Healthy Pregnancy – Give Your Baby The Best Start In Life
Babies truly are the best present anyone could ever hope to receive in life! As a parent, you are responsible for your child’s health and wellbeing, both inside and outside of the womb. There is a tonne of research to prove that what you do during your pregnancy can affect your baby as it develops during those crucial 39 weeks.
If you have recently discovered that you are pregnant, there are certain things that you can do to ensure your baby has the best start in life before he or she leaves your body by aiming for a healthy pregnancy! In today’s blog post, I will run through what you need to know on the subject.
Consume healthy foods and drinks
We all know that old saying: pregnant women eat for two. But if you have a somewhat lax attitude towards the foods and drinks that you consume, now is the time to make sure that you become a better eater!
At the end of the day, your baby can only consume the nutrients it needs from you, so if you can’t supply him or her the right nutrients to help them grow big and strong, you are effectively putting your baby’s life on the line.
The following are some top tips on the subject:
- Have a balanced diet, and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables every day;
- Take folic acid supplements as part of your daily routine;
- Drink plenty of water each day.
Avoid alcohol and cigarettes
It is rather disturbing that there are vast numbers of pregnant women that will happily drink and smoke without giving a second thought to the development of their babies.
If you think that your baby will come to no harm, let me explain to you why this is incorrect:
- Excessive drinking can lead to premature birth, low birth weight, and even a medical condition known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome;
- Smoking can lead to the first two problems above, but additionally it is the major cause of cot death, miscarriages and your child can even develop breathing problems during the first six months of its life.
Carefully consider where you want to give birth
The hospital is the natural choice for most pregnant women that commence labor, however, there is always the danger that the hospital you use could be providing a poor level of care and service.
Those two factors can negatively impact on your baby’s birth, its development and even your own health and welfare. According to Meltzer Taylor, law firms across the country have been dealing with increased numbers of litigation claims resulting from negligent care from hospitals.
Because of those facts, a growing number of women are opting to give birth in the privacy and comfort of their own homes, with assistance from their local midwives.
One of the causes of childbirth complications can be attributed to stress, and so if you are admitted to hospital and you are anxious about the way your hospital is run, this can adversely affect you and your baby.