How to Lower Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
High blood pressure, medically known as hypertension, is a very common health ailment. According to the CDC, high blood pressure will be experienced by 1 in every 12 to 17 pregnancies in the United States for women ages 20 to 44 and can lead to a variety of dangerous pregnancy complications.
While it’s important to always consult a medical professional while pregnant before making any lifestyle adjustments, we’re taking a look at 5 potential ways for how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy to keep you and baby healthy and safe.
Risks of High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
High blood pressure during pregnancy brings with it a variety of risks to both you and baby. Unfortunately, not all symptoms of high blood pressure while pregnant are immediately obvious, which means it's important to have your healthcare professional monitoring you throughout your entire journey.
Some of the risks of high blood pressure during pregnancy include:
- Potential to develop preeclampsia
- Negatively impact the growth of your baby
- Higher risk of breathing problems before and during labor
- Increased risk of placental abruption
How to Lower Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
With so many women experiencing gestational hypertension, it’s crucial to learn how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy. Since taking medications while pregnant is typically avoided as much as possible, finding potential ways to reduce blood pressure naturally with simple lifestyle changes can be very beneficial.
Take a look at these 5 potential ways on how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy:
- Learning how to manage stress with daily practices
- Staying active while pregnant
- Using zero gravity chairs during pregnancy to lower blood pressure
- Getting better sleep quality
- Making healthy food choices
Managing Stress During Pregnancy
Whether you’re pregnant or not, the long-term impacts of stress on the body can include muscle tension, depression, and high blood pressure. Discovering possible ways for how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy caused by stress is all about learning methods of relaxing and reducing triggers in your daily life.
Try alleviating daily stress by practicing meditation in a zen space at home, taking up low-impact stress relieving exercises such as yoga or tai chi, or using a zero gravity chair with a relaxing night time routine to unwind before bed. Another way is relieving stress with breathing techniques and exercises. Ultimately, all these possible ways to lower blood pressure during pregnancy caused by stress can also help with managing labor pain, as well.
Staying Active While Pregnant
Being inactive during pregnancy can be a source of high blood pressure. To combat this, try staying active while pregnant by exercising for 20-30 minutes each day. This doesn’t have to be a full workout! Taking a brisk walk or practicing yoga while pregnant are both great ways to get your body moving.
Staying active while pregnant is about getting your heart rate up at a healthy level. This increases circulation throughout your body and also improves heart health naturally. To make this method for how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy even more beneficial, better blood circulation can help fight swelling and inflammation.
It’s important to consult your healthcare professional before starting any exercise routine to make sure it’s safe.
Using Zero Gravity Chairs to Lower Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
Next on our list of potential ways for how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy is with a zero gravity chair. Using a zero gravity chair while pregnant is not only safe, but it also provides a wealth of health benefits. Some of the health benefits of zero gravity chairs include lowering blood pressure by improving poor blood circulation, alleviating lower back pain, and boosting your immune system naturally.
The benefits of the zero gravity position during pregnancy stem from elevating the legs above the heart level and evenly distributing weight along the body, This drastically reduces pressure on the lower back and pelvic regions where many women experience back pain and sciatica pain during pregnancy. Pain can be another trigger of pregnancy hypertension, making your zero gravity chair an invaluable addition during your journey.
The benefits don’t stop at possible ways to reduce blood pressure during pregnancy and alleviating pain, though! Using a zero gravity chair as a nursing chair is the perfect nursery room idea when preparing for baby because it reclines back into a natural nursing position. As you’ll be spending a lot of time in the nursery taking care of your baby, it’s important to be comfortable and look after your own health, as well!
Getting Enough Sleep While Pregnant
First we suggested staying active and now we’re telling you to get more sleep? Of course! Learning tips for better sleep while pregnant is crucial to improving sleep quality, which in turn helps lower your blood pressure. You can easily combine this method with using a zero gravity chair for better sleep quality.
In fact, to combine potential ways for how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy, keeping active during the day and releasing stress in the evening are perfect steps towards sleeping better. In order to get better sleep while pregnant, try keeping to a consistent wake/sleep cycle. Going to bed and getting up at the same time each day helps get your body into a routine. We know that sometimes you just need a nap when you’re pregnant, though. Go for it! Try to keep pregnancy naps relatively short, though, to not interrupt your normal sleep cycle.
Lower Blood Pressure During Pregnancy with Better Food Choices
Learning what to eat and when to eat it could be effective ways for how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy. Try to avoid as much salt as possible and eat potassium-rich foods and whole grains.
Potassium is an extra important mineral when you’re pregnant as it helps regulate your electrolyte balance. It also helps your body extract as much energy as possible from fats, carbs, and proteins while you’re staying active during the day. Some of our favorite potassium-rich foods include tomatoes, raisins (great for healthy snacking while pregnant!), bananas, and melons.
Whole grains are another healthy food choice that can help lower blood pressure during pregnancy. These foods are typically rich in dietary fiber, which can help regulate your blood pressure and avoid pregnancy hypertension.
Learning potential ways for how to lower blood pressure during pregnancy is important for the health and safety of you and baby. A few simple lifestyle changes can help effectively regulate your blood pressure and avoid hypertension while pregnant. Staying active, practicing stress management, and choosing a zero gravity chair for all its health benefits during pregnancy can help manage blood pressure levels and keep your journey smooth sailing. Remember to always consult your healthcare professional before making any lifestyle changes during pregnancy to ensure it’s safe.
Many luxury zero gravity chairs come with massage features that increase your comfort and boost health benefits. Learn how using a massage chair while pregnant is safe and the perfect way to practice self-care during your pregnancy journey!
