Staying healthy during pregnancy

It's more important than ever to take care of yourself now that you are pregnant. Here are some tips to help you and your baby stay healthy.

Prenatal Health Care

Regular prenatal care is key to the protection of your baby's health. Call your doctor if you suspect you are pregnant to make your first prenatal appointment. However, most health care providers won't schedule your first appointment before 8 weeks of pregnancy unless there are serious complications.

Your first visit will likely include a pregnancy test. Based on your physical exam and last period, your doctor will determine how many weeks you are. This information will be used by your health care provider to predict when your baby will arrive. An ultrasound taken later in pregnancy will confirm this date.

Most health care providers will see you if you are healthy and have no other risk factors.

Every 4 weeks, until the 28th Week of Pregnancy

Then, every 2 weeks up to 36 weeks

Then, once per week, until delivery

Your health care provider will monitor your pregnancy and check your weight, blood pressure, and growth. They may also measure your belly and listen for your baby's heartbeat, as well as your abdomen. Prenatal tests will be performed throughout your pregnancy. These include blood, urine and cervical tests.

There are many options when it comes to choosing a healthcare provider who will counsel you and treat your pregnancy.

Obstetricians/gynecologists (also known as OB/GYNs): doctors who specialize in pregnancy and childbirth, as well as women's health care

Family practitioners are doctors who offer a variety of services to patients of all ages, including obstetrical care in certain cases.

Certified nurse-midwives are advanced practice nurses who specialize in women's healthcare needs. They include prenatal care and labor and delivery as well as postpartum care for simple pregnancies. You can also find other types of midwives but it is best to choose one who has been trained and certified in this field.

If you are healthy, there is no reason to expect complications during pregnancy or delivery. In the event of an unplanned problem, a nurse-midwife must have a doctor on hand for the delivery.

Nutrition and Supplements

You've now got enough food for two or more. This is not the right time to lose weight or cut calories. It's actually the exact opposite. You need 300 more calories per day during pregnancy, when your baby grows rapidly. You'll need more if you are very thin, active, or have multiple children. Your health care provider might recommend that you eat fewer calories if you are overweight.

It is important to eat healthy, especially when you are pregnant. Make sure you eat healthy foods that are good for your baby's health.

Maintain a balanced diet that follows the following guidelines:

Lean meats

Fruits

Vegetables

Whole-grain breads

Low-fat dairy products

You're more likely than not to get the nutrients that you need by eating a balanced, healthy diet. You will require more nutrients, especially calcium, iron and folic acid, than you did before becoming pregnant. Prenatal vitamins will be prescribed by your health care provider to ensure that you and your baby get enough.

Prenatal vitamins don't mean that you have to eat a low-nutrient diet. You still need to eat healthy while you are pregnant. Prenatal vitamins are intended to complement your diet and not to replace your primary source of nutrients.

Calcium

Women aged 19 or older, including pregnant women, don't get the recommended daily intake of 1,000 mg calcium. To prevent your baby from losing calcium, increase your calcium intake. Prenatal vitamins may also be prescribed by your doctor, which could contain additional calcium.

These are good sources of calcium:

Low-fat dairy products include pasteurized cheese and milk.

Calcium-fortified products include orange juice, soymilk, and cereals

Dark green vegetables such as spinach, kale and broccoli are all good options.

Tofu

Dried beans

Almonds

Iron

Women who are pregnant need around 30mg of iron per day. Why? Iron is required to make hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying component red blood cells), which is why. To deliver oxygen to all cells, red blood cells circulate through the body.

The body won't be able to make enough red blood cells, and tissues and organs will not get enough oxygen. It is especially important that pregnant women get enough iron for their babies and for their own health.

Iron can be found in many foods but iron from meat is more readily absorbed than iron from plant foods. Iron-rich foods include:

Red meat

Dark poultry

Salmon

Eggs

Tofu

Enriched grains

Peas and dried beans

Dried fruits

Dark leafy green vegetables

Blackstrap Molasses

Breakfast cereals with iron fortified

Folate Folic Acid

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant consume 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) of folic acids every day. This can be taken as a multivitamin, or folic acids supplements.

Why is folic acid important? Folic acid supplements taken 1 month before and during the first 3 months after conception can reduce the chance of developing neural tube defects.

The neural tube forms during the first few weeks of pregnancy. It may form before a woman realizes she is pregnant. From there, it becomes the baby's brain and spinal cord. A neural tube defect, such as spina fidea, occurs when the neural tube fails to form properly.

Your health care provider may recommend a prenatal vitamin with the correct amount of Folic Acid. A few pregnancy health professionals recommend that pregnant women take an additional folic acid supplement, particularly if they have had a previous child with a neural tube defect.

When you buy an over-the-counter multivitamin, keep in mind that while most multivitamins do contain folic acid but not all have enough to meet the nutritional requirements of pregnant women. Before you buy any multivitamins, make sure to read the labels and consult your doctor.

Fluids

Drinking plenty of fluids, particularly water, is important during pregnancy. Women's blood volume is increased dramatically during pregnancy. Drinking enough water daily can prevent common problems like constipation and dehydration.

Exercise

If you aren't already very active or engaged in vigorous activity, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that you do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week.

You may be able continue your exercise routine if you were very active before getting pregnant. Talk to your doctor before you start or continue any exercise program.

It has been proven that exercising during pregnancy is very beneficial. Regular exercise can be very beneficial:

Avoid excess weight gain

Reduce pregnancy-related issues like back pain, swelling, constipation.

Improve your sleep

Increase energy

Boost your mood

Prepare your body to work

Reduce the recovery time following a birth

Walking and swimming are excellent options for low-impact, moderate intensity exercise. Yoga or Pilates classes, videos or apps for pregnant women are also options. These classes are low-impact, focus on strength, flexibility and relaxation.

High-impact aerobics should be avoided and you should avoid activities that could cause injury to your abdomen or fall. Contact sports, horseback riding, scuba diving and downhill skiing are all examples.

It is also important to pay attention to how your body changes. Your body produces a hormone called relaxin during pregnancy. It is believed that it helps prepare the pubic area for birth and the cervix. Relaxin causes your body to become less stable and more susceptible to injury by losing its ligaments.

It's easy to strain or overstretch yourself, especially your pelvis, lower back and knees. As your pregnancy progresses, your center of gravity changes, which can lead to feeling off-balance or at risk of falling. These are important factors to keep in mind as you select an activity. Don't do it too often.

No matter what type of exercise, take plenty of breaks and drink lots of fluids. If you feel short of breath, slow down or stop. Talk to your doctor if you have questions about participating in any sport or activity during pregnancy.

Sleep

You should get enough sleep throughout your pregnancy. You will likely feel tired more than usual. As your baby grows, it will be more difficult to find a comfortable place to sleep.

As your pregnancy progresses, you will find that lying on your back with your knees bent and your head down is the most comfortable position. This position makes it easier for your heart to work because the baby's weight doesn't put pressure on the blood vessels that transport blood from your heart to your feet and legs. You can reduce swelling, varicose veins and hemorrhoids by lying on your side.

Doctors recommend that pregnant women lie on their left side. Since one of the big blood vessels in your abdomen is on the right side, it helps to keep your uterus from lying on your left side. Your baby's placenta will be nourished by blood flowing to your left side if you lie on your left.

Ask your doctor for advice. Most people can lie on one side or the other. This will relieve pressure from your back and allow you to rest more comfortably. Prop pillows under your belly and between your legs for a more comfortable position.

Avoid These Things

Pregnancy is a time when you have to be careful about what you put in your body and what you expose it to. Here are some things you should avoid.

Alcohol

It may seem safe to drink a glass of wine with dinner, or to share a beer with friends. However, there is no way to determine the "safe" amount of alcohol that you should consume during pregnancy. Alcohol can lead to severe abnormalities in the developing foetus, one of the most prevalent causes of mental and physical birth defects.

The baby is less able to detoxify alcohol than their mother, so alcohol is easy to pass on to them. Unborn babies are more likely to have a higher level of alcohol than their mothers. This means that the baby will be exposed to alcohol for longer periods of time. A baby's nervous system can be damaged by moderate alcohol consumption, or occasional binging.

Don't worry if you had a few drinks before you knew you were pregnant. This is common for many women. Your best option is to avoid alcohol for the remainder of your pregnancy.

Recreational Drugs

Women who are pregnant and use drugs could put their babies at high risk of poor growth, premature births, learning difficulties, behavior problems, and learning disabilities. Their babies may also become addicted to these drugs.

A Planned Parenthood health clinic can refer you to health care providers who can help you stop using drugs and get pregnant.

It is important to tell your doctor if you have ever used drugs during pregnancy. Your unborn child may still be at risk of health problems even if you have stopped using drugs.

Nicotine

Smoking can cause nicotine and carbon monoxide poisoning in pregnant women. These are the risks:

Prematurity

Low birth weight

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Asthma and other respiratory issues in children

Smoking might make it easier to quit. Talk to your doctor about the best ways to quit smoking.

Caffeine

Consuming high amounts of caffeine has been linked with an increased risk for miscarriage. It's best to reduce or avoid caffeine as much as possible.

Here's how to get started if you are having trouble cutting out coffee cold turkey

Reduce your daily intake to just one or two cups.

Combining regular and decaffeinated coffee gradually reduces the amount of caffeine.

You might eventually stop drinking regular coffee.

Remember that caffeine is and not restricted to coffee. Caffeine is found in many teas, colas and other soft drinks. You can switch to decaffeinated or caffeine-free products.

You don't have to avoid chocolate because it contains caffeine. The average chocolate bar contains 5-30 milligrams of caffeine. A cup of brewed coffee has 95-135 milligrams. Small amounts of chocolate can be fine.

Food Smarts and Other Precautions

While you should eat lots of healthy foods during pregnancy you must also avoid food-borne diseases such as listeriotic or toxoplasmosis. These can pose a danger to unborn babies and could cause miscarriage or birth defects.

Avoid these foods:

Soft, unpasteurized cheeses, often called "fresh", such as blue, blue, Brie, Camembert, Brie, Camembert and goat cheeses

Unpasteurized milk, juices and apple cider

Raw eggs or foods containing them, such as mousse, tiramisu and raw cookie dough, Caesar dressing, and homemade ice cream (though some dressings sold in stores may not contain raw egg).

Raw or undercooked meats, fish (sushi), and shellfish

Hot dogs, deli meats and other processed meats are not allowed to be reheated pasteurized until steaming.

You should also avoid shellfish and fish, which can be a healthy part of your pregnancies diet. They contain omega-3 fatty acid and are rich in protein.

Shark

Swordfish

King mackerel

Tilefish

Tuna steak (bigeye or ahi)

Marlin

Orange roughly

These fish can contain high levels mercury which could cause brain damage in a developing baby. Limit the amount of seafood you eat to 12 ounces per week. That's roughly two meals. Pay attention to the type of canned tuna if you love canned tuna. Canned light tuna is usually smaller and can be consumed twice per week. Albacore/white tuna is larger and should be consumed only once per week. Before you eat recreationally caught fish, make sure to check any local advisories.

Changing the litter Box

It's the best time of your life to stop cleaning out your cat's litter box. Why? Toxoplasmosis is spread via soiled cat litter boxes. It can cause severe problems such as prematurity, poor growth, brain damage, and severe eye and retina damage. While pregnant women who are infected may not experience any symptoms, they can transmit the infection to their baby.

Prescription Medicines and Over-the-Counter

Common over-the-counter medications that are generally safe can be dangerous for the baby and should not be used during pregnancy. Some prescription medications can also be harmful to the unborn baby.

You should avoid taking anything that could cause harm to your baby.

Ask your doctor which prescription and over-the-counter medicines are safe to use during pregnancy.

Discuss any prescription drugs with your doctor.

Inform all your doctors and nurses that you are pregnant. They will keep this information in mind when prescribing or recommending any medication.

Remember to mention natural remedies, vitamins, and supplements.

Talk to your doctor if you were given a medication before you became pregnant. They can help you evaluate the potential benefits and risks associated with continuing your prescription.

Talk to your doctor if you get sick, such as a cold or if you have pain or discomfort that is causing you concern.

Healthy Pregnancy Habits - From Start to Finish

It's crucial to take care yourself from the beginning of your pregnancy through the last week. Many women feel healthier during pregnancy, despite the fact that you need to be careful and aware of the possible effects on your baby's health.

 Expectant mothers can get all the care they need before, during, and after delivery from the UrgentWay doctors for women health. We have provided the highest quality care to women for over a decade. Our highly-skilled healthcare providers provide compassionate care to women with routine pregnancies, customizing prenatal care to their unique health needs, personal philosophies, and preferences. Our renowned maternal-fetal medicine program is led by academic leaders who have advanced knowledge of pregnancy complications. We offer the full range of women healthcare servicesprovided by a multidisciplinary team of experts who work together to personalize your care and deliver the most effective treatment.

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