Proper care and knowledge are essential for an expectant mother. Here are a few pointers for a healthy pregnancy.
To help you sleep better during your pregnancy, develop a bedtime routine. If you can follow a consistent bedtime routine, then your body will learn that bedtime is near. This should ease the process of falling asleep. This routine should include sleep-promoting activities such as reading, a hot shower, and shoulder massages.
Look around your home and work to rid of chemicals that might be harmful to your growing pregnancy. Replace all artificial, chemical cleaning supplies with natural alternatives. Once the child is born, consider keeping chemicals from the home to make it safer.
Make sure you’re changing all litter boxes for your cat in the household. A cat’s soiled litter may have harmful chemicals that are not beneficial to a pregnant woman. If you have a husband or live-in boyfriend, he can change the litter while you are pregnant. If there is no one else around, see if a friend or relative can help out.
If you are experiencing constipation during your pregnancy, eat more fibrous foods like fruits, veggies and whole wheat products. Constipation is due in large part to hormonal changes. Besides being uncomfortable, constipation can cause more serious gastrointestinal problems.
Don’t be worried if you don’t get pregnant right away. If you and your partner have been attempting to have a baby for that length of time, but have had no luck, you may need to consult with a doctor. They’ll be able to determine if there are medical reasons as to why you cannot conceive.
Enroll in pregnancy classes early on during your pregnancy. Classes will help prepare you and help to assuage any worries. You should encourage the father to come with you so he can ask questions too.
You may have many craving while pregnant; however, it may be unwise to fulfill every one of them. Both you and your unborn child have particular nutritional requirements. If you gorge yourself on unhealthy foods, you are depriving your baby of much-needed vitamins and nutrients.
Dehydration can be a big concern during pregnancy if you have excessive nausea, or if you get sick with an illness that causes vomiting and diarrhea. While diarrhea causes dehydration in everyone, it’s more serious for someone who is pregnant, as you could end up being hospitalized needing an IV drip.
Record what you eat in a food diary. This will help you to see whether you are lacking in any important areas of your diet. Take it with you to appointments with your doctor for review.
Avoid hot tubs and saunas during pregnancy. Becoming overheated can endanger your developing baby. Also, try to avoid oils at spas, as this can cause you to contract. Scents like juniper, clary sage and rosemary are possible culprits.
To better maintain non-pregnancy pants, try using elastic hair ties looped through your button holes over the button so that you can zip pants up as high as you can. With elastic maternity bands or long shirts covering pants, nobody will see that they’re technically unbuttoned. This will buy you some time and probably save you money too.
As you can see, there are many things that can help ensure a healthy pregnancy by caring for mom and baby before the pregnancy, during and after. Because pregnancy is such a life and health-changing experience in more ways than one, mothers need to follow wise guidelines. It’s important you get the best care possible.
