Healthy Pregnancy Tips

Lydia | October 27, 2012

I want to share the things that helped me to enjoy a healthy and happy pregnancy.

These are my top Healthy Pregnancy Tips which I found easy to practice and essential for relaxation and keeping me supple.

Exercise gently everyday

A gentle walk and some Pregnancy Yoga worked wonders for my flexibility and my mood when I was pregnant. I used a Gaiam Premium Yoga Mat. It’s thicker than a standard yoga mat so it gave me extra cushioning which was really needed during the later months of my pregnancy. It has a great non-slip surface so it stayed in place during my yoga workout and stretching.

Gaiam Premium Yoga Mat from John Lewis

Neal’s Yard Organic Mother’s Bath Oil

Relax, don’t stress!

I found little treats worked wonders. I loved having a warm bath using Neal’s Yard Organic Mother’s Bath Oil for deep relaxation, listening to my favourite music and reading the books on my reading list while I still had some time to myself.

Eat healthy, organic foods

As a Nutritional Advisor and Mum I always make the following recommendations for pregnant women.

Look after your back

Being pregnant naturally puts strain on your lower back as your tummy blooms.

Don’t lift anything heavy.
Wear comfortable shoes.
I used a maternity support pillow to support my back when I was sleeping or relaxing.

Pelvic floor exercises

These are very important during pregnancy and help to strengthen your pelvic floor so your body can support the weight of your pregnancy. Pelvic floor exercises help to prevent stress incontinence.

If this is your first pregnancy you’re probably wondering what stress incontinence is! I certainly didn’t have a clue until we discussed this in our NCT Antenatal Classes. Stress incontinence occurs when you have weak pelvic floor muscles and can cause leaking urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh or exercise.

Here’s a really useful link from the NCT on how to exercise your pelvic floor during and after pregnancy.

Take a Pregnancy Multivitamin

Despite having a healthy diet, as soon as I knew I was pregnant I started taking Vitabiotics Pregnacare Plus Omega 3 and continued to take these throughout my entire pregnancy. These multivitamins plus Omega 3 ensured my baby and I had all the essential nutrients we needed, including the recommended level of 400mcg folic acid.