About Baby Care

Posts Tagged ‘healthy pregnancy’

You are pregnant and you definitely want to eat as much as possible starting from sweets to different sandwiches, right? But it’s very important to be careful and to concentrate on how many pounds you gain during pregnancy. It’s not necessary to eat for two, it’s just a must to gain more calories than you used to. If you gain the right amount of your weight, you will protect both you and your child. If you don’t follow it, you can have different problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Each day pregnant women usually need around 300 extra calories, thus you can drink, for example, milk or have a healthy snack to get them.

If you want to know how much weight you must gain while pregnant, check your Body Mass Index before being pregnant. If you start your pregnancy at a healthy weight (when you check your BMI, the doctor will let you know about this) you should get 25-35 pounds during the nine months. If you are underweight at the start of your pregnancy, you will need to gain a little more than women who have healthy weight.

If you are overweight at the start of your pregnancy, you should gain only 15-25 pounds during the nine months. Even if you have gained more weight than you needed, don’t try to lose it doing physical exercises or keeping diets. Be most attentive.

What about women who are going to have twins? If you have a healthy weight at the start of your pregnancy, then you can gain between 37-54 pounds during the nine months. But if you are overweight, you should gain 31-50 pounds.

Remember, the best way to gain weight is doing it slowly. Healthy meal is very important during these amazing nine months, thus be attentive to what you eat. Every day breakfast with butter or cheese can be very useful. Go for yogurt and fresh fruit juice in the morning. Fish food is also very healthy, so I hope you love  delicious marine foods.

Avoid fast food! It’s very dangerous.

It will be very useful for you (if your care provider thinks you are healthy enough) to burn extra calories by means of physical exercises. Walking or even swimming can be not only safe but also useful for you and the baby. But be sure to talk to your doctor before starting these exercises.

And lastly, pay too much attention to your organism during these nine months and follow these steps, which will help you have a healthy child.

Photos credits to 1

Pregnancy is a period of amazing nine months during which mothers spend most of their time on looking for beautiful names for their baby and buying every little detail to make their babies’ childhood unforgettable and wonderful.

But pregnancy period is not a process, which always goes smooth and problem-free. Future mothers can face various problems, thus for them it is a must to know how to solve them. I know many women interested in whether it’s OK to travel while pregnant or not. So today we’ll talk about how safe it is to travel during pregnancy. We’ll also offer you points to make your travel both safe and enjoyable.

The perfect time to travel is the second trimester because during the first one different symptoms like morning sickness (nausea) can occur. Third trimester travels are not a good idea as well, because they make you tired and exhausted — it’s not safe.

Everyone is an individual, so the pregnancy is individual too. To avoid problems, right before traveling consult your healthcare doctor to learn if  you have any medical problems to worry about or not. Your doctor will tell you if it’s normal to travel or no. This is what you should do by all means because sometimes a woman needs to be under the strong and constant control to deliver a healthy baby as well as avoid possible difficulties.

During travel take all documents related to pregnancy (all the prenatal tests) — this way you will be prepared in case of emergency and you’ll get right medical help at the right time without delays, which can occur because of lack of your pregnancy test history. Make sure you take the medications you need — there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to find the pills and vitamins you use in the other country. If you want to protect the growing baby, you must also take into account that not using seat belts can be too dangerous for both of you. Hereby, no matter you’re traveling by car, train or airplane use the belts.

Air travel

If your pregnancy is normal and there are no any difficulties, air travel is the safest one. The period between 14 to 27 weeks is an ideal time for travels, because you won’t suffer from morning sickness anymore and you will feel much more comfortable. But, be attentive not to fly after the 36th week. Many airlines even don’t let women travel at the end of the pregnancy because it’s a big responsibility and risk.

Car Travel

Though car travel might seem scary, traveling by car is also normal. You just need to follow certain safety steps. Wear the seat belts, especially if you are sitting near the driver. Pregnant women always need fresh air, so keep the window open so that fresh air goes in. If it’s cold outside, at least make sure the window is half open. And very importantly, if you want to avoid the possibility of feeling nausea, concentrate on the horizon or on a subject far away.

Train Travel

If you ask me which the safest way of travel is, I’ll answer “travel by train.” It’s not only safe, but also comfortable. You are allowed to walk in the train enjoying the freedom of your movements. If you feel fatigue, you can go and lie. Travel by train also gives an opportunity to enjoy the glaring view from the window. To make it complete you can listen to relaxing or favorite music/songs. You can also read a book about pregnancy and get more informed about the pleasant “situation” you are in. : )

You know, I see no reason to say “no travel” during pregnancy, this, of course, refers to the second trimester pregnancy. Follow all the steps correctly, and you’ll both feel happy and perfect. Travels always bring good emotions and feelings, so why not travel while your baby’s still on his way to this beautiful world? I believe he’ll love it too. So enjoy the most incredible nine months of your life in every possible way, including by travels.

Photos credits to 1

There’s so much advice out there on what to do – and what you most definitely shouldn’t do – when you’re pregnant. But follow the ten simple steps below and you won’t go far wrong.

1. Take folic acid

Although folic acid is found naturally in foods such as liver, leafy green vegetables and wholewheat bread, the government still recommends that all women thinking about having a baby should start taking folic acid supplements three months before trying to conceive, and for three months after falling pregnant. Folic acid, a B vitamin, helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. Your doctor can prescribe them to you, or they are sold at most pharmacies. They usually come in 400 microgram capsules which should be taken once a day, or if you don’t like taking tablets, a folic acid milk drink is also available.

2. Eat well

While you are pregnant your immune system functions at a slightly lower level than normal, so you can be at risk from infections passed on through food.

Cheese – some cheese carries the risk of listeria, a bacteria that can cause serious problems for the mother and baby.

Avoid: Ripened soft cheeses like brie or camembert and blue-veined cheeses such as stilton. They can be eaten if they’ve been thoroughly cooked. Also avoid cheese from unpasturised sheep or goat’s milk.
You can eat
Hard cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella, gruyere and soft processed cheeses like cottage cheese, cream cheese and cheese spreads.

Fish can contain high levels of mercury, which can affect the development  of a baby’s nervous system.
Avoid: shark, swordfish and marlin. Limit your consumption of tuna to one fresh steak, or two cans a week, and avoid raw fish like sushi.
You can eat: cod, plaice, haddock and oily fish like mackerel

Shellfish carries a risk of bacteria that can cause food poisoning – which can put you and your baby at risk.
Avoid: raw or undercooked shellfish like oysters, mussels, cold prawns and crab.
You can eat: cooked shellfish

Milk can carry the risk of listeria, or toxoplasmosis
Avoid: green top milk and unpasteurized sheep and goat’s milk unless it has been boiled for two minutes.
You can drink: pasteurized, sterilized and UHT milk.

Eggs can carry the risk of salmonella
Avoid: raw or runny eggs, mayonnaise made with raw egg (shop bought mayonnaise is fine but restaurants often make homemade mayonnaise with raw egg, so always ask first) and mousses made with raw egg.
You can eat: well-cooked eggs (so that the egg-white and yolk are solid), commercially-prepared mayonnaise and salad cream.

Ice-cream can carry the risk of listeria.
Avoid: homemade ice-cream or soft-whipped ice-cream from machines.
You can eat: ice-cream from cartons.

Meat can carry a risk of toxoplasmosis, listeria and salmonella if it hasn’t been cooked properly.
Avoid: Raw or undercooked meat (ask for your steaks well-done for the next nine months and avoid parma ham) and ready-cooked poultry unless it has been thoroughly reheated.
You can eat: Meat and poultry that has been cooked thoroughly all the way through.

Liver can contain high-levels of the retinol form of vitamin A, which can be harmful to your developing baby.
Avoid: Liver, or liver products such as liver sausage and pate. Some fish oil supplements can contain liver of fish, so check the ingredients first.

Salads can carry the risk of listeria or toxoplasmosis if they haven’t been washed properly.
Avoid: packaged salads, unless you wash them first. Ready-prepared dressed salads like coleslaw or potato salad.
You can eat: any salad that has been properly washed.

Cooked-chilled foods can carry the risk of listeria.
Avoid: unheated cooked-chilled foods.
You can eat: cooked-chilled foods that have been thoroughly heated all the way through.

Peanuts can be dangerous if you or your partner’s family has a history of peanut or other allergies, asthma, eczema or hayfever.
Avoid: eating peanuts, or peanut products (Satay chicken for example) during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
You can eat: other types of nut, including Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts or cashew nuts, have not been identified as a potential problem.

If you find that you have accidentally eaten the wrong thing, don’t panic, the risks are small, but it is best to avoid these foods while pregnant.

3. Cut out Caffeine

Caffeine has been associated with the risk of miscarriage and hindering the development of babies in the womb. The government’s advice is to limit your caffeine consumption to 300 mg a day (roughly three mugs of coffee, six cups of tea or eight cans of cola).
Avoid: drinking too much caffeine, but a small amount is fine. Remember caffeine can also be found in energy drinks and chocolate.

4. Cut out alcohol

Alcohol can be one of the hardest things to give up in early pregnancy.  Some women find they cannot stand the smell or taste of it once they are pregnant, which makes it easier. In the past experts agreed that a small amount of alcohol in pregnancy was fine, but current information advocates women avoiding alcohol altogether during pregnancy.

There is no doubt that heavily drinking in pregnancy can cause severe abnormalities in babies, and alcoholic mothers put their babies at risk of foetal alcohol syndrome. If you are worried, it might be best to avoid alcohol altogether. At first it may seem strange to go out and not drink, because it was only a few weeks ago that you were enjoying a glass of wine. After a few months you’ll be used to not drinking, and you will probably feel better for it.

5. Don’t smoke or let anyone around you smoke

Smoking is one of the most damaging things you can do to your unborn child, and the risks are huge. Smoking has been linked to miscarriage, stillbirths, a low birth-weight, damage to the placenta and a higher risk of fetal abnormalities. If your partner smokes he is compromising your baby’s health through passive smoking. It is essential that you stop smoking even before you fall pregnant, as smoking can cause men to experience a low sperm count. If you need help quitting visit www.givingupsmoking.co.uk or phone the NHS smoking helpline on 0800 169 9169.

6.Exercise gently

Exercising during pregnancy is important for your health, your stress levels and for your growing pregnant body, but make sure you stick to safe gentle exercises that put minimum strain on your body.

7. Slow down

Although you may feel completely normal, your body is going through one of the biggest events it will ever have to deal with so make sure you take time to slow things down. Don’t try to cram extra time in at work because you feel guilty about time off for maternity leave. Accept that on days when you feel rough, tired or nauseous, it’s ok to ask for help or have a lie down. If you have a boisterous two-year-old to look after, lean on a few relatives to take care of him or her while you have some time-out.

8. Sleep

Lie-in till 2pm, have early nights and long baths… Try to get at least eight hours sleep a night, because once your baby arrives your sleep pattern will be disrupted by broken nights and early starts and sleeping through the night or having a lie-in will seem like a distant memory! If you can, take a little nap in the afternoon and remember to lie down on your left side, if it is comfortable, to relieve the major blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby.

9. Change your shoes

Stiletto lovers don’t despair – you will get into your heels again, but for the next nine months it is probably best to stick to comfortable non-restricting shoes. In pregnancy your ankles, feet and legs can swell slightly so anything restricting will make them worse. Try to put your legs up (even on a box under your desk) a few times a day. If your legs, ankles or toes excessively swell make an appointment with your GP as this could be a sign of pre-eclampsia.

10. Look after YOU

This might mean doing pregnancy yoga, going to a spa for a bit of pampering or buying a special maternity outfit, anything which helps you to nourish your mental wellbeing. Why not book a weekend away for you and your partner in a luxury hotel before the baby comes. Your partner may be feeling apprehensive about the impending birth and a weekend away will do you both good.