Every woman who becomes pregnant hopes to have a healthy pregnancy, but it doesn't always work out the way she wants. The pregnancy will be dictated by how the woman's body reacts to being pregnant. Even a woman who has had a baby previously may find that subsequent pregnancies are nothing like the first. One of the best things that any woman trying to become pregnant can do is to get in shape.
As a woman you know that everything you put in your mouth will appear somewhere in your body. As a pregnant woman you need to remember that the food you put in your mouth will feed your baby, so you must ensure that what you eat is going to give the baby the essential nutrients it needs to grow. This means taking supplements such as folic acid, especially during the first weeks of pregnancy – and even before!
If you are overweight, dieting whilst pregnant is not a good idea. Your body needs energy more during pregnancy than it did before so starving yourself in order not to gain more weight is not good for the baby you're carrying. Making a lifestyle choice to eat healthier foods however may have the same result of allowing you to lose weight (which may be reflected by not gaining as much pregnancy weight) and will help you maintain a healthy pregnancy.
A regular exercise program should be part of a healthy pregnancy. Keeping your body in shape whilst the baby grows will not only help you regain your shape quicker after the birth of your baby, but will also help to train up the muscles needed to carry the baby during the last few weeks. Learning relaxation and stretching exercises as well as more aerobic ones can help to give you essential tools to use later during labor.
One of the most useful resources a pregnant woman can have is knowledge of how her body works, what it needs, and the changes that pregnancy will make to it. By understanding what her body needs in order to maintain a good environment for her baby to grow inside her, a mom-to-be can ensure that she has a healthy pregnancy that takes care of both her needs and those of the growing baby.
Advice On Nutrition During Pregnancy
Getting the right kind of nutrition during pregnancy is one of the most important hings that a pregnant woman needs to do. The phrase "eating for two" is no longer accepted by the medical profession. This now needs to be modified to "eating right for two"! There is a wealth of information available in books, DVDs/videos, magazines and websites which give a mom-to-be advice on what she needs to eat.
Usually nutrition during pregnancy advice centers around two lists – those things that a pregnant woman should eat and those that she must not eat. These lists have tended to vary from year to year as research reveals links between nutrients and food products, and the health of the baby at birth – in more recent years, this has tended to be focused mainly on changes in the food products that should not be eaten.
Nutrition during pregnancy actually starts before the baby is conceived. In order to prepare the woman's body to support the baby's life, a woman needs to begin taking multi-vitamins daily, and in particular ensuring that she takes around 4mg of folic acid. It could be that the multi-vitamin brand chosen contains this dosage, but if it doesn't the brand needs changed or an additional folic acid pill taken.
Pregnant women need to read labels to get the best nutrition during pregnancy. This begins with learning what is contained in the multi-vitamins they take and ensuring that everything they are supposed to have is contained within them. If it isn't, then they need to explore where they can obtain additional sources of the vitamins and minerals which are either missing or to low in value.
Fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and water form the basis of a good diet for nutrition during pregnancy. Then this should be supplemented by food which is rich in protein and fibre. Any diet program which was being followed prior to pregnancy and which excluded any food group needs to be discussed with the medical provider of the mom-to-be, as should any eating requirements followed on moral or religious grounds.
Weight gain is anticipated during pregnancy but proper attention to nutrition during pregnancy can keep this controlled so that there isn't as such excess weight to lose after the baby is born. One of the best pieces of advice is not to make pregnancy an excuse to indulge in foods that are unhealthy and have a low nutritional value. Instead use the pregnancy as a reason for embarking on a healthier eating program.