First-Time Pregnancy: 7 Tips New Moms Should Follow

If you’re excited about your first pregnancy, you’ll have a lot on your mind. You are longing for the safe and healthy growth of your baby during pregnancy and even after delivery.

While some anxiety is normal during your first pregnancy, you shouldn’t let it overwhelm you.

Applying the following tips will help you to enjoy a joyful, comfortable, and healthy pregnancy.

  1. Drink More Water to Keep Your Baby Safe

Water forms a large part of the amniotic fluid. This yellowish fluid surrounds and protects the fetus as it grows in the womb. If the fluid is inadequate because of low fluid intake, it can cause birth defects. 

Apart from providing enough fluid to protect your baby, you will also need more water to support your body’s activities. Water helps your body to flush out toxins and soothe the swelling in your joints.

Here are simple ideas to increase your fluid intake:

* Strive to take 8 to 10 cups of water daily

* Add a little lemon juice to your water if you dislike plain water

* Take fruits with high water content like watermelon, orange, lemon, and pineapple.

  1. Keep a Journal

In your nine months of pregnancy, you will go through a variety of emotions. From the first day you discovered a baby was growing in your womb till you see your little love, it’s like going on an emotional rollercoaster.

Documenting each moment can be one of the most rewarding things you will do. It s one of the best pregnancy keepsakes you can have. And you will experience a unique feeling of nostalgia each time you look at your pregnancy journal.

To enjoy the journaling process, you should make it impromptu. Write down both great and small moments and make journaling fun rather a chore.

  1. Draft a Birth Plan

If you are an inquisitive mother-to-be, you are already spending extra time on Google daily. You want to find out the reason for every strange feeling you have and learn everything you can to have a beautiful baby. 

While you do this, you should take time to write a birth plan. Some of the decisions you need to take include:

* Birth location: do you want to have your baby at home or in a hospital?

* Presence of spouse: do you want your sweetheart to be with you throughout the delivery?

* Type of delivery: do you want to go through normal delivery or have a c-section.

While in planning mode, take time to plan for life after your baby arrives. This leads to the next point.

  1. Go Shopping With Your Partner

Don’t wait till you have a few weeks to deliver before you start shopping for your newborn. It’s better to start gathering all the nice-looking baby items today.

A little research online will help you to plan for delivery, baby showers, and post-natal life. You can find various types of cribs, changing tables, dressers, and rocking chairs.

This is the time to pick your diaper brand and invest in bibs, blankets, starter toys. Enjoy quality time with your partner as you go shopping together.

  1. Avoid Smoking and Second Hand Smoke

Smoking is an unhealthy habit. And it is particularly harmful to the little one in your womb. 

Smoking during pregnancy will affect the health of your baby, before, during, and after delivery. Unfortunately, the nicotine, carbon monoxide, and other toxins flow through your bloodstream to your baby.

Avoid smoking because it can:

* Reduce oxygen for you and the baby

* Raise your baby’s heart rate

* Increase the risk of having a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Here are some tips to help you stop smoking:

* Dispose of all smoking accessories

* Ask people to stop smoking around you

* Replace smoking with sucking a mint or chewing gum.

* Label your home a “No Smoking” zone.

  1. Leave out Caffeine to Boost Baby’s Birth Weight

Taking coffee and other caffeinated drinks while you are pregnant is not advisable. During pregnancy, caffeine digests at a slower rate and also passes to your baby through the placenta.

In essence, the side effects of caffeine will affect your baby. Allowing your baby to ingest caffeine in the womb will raise blood pressure, heart rate, and overstimulate the baby’s nervous system.

  1. Eat a Healthy Diet to Control Weight Gain

Pregnancy increases your desire for food. Sure, you need to eat for two. But that does not give you an excuse to binge on sweets, carbs, packed foods, and many other unhealthy food items.

You need to eat a balanced diet with all the nutrients that you and your baby need. To boost the quality of your diet, you can do the following:

* Plan your meals

* Eat more fruits and green vegetables

* Take prenatal supplements

* See a dietician if you are gaining weight at an alarming rate.

Before you take any form of medication or supplement, consult your doctor.

Now you’ve learned some of the ways to have a safe and healthy pregnancy. Take a few minutes to review the tips and make up your mind to apply one of them today. Which one will it be?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *