Congratulations, your home pregnancy test is positive! Now you
need to begin planning your pregnancy. Understanding your
pregnancy week to week can help you make good decisions
throughout the 40 or so weeks. Learn nutrition dos and don’ts
and getting the basics about other healthy pregnancy issues
from exercising to back pain to sex. The more you know week
to week the more manageable your pregnancy may seem.
In the first few months or the first trimester, your body and your
baby go through rapid changes. Physical changes in your body
may include breast tenderness, fatigue and nausea. Your emotions
may be all over the place. During the first trimester your
baby’s brain, spinal cord and other organs begin to form and its
heart begins to beat. Your baby’s fingers and toes even begin to
take shape.
During the second trimester, from months four to six, you may
feel better than you did the first. During this time pregnancy
signs and symptoms include larger breasts, a growing belly and
skin changes. The baby starts to kick, make facial expressions
and hear. By week 20, you will be halfway into your pregnancy
and your baby may weigh about nine ounces. Remember, regular
visits to your doctor are important during this time.
Eating Right
Good nutrition and getting enough of it during your pregnancy
are very important for your baby to grow and develop. You
should consume about 300 more calories a day more when you
are pregnant. Try and eat a well-balanced diet and take prenatal
vitamins. Here are some recommendations to keep you and your
baby healthy:
Eat a variety of foods to get all the necessary nutrients. Recommended
daily servings include six to eleven servings of breads
and grains, two to four servings of fruit, four or more servings
of vegetables, four servings of dairy products and three servings
of protein sources (meat, poultry, fish, eggs or nuts). Eat
fats and sweets sparingly.
Choose foods high in fiber that are enriched such as wholegrain
breads, cereals, pasta, rice, fruits and vegetables. Make
sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals in your daily
diet while you are pregnant. Your doctor can recommend an
over-the-counter brand or prescribe a prenatal vitamin for you.
Eat and drink at least four servings of dairy products and ingest
calcium-rich foods a day to ensure that you are getting 1000 to
1300 mg of calcium daily during your pregnancy. You need to eat
at least three servings of iron-rich foods per day to ensure you are
getting 27 mg of iron per day.
Choose at least one source of vitamin C, such as oranges,
grapefruits, strawberries, honeydew, papaya, broccoli, cauliflower,
green peppers, brussel sprouts and tomatoes. Pregnant
women need 70 mg of vitamin C daily.
Eat at least one good source of folic acid such as dark green
leafy vegetables, veal, legumes (lima beans, black beans, blackeyed
peas and chickpeas). Pregnant women need at least 0.4
mg of folic acid daily to help prevent neural tube defects such
as spinal bifida.
Choose at least one source of vitamin A every other day. Sources
of vitamin A include carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes,
spinach, turnip greens, apricots and cantaloupe. But know that
excessive vitamin A, greater than 10,000 IU per day) may be
associated with fetal malformations.
Foods to Avoid When Pregnant
Avoid alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol has been linked to
premature delivery, mental retardation, birth defects and low
birth-weight babies.
Limit caffeine to no more than 300 mg a day. An 8-ounce cup
of coffee has about 150 mg of caffeine while black tea has typically 80 mg. A 12 ounce can of caffeinated soda contains
between 30 to 60 mg of caffeine. Also, chocolate contains
caffeine. The amount in a chocolate bar equals a quarter cup
of coffee.
Avoid soft cheeses like feta, brie, camembert and blue-veined.
These cheeses are often unpasteurized and may cause Listeria
infection. There is no need to avoid hard cheese, processed
cheese, cream cheese cottage cheese or yogurt.
Avoid raw fish, especially shellfish like oysters and clams.
Exercise During Pregnancy
Maintaining a regular exercise routine throughout your pregnancy
can help you stay healthy and feel good. Exercising throughout
your pregnancy can decrease some common discomforts such
as backaches and fatigue. There is evidence that physical activity
may prevent gestational diabetes (see below), relieve stress and
build more stamina necessary for labor and delivery.
If you were physically active before your pregnancy, you should
be able to continue your activity in moderation. If you have
never exercised regularly before, you can safely begin an exercise
program during your pregnancy after consulting with your doctor.
Walking is one activity that is considered safe to initiate during
your pregnancy.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends
30 minutes or more of moderate exercise per day on most days
or not all, unless you have a medical or pregnancy complication.
Who Should Not Exercise During Pregnancy
If you have a medical problem such as asthma, heart disease, or
diabetes exercise may not be advisable. Also, it could be harmful
if you have a pregnancy-related condition such as:
bleeding or spotting
low placenta
threatened or recurrent miscarriage
Previous premature births or history of early labor
Weak cervix
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes occurs when your body is unable to make
and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. Without enough
insulin, sugar builds up in the blood to high levels and doesn’t get
used by your body for fuel. About 2 to 4 % of pregnant women
develop gestational diabetes. You may be at risk if you are over
age 30, are obese, have a family history of diabetes or previously
gave birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds or was
stillborn.
This type of diabetes occurs when pregnancy hormones interfere
with the ability to use insulin – the hormone that turns blood
sugar into energy – resulting in high blood sugar levels.
If you have gestational diabetes you will probably be able to
control your blood sugar levels with diet and exercise. But you
will need to get 10 to 20 % of your calories from protein (meat,
poultry, fish, and legumes), less than 30 % from fats and the
remainder from carbohydrates (bread, cereal, pasta, rice, fruits
and vegetables). You also may need to limit sweets.
At least once a week you will need to see your doctor and have
your blood sugar levels checked. If the prescribed diet does
not stabilize your blood sugar after about two weeks, you will
probably have to give yourself daily insulin injections throughout
the rest of your pregnancy and monitor your blood sugar levels
at home. During your third trimester your doctor will track the
baby’s health with ultrasound and fetal heart-rate tests. If your
baby reaches nine pounds or more your doctor will most likely
recommend a caesarian delivery. But if the baby seems healthy
and a normal weight and size and your blood sugar levels are
well-controlled you will probably be able to deliver the baby
vaginally.
"Understanding your pregnancy week to week can help you make good decisions throughout the 40 or so weeks.
Pregnancy Stretch Marks
Stretch marks, the lines that develop on your abdomen as well
as other areas of your body are a common concern during
pregnancy. They do not cause any risk to you or your baby. But
they may create discomfort if they lead to itching. And their
cosmetic appearance can cause a lot of distress.
What Causes Stretch Marks?
The cause of pregnancy stretch marks is due to two factors,
one of which is unique to pregnancy. First of all, there is the
physical stretch of the skin that occurs in pregnancy. While the
skin adapts to continuous movement by expanding and
contracting, it does not have enough time to adjust. Your body
expands, faster than the skin covering it, and the skin tears.
The resulting scar that forms from this is the tear that we know
as a stretch mark.
The second factor, which is still a subject of debate among
experts, involves the priming of the skin by increased hormone
levels during pregnancy. Together these hormones attract more
water into the skin, which relaxes the bonds between collagen
fibers. This makes it easier for the skin to tear when it is
stretched and for stretch marks to form.
When and Where do they form?
Stretch marks generally become visible during the later trimesters
of pregnancy although some women will start to see them
forming as soon as their bellies start growing.
Most women develop stretch marks on their abdomen during
pregnancy, but it is also common to get them on the breasts,
thighs, hips, lower back and buttocks; usually where large
amounts of fat are stored.
In order to prevent them from forming in the first place, a topically
applied product like Bio-Oil is specifically formulated to
maximize the skin’s elasticity and ensure that it is supple and
well-hydrated. Applying it twice a day at the beginning of your
first trimester will help your body to better withstand the
expansion of your belly.
Sources: American Pregnancy, National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, Web MD, Mayo Clinic, Parents.com
