Why A Healthy Pregnancy Is Important For Your Baby

Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash

During pregnancy, your body is the vessel that gives your growing baby all the nutrients that it needs. Being as healthy as possible before and during pregnancy gives your baby the best start in life.

See Your Doctor or Midwife As Soon As Possible

As soon as the pregnancy test gives a positive indication, take a trip to see your doctor to confirm your pregnancy, and get the ball rolling in terms of professional medical care. Enjoy the first few months, relax and rest.

Eat Well

What you eat in pregnancy is incredibly important to the developing fetus. The Early Life Health Nutrition Coalition has more information, but essentially, you need to:

Increase folic acid – this is the nutrient that is essential for the development of the brain and the nervous system and is important in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Many women are also advised to increase folic acid in the pre-conception stage too. 

Fruit and vegetables – eat a rainbow of fruit and vegetables every day, and makes sure that you get your five-a-day through pregnancy.

Protein - get your protein from lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, and pulses and make sure you have a daily intake of protein.

There are some foods that pregnant women are advised not to eat – check the latest government advice if you are unsure.

Pregnancy Supplements

If you eat a varied and healthy diet pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy, you may feel that you don’t need to take any additional vitamins and supplements. If you think you need some extra help in terms of nutrition, always check with your doctor or midwife before taking any supplements that they are safe to do so during pregnancy. Any vitamins and minerals need to be within safe amounts and guidelines. Taking large amounts of vitamins can be harmful. For example, vitamin A in some sources is beneficial, but from other sources, can be detrimental as the levels of the vitamin are too high and not needed. Other supplements, such as fish oil, especially from the fish liver, is considered too potent for a developing fetus and thus, pregnant women are advised to check all products carefully.

Stay Active and Fit

Labour and giving birth is hard work, and this is why, to help towards a successful delivery, you should stay active and fit. This also helps to maintain good blood pressure but also helps with your emotional state of mind too. Some exercises are suitable for pregnant women, such as pregnancy yoga, Pilates, swimming and walking for example, but if you play a sport that could lead to falls or knocks, as well as impacting on your joints, it may be best to take a break for a few months.

Rest and Relax

Just as important as staying fit and active for your developing baby, is the need for you to rest and relax. You may find sleeping becomes more uncomfortable, more so in late pregnancy. This means more power naps during the day. Try investing in a pregnancy pillow to help you be more comfortable at night or when you sit. An active pregnancy, with a healthy diet and plenty of rest is the perfect combination!