake by replacing it with decaffeinated coffee
- Finally, transition to decaffeinated coffee and cut out the regular one completely
Also, remember that caffeine is not related to coffee only. It is present in many types of teas, colas, etc. So, when you buy something from a store, read the nutritional label and ingredients to know what is going inside you.
Conclusion
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy ensures that you and your baby are safe. Even the slightest carelessness, such as not entirely quitting smoking, drinking a few drinks here and there, or taking medicines without your doctor’s approval, can be harmful to you and your baby’s health. Therefore, it is important to consider your baby and make it a priority while making any health-related decisions.
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