What can a woman do to promote a healthy pregnancy?
Healthy way of living with special care during pregnancy is necessary to give birth to a healthy child and also to sustain your health. Follow these steps to promote healthy pregnancy:
Take folic acid: Take at least 400 mg of folic acid everyday. You can take vitamin supplements and folic acid enriched food items to compensate the level of folic acid in you. Food items like brad, cereal, pasta and other grain based food are enriched in folic acid. Folic acid can reduce the risk of neural tube defects.
Avoid alcohol and tobacco: Most of the people are aware of this fact that, consuming alcohol and tobacco will affect them badly. The risk will be at an increased level if you consume alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy. Your child will be at high risk of getting problems such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and sudden infant death syndrome.
Avoid exposure to toxic substances: During pregnancy, it is important to avoid exposure to toxic substances. Because, radiation, pesticides, some metals, and certain chemicals can cause premature birth, miscarriages and birth defects. A few things that are known to be toxic to the developing fetus are- lead, radiation, solvents etc. If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, it is best to avoid chemical exposure.
Follow and maintain a healthy diet: It is a well known fact that, healthy diet can keep a person healthy, if she is pregnant or not. During pregnancy, you should give more stress on your healthy diet. People will say that pregnant women should eat a lot. But, the fact is, you should not have to eat unnecessarily. A well controlled healthy food which is enriched in vitamins and proteins can keep you healthy. You can even ask advice from your doctor about your diet.
Limit caffeine intake: Researches have found that, taking too much of caffeine can increase the risk of miscarriage. Talk to your doctor about the caffeine included food items that you take everyday. He/she can explain you the amount of caffeine included in certain food items.
Physical activity: Continue with the regular levels of physical activity throughout pregnancy, if your doctor suggests you to do so. Some may need to take bed rest according to the advice of their doctor.
Take regular dental checkups: Pregnant women are at high risk in getting gum diseases. Due to the hormonal changes and increased blood flow during pregnancy, your gums may get infected or inflamed. This causes gum diseases during pregnancy. Take dental checkups. During checkups, tell your doctor about your pregnancy.
