You should ensure a healthy pregnancy to protect yourself and your baby’s health. Therefore, you should visit your health provider as recommended before, during, and after pregnancy Garden City. Your doctor may advise you to exercise regularly, eat nutritious food, limit caffeine intake, avoid alcohol, stay hydrated, get quality sleep, take prenatal vitamins, and avoid exposure to toxic chemicals.
For instance, diet and pregnancy experts recommend eating fresh vegetables and fruits regularly. Eat lean meat and vegetables that are rich sources of proteins, like beans, utensils, and plant-based fats, including nuts and avocados.
Also, consume whole grains and milk products such as yogurt and cheese. You will also need to stay hydrated because water is essential for creating amniotic fluid, blood, and new tissues, carrying nutrients, enhancing digestion, and removing waste products from the body.
Even with a lot of information about pregnancy available, especially online, below are a few things you may still find surprising.
1. Development of the nesting instinct
The nesting instinct is an urge to prepare your home to be welcoming and comfortable for your baby’s arrival. The desire becomes much stronger during the last few weeks before delivery. Therefore, you may find yourself arranging your baby’s clothes in a drawer, deep cleaning the whole house, painting the house, or organizing closets and cabinets.
Although nesting is not harmful, ensure you observe a few precautions. For instance, do not carry heavy objects and climb ladders, and avoid exposure to cleaning chemicals. And even if you strive to prepare the home, have enough rest to preserve energy for giving birth and caring for the baby.
2. Increased risk of a fall
When you are pregnant, your body creates more and releases various hormones, including the hormone relaxin. Hormone relaxin comes from the ovary and placenta and is essential for loosening and relaxing your joints, muscles, and ligaments to make your body more flexible. Relaxin helps your body prepare for birth by relaxing the muscles in your pelvis.
However, muscle relaxation and body stretching put you at risk of an injury due to a fall or slip. You risk straining the joints in your knees, lower back, and pelvis.
If you are doing an exercise or lifting an object, proceed slowly and avoid making unexpected, quick movements of muscles.
3. Varicose veins
The condition, characterized by twisted and enlarged veins, often affects veins in your legs and may result from pregnancy. That happens because the blood volume increases by over 20% during pregnancy, and because veins do not become more, your vascular system has to work extra hard. There is more pressure on your veins.
You may also be at high risk of swollen veins in your lower rectum and anus.
Most of the time, your varicose veins caused by pregnancy will disappear within a few months after delivery.
4. Change in nails and hair
You will notice changes in the growth and texture of your hair and nails during pregnancy. Your hair and nails may grow faster and stronger.
After giving birth, the splitting of nails and falling out of hair may occur easily. You may even suffer hair loss.
Contact Women’s Healthcare of Garden City today to schedule an appointment and learn more about pregnancy.