Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

As you feel you are pregnant, you get emotional and excited about this life-changing journey. As the baby grows with each stage of pregnancy, you also go through various changes in your emotions, body, and lifestyle. It can also be a time of uncertainty, and you may have questions about certain changes that pregnancy brings. With advice from everyone, it’s hard to know who to listen to. That’s why it’s important to have the right information. This guide will help you to make good decisions before, during, and after pregnancy.

Prenatal Nutrition

Your nutritional health during pregnancy affects the health of your growing baby. Eat various healthy foods every day. Choose food with healthy fats instead of saturated fats. Choose fish low in Mercury. Eat more food daily than you eat before. Drink plenty of water regularly. Take care of your caffeine intake, avoid taking excessive caffeine. Healthy eating is more than just the food you eat. It is important to take care of your eating habits during pregnancy and make healthy food choices. Plan your meal and avoid distractions during mealtime. Include traditional and cultural food and taste preferences as part of a healthy diet. Eating well gives you the necessary nutrients you need to have a healthy pregnancy.

Folic Acid

During the first few weeks of pregnancy, the skull, brain, and spinal cord of your baby are formed before you may know you are pregnant. You need to have enough folic acid in your body for them to form properly. Folic acid is a B complex vitamin vital for the spinal cord, brain, and scalp healthy development of unborn baby, especially during the first four weeks of your pregnancy. If you are pregnant planning to conceive, you need to take a multivitamin daily with 0.4 mg of folic acid.

Alcohol

You are pregnant or planning to conceive; it is advisable to avoid drinking alcohol. Exposure to prenatal alcohol leads to preventable developmental disability. During pregnancy, this can cause Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, the alcoholic effects on the brain and body, and it is a lifelong disability.   

Smoking

Quitting smoking during pregnancy can have significant positive effects on the health of both you and your baby. When you or people around you smoke, your baby also smokes. A smoke-free environment is good for you and your baby.

Cannabis

You may have questions about the use of cannabis during pregnancy. There is no known safe amount of cannabis used during pregnancy. Most women are using cannabis to treat pregnancy symptoms, but there is no evidence that cannabis is safe during pregnancy.

Oral Health

Hormonal changes during pregnancy can affect your oral health by increasing the gum disease and bone infection risk that supports your teeth. It is linked with premature delivery or low birth weight babies. Clean your teeth regularly and check your oral health by an oral health professional, specifically in pregnancy’s first trimester.

Physical Activity

Exercise has many benefits during pregnancy. If you are a healthy pregnant woman and receiving prenatal care, it is recommended to do physical activity. It helps to improve your energy level and mood, sleep better, prevent back pain, constipation, gain excess weight, and build strength for birth. 

Conclusion

For a healthy pregnancy, take prenatal nutrition, folic acid, avoid alcohol and smoking, do physical activity and keep yourself clean. 

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Devin Hardy

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