How to Have a Healthy Pregnancy
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First of all, congratulations, you are pregnant! I know that it can feel overwhelming trying to figure out what to do after getting pregnant to make sure that you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Everyone you know seems to have advice and there’s tons of books and of course google has so much to say about a healthy pregnancy. This can all be a lot to try and wade through so I’ve simplified what it takes to have a healthy pregnancy with these 3 tips.
I think it goes without saying that you should avoid consuming alcohol, smoking cigarettes and using drugs but just in case you didn’t know, now you do. If you want a healthy pregnancy then do not do those things while pregnant.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get into the three main things you can do to have a healthy pregnancy.
1. Eat Healthy
- Eating good, healthy food is such a simple thing you can do to keep yourself healthy while you’re pregnant. But what is healthy food? Everyone has their own interpretation of what healthy food looks like so here’s what I mean
- Meat- When picking out meats to eat, grass fed and organic meats should be your priority.
- Pasture raised organic eggs. Eating at least 2 eggs a day should be your goal as well as eating additional eggs yolks when you’re able so that you can get adequate omega-6 fatty acid
- Organic fruits and vegetables (or following the dirty dozen)
- Fresh seafood 2-4 times a week. Of course you want to avoid high mercury fish so I would suggest wild caught salmon and shellfish
This is a list of just the starting point on healthy foods for pregnancy. There’s a really great strategy to eating while pregnant that can make a huge difference in your outcome of a healthy pregnancy. That is the brewers diet. The brewers diet is a way of eating while pregnant to ensure you are eating in a way to get in the proper nutrition and adequate protein everyday. Protein is especially important while pregnant as it helps the baby grow normally as well as contribute to your body’s expanding blood volume. The brewers diet has been known to prevent major complications in pregnancy such as preeclampsia. For more specific information on the brewer’s diet visit their website here.
I also encourage you to read Real food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols – it’s an evidence based book on food to eat or not eat while pregnant and I personally found this incredibly helpful. Nichols shares tons of great nutritional information as well as debunking what is actually not okay to eat and what isn’t a big deal if you eat or not.
2. Supplement
Unfortunately so many women enter pregnancy depleted. This can be for a variety of reasons but luckily you can supplement to help support your body. Of course your diet or food intake should be your main source of adding in nutrition and supplements should be secondary. I’m not a doctor and this is not medical advice, and I encourage you to do your own research and then discuss with your doctor or midwife what is right for you. Some supplements that are beneficial during pregnancy:
- Prenatal vitamin- a prenatal made from whole foods is ideal. It’s also beneficial to find one that has folate, instead of the synthetic form of folic acid because not everyone is able to absorb folic acid properly. I recommend this one from Seeking Health . It’s important to note that a prenatal isn’t going to give you everything you need so it is still very important to make sure you are eating well.
- Beef liver- a beef liver supplement will have so many benefits that include iron, folate, and vitamin A. Finding a supplement from grassfed cows is best. You can also eat beef liver if you would like, otherwise these brands are great Perfect Supplements and Palleovalley .
- Magnesium- some of the benefits of consuming magnesium while pregnant are that it helps with sleep and maintains healthy blood sugar and healthy blood pressure. This one from Lifeblud is great.
- Cod liver oil- this is a great source of vitamin a and vitamin d. You can get this in a liquid or as gel capsules. I recommend the Rosita
- Probiotic- probiotics are great for many reasons. While pregnant, a probiotic is especially great at preventing testing positive for Group B streptococcus (GBS). When looking for a probiotic while pregnant you want one with at least one of these two strains: Lactobacillus rhamnosus or Lactobacillus reuteri because it can help with preventing GBS. I recommend this one from Organic Olivia.
These are just a few supplements that could be very beneficial to you and your baby while you are pregnant. Again, eating healthy, nutritious foods should be your priority and the supplements should be secondary.
3. Movement
Get moving. Whether that’s going to the gym, taking regular walks, swimming or doing a class. Movement and exercise are very important for your health, everyday, and especially while pregnant. Being active while pregnant will help your body adjust to all of the changes that happen with pregnancy. Exercise is also known to help with things like constipation and swelling, as well as mood and sleep. Another really great benefit to exercise is that it will improve your strength and endurance which will come in handy when it’s time to give birth. This means that even when you are in your third trimester, unless instructed otherwise by your doctor or midwife, you should still be exercising. I know that the bigger that sweet belly gets the less motivation you have but continuing to stay active will make a difference when it comes time to give birth. Movement is also important for reducing the risk of c-sections, gestational diabetes as well as preeclampsia.
Final thoughts
I understand how important it is for every pregnant woman to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Being pregnant can come with many challenges but these three tips may not only help with some of the unwanted pregnancy symptoms they will also help you to have a healthy pregnancy. There are so many things that can contribute to a healthy pregnancy but these three tips are the main things a pregnant woman should focus on.
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I created Natural and Empowered Birth because I want to help women have a positive birth experience.
I’ve always been fascinated by birth and love hearing other mama’s birth stories. Learning about how women can have a beautiful and empowering birth set me on a path to have one myself and now I want to help women have a great birthing experience too.
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