Getting pregnant is one of the most significant phases in a lady’s life. Having a baby is an exciting time and inspires a woman to make healthier lifestyle choices. It becomes equally necessary to work towards a healthy body weight.
These are some tips on how to improve your eating and physical activities while you’re pregnant.
1. Eat Healthy
Consuming healthy foods and low-calorie beverages, particularly water, becomes one of the most important things while you are pregnant or recently had a delivery. You should focus on consuming an appropriate number of calories. While in the womb, your baby needs nutrients to grow healthy and strong. Therefore, it is advisable to eat plenty of colorful fruits and green leafy vegetables, whole grains, calcium-rich foods, and foods low in saturated fat.
More importantly, you need to keep a check on certain foods that women should avoid eating while pregnant. For example, don’t eat raw or rare meats, liver, sushi, raw eggs, feta and brie soft cheeses, and unpasteurized milk. This is because raw and unpasteurized animal products can cause food poisoning. Also, some fish, even after being cooked, can be harmful to your growing baby because they’re high in mercury.
2. Take Your Daily Vitamins
You and your baby need the right amount of nutrients to maintain the optimum health condition. Therefore, taking daily multivitamins is a must during pregnancy. Focus on the intake of folate, iron, and calcium. In addition, you can take Pregnacare Plus, which offers nutritional support with 19 nutrients and a special Omega-3 capsule containing 300mg DHA if you are a mom-to-be.
3. Stay Hydrated
If you are pregnant, make it a point always to stay hydrated. A pregnant woman’s body needs more water than ever before pregnancy. Try intaking at least 8 glasses of water daily.
While staying hydrated is important, also ensure not to drink alcohol, such as wine, beer, or hard liquor. Never drink alcohol before and during pregnancy and while breastfeeding as it increases the risk of having a baby with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). This can cause your baby to be born with abnormal facial features, severe learning disabilities, and even behavioral issues. You can enjoy decaf coffee or tea, drinks not sweetened with sugar. Diet drinks, too, need to be avoided.
4. Go for Regular Prenatal Care Checkups
Women should regularly visit doctors for prenatal care checkups. If you don’t take this seriously and skip your regular visits to the childcare specialists, then you are likely to have a baby with low birth weight or other complications. Also, talk to your health care professional about what weight gain will be appropriate for you. Work together to set goals for your weight gain. For the same, take into account your age, weight, and health. Tra k your weight at home regularly and visit your health care professional every 2 weeks.
5. Don’t Smoke
Just like drinking, smoking is equally unhealthy for you and your unborn child. Smoking increases the risk of premature birth, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), miscarriage, and other poor outcomes.
6. Get Moving
Exercising daily is important at any point in life, before pregnancy, while being pregnant, and even post-pregnancy. Staying active with daily exercises can help you to stay healthy during pregnancy. Consult with your doctor to find out how much physical activity is right for you.
As per the current guidelines, most women need the same amount of physical activity during pregnancy, like before becoming pregnant. So opt for some moderate-intensity aerobic activity. Cardio exercises will help increase your heart rate and breathing. You can also go for brisk walking, a form of aerobic activity.
7. Get Enough Sleep
Getting adequate sleep, about 7 to 9 hours, is important for you and your baby. When pregnant, try to sleep on your left side to improve blood flow.
8. Reduce Stress
Stress can ruin your day and even life. Thus, it is crucial to reduce stress to improve birth outcomes. If you are pregnant, you should avoid taking stress and tension. Avoid stressful situations as much as you can, as it will help maintain your peace of mind. Take the assistance of your loved ones to help you manage stress in your life. Pregnancy can be a phase where you can feel wonderful, exciting, stressed, emotional, and tiring—all at once. If you stress unnecessarily, it can cause you to overeat, not get enough calories, or even lose your energy and drive. Just be good to yourself, and this will help you cope with your feelings and follow healthy lifestyle habits.
9. Take Timely Flu Shots
If you are pregnant, then flu can potentially make you seriously sick and increase the risks of complications for your baby. Get a flu shot timely, and it can protect you from a serious illness. It will also help protect your baby after birth. Consult your physician about getting a flu shot. Follow these simple pregnancy tips on safety and nutrition like eating healthy, getting pregnancy supplements and vitamins from online pharmacy Cyprus timely, and more. This will ensure that you and your baby stay healthy throughout the nine months before your baby arrives.
