Healthy Pregnancy

Healthy Pregnancy and Exercise

Exercise during pregnancy is very important. For the most part, you should be able to continue your exercise regimen. Walking, swimming, and biking are considered extremely safe to continue until your birth. If you haven’t been exercising, ask your care provider for exercise tips.

Pregnant women should avoid high impact exercises, especially later in their pregnancy. You will also want to make sure you drink plenty of water, wear layers of clothing to prevent overheating, and never exercise to the point of exhaustion. If you get light-headed or short of breath you should stop exercising immediately. If you notice contractions, chest pain, vaginal bleeding, nauseua, or vomiting, you should contact your care provider.

You may want to consider taking a pregnancy yoga class. Pregnancy yoga helps keep you healthy during your pregnancy while preparing your body for childbirth.

Pregnancy and Nutrition

Many women fear gaining weight during pregnancy. They fear putting on the extra pounds and developing stretch marks. However, other women go to the other extreme. They eat whatever they want, whenever they want. But, correct nutrition is very important for a healthy pregnancy.

You should only be taking in an extra 300 calories a day if you are pregnant with a singleton. If you are pregnant with multiples, you should be eating an extra 500-600 calories a day.

You also should be eating nutritiously. You should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, plenty of lean protein, and primarily whole grains. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you should talk with your care provider about getting enough protein and vitamins. In addition, you should try to cut back on white sugar, junk food, and fast foods.

Pregnant women may also want to talk to their care providers about taking a prenatal vitamin. Ideally, pregnant women should be taking a folic acid, iron, and calcium supplement before they are even pregnant.

Pregnancy and Fluids

Many pregnant women do not drink enough healthy fluids. It is vital for the healthy pregnancy that you drink at least eight glasses of water or healthy fluids (64 ounces) a day. Healthy fluids include milk and 100% fruit juice.

Drinking plenty of fluids during pregnancy helps provide amniotic fluid for your baby and flush excess wastes from your body.

Things to Avoid during Pregnancy

We all know the importance of quitting smoking and not drinking alcohol or taking recreational drugs during pregnancy, but there are also a few other things you should avoid during pregnancy:

• Deli meats and hotdogs unless reheated until steaming
• Raw foods
• Non-pasteurized, soft cheeses
• Raw vegetable sprouts
• Cleaning the litterbox
• Gardening without gloves
• Caffeine
• Fish high in mercury, including swordfish, shark king macekel, and tilefish
• Canned tuna should only be eaten once a week

Prenatal Care

Getting early prenatal care is very important to having a healthy pregnancy. Not only can your care provider catch complications before they become serious, but women who get prenatal care have less risk of premature birth.