Rumana informed her husband of her pregnancy right after six months of their marriage, and he along with his family members becomes so happy that they start taking special care of her. Yes, pregnancy gives a woman’s conjugal life completeness. Proper care during pregnancy can ensure hassle free and safe delivery of a healthy baby. Let’s know about 9 tips that every pregnant woman has to follow during pregnancy.

1)             Consult your physician:

Try to inform your doctor of your pregnancy as you conceive so that you can start taking proper care for a safe delivery. If you follow your doctor’s suggestions right from the beginning, you can stay fit. Your doctor may recommend you to go for ultrasonography and other tests or vaccines which you must follow.

2)             Eat well:

Along with a healthful and balanced diet, eat fruits and vegetables five or six times a day. Frances Largeman-Roth, RD suggests, “Fruits like apples and bananas contain natural sugar which helps increase the energy level.”

Eat foods containing carbohydrates in plenty like bread, pasta, rice as the main items of your principal meals. Choose whole wheat grain so that you receive a lot of fibers. Choose red rice and whole wheat bread instead of white rice.

Pregnant women need to consume a lot of protein which are available in plenty in fish, dahl, egg, peanut, dairy products, solid meat, etc. Try to eat fish twice a day with fatty fish included. You should look for the ones that contain protein, Vitamin D, minerals, Omega 3 Fatty Acid which helps build your baby’s nervous system.

You need not necessarily eat for the two. During the first six months of your pregnancy, you need not take extra calorie, but during the last three months, you have to take an extra 200 calories. You may eat healthful snacks to keep your energy level at a required state.

3)             Take supplements:

Pregnancy vitamin supplement is not an alternative to a balanced diet, but they can of help if you are not fit enough to eat properly. Check to make sure the supplement you take contains 400 micrograms of Folic acid which helps with a defect in your baby’s neural tube like Spina bifida and is essential during the first three months. Also, the supplement should contain at least 10 micrograms of Vitamin D which is good for the bone. Always take supplements as per your doctor’s prescriptions. If you do not want to take multivitamin, you can take Folic acid and Vitamin D supplements separately.

In case, you do not eat fish, you can take fish supplements made of the body of the fish and not the liver since oil from the liver like cod liver oil may contain Vitamin A R retinol form which is not recommended for pregnant women.

4)             Be careful about food hygiene:

Some food items may pose health risks for your baby. Listeriosis, an infectious disease, is caused by Listeria contained in foods like any kind of pate, unpasteurized milk, meal not properly cooked, soft and molded cheese. It is a rarely identified disease that may not affect your health in general but can cause complications to your pregnancy, and even abortion. The bacteria cannot live in heat. So, cook the foods with much heat.

Salmonella, a bacteria causing food poisoning, is available in raw meat, egg and fish with shells. So, use much heat to cook such foods.

Wash your hands and tools like spoons and knives properly after chopping fish or chicken. Also wash fruits and vegetables properly before eating. Use gloves to take care of your pet or while working in the garden.

5)             Exercise regularly:

·        Physical exercise helps increase bodily strength and endurance which are needed to endure labor pain and bear excessive weight during pregnancy.

·        It helps remove gloom and stay cheerful.

·        It helps regain physical shape after the delivery of a baby.

·        Walking, swimming, yoga, etc. are safe to take during pregnancy.

6)             Quit Bad Habits:

Alcohol easily transports through placenta and blood flow to the baby’s body and can cause birth defects in the baby or miscarriage.

Smoking can cause different complications like miscarriage, premature birth, death of a baby in the womb, low weight and even death during the birth. So, smoking is strongly discouraged.

7)             Decrease intake of caffeine:

Drinks like tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks contain caffeine which works as a stimulant but increases the risk of abortion. It can cause the delivery of a child with insufficient weight.

8)             Take rest:

During pregnancy, mothers feel tiredness due to a high level of pregnancy hormone. If you do not get proper sleep at night, try to get some during daytime or stay calm for a while resting your legs at a little higher place. If you have back pain, lay yourself to the left side with knees bent a little and keep a pillow or soft cushion beside you.

9)             When to see a doctor?

If you notice any of the following symptoms in yourself, contact your doctor immediately:

• ·        Feeling any kind of pain
• ·        Occurrence of Eclampsia
• ·        Bleeding or fluid release
• ·        Giddiness or fainting
• ·        Suffocation
• ·        Frequent and irregular heart beat
• ·        Feeling excessively nauseated
• ·        Having difficulties walking
• ·        Swelling of joint
• ·        Reduced movement of the baby inside

Contact our call center to consult doctors at SuperMom for any children and maternity affairs from 9am to 5pm from Sunday-Thursday (except Government holidays). Call our toll free number 08000-888-000