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Emotional Health and Well-Being
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Rest and Relaxation
A relaxing activity, whether it's reading, standing under a hot shower or just going on a quiet stroll, can make all the difference during your pregnancy. Engaging in gentle activities will help keep you calm in the face of all the anxieties that surround a pregnancy. You're also sleeping for two now and so may need more shut-eye. If you are currently napping during the day, try and nap in the morning. This is less likely to interfere with your nighttime sleeping routine.
Good Eating Habits
Proper nutrition and drinking plenty of fluids will make all the difference to you and your baby. Rather than eating a few large meals, eat many smaller meals throughout the day. This will keep your baby satiated and make food digestion easier on your stomach.
Exercise!
Low-impact exercises such as yoga, swimming or walking provide innumerable benefits for a pregnancy. Women who exercise experience less stress, suffer fewer pregnancy discomforts and have faster labors.
Plan Your Days
If you know that you're going to be entertaining guests, or spending a long time on your feet, try to plan ahead. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes, and make up for your busy time by promising yourself some quiet time later on. If you're going on an outing, be sure to pack enough water and healthy snacks. Pregnancy is all about responsibility for your health and the wellbeing of your baby.
Wear Comfortable Clothes
Among the many pregnancy-induced discomforts you'll be experiencing, uncomfortable clothing should not be one. Always opt for loose-fitting cotton and stay away from tight clothes that don't allow your skin to breathe. Take extra care to find a supportive and comfortable bra; painful breast tenderness can be remedied by proper support.
You may also want to check out Pregnancy Clothes. Offering the best advice concerning pregnancy or maternity clothes, they let you know how to stay fashionable and stylish during your pregnancy, including work wear and formal wear tips.
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Tips for Staying Healthy
The Importance of Getting Good Care
When it comes to medical care and pregnancy, you can never start too early. The best start to having a healthy baby is to see your health-care provider before you conceive. There are lots of things you can do ahead of time: you can make sure you're immune to rubella [German measles], find out your blood type, quit smoking, make sure your diet is healthy, and get any illnesses you might have under control.
Once you're pregnant, your health professional will have you begin with monthly visits that increase to once a week or more, closer to your due date. At each visit, the physician or nurse will perform a series of examinations and tests to determine the health of the mother and baby.
Getting good care is very important since it is known that pregnancy outcomes are better in women with early prenatal care. Here are some tips on how to ensure that you are getting the best care possible:
- Write Down Questions: Write down all questions you may have and bring them to your appointments with your health practitioner for clarification. This will ensure that you won't forget to ask any of the questions or concerns you may have during your pregnancy. Questions regarding side effects of treatments, medications etc. should all be asked.
- Get Educated: The very fact that you are reading this web page indicates you are trying to keep up to date on the subject of pregnancy. When you read or hear something new in the realm of pregnancy or obstetrics that is questionable, bring it to your practitioner's attention so you can discuss it.
- Get Clarifications: If your practitioner doesn't explain something to you or if you are just confused about something, don't be afraid to ask for explanations. Your practitioner should clarify all the risks involved in certain interventions and answer any questions regarding potential side effects of medications and why tests are being ordered.
- Be Truthful: Make sure that you are completely truthful with your practitioner. Some women are embarrassed to divulge all the information about their gynecological or general medical history. It is vital that your practitioner knows everything about you including any drugs (legal or illegal, prescription or over-the-counter) you may be taking or have taken in the past and any past illnesses or medical procedures you may have undergone. Previous pregnancies, miscarriages, abortions, surgery or infections may have an impact on what happens in your pregnancy. The more your practitioner knows about you, the better he or she will be able to treat you.
- Follow Doctor's Advice: Always follower your practitioner's recommendations fully as well as her instructions regarding medical procedures.
- The Whole Truth: Make sure that your practitioner is aware of any adverse side effects to medications or treatments or any other worrisome symptoms you may be experiencing.
Exercise and Fitness
Why Exercise?
Unless there are medical reasons to avoid it, pregnant women can and should try to exercise moderately for at least 30 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week. In the short term, exercise helps all of us feel better physically and emotionally, and the calories burned helps prevent excessive weight gain. People who exercise regularly develop stronger muscles, bones and joints. And over time, the benefits of regular exercise are even more impressive: lower risks of premature death, heart disease and other serious illnesses.
For pregnant women, however, exercise has added benefits. There is evidence that exercise can help prevent gestational diabetes, a form of diabetes that sometimes develops during pregnancy. And for women who already have gestational diabetes, regular exercise is recommended along with changes in diet to help bring the disease under control.
In addition, exercise can help relieve stress and build the stamina needed for labor and delivery. It's also worth mentioning that exercise can be very helpful in coping with the postpartum period. Exercise can help new mothers keep the "baby blues" at bay, cope with postpartum depression, regain their energy and lose the weight they gained during pregnancy.
Preparation and Starting Slow
It's best to check with your doctor before starting any exercise program. You may have a medical condition that would make exercise harmful to you or your baby. If your doctor approves, you can start exercising at a level that does not cause pain, shortness of breath or excessive tiredness. You may then slowly increase your activity. If you feel uncomfortable, short of breath or very tired, you should reduce your exercise level. If you have already been exercising, it's easier to keep exercising during pregnancy. If you haven't exercised before, you need to start very slowly. Many women find that they need to slow down their level of exercise during pregnancy.
Choosing Your Exercise Routine
Being at risk of preterm labor or suffering from any kind of serious ailment (such as heart or lung diseases) means you need to check with your health care provider before you start an exercise program. Next, decide what type of exercise you will do in your routine. Be sure to pick exercise that you consider fun. For example, exercise balls are fun to plop around on and are great for correcting your posture and toning your trunk muscles. If it's fun, you won't get bored and that means you'll stick to your routine.
Do's and Don'ts of Exercise Routines
You may find that a variety of activities helps keep you motivated to continue exercising throughout your pregnancy and beyond. But remember, you need to be careful when choosing a sport.
Avoid any activities that put you at high risk for injury, such as horseback riding or downhill skiing. Similarly, pregnant women should also stay away from sports in which you could get hit in the abdomen, such as ice hockey, kickboxing or soccer. Especially after the third month, it is important to avoid exercises that require you to lie flat on your back, because this can restrict the flow of blood to the uterus, which could be dangerous for your baby.
Finally, pregnant women should never scuba dive, because this sport may result in the dangerous formation of gas bubbles in the baby's circulatory system.
Best Exercises for Pregnant Women
1. Aerobic Exercise : The most comfortable exercises are those that don't require your body to bear extra weight. Aerobic exercise involves rhythmic, repetitive activities that demand increased oxygen to the muscles. Aerobics include walking, jogging, bicycling, and swimming. This type of exercise stimulates the heart, lungs and muscles causing overall body changes. It allows your body to process and utilize oxygen and improves circulation. Your muscle tone and strength increases, which will help relieve backache, constipation and make you better able to cope with a lengthy labor. An added benefit to aerobic exercise is that it may help control blood sugar, lessen fatigue and promote good sleep.
The bottom line is that aerobic exercise will impart a feeling of well-being and confidence, while heightening your ability to cope with the physical and emotional challenges of childbearing. Try the following low impact aerobic exercises:
- Swimming or water workouts
- Stationary cycling
- Walking or step machine
- Low-impact aerobics
3. Yoga : The benefit of yoga is that it emphasizes breathing, relaxation, posture and body awareness, all of which make you better prepared to deal with the challenges of pregnancy and birth. You should make sure to choose a yoga program that is specifically designed for the pregnant woman, since some traditional positions are not appropriate and need to be modified. In addition to the psychological benefits of decreased tension and anxiety, yoga can build strength, increase endurance, improve posture and alignment, and reduce pregnancy aches and pains.
4. Pilates : Pilates is fast becoming the exercise of choice for pregnant women. It increases tone, strength and improves flexibility. As some Pilates moves are not recommended for pregnant women, be sure to join a prenatal Pilates class.
Warning Signs to Stop Exercising
Stop the activity and seek medical attention if any of the following symptoms occur during exercise:
- blood or fluid coming from your vagina
- sudden or severe abdominal or vaginal pain
- contractions that go on for 30 minutes after you stop exercising
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- headache that is severe or won't go away
- dizziness
- dim or blurry vision
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Staying Comfortable
The temperature outside is soaring and so is your frustration as the heat intensifies your discomforts. During the hot summer months, a pregnant woman will easily feel exhausted and complain of swollen legs and feet.
If the heat has you beat, remember these 'staying cool' tips!
Staying Cool Tips
- Avoid the direct midday sun by running errands early in the morning; this means you should stay out of the sun between 10 and 4.
- Always drink eight glasses of water a day!
- Invigorate your system with some cold mint tea; it'll help you feel refreshed and add to your eight glass count.
- Check local forecasts for air quality warnings; you'll need to stay indoors on smoggy days.
- White is in; wearing light-colored clothes will help reflect the sun whereas dark clothes absorb heat.
- Wearing natural fibers, like cotton, will keep your skin cool.
When summer hits, all the extra fluid in your body that protects your baby tends to make your body swell. Don't worry, because there are lots of things you can do to keep swelling down:
- Avoid standing for long periods of time; try to rest with your feet elevated as often as you can.
- Wear comfortable shoes; wear flat shoes at all times.
- Do mild exercises early in the morning, three times a week.
- Remove rings from your fingers before they swell.
- Put a towel or soft blanket under your mattress at the foot of your bed to keep your legs elevated while you sleep.
- Minimize your salt intake.
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Sleeping Positions
Sleeping comfortably while pregnant can be very hard indeed, and will only become more difficult as your pregnancy progresses.
Pregnant women are commonly advised against sleeping on their backs once they reach the 2-3 month period. This is because of the weight of the baby and uterus can compress the inferior vena cava, which takes blood from your lower body to the heart, which may cause dizziness, sweaty and have palpitations.
Is this reaction dangerous?
Only if you ignore it. The reaction is strong enough that most people would quickly change position, which wouldn't actually cause any harm to your baby.
IF however you do ignore the signals, you may black out and lose consciousness.
In any event, there are very few woman who could actually lie on their backs when in advanced pregnancy.
Pregnant woman are advised to try and sleep on the left side, as the liver is a large organ, and occupies the right upper side of the stomach.
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| What is Pregnancy? |
| Preparing for Pregnancy |
| How Not to Get Pregnant |
| Pregnancy Testing |
| Eight Steps to Having a Healthy Baby |
| Emotional Health |
| Adoption |
| Abortion |
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