Pregnancy is a really exciting time, knowing that in nine months you’ll be bringing home a baby is always a mind blowing thought- even if your baby was thoroughly planned for. In order to give your child the very best start, it’s important to make sure that you’re looking after yourself too.
After all, you are your baby’s first home. If you are happy and healthy, then they’ll easily be able to take what they need from you and the pregnancy will run much more smoothly. If you’ve just had a positive pregnancy test and are keen to know what you’ll need to do for yours and your baby’s health, here are five ways to take the best care of yourself.
Eat Healthily
When you have the right balance of vitamins and minerals in your diet, your body is able to work to its best potential. Pregnancy can be incredibly taxing on the body, so it’s more important than ever to try and meet all of your nutrition goals.
Admittedly, this isn’t always the easiest. If you have morning sickness or extreme food aversions for example then you might find you’re simply unable to eat a wide variety of foods, but do your best.
Once the sickness starts to subside (usually in the second trimester for many women), then you can start incorporating more foods into your diet again. Aim for plenty of fruit and veg, whole grains, lean protein and low fat dairy to cover all of your nutritional needs.
Take Your Prenatal Vitamins
Even if you’re able to eat healthily throughout pregnancy, certain vitamins and minerals are really difficult to acquire through food alone. For this reason, it’s recommended that all pregnant women take pregnancy prenatal vitamins. Ideally you will have started taking these a few months prior to conception, but if not, start as soon as you find out you’re expecting. One of the most important vitamins they contain are folic acid, and this can prevent babies developing neural tube defects.
Stop Drinking/ Smoking/ Using Drugs
We all know the dangers of chemicals from alcohol, smoke and drugs can be harmful to a foetus, so it’s really important that you break any of these habits if you have them. If you’re struggling with addiction, speak to your healthcare provider so you can get the help that you need.
Ask Your GP About Medication
It’s not just illicit drugs that can be problematic in pregnancy, but prescribed medications aren’t always suitable either. Visit your GP to find out if any medications you currently take need to be reduced, stopped or swapped. Many medications have not been tested in pregnancy so it’s not known whether they’re safe or not, for this reason the pros and cons of staying on it vs coming off need to be discussed with your doctor.
Keep Your Stress Levels Down
Finally, pregnancy itself can be a stressful time for some women. As exciting as it is, you have to consider finances, work arrangements, your body changing and your whole life being different to what it was previously. These are all valid reasons for being worried, but do what you can to keep your stress levels down– everything from journaling to meditation to therapy can help. Lower levels of stress is better for you and for the baby.
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