Take Care Of The Health During Pregnancy

"Hey. Take special care of your health during pregnancy." "Don't eat this. Don't eat that." "It would be good for the baby's health." A number of such advices start pouring in when you and your dear ones get to know that you are expecting a baby. For a pregnant woman it is really difficult to understand whom she should follow and what she should do.

Whatever the circumstances are and whoever the advisor is, the prime concern is your health during pregnancy. A sound mind lives in a sound body and so does a healthy baby. If you are not physically and mentally fit, you cannot expect a healthy baby. So, you should not only eat nutritious food but also need to follow a regular exercising routine.

Here are some Dos and Don'ts that you can follow to keep yourself healthy during pregnancy.

Dos For Your Health During Pregnancy:

An average woman needs 300 calories a day during pregnancy. So, eat a balanced diet containing all the nutrients like carbohydrates, calcium, iron, folic acid, proteins and vitamins. For this, you can include fresh citrus juices, grains, cereals, potatoes, bread, eggs(hard boiled and scrambled), beans, pulses, lentils and oily fish in your meals on regular basis.

Keep yourself well hydrated by drinking regular glasses of water, fresh fruit and vegetable juices. Such habit helps you get rid of regular pregnancy problems like tiredness, headache and kidney infections.

Drink only pasteurized/ UHT milk. Also, include other dairy like yoghurt and cheese to avoid deficiency of calcium.

During your pregnancy, you also need to visit your gynecologist regularly so that if there is any complication, it could be tackled on time. Go for regular pregnancy tests and ultrasounds.

If you are a coffee lover, then you have to restrict yourself to two to four cups of coffee a day as high intake of coffee/ caffeine can lead to miscarriage.

Also, try to maintain a regular exercising routine. It not only prevents excessive weight gain during pregnancy but it also helps reduce other pregnancy related problems like back pain, swelling and constipation.

If your routine allows, try out meditation and regular prayers. It improves your outlook and gives you positive energy levels.

Don'ts For Your Health During Pregnancy:

Don't smoke, not even once in while. Smoking raises carbon monoxide levels in the blood that in turns reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the baby. Also, avoid being the victim of passive smoking.

High level of vitamin A can adversely affect the health of baby. So, avoid liver and liver products.

As far as possible avoid processed and canned food.

Also, give up alcohol (even if you do moderate drinking) because it affects the nervous system of the baby.

Don't think of taking a weight loss supplement or following a diet chart to lose calories.

You are going to bring a new life in this world and you have to shoulder all the responsibilities of bringing him up. If you are not healthy how can he be healthy? So, for that little one's sake, take special care of your health during pregnancy and don't forget to consult your doctor before following any plan of action. After all, a doctor understands your body function better.