Enjoying a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy at Home
Being pregnant in the middle of a global pandemic is probably not what you were expecting.
Having to isolate at home because of COVID-19 might have affected some of your plans, but it’s still important that you take care of yourself and stay healthy for the sake of you and your baby.
Staying at home will give you plenty of opportunities to put your feet up and rest before the baby arrives.
Here are some
tips for enjoying a healthy and happy pregnancy
at home.
Stay at home
Apart from essential workers, official advice right now is to stay at home. Make sure you’re set up to work from home if you’re able and make sure someone else helps you out with grocery shopping and other tasks.
While you might feel as though you’re going stir crazy at home, don’t be tempted to make pointless trips out—you need to take care of yourself and avoid the risk of infection.
Get active
It’s important to stay active during pregnancy, and just because you can’t go out doesn’t mean you can’t be active at home.
Set a reminder to get up and walk around regularly and be on your feet in the house. There are some great workouts to enjoy while pregnant including yoga, stretching and some mild cardio and strength workouts.
A bit of exercise during the day will help burn off some excess energy and help to keep you strong and healthy too.
Follow your doctor’s advice
There’s a lot of information being published at the moment. It can feel like information overload—especially if it’s not true or not from an official source.
At this time, it’s important to follow your doctor’s advice – they’ll be able to tell you when to come for appointments, what to look out for as well as make sure you stay healthy during pregnancy.
It’s still important that you go to your appointments as scheduled—your doctor will make sure that it’s safe to do so.
Avoid stress
Stress can be damaging during pregnancy, as well as affect your mental health. Surviving stress in pregnancy, especially during this difficult time, will involve some self-care and avoiding stressful situations.
Try not to worry about everything else that’s going on right now and focus on you and your baby.
Practicing mindfulness will help you with your breathing and help you calm your mind, so start practicing some techniques to help you avoid stress.
Eat a balanced diet
One of the most important things you can do during your pregnancy is to eat a balanced diet.
Getting the right vitamins and nutrients will benefit both you and the baby, and it will make sure you stay energized at this time.
Folate is essential for brain and spine development. Calcium supports the growth of bones, muscles, and nerves.
Iron helps form hemoglobin in red blood cells that carry oxygen to the fetus.
For some women, it can be hard to meet the demand for iron through diet alone. This is where an iron infusion clinic could prove the most helpful; it involves a healthcare provider injecting pure iron into the patient’s bloodstream over a short time in order to reach the necessary levels.
Beyond helping bring iron levels up, this additional supplementation also has other potential benefits of helping pregnant women maintain their energy levels and reduce tiredness.
You can find some great advice on eating well in pregnancy during each trimester to help you get enough of what you need.
Eating at home is a good way to make balanced dishes from scratch that will enhance your cooking skills ready for your baby’s arrival.
Why not batch-cook some meals that you can freeze and enjoy after the baby’s here? You’ll be glad to not have to cook all the time but will still benefit from some healthy home-cooked meals!
Get your home in order
There’s a lot to juggle around your pregnancy, meaning a lot of things can feel like a rush. However, now that you’re at home, you’ll have more time on your hands to get things in order.
Why not start with your home?
Take some time to de-clutter and get rid of all the outstanding jobs on your home to-do list?
A good spring cleaning checklist can help you get through each room and get your home in great shape.
Now is also a great time to start working on your nursery. You’ll find plenty of inspiration to get you started on Pinterest and Instagram to help you get some ideas together.
Enjoy sunshine in your backyard
At least the spring sunshine will lift your mood while you’re at home! Spending some time outside will help give you a boost, and will mean you get some fresh air too.
Being outside can also help regulate your sleep pattern, helping with melatonin during pregnancy that will boost your sleep.
Make sure you wear SPF products and take care of your skin while you’re outside.
Get plenty of rest
One of the upsides to being at home is that you’ll get plenty of time to rest and put your feet up!
Being able to take some time to chill out will reduce your stress levels, and will mean that you get to make time for things you enjoy like reading, bubble baths and watching your favorite movies and TV shows.
There won’t be much time for peace after the baby comes so you need to make the most of it while you can!
Look forward to the future
While you might be feeling a lot of anxiety or uncertainty right now, there’s still a lot to look forward to in the coming months.
Your baby’s arrival will bring you joy and give you plenty to keep busy, so try to think of the positives and look forward to that time.
Start making a list of all the things you want to do after the baby arrives and make sure you go through them all when you can.
It’s natural to feel worried about everything that’s going on, but it doesn’t have to rule your thoughts day-in, day-out.
The most important thing for you right now is to stay healthy, which means staying at home and taking good care of you and your baby. Stay active, eat well and learn to cope with stress and anxiety to help you have a healthy and happy pregnancy.
Your baby will soon be here and there’ll be plenty of exciting times ahead for you and your family.