If you have been dreaming of becoming a mother, though you're not pregnant yet, you might already be thinking about which room to turn into the baby's room and how to decorate it. And you might be making lists of all the baby clothes and supplies that you'll need. You've probably also read a number of parenting books, and scoured the Internet for advice. But are you ready for pregnancy? Here are few nuggets of advice to help with preparing your body for child-bearing.
When you are planning for pregnancy, it seems that books and people around you do not really let you know that women usually need to prepare for changes pregnancy will bring to their body before it happens.
Checkup before Pregnancy
Pregnancy journey is challenging. It may give rise to problems such as gastrointestinal weakness, joint pain, urination disorders, constipation and diarrhea, and bleeding. Though experiencing tiredness during pregnancy is common, the problem is that the impact of pregnancy and childbirth can persist even after delivery.
During the 10 months of pregnancy, the fetus gets all the necessary nutrition from the mother. The food you eat during pregnancy gets broken down and passes across the placenta to nourish your growing baby. If your body parts has yet prepared to share with your baby and you are not prepared to withstand the loss from pregnancy and childbirth, problems will appear from the time of pregnancy, or it will start to appear after birth. Hence, it’s pivotal to schedule a check-up to know the weak parts of your body before pregnancy. You need to restore them to the healthy state beforehand.
Muscles Management
Exercise during pregnancy is not easy, there are many cases where movement decreases relatively. But exercise has lots of benefits where it minimizes the loss of muscle resulting from pregnancy, and prevent your weight from becoming unnecessarily high. Exercise can be keep going until delivery unless you feel discomfort or pain. Muscles should be fully developed to ensure a quick recovery after childbirth and to prevent any disease.
If you are not pregnant yet, keep exercising consistently, strengthening especially the abdominal, pelvic, hip and leg muscles. The baby is heavier than you think, so it would be great if you can build up arm muscles in advance to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.
Bones Management
Lacking of bone density may be due to lack of exercise and outdoor activity, exposure to sunlight, or coffee drinking habit. Bone mineral density can drop sharply after giving birth, so it is recommended for pregnant mothers to take calcium supplements. When choosing calcium supplements - calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D should be taken together, and iron should be avoided. This is because iron interferes with the absorption of calcium. If you need to take iron, you can take it 2 hours apart.
Get Back in Shape After Pregnancy
You need not worry about the postpartum body. You can be healthier than before if you keep managing your body. If at any time there is a possibility of pregnancy, you should always be ready physically.