10 steps to a healthy pregnancy

Pregnancy is an ideal time to start taking really good care of yourself both physically and emotionally. If you follow the few simple guidelines below, you should give yourself the best chance of having a problem-free pregnancy and a healthy baby.

1. See your doctor or midwife as soon as
possible
2. Eat well
3. Take a supplement
4. Be careful about food hygiene
5. Exercise regularly
6. Begin doing pelvic floor exercises
7. Cut down on or cut out alcohol
8. Cut back on caffeine
9. Stop smoking
10. Get some rest

1. See your doctor or midwife as
soon as possible

As soon as you find out you're pregnant, get in
touch with your GP or a midwife to organise your
antenatal care. Organising your care early means
you'll get good advice for a healthy pregnancy
right from the start. You'll also have plenty of
time to organise any ultrasound scans and tests
that you may need.

2.Eat well



Aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet whenever you
can. Try to have:
At least five portions of fruit and vegetables
daily.
Plenty of carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta
and rice, as the basis of your meals. Choose
wholegrain carbohydrates rather than white, so
you get plenty of fibre.
Daily servings of protein, such as fish, lean
meat, eggs , nuts or pulses, and some milk and
dairy foods.
Two portions of fish a week, at least one of
which should be oily. Fish is packed with
protein, vitamin D , minerals and omega-3 fatty
acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for the
development of your baby's nervous system.
You don't need to eat for two when you're
pregnant. You don't need extra calories for the
first six months of pregnancy. In the last three
months you'll need about an extra 200 calories a
day. You can keep up your energy levels with
healthy snacks .
See our pregnancy meal planners for each
trimester.

3. Take a supplemet

Pregnancy vitamin supplements aren't a substitute
for a balanced diet. But they can help if you're
worried you're not eating well, or you're too sick
to eat much.
Make sure your supplement contains 400
micrograms (mcg) of folic acid . You need this
while you're trying for a baby and for the first
three months of pregnancy. Taking folic acid
reduces the risk of your baby developing a neural
tube defect such as spina bifida .
Also, check that your supplement contains 10mcg
of vitamin D . Vitamin D is important for your
baby's future bone health.
Talk to your GP or a pharmacist before taking an
antenatal supplement. If you don't take a
multivitamin for pregnant women, you can buy
folic acid and vitamin D supplements separately.
If you're on a low income, you might be able to
get pregnancy vitamin supplements free of charge
under the government's healthy start scheme. Go
to www.healthystart.nhs.uk for more information.
If you don't eat fish, fish oil supplements may be
helpful. Choose a supplement made from the body
of the fish, not the liver. This is because fish liver
oils (such as cod liver oil) may contain the retinol
form of vitamin A, which isn't recommended in
pregnancy.

4. Be careful about food hygien.

There are some foods it's safest not to eat in
pregnancy. This is because they can carry a
health risk for your baby.
Listeriosis is an infection caused by listeria
bacteria. It's rare and doesn't usually pose a
threat to your health. However, it can cause
pregnancy or birth complications. Listeriosis can
even lead to miscarriage.
The following foods may harbour listeria and so
are best avoided:
pate of any type
unpasteurised milk
undercooked ready meals
soft, mould-ripened cheeses , such as brie
blue-veined cheeses, such as roquefort
As listeria bacteria are destroyed by heat, make
sure you heat ready meals thoroughly.
Salmonella can cause food poisoning. You can
catch it from eating:
undercooked poultry
Is it safe to eat soft-boiled or raw eggs during
pregnancy?
Cook eggs until the white and yolk are solid.
Thoroughly wash utensils, boards and your hands
after handling raw poultry. Food hygiene is
especially important now you're pregnant.
Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a
parasite. It's also rare, but it can affect your
unborn baby. You can cut down your risk of
catching it by:
cooking meat and ready meals thoroughly
washing fruit and vegetables well to remove soil
or dirt
wearing gloves when handling cat litter and
garden soil

5. Exercise regularly

Regular exercise has many benefits for mums-to-
be. It can:
Build your strength and endurance. This may
help you to cope better with the extra weight of
pregnancy and the hard work of labour .
Make it easier for you to get back into shape
after your baby is born.
Boost your spirits and even help to ward off
depression.
Good exercise choices for pregnancy include:
brisk walking
swimming
aquanatal classes
yoga
pilates
If you play sport, you can continue as long as it
feels comfortable for you. However, if your
particular sport carries a risk of falls or knocks , or
extra stress on your joints, it's best to stop. Talk
to your GP if you're unsure.
Your pelvic floor comprises a hammock of
muscles at the base of your pelvis. These
muscles support your bladder, vagina and back
passage. They can feel weaker than usual in
pregnancy because of the extra pressure upon
them. Pregnancy hormones can also cause your
pelvic floor to slacken slightly.
Weak pelvic floor muscles put you at risk of
developing stress incontinence . This is when
small amounts of urine leak out when you sneeze,
laugh or exercise.
Strengthening your muscles by doing pelvic floor
exercises regularly throughout your pregnancy
can help. Having a toned pelvic floor may help
your baby's birth go more smoothly too. You'll
feel the benefit if do eight pelvic floor squeezes,
three times a day.

6. Begin doing pelvic floor exercises

You can click here if you need more information:

www.pregnancyandchildcare.info/pregnancy_articles/anteexer.html

Your pelvic floor comprises a hammock of
muscles at the base of your pelvis. These
muscles support your bladder, vagina and back
passage. They can feel weaker than usual in
pregnancy because of the extra pressure upon
them. Pregnancy hormones can also cause your
pelvic floor to slacken slightly.
Weak pelvic floor muscles put you at risk of
developing stress incontinence . This is when
small amounts of urine leak out when you sneeze,
laugh or exercise.
Strengthening your muscles by doing pelvic floor
exercises regularly throughout your pregnancy
can help. Having a toned pelvic floor may help
your baby's birth go more smoothly too. You'll
feel the benefit if do eight pelvic floor squeezes,
three times a day.

birth defects.
Coffee, tea, cola and energy drinks are mild
stimulants. There are concerns that too much
caffeine may increase your risk of miscarriage. It's
also thought possible that too much caffeine may
contribute to your risk of having a low-birth-
weight baby.
Current guidelines state that up to 200mg of
caffeine a day won't hurt your baby. That's the
equivalent of two mugs of instant coffee.
As with alcohol , you may prefer to cut out caffeine
altogether, particularly in the first trimester.
Decaffeinated tea and coffee, fruit teas and fruit
juices are all safe alternatives.
Smoking during pregnancy can cause serious
health problems, for you and your baby. These
risks include an increased risk of:
miscarriage
premature birth
low birth weight
cot death (SIDS)
Smoking may even be associated with the loss of
a baby at birth.
Smoking makes the following pregnancy
complications more likely:
Nausea and vomiting (morning sickness).
Ectopic pregnancy.
Placental abruption, where the placenta comes
away from the uterus wall before your baby is
born.
If you smoke, it's best to stop, for your own
health and that of your baby. The sooner you stop
smoking, the better, but it's never too late . Even
stopping in the last few weeks of your pregnancy
can benefit you both. Watch a video about how
smoke reaches your unborn baby .
Ask your GP or midwife to help you with ways to
give up. You can also call the confidential NHS
pregnancy smoking helpline on 0800 1699 169 or
visit www.gosmokefree.nhs.uk .
The fatigue you feel in the first few months is due
to high levels of pregnancy hormones circulating
in your body. Later on, it's your body's way of
telling you to slow down.
If you can't sleep at night, try to take a quick nap
in the middle of the day to catch up. If that's
impossible, at least put your feet up and try to
relax for 30 minutes.
If backache is disturbing your sleep, try lying on
your left-hand side with your knees bent. Placing
a wedge-shaped pillow under your bump may
help ease the strain on your back.
Exercise may also give you some relief from
backache. It can help with sleep problems, too, as
long as you don't exercise too close to bedtime.
To wind down ready for bed, try relaxation
techniques, which are safe in pregnancy, such as:
yoga
stretching
deep breathing
visualisation
massage
Always let your exercise teacher know that you're
pregnant or, ideally, choose classes tailored to
pregnant women.