Healthy Pregnancy Tips for Any Mom-To-Be!
Without a doubt, pregnancy can be a wonderful journey filled with new experiences and excitement along the way. It also brings a huge number of changes to your body, both mentally and physically. The truth is, taking care of yourself during pregnancy is absolutely vital to the health and safety of yourself and your baby.
In the midst of all these changes, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by what you should, or shouldn’t, do. To help make it easier, we’ve curated some of the best ways to have a healthy pregnancy that may help make your journey as smooth as possible. Read on to discover healthy pregnancy tips and protect you and your baby along the way.
Note: Before beginning any new health routine or making changes to your lifestyle during pregnancy, be sure to consult your doctor for professional medical advice and guidance.
Healthy Pregnancy Tips for You and Your Baby
Finding ways to have a healthy pregnancy should be a top priority during your journey. Staying on top of any medical appointments and following your doctor’s orders is imperative, but what can you do on a daily basis to help? Finding ways to integrate healthy pregnancy tips into your regular prenatal routine can make a huge difference. Since medications are oftentimes limited for a mom-to-be, finding natural ways to have a healthy pregnancy is key.
To make your journey as smooth and comfortable as possible, we’ve put together a list of activities and practices that may help immensely! Look after your mind, your body, and your baby with healthy pregnancy tips such as:
- Listening to your body
- Staying active during pregnancy
- Avoiding exposure to certain chemicals and substances
- Managing stress levels
- Getting a massage
- Maintaining a healthy diet
- Getting enough sleep during pregnancy
Listening to Your Body
The first item on our list of healthy pregnancy tips for any mom-to-be is to listen to your body. Nothing will give you a better indicator of what you need than yourself!
The first and third trimesters are most common for feelings of fatigue. Your first trimester has the largest number of hormonal changes happening to your body, which can make you feel tired, drop your blood pressure levels, and increase mood swings that leave you tired. That’s okay! It’s perfectly normal. The third trimester brings the fatigue on again, but this time it’s usually due to the extra weight of the baby and the side effects that accompany that, such as trouble sleeping.
Listen to your body and give yourself what you need. Need that adult nap to help get through the day? Take it! Feeling hungry? Have a healthy snack. Meeting your needs during pregnancy is the same as caring for your baby. It’s both precious and vital.
Staying Active During Pregnancy
Whereas listening to your body and resting when you need to was first on our list of healthy pregnancy tips, staying active is important, too! Finding safe ways to exercise during pregnancy can take many forms. You could go for a brisk walk or a jog if you’re a runner, join a prenatal fitness program, or exercise from the comfort of home.
There are even full body workout exercises to do in a chair, if you prefer! For example, using a luxury zero gravity chair during pregnancy provides a plethora of potential health benefits, but it can double as a sturdy multifunctional furniture idea giving you a foundation for recliner exercises. This is great for women who don’t feel comfortable going out to exercise while pregnant or who want to find clever ways to integrate a daily fitness routine into their already-busy schedule.
Regular daily exercise during pregnancy increases your chance of having a smoother delivery and managing common discomforts of pregnancy. Studies have also shown positive observations that exercise during pregnancy may also aid in postpartum recovery.
Important Note: Speak to your doctor before beginning any exercise routine during pregnancy, especially if you were not already a more active individual before.
Avoiding Certain Chemicals or Materials
Well-known healthy pregnancy tips include not smoking, avoiding caffeine, and eliminating alcohol, but there are other materials and chemicals you should avoid that may surprise you.
Avoiding chemicals and materials like household cleaners and cat litter are some of the most common substances to consider. But there are other chemicals found in shampoos, soaps, and even products for your skin improvement routine that may be unsafe for you. Check the label for ingredients like aluminum chloride hexahydrate, aluminum chlorohydrate, parabens, and phthalates. Choosing products free from potential dangerous chemicals is another of the best ways to have a healthy pregnancy.
Managing Stress Levels While Pregnant
Finding ways to reduce stress during pregnancy is arguably one of the most vital healthy pregnancy tips to safeguard the well-being of both you and your baby. Not only can stress make you feel bad, but it can lead to increases in the risk of serious pregnancy complications like preeclampsia. Managing your stress levels on a daily basis may help with how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy, improve your mood, and even work towards alleviating pregnancy pain.
One of the most popular ways to have a healthy pregnancy using stress management techniques is learning how to meditate at home. The practice of meditation has long been agreed upon by experts as an effective method for lowering blood pressure, providing pain relief, and generally improving your overall well-being. With a variety of different meditation techniques to try from mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises to guided meditation and even activities like yoga, there’s something for everyone.
You don’t have to join a class or go to a meditation center for these exercises, either. It can be as simple as taking a few minutes to meditate during a relaxing night time routine! To really enhance the potential benefits of meditation for managing stress levels during pregnancy, you may want to consider zero gravity meditation. The potential health benefits of zero gravity chairs combined with the positive impact of meditation techniques give you the best of both worlds.
Getting a Massage During Pregnancy
In addition to meditation, another entry on our list of healthy pregnancy tips for any mom-to-be is getting a massage! More than an exercise in vanity and self-indulgence, a prenatal massage routine may be beneficial for stress management, pain relief, better blood flow, and a variety of other important ways to have a healthy pregnancy.
This is another case where having a zero gravity chair at home is ideal during pregnancy (and beyond). In addition to the health benefits of zero gravity position during pregnancy, some of the bonus features of zero gravity luxury recliners like massage and heat therapy may enhance your experience. Can you use a zero gravity chair with massage features while pregnant? In most cases, the answer is yes! In fact, studies have shown that pregnant women benefit from massage therapy and that massage therapy can help reduce the risk of premature birth.
Much like with any physical routine, consult your doctor before starting a prenatal massage routine to ensure it’s safe for you to do so.
Maintaining a Healthy Diet
Coming up next on our list of healthy pregnancy tips is maintaining a healthy diet. While this addition for ways to have a healthy pregnancy is actually good practice for everyone, your diet during pregnancy is especially important.
Some women experience certain cravings during pregnancy or may find themselves hungry more frequently. While it’s fine to indulge every so often, trying to stick with healthy snack and meal options is best. Experts agree that you only need roughly 300 additional calories each day to support a healthy pregnancy and what you eat will be directly correlated to nutrients your baby receives.
Getting Enough Sleep While Pregnant
Last, but certainly not least, on our list of healthy pregnancy tips for any mom-to-be is getting enough sleep. This doesn’t just mean quantity, but quality, as well. One of the most important ways to have a healthy pregnancy, getting enough sleep helps keep blood pressure normal and may help reduce the risk of pregnancy complications like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and rough labor.
Getting better sleep while pregnant is as easy as making a few lifestyle adjustments to meet your body’s needs. Methods like sticking to a sleep-wake schedule, taking short naps when you need them, avoiding prolonged blue light exposure, and keeping your bedroom cool can all go a long way to falling asleep faster and staying asleep through the night.
Your pregnancy journey is one of the most exciting times of your life! Following these healthy pregnancy tips may help it go as smoothly as possible and protect the well-being of both you and your baby. From being mindful of your diet and keeping active to supporting your mind and body by choosing a zero gravity chair, finding ways to have a healthy pregnancy can have a major impact. As always, consult your doctor before making any lifestyle changes during your pregnancy to ensure it is safe.
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