Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy

Achieve your ideal body weight

Recommendations on weight gain during pregnancy vary, depending upon your pre-pregnancy weight. For healthy women of good body weight, a weight gain of 25-35 pounds is a good goal. For overweight women, minimal weight gain is recommended.

Ensure you’re getting proper nutrients

Pregnant women should ensure they’re getting enough Vitamin D, Iron and Calcium throughout pregnancy. It’s also important to note that all women who are thinking about trying to conceive should take a daily vitamin with folic acid. It’s also important to pay attention to what you eat. Most doctors encourage their patients to avoid consuming certain types of fish, unpasteurised milk, juice, cheese, and caffeine.

Abstain from drinking, smoking and drugs

It is known that women who drink two or more alcoholic beverages a day put their children at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. Equally important is smoking cessation, as smoking can lead to fetal growth restriction by inhibiting blood flow to the placenta. All recreational drugs should be avoided during pregnancy.

Prescription drugs should be monitored closely

For example, certain blood pressure medications are best avoided during pregnancy. If a woman is diabetic, she should have her blood sugars in control before getting pregnant. Women who are thinking of becoming pregnant should schedule a pre-pregnancy consultation to discuss their current health and medications before pregnancy.

Also in ‘Pregnancy’:
Stages of Pregnancy

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