Pregnancy is the most critical time in a woman’s life. Expectant moms need to be extra careful and vigilant about taking care of themselves and their unborn child. Nurturing a human inside you is an incredible phenomenon and a lifetime experience.
When it comes to being vigilant about consuming and eating, make sure to keep a close eye on your everyday activities.
In this post, I tell you about several pregnancy health mistakes that pregnant women should avoid, whenever they can.
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Common Pregnancy health mistakes you should avoid
1. Not drinking enough water
Do you know why you need to drink plenty of water in pregnancy? Besides getting dehydrated, not drinking enough water leads to body cramps, leg cramps, body aches, swelling, UTI’s, and many other discomforts.
Try to drink plenty of water, if you do not like drinking regular water, you may try vitamin water or other non-caffeinated flavored liquid. Make sure your caffeine intake is moderate as too much caffeine could lead to more frequent urination.
Some of the flavors of vitamin waters are having caffeine so you should be avoiding that to be on the safe side.
Learn more
How to fight nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
2. Consuming too much Caffeine
Typically, pregnant women should not take more than 200mg of caffeine each day. Less than 200mg is considered to be okay. Always read a label for how much caffeine your drink has. If you are a coffee or tea person, you must take note of how much caffeine you are consuming that is recommended for mom and your unborn baby.
Here is a breakdown of the caffeine intake you should keep as a counter.
3. Not taking proper rest when your body is telling you to
If you are a working woman, it is very likely for you to get tired due to lack of sleep, leg cramps, fatigue, nausea and so much more. Listen to your body. Whenever you feel tired, stop doing, what you are doing. Try to lay down or sit, put your feet up and relax for a while.
For instance, If you are standing for a long time, and suddenly you start feeling tired in your legs, sit or lay down. If you have been doing a lot of physical work lately, slow down and take a rest.
Pregnancy discomforts are normal still you should always respond to your body right away.
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4. Not taking prenatal vitamins and folic acid
Once you find out about your pregnancy, you need to start taking prenatal vitamins if you are not already taking that. Typically, doctors advise taking prenatal vitamins even If you are trying to get pregnant until you are breastfeeding the baby.
As a new mom-to-be, you need to make sure you are taking prenatal vitamins with the right amount of folic acid, as it plays a vital role in the baby’s brain development.
You should talk to your doctor about the safe dosage or supplements you need every day while you are pregnant.
5. Not taking an iron supplement or iron-rich food if you are anemic
Also if you are low on hemoglobin levels or have breathlessness during pregnancy, (as it could be one of the symptoms of being low on iron level) you may want to start prenatal vitamins with iron. GNC has a prenatal formula with iron and I have used them for about 3 years and highly recommend these. You can get it from Amazon too.
If you are a second-time mom or had a previous C-section, you should be super careful about your hemoglobin levels.
6. Using harsh cleaning chemicals
Typically, doctors and midwives do not recommend using harsh cleaning chemicals while being pregnant, as you inhaling the strong chemical is not a good idea.
Avoid as much as you can. Make sure you have a proper ventilation system if you REALLY have to do it. Also, wear gloves if possible.
Try to avoid using products that have warning labels about toxicity.
Ideally, you should get the help of your partner because of the fact, pregnancy is the only time when they are actually willing to help.
If you have no choice but to clean, use safe cleaning products instead.
7. Not emptying bladder while Urinating or holding on
Pregnant women are vulnerable to getting urinary tract infections quite often. It is highly advised for pregnant women to empty their bladder every pee time.
Due to a full down belly, the bladder does not get empty on its own every time you do for a pee. The simple tip is to lean forward to put pressure on your bladder and pee. This way it will help your bladder to get empty and it would significantly reduce the chances of getting UTI just because you are pregnant.
Secondly, drink plenty of water, and if you get UTI often, start using a peri bottle for better cleaning. Especially, if you are using a toilet for number 2.
Once you deliver your baby (Vaginal or C-section), your nurse is going to give you one to use for washing. So, why not start using the peri bottle now.
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8. Ignoring bleeding
You may or may not notice implantation bleeding or spotting in the earliest weeks of pregnancy. But for some of you notice a stain on your panty gets super stressful. Besides spotting during the first trimester being normal, you should never ignore bleeding at any stage of pregnancy. Always talk to your doctor about your concerns.
Some pregnant women, if not all, may experience Subchronic Bleeding and deliver healthy babies. Subchronic bleeding occurs when there is an accumulation of blood under the outer fetal membrane or between the uterus and the placenta. This can only be found out in an ultrasound. Most o the time it resolves on its own over the course of pregnancy.
For the most part, bleeding in pregnancy is very disturbing mentally and emotionally. However, not every time it means a miscarriage. In most cases, babies seem to be healthy and happy inside the womb.
As a general rule, if you are soaking one full pad, always call your doctor and schedule a sonogram to see if everything seems okay.
Although it may seem fine in your ultrasound but you still need to take these precautions if you have experienced subchronic bleeding during pregnancy.
- Limit your physical activity
- Avoid sexual intercourse
- Stay hydrated
- Take proper rest
- Do not do any heavy lifting
- If you have travel plans, delay.
That being said a pregnant woman, needs to be super careful and needs to take a lot of rest if she is bleeding at any time during pregnancy.
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9. Eating food with high sugar content if you have a yeast infection
Yeast infection is very common during pregnancy. Most pregnant women have experienced mild to severe yeast infections.
Eating sugar is like nourishing a garden having yeast infection. The best remedy to treat a yeast infection is to avoid sugar altogether for the time you are fully recovered. Stop consuming Juices, sweets, chocolates, fruits anything that has processed sugar in it. That being said, you can resume your love for sugar once the yeast infection is gone.
Meanwhile, eat plain yogurt as much as you can to treat the infection effectively.
10. Ignoring gum infection
Do you know one of the earliest pregnancy symptoms is, triggered gum or tooth infection? It is advised to treat the ongoing infection before getting pregnant because dental infections may lead to preterm labor if you are pregnant.
Practicing adequate oral hygiene during pregnancy is extremely important, especially if you have pre-existing dental issues. You must brush your teeth every night before going to bed, anyway.
Doctors advise antibiotics that are considered safe during pregnancy and as per mom’s history related to the safe medication.
Worried about taking antibiotics during pregnancy, find out what is safe medication during pregnancy.
11. Nursing/breastfeeding while being pregnant
Are you breastfeeding a toddler while being pregnant?
Experts advise not to breastfeed as it may trigger preterm Labor putting your unborn baby at risk. However in a few cases, some moms might have successful experiences of breastfeeding while being pregnant, still, doctors and midwives advise expectant moms to make safe choices when it is about the health of mom and a baby.
Breastfeeding for the first time is a daunting experience. If you are planning on breastfeeding, you may like to enroll yourself in breastfeeding class by a certified Lactation Educator, Stacey at Milkology. She has helped thousands of moms through her classes.
12. Eating raw or undercooked meat when you are pregnant
Ideally, pregnant women should not eat undercooked meat like poultry, fish. Undercooked eggs are also not advised for pregnant women. Always prefer fully cooked meat and anything but half-fried eggs when it comes to safe eating for two. Undercooked meat has bacteria that are not considered safe for a pregnant woman to consume.
Wash produce thoroughly that you can consume raw. For instance, you must wash fruits and veggies like carrots, strawberries, blueberries, and celery, etc to ensure safe eating for the mom and the baby.
Another safety measure, you should wear disposable gloves when you are handling meat or poultry. or wash hands thoroughly before and after handling meat. Try not to handle meat with bare hands of you have cuts or injuries on hand in order to keep yourself safe from bacteria.
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13. Never be too busy to count baby kicks every day
When you are pregnant with baby number 1, you would be extra vigilant to notice everything about your baby and her movements. But, sadly when it is about baby number 2 or baby #3 or more, we are too busy to notice or do a kick count.
It is very important to do a kick count every day. Babies are sleeping in the womb for the most part about 20 hours, thus, it is just a four hours window when you have to feel your baby moving. However, if you think the baby is not moving enough, try to eat something sweet or cold and you should be able to get a kick count.
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Thanks for this list, I know I am not doing a good job of getting enough water. That is something I am actively working on, but thankfully none of the other items are concerns for me.