Yoga in Pregnancy

Practicing prenatal yoga can benefit both mother and child. Prenatal yoga focuses on breathing techniques and gentle stretching. These classes are designed to make you more flexible and prepare you for labor.

Prenatal yoga is a type of yoga designed for pregnant women. Yoga is intended to create a balance between emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual dimensions. Prenatal yoga is about helping you prepare for childbirth by relaxing the body and focusing on safe techniques and poses in all stages of pregnancy.

Yoga can improve your physical and psychological health — and not just for the duration of your pregnancy.  If you didn’t practice yoga before pregnancy, it’s best to talk to your doctor before starting any prenatal yoga classes.

Nutrition in Pregnancy

Nutrition is about eating a healthy and balanced diet so your body gets the nutrients that it needs. Nutrients are substances in foods that our bodies need so they can function and grow. They include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water.

Eating well is one of the best things you can do during pregnancy. Good nutrition helps you handle the extra demands on your body as your pregnancy progresses. The goal is to balance getting enough nutrients to support the growth of your fetus and maintaining a healthy weight.

When you’re pregnant, nutrition is more important than ever. You need more of many important nutrients than you did before pregnancy. Making healthy food choices every day will help you give your baby what he or she needs to develop.

Symptom

• Missed period
• Swollen or tender breasts
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Feeling tired
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Peeing more often than usual

STAGES OF PREGNANCY

There are three stages of caring for an expecting mother: Prenatal, Intranatal, Postnatal care. This is essential to ensure smooth pregnancy and labour and to keep the mother healthy after giving birth. This care is a combined effort between the doctor and the expectant couple. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are expecting an addition to your family.

Prenatal Care (Antenatal Care):-

Prenatal care from the moment you realize that you are pregnant, a woman must start taking extra care of her body. This reduces the risks in your pregnancy and at the time of labor. But even before planning a pregnancy, it is important that couples should consult with the doctor, in order to avoid any complications in the future. Thus, you should ensure that regular check-ups not just during the pregnancy, but also before the pregnancy is equally important so that your doctor can rule out complications arising due to factors, such as Thalessaemia, Thyroid, Blood Sugar and PCOS, etc.

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF PRENATAL CARE

The main objective of antenatal care is to assure that every wanted pregnancy results in the delivery of a healthy baby without impairing the mother’s health .

Major goals of ANC are to

• Promote and maintain the physical, mental, and social health of mother and baby by providing education on nutrition, personal hygiene, and birthing process
• Detect and manage complications during pregnancy, whether medical, surgical, or obstetrical;
• Develop birth preparedness and complication readiness plan;
• Help prepare mother to breastfeed successfully, experience normal puerperium, and take good care of the child physically, psychologically, and socially.
• Reduce anxiety associated with delivery.

Thus, an important part of Prenatal care is to visit your gynaecologist regularly. These visits will be scheduled according to your age and stage of pregnancy. A few other points to keep in mind are:

• Stop smoking and stay away from passive smoking as well
• Stop drinking alcohol
• Avoid contact with toxic chemicals like insecticides etc.
• Ensure your vaccination is up to date
• Avoid x-rays
• Do not start or stop any medication without informing your doctor first
• Eat healthy food and drink plenty of water
• Exercise regularly for half an hour daily
• Get plenty of rest
• Avoid stress
• Educate yourself about childbirth

Intranatal Care

Intranatal care refers to care given to the mother and baby at the time of delivery. The main objectives here are:

• Cleanliness means five cleans i.e. hands, surface , blade, cord tie, perineum.
• Smooth delivery without injuring mother or baby
• Preventing complications
• Delivery resuscitation for the baby

There are a number of ways to deliver a baby and whatever you choose, you must ensure the presence of a doctor at your side, while delivering a baby. Your doctor will determine the position of the fetus and help you through your delivery.

Postnatal Care

Postnatal care is essential for 6-8 weeks after the baby is born. During this period, the mother goes through a number of physical and emotional changes and thus requires rest, nutrition, and vaginal care. The main objectives here are:

• Prevent postpartum complications
• Restore the mother to optimal health
• Ensure problem-free breastfeeding

Sharing responsibility is essential for the health of the mother, after delivery. Get as much sleep as possible and pay attention to what you eat. Do not try and lose your pregnancy weight instantly. Schedule a checkup with your doctor six weeks after delivery to ensure your vagina has healed properly. Additionally, abstain from intercourse at this time. With proper care, every stage of your pregnancy can be a beautiful experience.

A pregnancy is divided into trimesters:

• the first trimester is from week 1 to the end of week 12
• the second trimester is from week 13 to the end of week 26
• the third trimester is from week 27 to the end of the pregnancy