7 Tips to Reduce the Risk of Birth Defects

Attend pregnancy classes, read books, observe videos on childbirth and pregnancy. Many things can help you experience a trouble-free pregnancy and start maternity with extra courage.

We picked seven tips for managing a healthy pregnancy.

  1. Choose a Well-Balanced Diet

The meals you consume during pregnancy have a primary effect on your baby’s health. According to specialists, a healthy diet is mandatory during pregnancy. It maintains a healthy birth weight and promotes fetal brain development. It also decreases the risk of pregnancy complexities such as morning sickness, anemia, and exhaustion.

What food to take during pregnancy? A pregnant woman’s nutrition should combine lots of vegetables, nuts, fruits, and fish to help your body receive vitamin C, protein, iron, calcium, and enough fat. Eat five servings of vegetables and fruits daily, plenty of carbs from whole grains, one portion of protein, and two meals of fish per week.

  1. Take The Necessary Supplements and Prenatal Vitamins

To meet your body’s nutritional needs, you additionally need to consume some supplements. You can take folic acid or iron supplements singly or choose pregnancy vitamins. Prenatal nutrition usually includes more iron and folic acid than other vitamins. Folic acid is essential to lessen neural tube defects, while iron maintains the overall growth of the child.

Some doctors recommend vitamin D and calcium supplements during the third trimester for correct bone growth in infants. Omega-3 fatty acids can also contribute to a baby’s brain development. Pure CBD Geek can help you in choosing essential nutrients. However, remember that while supplements are essential to you and the baby growing inside you, they are not a substitute for a balanced diet. Also, always consult your doctor before taking supplements.

  1. Avoid Particular Foods

To defend yourself and your future newborn from parasitic infections or bacteria, you need to evade several foods. Probiotics to cure BV are good to prevent vaginal bacterial infections during pregnancy. Hormonal shifts in the body create cravings for food, but you need to be sure what you are consuming. Some meals include potentially toxic elements that can pose a threat to your health and cause birth defects.

 What food to avoid during pregnancy? The foods you should avoid during pregnancy are unpasteurized milk, raw eggs, any kind of soft cheese, undercooked meat, and seafood. A pregnant woman should ensure that her food is cooked correctly.

  1. Exercise Daily

Consistent activity during pregnancy guarantees the proper health of the mom as well as the infant. Practice helps alleviate many typical pregnancy difficulties, such as leg cramps, constipation, back pain, ankle swelling, and poor sleep. It also helps support a high level of energy to do this through pregnancy.

In addition, physical activity develops new moms for delivery. A trained body can lead to fewer medical interruptions and less malnutrition during childbirth. Another advantage is that it’s simpler for you to get back in shape after your kid is born.

Training is excellent for an unborn baby. A study at the University of Montreal in 2013 reported that just 20 minutes of mild exercise, only three times a week during pregnancy, promote brain development in a newborn baby. This has a definite effect on the whole life of the child.

During pregnancy, swimming, walking, running, simple exercises, yoga, or dancing are acceptable and useful options. Before starting any exercises, always discuss it with your doctor. You can also attend courses for pregnant women.

  1. Exercises to Strengthen The Pelvic Floor

It is a vital exercise, especially for early pregnancy, since the muscles of the pelvic floor often lose elasticity and may not be able to cope with the support function of the pelvic floor, it is also called Kegel exercises – they are great for strengthening the muscles that support your bladder and vagina. This, in turn, can contribute to a natural giving birth and a quick recovery after it. 

  1. Rest and Sleep Well

Pregnancy is a period when you require paying special attention to a well-balanced diet and sufficient physical activity; however, at the same time, you need enough rest and sleep. Pregnancy induces specific hormonal changes in the body that can guide to weakness and fatigue. For helping your body succeed, it is essential to listen to your body and get enough rest.

Back pain is one of the leading causes of sleep disturbance. If back pain disturbs your rest, try sleeping on the left side, get your knees bent. You can also put a wedge-shaped pillow beneath your belly to reduce strain on your back. Deep breathing, yoga, and mild massage can help too.

Other situations that can provide sleep disturbances during pregnancy include leg cramps, heartburn, and morning sickness. Simultaneously with the physical difficulties of pregnancy, the nervous stress caused by an upcoming significant change in life can also create sleeping disorders.

  1. Avoid Smoking and Alcohol

Women should not smoke before, during, or after pregnancy and should try to avoid secondhand smoke. Researches emphasize the harmful effects of cigarette smoking on fetal heart rate characteristics and state that tobacco use during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage. 

Any amount of alcohol you drink reaches your baby in the womb through the bloodstream and placenta. Therefore, it is essential to avoid alcohol during pregnancy. Drinking during pregnancy can affect your baby’s development and growth in the uterus, as well as your baby’s health at birth.

In fact, drinking strong alcohol can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome, which causes an abnormal appearance, low body weight, a small head, and low intelligence, and other problems in newborns.

Conclusion Bonus

Whether it’s a headache, a cold, or constipation, you should not take any medications yourself, even if they previously helped you. Always consult your doctor before taking any drugs, including aspirin. During pregnancy, the use of drugs is a concern, because anything you consume inside, including medications, can reach the fetus and potentially harm the unborn baby.

This is the time when you need to take care of yourself, and you need the support of your partner and other close friends and relatives. More importantly, you need the guidance of an experienced doctor. Choose a doctor who can help you gain confidence in pregnancy and childbirth.

Please tell us what recommendations do you consider to be the most useful? Do not hesitate to write your own tips in the comments below.

Author’s Bio: J-Bonte is a pharmacist and nutritionist in the field of pregnancy and newborns. He is also a proud dad of four kids, so he has tried all his recommendations during the pregnancy of his wife. He shares his experience in his blog for moms.