Five Tips for a Healthier Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be exhausting and taxing on your body so doing the right things during those nine months can help benefit both you and your growing baby. It’s a time to take a step back and look at how you nourish and nurture your body. You’re not only looking after yourself, but another human who will do everything in their power to take all the nutrients they can from you. Here are some tips that can help lead to a healthier pregnancy for you both.

1) Exercise

Although it may feel like the last thing you’ll want to do during the more exhausting days of pregnancy, exercising throughout can be great preparation for labour and birth. It can also help with postpartum recovery and building or maintaining the muscles you will need to help you carry your new baby around.

Swimming and yoga are both great ways to incorporate light exercise into your routine and can be taken up even if you haven’t been exercising pre pregnancy. If you have always been a gym goer then you should be okay to continue as you were – just scale your workout where appropriate and listen to your body. If the thoughts of taking up a new activity scare you and your bank balance, then aim for a 30-minute walk 3-4 times a week. Exercising outdoors has so many proven benefits and most importantly it doesn’t cost anything.

Always check with your health provider before starting a new exercise regime.

2) Eat Healthy

While that old adage ‘eating for two’ shouldn’t be taken too literally, it is still important that you nourish your body and your baby by making healthy food choices and not foregoing any meals. By the third trimester you should be looking to consume an extra 300 calories per day.

Eating wholesome, nourishing food is important for both you and your growing baby. It can help you keep your weight gain within the healthy limits and give your baby the nutrients they need to grow and develop. You should aim to eat from a variety of food groups and choose foods that are rich in folate and iron.

By the third trimester, regular snacking may replace three main meals a day due to the pressure of your baby sitting on your stomach. If that’s the case then try and stick to healthy, nutritious snacks that will sustain you for a few hours.

3) Take a supplement

Making sure you get enough folic acid and folate is extremely important during pregnancy. Folate can help prevent birth defects of your baby’s brain and spinal cord such as spina bifida or anencephaly. You can choose to increase folate intake in your diet through foods that are rich in folate. These foods include broccoli, leafy greens like spinach, beans and peas.

However, if you suffer from morning sickness during your first trimester it might be hard to think about eating anything other than dried crackers or toast. That’s why a good quality supplement is so important to help you get those nutrients you may be missing out on through food. Make sure you choose a special pregnancy supplement that contains at least 400 micrograms of folic acid. A good prenatal supplement will also contain iron, which can help ward off anemia, a common pregnancy symptom.

4) Drink lots of water

Never has there been a more important time to try and get those recommended 2 litres of water in a day. Water helps keep you hydrated, which is crucial during pregnancy especially during the summer months. Taking a top quality supplement and eating healthy is only going to be enhanced by drinking lots of water. Water can help all the essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals and hormones from your supplement and food absorb into your blood cells.

Water can also help prevent some of pregnancy’s most common symptoms and ailments such as constipation, which can lead to the dreaded hemorrhoids, headaches, fatigue, and swelling or ‘edema’ (think of those swollen cankles) towards the end of pregnancy. Dehydration in the third trimester can also lead to contractions, which may in turn trigger preterm labour.

Be careful not to supplement water with fruit juices, which can be high in sugar, or caffeine, which can dehydrate you even more.

5) Listen to your body

Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t make it to the swimming pool or you’ve slipped on your healthy eating regime. Sometimes your body knows best. If you’re feeling tired then sleep. If your muscles are aching then give up the gym for a few days and let your body rest. Pregnancy is a time where you need to be in tune with your body and its needs so don’t feel guilty if you need to relax and put your feet up every now and again. You deserve it!

Words: Ciara O’Hanlon

Instagram: @postpartymum