It’s just been confirmed that you are pregnant, Wow! Congratulations.
Are you aware that getting pregnant is like starting a journey? Thankfully, it is a journey that has a time frame, with knowledge, you can make this journey as smooth as possible for yourself and your baby.

Once a woman gets pregnant, her her body naturally derbies a lot of changes during the nine months of pregnancy. While some of the changes are physical, others are emotional and some even social. Some of the physical changes include:
• Morning sickness – Many pregnant women experience this during first trimester. It may be nausea or actual vomitting, but it doesn’t happen only in the mornings alone.
• Constipation
• Aches and pains, possibly in your joints and your lower abdomen
• Heartburn and indigestion
• Food cravings and aversion
• Fatigue or lack of energy
• Larger, heavier and tender breasts
• Leg cramps
• Body pain
• A tendency to urinate more often
• Back pain
• Stretch marks
• Expanding belly and weight gain, among others.

Some of the emotional changes include:

1. Feeling moody or irritable
2. Becoming forgetful
3. Feeling anxious: it could be about baby’s well being, about yourself, about life as a mother or even about money.
4. Getting impatient
5. Becoming weepy increasingly, sometimes, over little things
6. Feeling dissatisfied one’s body image
7. Surprise- If one’s pregnancy is unexpected, this may lead one to feel joy if one welcomes the pregnancy or sad if one doesn’t welcome it, or scared if one is unsure or anxious about the changes that come with pregnancy.
8. Overwhelm

Some of the social changes include:

1. Changes in clothings: as the belly grows bigger, the clothes will need to be changed to something more loose.
2. Changes in foot wears- as the pregnancy progresses, the foot wears will require changes.
3. Changes in diet, to mention a few.

Are you wondering how to navigate this journey and maintain a healthy lifestyle? Here are some tips:

1. Understand that now that you are pregnant, you now have special nutrition needs:
   you now need more vitamins and minerals like folate, iron and calcium. It is very important that you intentionally eat breakfast every day, eat high fiber foods and if you have heartburns, it is advisable that you eat little amount of meals spread throughout the day. As much as possible, it is important to avoid spicy and fatty foods like hot peppers and fried chicken. Similarly, it will be helpful to have drinks between meals instead of with meals and don’t lie down soon after eating.
   
2. It is important that you avoid certain foods and drinks as they can harm your baby. It is important to avoid:
   • Drinking alcohol such as wine, beer or hard liquor.
   • Drinking diet drinks or caffeine.
   • Foods that may cause illness in your body or in your baby: foods like soft cheese made from unpasteurized or raw milk, undercooked meals, eggs, sea food or raw cooking dough.
   
3. For many women, pregnancy comes with some cravings, cravings like wanting to eat what is not good. For some women, they crave to eat things like laundry starch, clay, ashes or paint chips to mention a few. If you ever have cravings for such things, bear it in mind that it will be in your interest to refuse to satisfy such cravings.
   
4. It is absolutely necessary that you stay physically active during your pregnancy, these are some of the reasons:

• It will help you and your baby gain the appropriate amounts of weight.
• It will help reduce backaches, leg cramps and bloating.
• It will help reduce risk for gestational diabetes as well as reduce your risk for post partum depression.

In conclusion, it is very important that you stay healthy, obey your doctor’s instructions and have a positive outlook on life as you journey through pregnancy. Wishing you a safe delivery!

Do you need other tips, doubts or requests? Write us in the comments and we will be happy to answer you!