Healthy Pregnancy

Having a healthy journey in pregnancy will be very important in having a healthy labour and starting the journey of becoming a mom.

There is a huge benefit of being very active during your pregnancy. If you were active before this journey it is well recommended to keep the same fitness activity during the pregnancy but of course listen to your body.

Personally, I used to play tennis on weekly basis, run or go to the gym and throughout my pregnancy I have stayed active as much as I could.

Of course as the time goes by, I have reduced the activities but I have always stayed active. It is very important not to add any new activities which your body is not used to it, but in order to have a healthy journey please do stay very active. I would recommend minimum activity of daily walks as it will only help you on this journey. Exercises like walking or slow running will improve your circulation and it will keep you in great shape!

I used to walk 10km a day up until the day of delivery, and I have had such a pleasant experience during my pregnancy and labour since the healthy fitness levels helped me.

There is a huge benefit in doing yoga or pilates as well as pelvic floor exercises which are super important. For me exercises like pelvic floor, felt like I did not do any exercises, but trust me they are important during the labour stage and recovery post birth.

Second important factor throughout this journey is your diet and I would also suggest you keep a very healthy and balanced diet. Keep the nutrient values in your daily meals and please do make sure you eat when you are hungry. I have avoided all of the spicy or sour foods as it did give me acid feelings in my tummy. I have also increased my food intake but not by eating larger meals, but only by eating more often and the food that I enjoyed the most. Some people have increased cravings towards special foods, but I have to say for me that special treat was ice-cream.

Post pregnancy: The diet is also very important during breastfeeding, as during this stage you will have increased appetite and you will be eating larger quantities of food since it is necessary for breastfeeding. Do not avoid meals, because eating variety of food will impact the flow of your milk. It is very important to drink plenty of water before and after pregnancy as you need all the fluids for breastfeeding as well. Make sure that you intake calcium as well as magnesium during breastfeeding as they are super important! The research has shown that many moms do not intake large quantity of magnesium which then causes cramps, fast heartbeats or weak muscles after pregnancy.

Third factor is stress levels, but this goes back to my first point. If you are regularly exercising you will be producing plenty of happy hormones which will keep your stress levels to the minimum. It all goes back to the fitness levels and how much you are staying active, which will improve your stress levels as well as your sleep. Due to the fact that I have stayed active I managed to sleep throughout the pregnancy and had a very nice sleep at night as I was tired. I would also say that many people would say that you should feel bloated or your feet will be swollen but again due to my daily exercises I have avoided all of these symptoms.

As a final point I would also add the importance of daily sun. My pregnancy was during the summer months so I have kept the mimic exposure to sun as well. Please avoid very hot temperatures, but it is very important that you do intake some sun.

Recommended temperatures would be 22-25 C not higher as getting sun burned during your pregnancy is not recommended. I used to sit for an hour in the park during the weekends one 23 C and that would also have a massive benefits to my healthy pregnancy.

As a conclusion please do keep some sort of activity every day, listen to your body, do not add exercises which your body is not used to it and jour journey throughout these 9 months will be as beautiful as possible. You will stay calm, happy, excited for your little baby arrival.