1) Sleep on your left side: The benefits of sleeping on the left side are vast and well documented. These benefits are even more important when you are pregnant. Sleep on your left side as soon as you find out that you are pregnant or better still, if you are actively trying to get pregnant then start sleeping on your left side. The sooner you sleep on the left side, the sooner you will become used to it. Please don't leave it until much further in the pregnancy when you are too uncomfortable as it will be much more difficult to change your sleeping position especially if the left side is not a position you favour. It will take me a long time to try and list all the benefits of sleeping on the left side so instead I will post a video, which summarizes these benefits very well. Since these benefits are true for anyone i.e., even when you are not pregnant the left side sleeping position is beneficial it is worth continuing to do so after the birth.
2) Walk: Walking is something that is easy to do, just need to set aside some time to do it. Pregnancy brings with it a number of physiological and biological changes in us. Such changes include swollen feet, tiredness, stress, emotional turmoil/hormonal imbalance, muscular aches/pains and pregnant related diseases such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia. Most of these conditions and illnesses can be avoided or at the very least, limited by walking. Simply put, walking is a form of exercise and as such has the same health, physiological benefits found in any other exercising route. Walking increases blood flow, which in turn prevents fluid retention thus limiting swollen feet. It also helps body to burn extra calories and this reduces the risk of obesity as well as gestational diabetes. Walking encourages deeper breathing causing better oxygen intake as well as reducing stress. Walking can make you happy! It can also help strengthen muscles thus reducing aches. All these benefits of walking will not only benefit you but importantly a healthier, happier, well functioning body benefits the growing fetus.
Please remember than depending on how far along you are in your pregnancy, the way you walk will be different. Ensure that you walk at a pace comfortable to you. The NHS recommends that pregnant women walk for 30 minutes, 5 times a week; you can adjust these figures to fit your individual body and lifestyle. However make sure that you aim to reach this minimum figure as much as possible. If you are unsure on how to go about it, then always speak to your doctor.
I personally recommend, for those living in/near city centres, to go to a wooden area near you once a week for a nice stroll. Areas with large numbers of trees, away from traffic will help you relax but also give you a chance to breath clean air.
3) Take Prenatal vitamins: Any pregnant lady would know from health professional or midwife, to take prenatal vitamins. Usually it's recommended to do so in the first 3 months of pregnancy due to the benefits of colic acid in fetal development. It is without a doubt something you should do. I will go further and say that continue to take the vitamins for most of your pregnancy; don't stop at 12 weeks. The reason for this is that the fetus will continue to depend on nutrients your body supplies as it grows. Its development happens in stages and continues till after birth. The fetus therefore continues to relay on you to provide it with everything it needs. The vitamins have been formulated especially to ensure that there is enough nutrients/minerals for the all the various stages of fetal development. If you have a healthy diet and feel no need to continue with Vitamins past the 12 weeks/3months mark, then that is absolutely fine. The point here is that the vitamins ensures the fetus is getting what it needs in the quality it needs for its growth and development. Furthermore you cannot harm the fetus by having too much nutrients/minerals as your body will discard any excess.
Pregnancy can cause issues with appetite, morning sickness and so on. Therefore by continuing to take the vitamins, you are allowing yourself that peace of mind knowing that your fetus has all it needs for optimal development. There are fortunately many prenatal vitamins to choose from. My personal favourite are Perfectil Prenatal by Vitabiotics but you choose what you are happy with.
There are also options in the format the vitamins come in so if you struggle to swallow tablets, you can buy the liquid version of the vitamins. Please do not take regular vitamins as they do not have the folic acid and other compounds in the quantity that benefits the fetus. In fact normal vitamins can be harmful for the fetus development.
4) Rest/Sleep: I write this with a smile on my face because it is one of those things that I am so glad I did a lot of. Please rest as much as you can while you are pregnant. It can be tempting to want to do a lot to the last minute but don't. Your body needs the rest and you will be thankful you rested once the baby arrives. This is likely to be the last time you will have to actually sleep as much as you wish, for a long, long time! Use the rest time to talk to your baby or sing to it or just spending quality time with your partner. This can also help reduce the risk of depression later on.
5) Pray/Meditate: Whatever religion, spiritual belief systems you follow, take time to connect with it. Prayers meditation will help you ease some of the usual pregnant concerns and worries. Pregnancy is one of the most uncertain times a woman faces. You will worry constantly about your growing baby. You will read/hear sad stories other women have experienced during pregnancy and this will only add to your concerns. Many of the worries like miscarriages, still birth, etc., are beyond your hands and you will feel the helplessness of it. So pray or meditate and acknowledge that these things can happen unfortunately and it is nobody's fault. Keep faith and hope that you will not have to experience such devastating outcomes and pray for those who have.
Prayers and meditations have been shown to have a positive impact on our moods. Your moods will change frequently during your pregnancy as a result of the ever changing hormones in your body. It will be a rollercoaster of emotions no doubt. Prayers/meditations will help you feel more centred and happier. Reducing stress during pregnancy has great benefits to the mum and the fetus.
6) Do the pelvic floor exercise: If you are pregnant and have had your first visit with a midwife, you have probably already been told about pelvic floor exercises. These are so important yet so easy to forget so much so that I even forgot to mention then when I first wrote this article! You MUST do your pelvic exercises even if you end up with a C-section, like I did and so don't end up 'pushing' that bundle of joy out the way nature intended. Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles will, not only help you with the actual birth but also prevent you from urinary incontinence. Easiest way to remember to do them is to do them as often as possible so that they become habitual. Keep doing these periodically even after birth so that you don't end up reaching for Tena ladies before you are 40th.
Finally enjoy your pregnancy because it is a very special time for any woman. Cherish your journey and don't be afraid to ask questions if you are unsure about something. Speak to midwives, your GP and even friends and family when unsure. Join internet mum forums, there are many to choose from as these can be a great place to share, ask, learn, all there is about pregnancy with other mums. Good luck!
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