“Do I really have to eat food for two now?”,
“Can I exercise?”,
“Why am I so tired all the time”,
“Is this even good for me and my baby?”.
An expecting mother has a lot of questions in her mind. What to do and what not to do, she is always stuck between these questions while everyone around shares their own unsolicited tips and tricks.
The parenting professionals from We Positive Parenting, offering prenatal guidance in Ahmedabad have come up with this health guide for mothers-to-be
What should you do as a soon to be mother?
1) Have a healthy diet
An expecting mother should eat 5 to 6 meals every day. And these meals should be well-balanced.
A nutritious and well-balanced diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and iron-rich food, that includes protein, vitamin A, C & D, calcium, potassium, folic acid, iron and adequate fat etc. They are as below:
| Vegetables | Fruits | Dairy |
| Beans | Mangoes | Fat-free milk |
| Peas | Bananas | Low-fat yogurt |
| Carrots | Apricots | Skimmed or 1% milk |
| Sweet Potatoes | Oranges | Soy milk |
| Pumpkin | ||
| Spinach |
Aim to drink at least eight or more cups of water each day. Remember, avoid overeating as an expecting mother’s body needs only 300-500 additional calories per day. Moreover, avoid coffee as increasing dose of daily caffeine intake during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage as well.
Maintaining a food diary can be very helpful.
2) Exercise regularly, but don’t overdo it!
It is completely safe for an expecting mother to do basic exercises regularly. Many mothers-to-be fear increasing the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, or early delivery due to exercising and end up avoiding them completely. We suggest you take the guidance of your doctor and gynaecologist and start working out as advised by them.
Experts suggest brisk walking, water workouts, and cycling on a stationary bike as some of the safest exercises for pregnant women. Remember do not exercise out in the open. Wear loose clothes and workout in a temperature-controlled room to avoid becoming overheated. Consume an ample amount of water post workout every time.
3) Get enough sleep & rest
Pregnancy can be physically tiring and mentally draining. Mothers often complain of lack of sleep due to the discomfort from the changes occurring in their body.
Ample sleep is very important for the mother and the offspring.Kathy Lee, a professor of nursing at the University of California San Francisco studied how pregnancy affects sleep. In the conclusion of her study she stated that to assure adequate sleep, health care providers should prescribe 8 hours of bed time during pregnancy.
In order to get good sleep, develop a relaxing bedtime routine. Try to avoid electronics for at least an hour before you go to sleep and use a maternity pillow to support your back and knees while doing so. Yoga and mindfulness meditation also help in getting good sleep.
To avoid having leg cramps while sleeping, consume a lot of water. Apart from that try to limit caffeine intake in the diet as it reduces total sleep time and efficiency.
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