Are you expecting any time soon? If so, first off, congratulations!
You might feel a bit worried currently, but know that you’re not alone. It is perfectly normal to worry about how well your pregnancy will turn out. Many women feel their most vulnerable at this time.
You may be worried about how you’ll look or feel over the coming months, but take a moment to consider what could go well for you. For instance, the royal family’s Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is currently expecting a baby of her own, but as the weeks go by, she looks no less radiant than she did before. And you can do the same!
Just give yourself a little royal treatment of your own, and follow these health tips.
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Come up with a meal plan
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The first step to a happy, healthy pregnancy is to work on a new meal plan.
You may be used to enjoying all sorts of delicacies, such as shellfish and soft cheeses. But those foods, among others, will not go well with your pregnancy. They can leave you open to contaminations like toxoplasmosis, salmonella, or listeria.
Try to focus on foods with the following nutrition instead:
- Less fatty protein sources (i.e., lean beef, chicken, nuts, cottage cheese)
- Healthy fats (i.e., milk, cheese, yogurt)
- Vegetables and fruits (i.e., spinach, broccoli, citrus fruits)
These foods will not only make you feel more refreshed, but they will also benefit your baby in a number of ways. The protein sources will help you develop the fetal tissue your baby needs and the breast and uterine tissue you need. Healthy fats will build up your baby’s bones and help you regulate your own fluids. And lastly, vegetables and fruits will give you plenty of folate and iron nutrients, which will help reduce the risk of birth defects and increase your blood flow.
Throughout it all, you’ll want to stay hydrated with water to help boost your skin health, beauty, and reap other health benefits.
Avoid air pollution as much as possible
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Just as important as the food you eat is the air you breathe.
Air pollution, according to the American Pregnancy Association, can lead to a number of pregnancy problems, including premature birth and asthma.
While you can’t control the air itself, you can at least make sure you get as much clean air as possible. So keep an eye on the air quality index. This measurement system will let you know whether your area has an air quality problem or not.
If the air quality in your home is concerning, consider getting an air purifier. An air purifier is a machine designed to filter the air of your home, so it can help you remove any smoke, allergens, mold, germs, and other air pollutants found in your home.
For a more natural purifier, get a plant. Certain plants, such as spider and snake plants, will naturally take in air pollution and produce fresh oxygen in its place. To maintain this naturally clean air, be sure to have a plant for every 100 square feet in your home.
Ease your muscles
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Don’t forget to take the time to relax and give your muscles a well-deserved break either!
Carrying another human being around alongside your own body weight puts an extra strain on your muscles. As a result, you are much more likely to experience muscle cramps. But as the American Pregnancy Association notes, you can avoid the pain they bring by doing the following:
- Staying hydrated
- Stretching your muscles
- Eating properly
- Taking prenatal vitamins
Already dealing with muscle cramps? It’s not too late to ease your pain! Give your sore muscles a relief with a massage, gentle stretches, and some comforting warmth from a heating pad.
Reduce your risk of nausea
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Within four to eight weeks of your pregnancy, it won’t just be your muscles feeling less than lively. Your stomach may also start to feel poorly due to nausea.
Not every woman will experience nausea first thing during their pregnancy, but it’s likely that you will encounter it at some point.
No one knows the exact cause of nausea during pregnancy. But many consider it possible for the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone to be the main cause.
You can reduce the likelihood that your HCG hormone triggers nausea by doing simple activities, such as avoiding foods and smells that trigger nausea, eating smaller meals, and getting plenty of beauty sleep.
You might also want to ask your doctor about taking a Vitamin B-6 supplement, which has been proven to help reduce nausea and vomiting.
Look out for pregnancy-induced conditions
In addition to asking your doctor about supplements, you may also want to raise any concerns you have about pregnancy-induced conditions, such as gestational diabetes.
You’re at a higher risk for such a condition when you fit the following categories:
- Being older than 25 while pregnant
- Coming from a family with a history of diabetes
- Dealing with overweight issues
- Having high blood pressure to begin with
Luckily, gestational diabetes is typically temporary. But it does cause your blood sugar to be excessively high throughout pregnancy, which can give you some frustrating symptoms, such as blurry vision, exhaustion, and frequent infections.
While a good diet and some low-impact exercises will usually reduce these symptoms, you may not be so lucky. Some women just can’t reduce these symptoms on their own. But a doctor can still help you counter them with prescriptions like glyburide.
Getting a prescription may make both you and your wallet cringe, but it doesn’t have to be at your expense. Simply go to a Canadian pharmacy referral service like Canada Med Pharmacy. This allows you to connect to international and Canadian pharmacies that deal with stricter pharmaceutical price negotiations than the US so you can better afford your medication.
Live like a queen
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While you may not belong to the royal family, there’s no reason you can’t live like a queen during your pregnancy. You just need to make sure your body gets what it needs to stay feeling comfortable as your pregnancy continues. So keep your body well-fed, refreshed with clean air, eased, nausea-free, and medically managed. Your body will thank you and so will your baby!
