How to Stay Healthy in Your First Few Months of Pregnancy

If you have never had a baby before, then becoming pregnant can be one of the biggest changes to your body you may ever experience. To ensure that both you and the baby are as healthy as possible, there are some important lifestyle choices you will need to make. Being pregnant takes a lot of energy and you will need to keep your strength up to maintain your own physical and mental health. Here are a few tips to help you stay healthy in the first few months of your pregnancy.

Safely Treat Symptoms

There are some signs of pregnancy that can be unpleasant for the mother to experience, such as vomiting and headaches. Make sure that any remedy you choose to alleviate the pain is safe for pregnancy as some medicines can be harmful to unborn babies. If you are unsure, it is best to check with your medical provider or pharmacist rather than searching online.

Find Out When the Baby is Due

For your own wellbeing and the safety of the baby, it is helpful to find out the approximate due date. Ultrasound Care provides an early dating ultrasound scan that can make it easier to estimate the gestational age of the baby and therefore how many weeks until the birth. This will give you a more accurate timescale to help you prepare for the baby's arrival, which is less stressful the sooner you do it.

Avoid Dangerous Substances

To protect the baby from the very start it is essential that you limit your exposure to harmful substances. We all know that smoking, drugs, alcohol and caffeine are bad for us – they won’t be good for the baby either. There are plenty of studies out there looking at individual substances – so do your research and decide what risk you are willing to take. While there are some recommendations out there about what makes the ideal pregnancy diet, so long as you keep yourself healthy, then you will most likely be helping your baby too. Prenatal vitamins are a good option to supplement a healthy diet – you will need a lot more of certain substances, such as Folic acid, than you do normally.

Exercise Frequently

Although it may be the last activity you want to do when you're feeling nauseous and bloated, staying fit is a great way to prepare your body for the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The stronger your body is during your pregnancy, the easier it will be to return to normal once the baby is born. Try stretching and gentle exercises to keep you feeling fit without putting pressure on sore muscles and joints. If you regularly do exercise, there is no need to stop unless you want to.

Mentally Prepare

Becoming a parent for the first time is a monumental life event that shouldn't be taken lightly. It's normal to have a wide range of emotions after finding out that you're pregnant, so don't feel guilty if not all of them are positive. Stress is common and can be managed with help from loved ones and even a medical professional. Talking through your worries with other first-time parents can also help to relieve the burden you might feel since sharing experiences will help you feel less alone. The important part to remember is that there is no perfect way to be a parent and that you can only try your best.