Tips To Stay Healthy During Pregnancy

Hello!

I am Dr. Pooja Chaudhary, MBBS MD-Obstetrics & Gynaecology . Today we are going to talk about 5 simple steps for a healthy pregnancy. The mother has to consult a doctor as soon as she gets to know that she is pregnant so that doctor can tell her about the prenatal care. The fact that she is pregnant that she should consult a gynecologist immediately because the pregnancy brings with it a new set of responsibilities the patient has to take care of a baby as well as her own health is also equally important. Now the five simple steps for a healthy pregnancy includes prenatal care, diet, exercise, sleeping habits and food habits. As we talk about the prenatal care the first and foremost thing is as she gets to know that she is pregnant she is put on Folic acid for the development of the baby and to prevent neural tube defects in the baby. It is essential that she takes healthy diet.

With the healthy diet of substantial amount of Carbohydrates, Proteins, Vitamins and Minerals as well as Fibre intake. Carbohydrates like rice, roti should be included. She should have five small portions for every meal. During pregnancy we tell the patients to have small frequent meals. This is done just to avoid constipation, gastric problems and because these problems increase during pregnancy mainly because of the hormonal imbalance. Her water intake should be very good. She should drink at least 10-12 glasses in hot and humid climate. This will take care of a urine infection. This will help her avoid constipation and this will also help her in digestion of the food. As far as proteins are concerned, if she is a vegetarian she can take pulses, soybean or paneer, dal and the non-vegetarian people can take egg, chicken or fish but it is advisable to avoid smoked seafood in the first three months of the pregnancy.

Then comes the exercise where we simply tell the patient not to go for a brisk walk. Just simple walking is enough. 15 to 20 minutes post meal walking is good for the patients. Patient can also opt for Ketal exercises which helps in vaginal musculation. Exercise is really important in pregnancy because it improves your back pain, it improves constipation, it also improves your muscular endurance, it helps in normal vaginal delivery. As far as the weight is concerned, for a normal patient with normal height, the weight during the entire pregnancy can range between 12 to 15 kgs. But in case it is a twin or the pre-pregnancy weight is already on a higher side your doctor can explain you better about the how much weight you can gain during pregnancy. Lifestyle changes is also very important part of pregnancy. Those who do smoking or drink alcohol are requesting not to do so because it causes many complications like preterm birth, abortions, stillbirths, miscarriages.

Avoid travelling on an uneven jerky surface. And one must remember that during pregnancy whatever testing is done it is very time limited. If you do the test before the limited time period or after that time period, then it carries little value. At the time they are monitoring the pregnancy they would also do genetic screening of the babies and the genetic screening is very time limited. If it is done in around three months it has to be done around three months.

If you miss that deadline then the scanning is not valid and you will miss the opportunity of getting a screening done for the baby. So whenever your doctor prescribes that this test has to be done during this time then it carries importance. So you make sure that you do your testing on a regular basis. You stay in touch with your doctor on a regular basis so your baby can be screened and ultrasound scan be done at a time when it is required to be done. In case of any queries you can contact me at my clinic in Safdarjung Enclave or you can contact me through lybrate itself.