Ensure a Safe Pregnancy by Following these Steps

I am the most important person in my baby’s world. How I feel matters and I choose to feel safe…Repeat this mantra in your head several times until you really start believing.

The road you have taken isn’t a smooth one – after all pregnancy isn’t easy on most women. Yet ensuring a safe pregnancy is also as easy as following a few simple steps.

First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy! Secondly, follow these steps to ensure it’s a safe and healthy one:

Receive Good Prenatal Care

It is important to schedule prenatal visits with your health care provider when learning of your pregnancy. Doctors usually think of pregnancy in three steps:

• First Trimester –Conception to week 12
• Second Trimester – Weeks 13 to 28
• Third Trimester – Week 29 till birth

The first visit is usually before week 12.  Why is early prenatal care important? Many nutrients needed for a healthy pregnancy should come from foodbut this isn’t always the case.

Prenatal vitamin supplements are recommended to pregnant women who are often too busy to plan three nutrient filled meals every day. These vitamin supplements amp up on extra nutrition needed by a developing fetus.

What is the best vitamin supplement for women during pregnancy? Folic acid is recommended several weeks prior to pregnancy and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Taking this supplement lowers risk of neural defects in the baby.

Don’t Drink Alcohol

This should be common sense but many pregnant women are unaware of the harmful effects of alcohol on developing babies.

Alcohol encompasses every beverage that has alcohol in it including wine, liquor, beer, wine coolers and even fruit sangria (if infused with vodka).

Drinking alcohol while pregnant causes low birth weight, still birth, various defects and even risk of miscarriage.

Don’t Smoke

Your aim should be to have a healthy and safe pregnancy. Smoking cigarettes won’t ensure either health or safety! Ever heard of passive or second hand smoking?

This means if you smoke, so does your baby. Additionally, your baby will have a higher risk of being born with low birth weight if you smoke.

Ensure a Safe Pregnancy by Asking These Questions

Remember to ask your doctor the following questions on your first visit:

• What medicines are safe to take during pregnancy?
• How much folic acid do I need to fulfill daily requirement?
• When should I start taking a prenatal vitamin?
• How can swelling be prevented or reduced
• How much weight should I gain while pregnant?

Now that you know the steps to ensure a safe pregnancy, why not look for ways to make your pregnancy comfortable? Take a look at what Dressed to Deliver offers in the name of maternity fashion.