Improve your health and fitness during pregnancy

How do you influence your birth experience?

Step three: Your health and fitness during pregnancy can impact your birth!

It is never too late to make a change. Even small things... like one egg a day, can improve your health and the health of your unborn baby.

Eating better:

• You may lessen your chance of preterm labor by eating the proper amount of Omega 3/DHA. "...when pregnant women who were at risk for preterm birth were given eggs enriched with an Omega-3 (DHA), the length of their pregnancies increased by an average of six days (Smuts et al., 2003)."

• Avoiding some food additives may lessen your risk of birth defects, diseases in your newborn or even cancer. Here is a helpful article on the additives to avoid during pregnancy. Start eating more fresh, homemade and/or organic food and save yourself the trouble of researching a bunch of chemical ingredients!

• Eating a balanced diet during pregnancy, which includes 80-100 grams of protein a day may reduce your risk of pre-eclampsia? Detailed information on the Brewer Diet can be found here.

Fitness:

• Practicing yoga during pregnancy may reduce your risk of preterm labor and pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and may reduce your risk of having a low birth weight baby.

• Practicing yoga during pregnancy may shorten your labor and you may have higher levels of comfort during your labor!!! Hurray!

• Women who engage in moderate physical exercise (30 minutes per day) may have less depression during and after their pregnancy.

Other:

• Women who are under stress are at greater risk of preterm labor, of having a low birth weight baby or stillbirth.

• Stress (either prolonged or acute) may increase your risk of having children with neurological (autism, ADHD) or physical complications (asthma, allergies)

• Smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke can increase your risk of stillbirth, low birth weight babies, preterm labor, SIDS, birth defects, placental abruption, placenta previa, etc.

• Thoroughly research and ask your care provider the risks/benefits of prescription medication while pregnant. (Very little research has been conducted on the safety of their use during pregnancy.)

• Thoroughly research and ask your care provider the risks/benefits of herbs, dietary supplements and over the counter medication while pregnant. (Very little research has been conducted on the safety of their use during pregnancy.)

• I hope it goes without saying that you should avoid alcohol and all illegal substances or drugs while pregnant.

A little change now can make a big difference!