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First Time Pregnancy: Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy

Having a child is the most precious, amazing, and scariest thing ever. The basic logic here is to be healthy and stay healthy for you and your baby. Here are some tips for you for a first-time pregnancy. These will help you get through your first time being pregnant with little worrying. Let’s face it, we’re women and we worry but don’t get so worked up, it will upset the baby. Good luck and congratulations.

Take Care of Yourself

The basic premise here is to be healthy and stay healthy for you and your baby.  Don’t smoke or be around secondhand smoking or be around heavy smokers. You should not drink either.  You should sleep and rest as much as possible because you will NEED it! If you’re not, start taking prenatal vitamins, with folic acid.  When you buy these, always make sure they contain folic acid. It is vital to your pregnancy. Taking care of yourself will ensure that you have a healthy baby growing inside of you.  Your baby’s neural cord turns into the brain and spinal cord, developing in the 1st month you’re pregnant. Therefore, essential vitamins and minerals are very important from day one.

Exercise 

Having a baby is rough both physically and mentally. Staying active is important for your general health and can help you reduce stress, control your weight, improve circulation, boost your mood, and sleep better. Low impact exercise can help ease back pain, increase circulation, and improve your mood. It will also strengthen your muscles and ligaments in preparation for labor. Take pregnancy exercise or walk at least 15-20 minutes every day at a moderate pace, in cool, shaded areas or indoors in order to prevent overheating. Aim for 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. Listen to your body, though, and don’t overdo it.

Take a Prenatal Vitamin

Even when you’re still trying to conceive, it’s smart to start taking prenatal vitamins. Within the first month of pregnancy, your baby’s neural cord, which becomes the brain and spinal cord, develops, so it’s important you get essential nutrients, like folic acid, calcium, and iron from the very start.

Eating Healthy

If you’re pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant, you need to start taking care of yourself. Don’t smoke or be around secondhand smoke, don’t drink, and get your rest. You may drink 8-10 glasses of water each day, you should eat five or six well-balanced meals with plenty of folate-rich foods like fortified cereals, asparagus, lentils, wheat germ, oranges, and orange juice. Limit your caffeine during pregnancy since it can have harmful effects on you and the baby. Add fish to your diet since fish is high in omega 3s, a nutrient critical to brain development. There’s just one catch: Some kinds of fish contain mercury, which can be toxic to both babies and adults.

To be safe, the FDA recommends that pregnant women eat no more than 12 ounces of fish per week. Stick with canned light tuna, shrimp, salmon, pollack, or catfish. Avoid swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tilefish, which are all high in mercury.

Track Your Weight Gain

During your pregnancy, it’s okay to gain weight, you’re eating for two, however, gaining too much weight can be unhealthy for you. If you don’t gain enough weight, your baby’s birth weight and health could be in jeopardy. You’re eating for two. But packing on too many extra pounds may make them hard to lose later.  

Here’s what the IOM recommends, based on a woman’s BMI (body mass index) before becoming pregnant with one baby:

– Underweight: Gain 28-40 pounds

– Normal weight: Gain 25-35 pounds

– Overweight: Gain 15-25 pounds

– Obese: Gain 11-20 pounds

Check-in with your doctor frequently to make sure you’re gaining at a healthy rate.

Eliminate Toxins

Avoid tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, and even solvents such as paint thinners and nail polish remover while pregnant because they are linked to birth defects, miscarriage, and other problems. Smoking cigarettes, for example, decreases oxygen flow to your baby; it’s linked to preterm birth and other complications. A doctor can offer advice and support, as well as refer you to a program that helps pregnant women stop smoking.

Make a Birth Plan

Being a mother begins during the birth of your baby. You want to make this moment special and safe. That is why making a birthing plan is essential. Do your own research online about your options before taking any advice from friends and family. This is your decision so you should have an unbiased view of the ways to give birth.

While a hospital birth is traditional, a rise in the use of midwives and even home births is occurring. The decisions to use an epidural, have a water birth, or a delayed cord clamping are just a few more.

Since it’s your first time being pregnant, it’s scary. As you progress in your pregnancy, more questions will pop up daily. To find more tips for first-time pregnancies visit online forums and mom’s groups to get anecdotal advice from moms who have been in your shoes.

If you don’t know what your pains are, call the doctor or talk to a  nurse in the office and ask them about the pains.  Enjoy your pregnancy!

Disclaimer

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this website is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

References:

https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/pregnancy-health/healthy-pregnancy-tips/

https://ferny.com/life-style/tips-for-first-time-pregnancies/