Many people think that during pregnancy everything has to change. Fortunately, this is not the case. There are a lot of things that you did prior to falling pregnant that you won’t have to change at all during pregnancy.
Some of the following are concerns for a lot of mothers when they first fall pregnant and wonder if they can continuing with their daily activities during pregnancy.
Exercise
It’s great for mum to continuing exercising during pregnancy as it helps to keep her fit and healthy and ready for the marathon that is labour and birth. Walking, jogging and cardio exercise are all fine to do during pregnancy, so long as you were already doing it prior to the pregnancy. If you decide to start exercising once pregnant, that’s fine, but check with your doctor first about where you should start.
Alternatively you might like to do some specific pregnancy exercise classes. The two main options are water aerobics and prenatal yoga. Both are great exercise programs to get into during pregnancy as they are low impact but great for keeping you fit. Just make sure that if you decide to join a yoga class, you check that it is pregnancy friendly and if it’s not, let the instructor know that you are pregnant as some of the exercises might need to me modified to suit you.
Going out with friends
Some people worry about going out with their friends during pregnancy, particularly as they get closer to their due date, but as long as you are comfortable it’s perfectly fine to go out with friends. Going to concerts is still great fun when you’re pregnant as long as you’re not in the mosh pit getting bumped about. Going shopping can be more fun with friends during pregnancy as there’s an extra little person for you to spoil!
One recommendation is that as you near your due date you don’t stray too far from the hospital just in case you go into labour. In saying that, there’s no reason why you can’t go for an hour’s long drive with your partner or a friend, as long as there is someone with you to drive you back home if contractions start.
Going to work
Unfortunately during pregnancy it’s still perfectly fine for you to go to work, as long as you’re not a deep sea diver or sky diving instructor! More often than not, the concern for most women working during pregnancy is tiredness. If you’re on your feet at work all day you will want to make sure you rest up when you get home of an evening. Whilst you might not want to and would prefer to put your feet up at home, working during pregnancy is quite alright.
Eating the foods you enjoy
During pregnancy you will hear lots of people telling you what you can and can’t eat. There are some foods that should be avoided during pregnancy (including but not limited to deli meats, soft cheeses and soft serve ice cream), most of your day to day foods are perfectly fine for you to eat. Left overs for lunch are even perfectly acceptable as long as they are stored in the fridge right away and heated until they are piping hot.
Having sex
There are very few reasons why sex should be avoided during pregnancy and unless your doctor specifically tells you otherwise, you can still enjoy sex with your partner for the whole time you are pregnant. Towards the end of the pregnancy when you are feeling very big and uncomfortable you may need to alter your positions, but there is no reason that you need to stop enjoying a full and happy sex life during pregnancy.
Looking gorgeous
Maternity fashions have come a long way since our mothers were pregnant with us. Gone are the days of huge flowery dresses that look like sacks. Most large ships like Target and Big W etc carry a nice range of maternity clothes at decent prices or you can look into more specialized maternity fashion boutiques in real life or online. Whichever way you go, during pregnancy you can still look and feel great.
You can also continue to have your manicures and acrylic nails done and your hair and eyebrows dyed. Both are perfectly safe during pregnancy, though you need to be aware that both your hair and nails are likely to grow much faster when you are pregnant so you might need to make your appointments closer together. One consideration you might need to think about though is the smell of the salon, sometimes the chemical smells will affect your morning sickness so make sure you are ok for a little while before sitting down to a two hour hair appointment.
There are however still a few things that are not recommended during pregnancy, the main two being smoking and drinking alcohol.
Smoking
We all know that smoking at any time is dangerous to your health, but smoking during pregnancy affects not only your health, but your baby’s health as well. Smoking during pregnancy reduces the amount of oxygen that can get to your baby and can cause miscarriage and brain damage. Your baby may be premature and have a small birth weight as well as being at risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
It is advisable to quit smoking prior to falling pregnant, but if you find yourself unexpectedly pregnant before you have quit, you can still do so during pregnancy. Recent research has found that using a nicotine patch during pregnancy is safer as only one of the chemicals (ie nicotine) are getting into your blood stream, as compared with a multitude of others whilst actually smoking a cigarette. Please see your doctor if you are pregnant and want to quit smoking for some advice on how to proceed.
Drinking
Depending on which article you read, research is pretty divided about what is a safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy. We all know that in excess alcohol is very dangerous to the baby, but most women will wonder at some point during their pregnancy if they are able to safely have a glass or wine, especially if they are pregnant over the festive period.
You might like to abstain completely or you might choose to have a glass of wine here or there, just remember that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol during pregnancy is dangerous to your growing baby.
