Pregnancy Lifestyle

Food and exercise are important components of a healthy pregnancy; so is the way you live your life.

Your lifestyle considerations include everything from the medications you take, and the amount of sleep you get, to the level of stress you experience on a daily basis.

Let's look at some of the factors you need to consider in your lifestyle:

Medication, Drugs and Medical Treatment - If you are taking prescription or over the counter medication, talk to your OB/GYN doctor about these medications and be sure you can continue taking them throughout your pregnancy.

There may be safer options you can consider, or you may have to stop taking medications, natural remedies, vitamins or supplements that are not absolutely necessary to your health during this time.

Even the most common over the counter (OTC) and prescription medications may be dangerous to take during pregnancy because of their effect on your unborn child.

Don't make assumptions. Talk to your doctor!

If you are seeing a specialist for a medical issue, be sure to let them know you are pregnant so that they can consider that and talk to your OB/GYN doctor if appropriate.

Remember to tell x-ray technicians and dentists that you are pregnant as well.

Ask your doctor to give you a list of 'safe over the counter medications' for things like muscle strain and headache, so you will know what to take if you need pain medication, allergy medication, etc.

As to illegal or narcotic drugs, if you are pregnant and you taking these drugs (once or frequently) you are placing your baby at risk for premature birth, birth defect, miscarriage, learning disability and lots of other things.

If you are addicted to a drug your baby can also be born addicted. Talk to your doctor about this and get help immediately.

There is no time to waste!

If you have used drugs at any time during your pregnancy, tell your doctor. Even if you stopped using the drug or didn't know you were pregnant when you used it, your baby can still be a risk and your doctor may need to monitor your pregnancy more closely.

Smoking - If you smoke and you are pregnant, get help and quit. There is no other way to say it!

Pregnant women who smoke reduce the circulation to their own bodies and to their baby, and they pass nicotine and carbon monoxide through the placenta and into the baby's body.

The risks of smoking are legendary and they have significant impact on your pregnancy, including:

• Premature birth
• Stillborn fetus
• Low birth weight stillbirth
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• Asthma and upper respiratory problems

Do what you have to do to quit NOW!

Sleep - You are going to need more sleep during your pregnancy and you should plan for that. Don't try to stay up until midnight to get that report done. Just give in to the fatigue and allow yourself more rest, especially during your first trimester when you are likely to feel 'bone tired'.

As your baby grows it may become difficult to find a comfortable sleep position. Most doctors recommend lying on your side with your knees bent and putting a pillow between your knees to take the strain off your lower back.

Lying on your side also makes things easier on your heart and lungs, and the baby's weight and size will not be so likely to put pressure on your blood vessels, so your legs are less likely to swell.

Sleeping on your side also helps to reduce the likelihood of varicose veins, constipation and hemorrhoids because it allows for better circulation and provides optimum blood flow to your baby and the placenta.

If you sleep on your LEFT SIDE, you are also relieving the pressure the baby's weight can put on your liver and improving blood supply to your kidneys so they can flush toxins out of your system.

Buy a few extra pillows and use them behind your back and under your stomach to give you more support.

Most stores carry full length 'body pillows', and even pregnancy pillows that are designed to support your body and your stomach.

Support and Ergonomics - If you sit a lot at work or during a commute or in a classroom, pay attention to the support you have for your back and legs during this time.

You will be sore and tired if your body is not supported appropriately.

Position your computer monitor so that the top of the screen is at or below your natural 'eye level' and elevate your feet on a stool, wastebasket or chair when you can.

Take a break every 30 minutes and walk around the office or down the hall to ask your co-worker a question. Keep moving to reduce swelling in your legs, ankles and feet and pain in your lower back.

Stress - Stress is a fact of life and it is unhealthy for everyone, but it is especially hard on you when you are pregnant and it is hard on your baby.

If your job, school or family life is stressful, if your schedule is crazy or if you are under a lot of pressure, you need to look for ways to reduce the stress.

You may have to stop working sooner if you can't find solutions at work. If your stress comes from a long or intense commute to work, consider ways to change that commute by working at home a few days a week.

Talk to your employer and your co-workers and enlist their help during the time you are pregnant. You can return the favor after you deliver.

Let your family help you with things you can afford to delegate and allow yourself to be pampered. Be willing to let things go. You don't have to vacuum every day. You can buy good take out food on occasion and ask your husband to do the laundry.

Reduce the hours you work or study and try to get more relaxation time and rest time in your schedule.

You will be better prepared for a healthy delivery if you look seriously at this issue.

Taking care of your cat - This is a great time to avoid cat litter. Pregnant women should NOT clean litter boxes, because of the risk of toxoplasmosis, spread through dirty cat litter.

Your baby may be born prematurely, suffer from poor growth or even have eye or brain damage if you are exposed to this toxic substance.

What makes this problem more serious is that you are likely to be symptom-free, while having passed toxoplasmosis to your child who child can then suffer from the effects of the toxin.

Watching your weight - You should (and will) gain weight during your pregnancy. Most of your weight gain will be during your third trimester. It is important to eat a balanced diet and exercise so that you do not gain excess weight that may hamper your recovery or your physical activity during or after pregnancy.

In general, your doctor will strive to limit your weight gain to:

• 2-4 pounds total during the first trimester
• 3-4 pounds per month during the second and third trimesters
• 25-30 pounds for an average total weight gain during pregnancy*

*if you were underweight before pregnancy: 28-40 pounds total weight gain, if you were overweight before pregnancy: 15-25 pounds total weight gain

Your total weight gain during pregnancy averages 6-8 pounds in 'baby weight', with the rest consisting of water retention, amniotic fluid, placental sac, and increased breast and uterine weight.

Of course everyone is different and weight gain depends on your personal situation, your height and your starting weight, as well. Talk to your doctor about what is right for you.

Studies have shown that women who gain more than the total recommended during pregnancy, and who do not lose this weight within six months after birth are at high risk for obesity as long as ten years after delivery.

Your doctor will monitor your weight gain at every visit and talk to you about any concerns he may have in that regard.

In the interim if you wish to monitor your weight gain and compare it against 'averages', you can find more information at this website:

http://www.verybestbaby.com/tools/trackers/mommyweight.asp?section=tl

Sex during pregnancy - Sex and pregnancy go hand in hand. But many pregnant women often have questions about sex DURING pregnancy. And sometimes pregnant women are embarrassed to ask their doctor questions about this intimate subject.

You may be concerned about whether intercourse can cause miscarriage or pose a risk to your unborn child.

Presuming you have a normal pregnancy, there is no fear of complications or problems resulting from sexual intercourse during pregnancy.

Of course you should ask your doctor about your own situation, but the average woman can and will have sex well into her third trimester.

If you start to get uncomfortable in your third trimester and it is difficult for you to achieve or sustain certain positions because of your physical size, you and your partner may want to experiment with pillows for support, or try new positions to make you more comfortable.

We don't recommend sex 'toys' during pregnancy because you don't want to introduce anything foreign that may have germs or bacteria on the surface.

Talk to your doctor about your concerns and, if you want to do some research, take a look online to find out more information and answer your specific questions.

From your first week of pregnancy to your last week of pregnancy you should consider and attend to your diet, your exercise and physical activity and lifestyle issues.

You may find it necessary to be more cautious and cease certain activities like skydiving, but in general, your pregnancy is a time when you will feel excited, healthy and NORMAL, in that you can do most anything you could do before you were pregnant.

Remember to take good care of your health so that your baby is born healthy and your delivery goes smoothly.

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