Regular and organized prenatal preparations can be one of the essential factors to ensure that your baby is born healthy. Seek an appointment with a healthcare provider once you feel confirmed that you are pregnant. Healthcare professionals usually don’t give an appointment before eight weeks of pregnancy unless there is a medical problem.
During your pregnancy, you will need to visit your doctor regularly to ensure that you get the prenatal checks done, such as blood tests, urine tests, ultrasound, and others to check the development and growth of your baby. These are some of the other factors that you must consider for your prenatal preparations.
Seeking Help
This is a big event in both your life and your child’s. Seeking out the guidance of experts is not only okay but certainly recommended. Childbirth education classes can bridge the gap between what you know and what you need to know as you prepare to welcome your newborn.
Pregnancy and childbirth are complex processes for which no mother can be completely prepared. Therefore you must learn about all the possibilities that can arise so that you don’t get surprised or anxious. Childbirth classes will educate you about the process and preparation for each stage of pregnancy.
They will also educate you about the dos and don’ts during pregnancy. You can learn what to anticipate during labor and when you should head for the hospital. You can learn about the different types of birthing processes so that you can choose one that suits you the best.
Nutrition and Fluids
During pregnancy, you will need to eat for you and your baby (or babies), so make sure that you do not go for unusual diets. Pregnant mothers need about 300 calories a day to supply nutrition to the baby. So adjust your nutrition intake accordingly. If you are slim and active, you may need to intake more carbohydrates, while if you are overweight, limit your carbs and increase protein and vegetables.
Try to eat a balanced diet with meat, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Your healthcare provider may prescribe prenatal medicines to increase the intake is calcium, vitamins, minerals, folic acid, and some others according to your tests. A pregnant mother also needs to drink sufficient amounts of water so that she doesn’t get dehydrated or constipated.
Exercise
If you had an active lifestyle and indulged in intense workouts, you may need to consult your doctor to ensure that you can continue them. In all probabilities, you should be able to continue those exercises, unless your doctor finds some of them unsuitable for you.
Make sure that you consult your doctor before adding or continuing any new type of workout to your routine. But it is also essential to exercise during pregnancy because it helps with several health aspects, such as:
- Maintain body weight
- Reduce chances of back pain or swelling
- Improves sleep cycle
- Uplifts your mood
- Prepares the body for labor
- Reduces the post-delivery recovery time
You should aim for exercises that have a moderate intensity and a lesser impact, such as swimming, yoga, pilates, tai chi, and some others. Do not indulge in high-intensity sports or exercises, such as skiing, scuba diving, horse riding, weight lighting, and several others.
The body undergoes several changes during pregnancy to prepare for childbirth. Some exercises may prevent those effects, which can be undesirable for the delivery process.
Sleep
Pregnant women often experience a shift in the sleep cycle because it can start to get uncomfortable to lie as the baby gets bigger. The most comfortable position for a pregnant mother is to lie on the side with the knees bent.
This position ensures that the weight of the baby does not put pressure on the spine, and there is optimum blood flow within your body. Sleeping on the side also prevents several medical complications, such as varicose veins or swelling in the legs.
Avoid Certain Things
How you treat your body during pregnancy matters a lot to the health of your baby. So make sure you avoid certain things during your pregnancy. Every pregnant woman knows that she must not drink caffeine and alcohol. But there are some other things that you must avoid, such as:
- Nicotine
- Recreational drugs
- Unpasteurized dairy products
- Food containing raw eggs
- Uncooked or undercooked meat and fish
- Fishes with high Mercury content, like mackerel, shark, swordfish, tuna, and several others
- Changing the kitty litter box
- Over the counter medicines
Prenatal preparations are essential from the time you realize you are pregnant until your baby is born. When you have life growing inside you, you must nurture and protect it. It can make a lot of difference to the health of your baby during childbirth and in the future.