Warning: Don't Make These 5 Health Mistakes During Pregnancy

You do all that is within your control to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Perhaps you are so obsessed with the idea of health that you begin to make health mistakes while taking excess caution. You need to know where to draw the line and where to stop. Here are the top five mistakes most pregnant women would make.

In This Article

1. Thinking Of Pregnancy As A Health Issue

Most women look at pregnancy as a condition that is very different from their normal bodies and therefore they may begin to fuss about it. Women are also aware that they are growing a tiny human inside them. Therefore they obsess about eating healthy, and eating for two. The result is that they might overindulge in foods, especially in the foods they crave for. Women take pregnancy as a license to eat all that they love, without watching out for the calories. But they fail to realize that if it is not a good thing to indulge in excess calories in normal days, it’s just not normal to overindulge in foods during pregnancy either.

2. The Liberty Of Eating For Two

Yes, you need to eat for two, but within the limitations of the appropriate calorie intake. As per a finding in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, nearly 50% of women gain more than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy. In doing so, women put themselves at the risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, or stillbirth or have difficult deliveries. They might also develop gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, have sleep apnea, preeclampsia, and blood clots. These women are likely to have babies with birth defects or babies who are obese or may become obese later in life. The recommended daily intake of women with a normal body mass index during the second trimester is an extra 340 calories a day, and in the third trimester, it should be 450 calories a day. You might need the advice of a dietician in the case of multiple pregnancies, or if you are obese.

3. Being On Excess Supplements

The best way to nourish yourself and your baby is to depend on natural foods. But if you do take prenatal vitamins, you should ensure that you are not overdosing on them. Excess vitamin supply may harm your baby. In fact, there is no enough evidence that prenatal vitamins will be beneficial to your baby even if taken in moderation. At times women tend to be on supplements because they develop an aversion to certain foods during pregnancy. In such cases, it is advisable to talk to your doctor and know what supplements are safe during pregnancy.

4. Not Getting Enough Exercise

As a pregnant woman when you think about exercises, you fear that by exercising you will hurt yourself and your baby. On the other hand, there are women who do not realize that they should not be doing certain types of exercises during pregnancy. But training the core muscles during pregnancy is essential to prevent falls or injuries. This apart core muscle exercises can make deliveries shorter and easier. They also help prevent damage from diastasis recti that affect 60% of first-time pregnancies. However, it is always advisable to have a strength trainer with you when you do these exercises.

5. Saying Yes To Vaccines

You might not agree with getting the seasonal flu shot. But you don’t want to have serious complications arising from a flu during pregnancy. Your immune system might go through changes during pregnancy and hence you might be at the risk of contracting the flu. While you might overcome the flu, the chances are your baby would contract it from you. The Journal of Pediatrics suggests that infants of mothers who got the flu shot had a 70% reduced risk of flu. Mothers who get the vaccination in the third trimester have 33% less likelihood to be hospitalized for respiratory illness in the first six months after they are born, suggests a study presented at the Options for the Control of Influenza 2016 Conference in Chicago. Apart from the flu vaccine, your doctor might also recommend a whooping cough vaccine in the third trimester to protect your baby from the disease before it is administered to the baby at two months.

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