Mind and Body in Pregnancy: Your Memorable Journey

Congratulations on the successful conceiving of your bundle of happiness! You must be feeling lots of changes in your mind and body while going through the first steps of your pregnancy.

Like every expecting parent, it is normal for you to experience all the joy and excitement that all expectant parents experience at the news of their conceiving. 

Regardless, it is paramount for you to know that while you are excited about having a baby, there are key things that you need to note to ensure that you as parents (most especially the mother) are in perfect health (physically, psychologically, mentally, and emotionally) all through the pregnancy till delivery, because the pre-delivery, delivery and post-delivery stages are known to be one of the most trying and complicated times in any couple’s life. 

Hence, you should pay rapt attention to these six tips that would help you ace your pregnancy to delivery transition irrespective of whatever challenges life throws at you. 

Six Tips to enhance a healthy Mind and Body in Pregnancy 

Focus on you

Focusing on others, your friends, families, and colleagues, and always being there for them is an admirable and enviable quality. Still, now that you are pregnant, you need to shift your lens of focus from those other people to yourself. 

You and your unborn child are all that matters now (this is not to sound selfish or self-centered) because if you keep worrying about others and yourself, it might harm your health emotionally and psychologically. 

This is why you and your family/friends/colleagues need to make you and your unborn child the object of your focus at this point. 

Don’t forget a healthy mind means a healthy body in pregnancy

 Stay healthy 

When you were not with a child, you may care less about your health. Right now, you can’t afford to care less about your health. 

Of a fact, your health matters a great deal now than ever—your pregnancy and delivery work hand in hand with your health. Hence, you can’t afford to joke with your health now. 

Not joking with your health entails that you stay hydrated at all times. Drink lots of water to keep your body cool at all times, to make your skin glow, to reduce swellings most especially on your feet, to mitigate preterm labor/preterm birth, and to reduce urinary infections. 

The average quality of water you should drink is 8-ounce glasses, as suggested by the Institute of Medicine. 

Also, your pregnancy diet needs to be top-notch. This means that you need to switch from your everyday unhealthy foods to whole foods such as low-fat dairy products, bell peppers, vegetables, cereals, fruits, seafood, nuts and seeds, legumes, and whole grains. 

While you are at it, don’t forget to engage in exercises such as swimming, walking, Kegels, stationary cycling, and yoga to keep your mind and body healthy in pregnancy.

Exercising is essential for pregnant women. It helps them mitigate bloating, reduce the chances of excessive weight gain, reduce constipation and body aches, and promote strength and stamina. 

Exercising doesn’t only benefit you as the mother. It also benefits your baby by helping to keep his/her heart healthy and boost your little one’s brainpower. 

Don’t forget your medications too. Your medications are integral to your health at this point, as they will help to keep you and your baby bodily healthy. 

Don’t forget to stock up on essential nutrients such as iron, calcium, and folic acid. 

Iron helps to mitigate the risk of you suffering from iron deficiency anemia. It also helps to transport oxygen successfully between you and your baby. 

While calcium helps to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia, helps to build strong and healthy teeth and bones for your baby helps to develop a good heart rhythm for your baby, helps to develop healthy nerves, heart, and muscles for your baby, and also mitigate the risk of hypertension on your part. 

Folic acid is essential to help create red blood cells for the fetus in the womb. 

To wrap it up, you need to nap and sleep as often as possible during the day and at night. Ensure that you sleep early from 7 pm to 8 pm and wake up as late as 9 am to 10 am.

Finding the right sleeping position is also essential. As a pregnant woman, you can’t afford to sleep anyhow you like. To ensure that you and your baby are comfortable, it is advisable to sleep on your side (either right or left) with your knees slightly bent. 

Sleeping in this manner will make sure that blood flows well between you and your baby. 

Don’t stay idle 

Don’t read this as meaning that you should engage in all the activities of the world!

That’s not what it means. Staying busy doesn’t mean that you should stress yourself, but it simply means that you should stay active and not dormant. Because overworking and pressurise your mind and body, hence, risking your pregnancy

A non-active or less-active pregnant woman would find herself easily tired, depressed, and stressed emotionally and psychologically, which is not good for you and the baby. Poor mental health means your body is prone to get stressed.

Hence, you need to do things to lift your spirits, such as engaging in your favorite fun activities, seeing movies, going out with friends, and exercising, as mentioned above. 

Keep yourself informed 

As a pregnant woman, you’d sure have many questions and inquiries about what is happening with your body. This is why you need to be adequately informed about it. 

Suppose you notice any unusual and usual changes in your body. In that case, you can read books, take classes, surf the web, ask your gynecologist questions, talk to other pregnant women, etc., just keep yourself informed. 

Get a chat mate

Pregnant women crave to talk. They crave to share their minds with people, and you won’t be any exception. This is why you should get someone who you can share the things on your mind with. 

A burdened mind is a risk to both mother and baby, as a burdened mind can easily slip into depression. In the long run it can cause negative consequences for the body. Healthy mind and body in pregnancy means healthy you!

Hence, you need to talk mate who can be your partner, friend, parent, gynecologist, therapist, or another pregnant woman from your support group. 

Be positive 

Above all, you need to stay positive at all times. Staying positive during pregnancy goes a long way to foster a healthy/successful delivery and an equally healthy baby. 

Having a positive outlook on your pregnancy and delivery is one sure way to enjoy yourself during your pregnancy, reduce depression, and prepare yourself for a successful and stress-free delivery. 

Getting pregnant is the start of a beautiful thing in your life. You must do all you can do humanly possible to ensure that you are physically and mentally healthy to carry your pregnancy from the beginning to fruition through the tips mentioned above.