Pregnancy: 10 Checklist you must know about healthy pregnant life

Pregnancy is a life-changing and wonderful journey. Meanwhile, pregnancy is also an event that necessitates both physical and mental preparation, making it critical to maintain your health and well-being in order to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. To make the pregnancy less stressful for first-time mothers, we’ve put together a list for preparation for a successful pregnancy to help expectant mothers achieve this exciting but challenging time.

1. Scheduling your prenatal care appointments

Medical professionals are essential for mother and children care, especially at the stage of pregnancy in which they can deal with any complications, posting risk to both mother and children. Choose doctors or midwives you trust that feel knowledgeable, comfortable, and supportive of your antenatal care. Also, there is a must to follow regular check-ups so that your physician could help monitor the progress of your pregnancy. 

2. Eating a healthy diet

Balance and a healthy diet is the first gateway to a healthy life, making a balanced and nutritious diet a basis for a healthy pregnancy. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, dairy products, and protein-rich foods are a good start. Also, avoid food rich in sugars, sodium, saturated fats, and food with a risk of bacteria such as raw and rare food. 

For the quantity side, the early stage of pregnancy doesn’t require extra calories. Thus, mothers with 13 to 26 weeks of pregnancy need extra 340 calories, while mothers with more than 26 weeks of pregnancy need extra 450 calories on a daily basis.

3.Do you really need a supplement? 

Your doctors may provide prenatal vitamins, including folic acid, iron, and iodine, which help lower the risk of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) and help aid the growth and development of your children. Thus, there is no need for other supplements than prenatal vitamins if you regularly maintain a healthy diet. If you are not sure that you receive the proper amount of vitamins and minerals, ask your doctors for advice about additional supplements needed for your pregnancy.

4. Stay physically active

Physical activities are good for overall health, including for pregnant mothers. Physical activities keep your heart and lungs healthy, help control your weight and help improve your mood throughout the pregnancy. Physical activity meanwhile does not increase your chances of low-birth weight, early delivery, or early pregnancy loss.

As a result, pregnant mothers should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activities per week, which we require to spread throughout the week. Also, pregnant mothers who do vigorous-intensity aerobic activities such as running can continue under the guidance of doctors. 

5. Sleep matters

Enough sleep during pregnancy is a must for a healthy mother and baby. Meanwhile, there are many challenges to receiving enough sleep, as fluctuations of hormones can lead to insomnia from general discomfort or vivid and disturbing dreams during sleep. Mothers with pregnancy also face sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disorder. 

Quality sleep can be achieved with the care of your sleep hygiene which helps improve overall sleep quality. If you still cannot receive quality sleep, consult with your doctors. 

6. Avoid risky behaviours

Three common risky behaviours – tobacco, alcohol, and drug use are associated with various diseases. Those also push pregnant mothers to a higher risk of various health problems and are harmful to babies including miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, birth defects and low birth weight. Pregnancy requires quitting those substances, making pregnancy become a vital first step for you in permanently quitting all of those.

Some medications, toxins, and infections also lead to birth defects, making it better for pregnant mothers to strongly avoid them.

7. Managing Your Stress

Pregnancy can bring various emotions, including stress that somehow pregnancy became a stressful experience itself. Meanwhile, chronic stress is harmful to health and well-being, caused by headaches, problems sleeping, and wild mood fluctuations. Stress can disrupt your health and create more risk in pregnant mothers as these conditions itself also affect the condition of the baby.  As a result, stress management for pregnant mothers would help improve their overall health condition and reduce the risk of postpartum depression.

8. Educate yourself about pregnancy and childbirth

Preparation makes you deal with unexpected things better, this is also applicable to pregnancy and childbirth. In this case, preparation can be done by reading books, talking to your doctor, and taking advantage of online resources to stay informed and in control. Also, keep yourself informed about the various stages of pregnancy, the changes you can expect, and what to do if you experience any complications. 

9. Prepare for the arrival of your baby

Final step of pregnancy, the delivery of a baby, can be hard or sometimes troublesome. Prepare yourself by consulting for a birth plan that meets your pregnancy condition. Also, make sure you have everything you need for your recovery after childbirth. This might include things like a support network, a supply of groceries and household items, and a plan for who will care for your baby. 

10. Seek help if needed

Sometimes unexpected things can occur, and if you don’t know how to deal with it properly, your doctors and midwives are the first people you need. If they are unavailable, any medical professional can provide you with a primary assistant before transferring to a specialist in mother and child care.

Let us take care of your pregnancy 

The Women’s Center at Phyathai 1 International specializes in providing obstetrics and gynecological care, including services in pregnancy care both for normal and highly complicated pregnancies. We can give you holistic care for both mother and babies starting from antenatal care through post-labour rehabilitation from our experienced personnel specialized in maternal care and our vast inventories of diagnostic and medical facilities.  

If you are considering receiving pregnancy care, we recommend consulting with our specialist at the Women’s Center of Phyathai 1 International, which opens daily from 7.30 am to 8 pm. To ensure the fastest procedure time, We recommend taking a reservation by phone at number (+66)2-201-4600 ext.3465-3466 or by E-mail at [email protected].