Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful experiences you could have. You can think of it as your body’s preparation to bring out new life into the world. With that, you need to ensure a healthy pregnancy and normal delivery to avoid any complications.
As an expecting mother, you only want what’s best for your child. You’re most likely looking for ways to avoid settling for anything less. To help you out, listed below are the things you must do to achieve a healthy pregnancy and normal delivery for your little one:
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Look For The Best Obstetrician
The moment that you take an at-home pregnancy test and the results show you that you’re pregnant, one of the first things that you should do is to look for an obstetrician that’ll be with you throughout your entire journey. While they may seem like any other regular doctor, building a relationship with them will positively impact your pregnancy and delivery.
Ideally, you should look for the best obstetrician in your area. This way, you can quickly visit the hospital when it’s time for you to give birth. The last thing you’d want is to find yourself in labor, but the travel from your home to the hospital will take some time.
If you don’t know any obstetrician in your area, you can search for ‘obstetrician Melbourne’ or whichever city you’re in on your browser. Moreover, you need to be careful that you look for the best doctor who specializes in pregnancy as some obstetricians are more experienced with fertility and health. This will help ensure that you’ll be getting the best professional assistance possible.
Quit Smoking
Smoking, in general, is incredibly harmful to your body. However, if smoking has been a part of your habit, you should quit immediately if you’re trying to be pregnant or recently found out that you’re expecting.
If you choose to continue to smoke, not only are you making yourself unhealthier, but you’re also impacting the development of your growing baby. You must remember that everything that goes through you goes to your baby as well. You have to treat your body like a temple if you want to guarantee a safe and normal delivery.
While smoking might help you relieve your stress, you should look for ways to quit them. Going cold turkey is generally the most challenging way of quitting. However, for your pregnancy, this may be your best option, as you shouldn’t risk any more of the negative effects of smoking.
Abandon Drinking Alcohol
Drinking alcohol may be an ever-present part of how you celebrate special moments in your life. While being pregnant is a cause for celebration, you should avoid drinking alcohol at all costs.
Alcohol consumption may cause learning and behavioral difficulties when your child starts to grow. This may affect their education, along with their ability to cope up with the demands of daily life. With these difficulties, you may need to hire a developmental therapist. To avoid causing your child to develop physical and mental health challenges, abandon alcohol drinking as you carry them to term.
Apart from negatively impacting the growth development of your baby, consuming alcohol can also put your baby at risk of developing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which may cause your baby to be born with a wide range of disabilities.
Take Prenatal Vitamins
After your initial visits with your obstetrician, they’ll most likely prescribe you prenatal vitamins that you need to take throughout your pregnancy. These vitamins will help nurture and support the healthy development of your baby. While it may be tempting to purchase them in bulk, you should ask your doctor how many pieces you should buy as they’d probably prescribe different vitamins for each month of your pregnancy.
There are different prenatal vitamins you need to take. Depending on the age of your fetus, there are some areas of development that you need to focus on. This is where a good obstetrician comes into play. If you visit a womens health clinic, they’ll be able to refer you to the best doctor and assist you in having a healthy pregnancy.
If you’re taking other medications, you should inform your obstetrician about which drugs you’re taking so they can adjust your prenatal vitamins accordingly. They might even suggest that you visit your regular doctor and inform them of your pregnancy, as some medications might not be safe for you.
Continue Exercising
If you’ve been exercising even before getting pregnant, you might have concerns about continuing your workout routine, perhaps thinking that it might affect your baby. Don’t worry, as most doctors recommend that doing exercises will help you maintain a healthy body during your pregnancy. You may consult with your obstetrician about the best exercises for pregnant women, so you’ll know which ones are safe for you to do.
It’s ideal for getting yourself in good health and shape if you’re pregnant. Just avoid doing any intense exercises as they can shock and harm your body. You can begin with light activities such as walking or prenatal yoga.
Eat Healthy Foods
What you eat also constitutes the nutrients that benefit your baby. To allow yourself to have a healthy pregnancy, you should eat healthy foods as much as possible. While you may have cravings for sweets or salty snacks, you should try to prioritize eating healthy foods. For instance, you can make yourself a fruit smoothie or other healthy alternatives.
As you eat healthy foods, you should focus on food items rich in iron, calcium, and folate. Nowadays, there are plenty of pregnancy foods that will provide you with both the nutrition you and enjoyable flavors you need. Just try to avoid unhealthy ingredients like excessive salt, as these can affect your health.
Wear Non-Slip Shoes
Falling during pregnancy is a serious matter, so you should make sure it never happens while you’re carrying your baby. Any intense fall or slips can affect your baby and could lead to a sensitive pregnancy or miscarriage. To avoid these from happening, you should wear non-slip shoes all the time.
As your pregnancy develops, you should consider skipping on wearing high heels with little support. Ideally, the maximum heel height that you can go for is two inches with wedge support. Moreover, the outsole should have an anti-slip feature to keep you and your baby safe as you walk around.
When shoe shopping, you should also consider looking for ones made with the most comfortable materials. As your tummy grows, you’ll be having trouble bending over, making it difficult for you to tie your shoes or fix your strap. For greater convenience, you should look for low and comfortable slip-on shoes.
Avoid Carrying Heavy Objects
Carrying heavy objects can affect the mother more than the baby. While you may think that your body can handle it, your bones and muscles tend to be weaker when you’re pregnant. After all, some of your energy now goes to your developing baby. If you get injured injury while carrying heavy objects, you might not be able to deliver normally.
Normal delivery will require you to lie your back on the bed as you push your baby out. However, if you’re too uncomfortable in that position due to an injury, your obstetrician might consider performing a cesarian section. To guarantee a normal delivery, you should ask someone else to carry heavy objects for you.
Ask Someone Else To Clean The Cat Litter
If you’re a cat owner, you might need to make a few changes while you’re pregnant. Cleaning the cat litter might seem like an ordinary task that you can continue to perform, but their feces can be harmful to you and your baby.
Cat feces may transmit toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can cause your baby to have a low birth weight, malformations, or premature birth. You’ll put yourself at risk of this infection if you come into contact with cat feces.
Therefore, to avoid any pregnancy complications, you should ask someone else in your household to clean the cat litter for you.
Never Miss A Doctor Visit And Any Required Tests
While you’re pregnant, your obstetrician will ask you to take certain tests to check the condition of your body. These tests will help them prescribe proper medication and give you advice about any changes you need to make. This way, you can have a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
To avoid any complications, you should never miss a doctor’s appointment. Also, be sure to take all the tests you’re asked to do. While the process can be expensive, it’ll help you achieve a healthy pregnancy that will benefit both you and your baby.
Conclusion
Your baby’s health is now your number one priority. While you may miss doing the things you usually do, it’s a small sacrifice you need to make for your child. With a healthy and normal delivery, you won’t be too stressed about your baby’s development. You’ll be able to enjoy their coming into this world.
Right now, you need to enjoy your pregnancy journey as you’ll surely miss it after giving birth. Just don’t forget to visit your doctor regularly and avoid making dangerous and unhealthy habits.
