Nothing is likely to change your life quite as much as when you discover that you are pregnant for the first time. After that fateful day when the pregnancy test shows positive, you will immediately need to alter your lifestyle. Never is the saying “a healthy mother equals a healthy baby” truer that during the nine months in which the baby is in the womb. The following is a list of tips that pregnant women should follow to help them make good decisions for the health themselves and their baby.
1. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Gaining weight during pregnancy is natural and necessary to help a baby grow to a healthy size. However, being overweight before falling pregnant or gaining too much weight during pregnancy increases a woman’s risk of developing diabetes during or after pregnancy. It also increases the likelihood of complications when giving birth. Being underweight, on the other hand, can prevent the baby from receiving the right nutrients it needs to develop properly. If your looking for advice on weight-related pregnancy issues consult the best Gynaecologist Sydney has to offer.
2. Eat Healthily
Eating the right foods is vital for the health of the baby. A diet rich in fruit and vegetables, whole grains and protein from healthy sources, such as legumes, eggs, seafood and lean meats is important, especially after the first three months, when the baby starts to grow rapidly. Each woman’s requirements will be different. Again, it is necessary to ask a healthcare professional if you have any doubts about how much of which foods you should be eating.
3. Physical Activity
Apart from exceptional cases, all women should stay physically active during their pregnancy. Physical activity has many advantages to a mother and baby, including helping the mother and baby to maintain a healthy weight, reducing stress and muscle complaints for the mother and reducing a mother’s risk of developing gestational diabetes. There is no need to change your workout routine in the early months of the pregnancy. Most pregnant women should try to do around 30 minutes of exercise a day until the time comes that they are unable to do so.
4. Abstain from Drinking and Smoking
All women should stop drinking and smoking immediately upon the discovery that they are pregnant. Alcohol can severely inhibit foetal development and has been proven to result in foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. These include abnormal facial features, stunted head size, poor memory, bad concentration and learning disabilities. Smoking during pregnancy is equally harmful to a foetus, increasing a baby’s risk of heart defects and respiratory problems, as well as raising the likelihood of premature birth and other birth defects. If you need help giving up nicotine or alcohol, your healthcare professional will be able to provide you with a range of solutions.
Having a baby is the most significant event in most people’s lives, and nothing should be left to chance. Visit a local health centre if you have doubts or need advice regarding your pregnancy.