By Kohen Zain
Many women are eager to get a jump start on a healthy pregnancy during their first trimester. This is a time when you can start making healthy lifestyle choices that hopefully will last throughout your pregnancy and postpartum period. By staying healthy during pregnancy, you can look and feel your best while providing the best environment possible for your growing little one.
Here are some tips for staying healthy during the first trimester.
- Take Your Prenatal Vitamins – these contain folic acid which is an important mineral for your baby’s development
- Get Regular Exercise – doing moderate exercise regularly during the first trimester can help you maintain higher energy levels
- Find an OB/GYN ASAP – find someone you’re comfortable with, you’ll be seeing a lot of them over the next year.
- Up Your Caloric Intake – it’s recommended to add 300 calories per day to your diet to support your baby’s development
- Space Out Your Meals – heartburn affects many women during the first trimester, avoid eating larger portions to help with this
- Drink Lots of Water – dehydration is never a good thing during pregnancy, drink up
- Eat Well – your diet should include foods high in fiber, folic acid, lean-protein, and calcium
Here are some things you should avoid not just in the first trimester, but throughout pregnancy:
- Quit the bad stuff – it may go without saying, but smoking, drinking, and abusing drugs is harmful to you and your baby. If you need help, get help
- Fish high in mercury – seafood like swordfish, and mackerel can be harmful to your baby, avoid them if you can
- Unpasteurized dairy – soft cheeses and raw milk contain bacteria that could be harmful to your baby
- Raw or Undercooked Fish
- Strenuous Exercise
- Cat Litter
Be sure to get with your doctor as soon as you become pregnant so you can put together a pregnancy health plan. Also consider using different online resources that provide support for pregnant women. They can help you create a personalized game plan for a healthy pregnancy. Good habits start early in pregnancy. By getting a good start, you’ll increase your chances of having a healthy and successful pregnancy.
