- Have regular medical monitoring
- Have a balanced diet
- Adapt your lifestyle to your physical fitness
- Have quality sleep a>
- Have regular physical activity
- Have normal sexuality
- Take care of yourself and have fun
- Find a listening ear
- Calmly prepare for the arrival of your baby
- Preparing for your birth
Have regular medical monitoring
There are 7 recommended consultations during pregnancy.
I invite you to seek care from a midwife because they are specialists in physiology.
The ideal is to start monitoring with a midwife who practices privately because she will be a link for you throughout the pregnancy and after the birth. In fact, she begins the medical monitoring of the pregnancy, then continues with preparation for childbirth once the pregnancy is followed in the maternity ward and finally she accompanies you when you return home.
This continuity of monitoring throughout the pregnancy cannot be done by a doctor or by a hospital midwife.
Have a balanced diet
This advice is valid even outside of pregnancy.
However, it is even more important to eat properly during pregnancy. On the one hand, so that the baby is well nourished, but also to have regular and moderate weight gain throughout the pregnancy.
The norm is 1 kg per month in the first six months and 2 kg per month in the last trimester.
The ideal is to gain between 10 and 15 kilos during pregnancy, it depends on your initial weight.
On the other hand, excessive weight gain is a source of pathologies (gestational diabetes, high blood pressure) and causes numerous discomforts (ligament pain, poor circulation).
Do not hesitate to talk to your doctor or midwife because dietary consultations are possible throughout the pregnancy.
Adapt your lifestyle to your physical condition
Being fit while pregnant varies from woman to woman and fluctuates throughout the pregnancy.
It is important to listen to your body and moderate your activity when you are tired.
Furthermore, a hyperactive lifestyle can be the cause of medical pathologies (threat of premature birth). It is therefore necessary to watch out for warning signs such as frequent preterm contractions.
Get quality sleep
Here again, it is important to listen to your body and get enough sleep when you feel the need.
It is common to be quite tired in the first trimester.
It is also very common to have disturbed sleep in the third trimester. Indeed, full nights are rare in recent weeks. This is normal. Sleep changes at the end of pregnancy to prepare for the arrival of the baby. The nights are therefore broken up and you must recover during the day.
In case of significant problems, we can use methods such as sophrology to improve this.
Have regular physical activity
Sports activity is recommended throughout pregnancy. However, it must be adapted to the different periods of pregnancy.
For example, we advise avoiding sports with a risk of significant shock (horse riding, boxing) in the first trimester.
The most recommended physical activity during pregnancy is regular daily walking or swimming once or twice a week. You can also sign up for specialized gymnastics or yoga classes for pregnant women.
Physical activity throughout pregnancy helps you stay in shape, feel good mentally and limit weight gain.
Have normal sexuality
There are no contraindications to sexual activity during pregnancy.
Medical contraindications are rare.
It is important for a pregnant woman to be fulfilled and therefore to have regular sexual activity, just as it is for your partner.
Take care of yourself and have fun
There may be times of discomfort, stress or fatigue during the nine months of pregnancy. So, don't hesitate to take care of yourself and treat yourself whenever you want.
Go to the hairdresser, go shopping, meet up with friends, take a walk… whatever makes you feel good, do it.
Also make sure to take care of your body using appropriate treatments that will protect it, respect it and help it cope with physical changes. Once again, don't forget to treat yourself so that it becomes a pleasant and bonding moment with your baby and why not your partner if you include it in an anti-stretch mark massage routine for example.
(editor's note: if you would like to know more about preventing stretch marks during pregnancy, you can consult our dedicated article "Stretch marks and pregnancy" )
Find a listening ear
There are many questions and sources of anxiety during pregnancy.
Do not hesitate to share your concerns and doubts, whether with your loved ones or people following your pregnancy.
It is important to express your fears and doubts and to have answers to your questions so that you can experience your pregnancy more peacefully.
Calmly prepare for the arrival of your baby
A pregnancy lasts nine months. So you have all the time you need to calmly prepare for the arrival of this new baby. Don't leave it at the last minute in order to be as relaxed as possible in the last weeks of pregnancy.
Preparing for your birth
Childbirth is a very important event in a woman's life. The ideal is therefore to arrive that day ready, serene, confident and prepared.
We are lucky in France to have childbirth preparation sessions reimbursed by health insurance. These sessions allow you to discuss your fears and questions, and to get advice for your pregnancy and childbirth. They prepare you to fully experience your birth with your partner. Again, don't leave it at the last minute. Preparation for childbirth begins between the fifth and sixth months of pregnancy.
By Fabien Lequenne, Liberal Midwife in La Plaine-Saint-Denis
(editor’s note: also find our article on “Preparation for childbirth” )
