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Prenatal care: Keeping mom safe
When you’re pregnant, staying healthy is the name of the game. You’ve got way more personal responsibility now, as you are responsible for twice as many persons, so it’s incredibly important to keep yourself in good physical shape, and avoid any situations that may put your or Baby’s health at risk.
Helpful hints for staying healthy
When you’re carrying Baby around in your womb for nine months, you’ve got to be extra cautious and diligent about avoiding any behaviors, activities, or situations that could put you or her in danger. Because of this, you should consider the following, just to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to stay safe:
- Take it slow: Make sure you rise slowly from any seated or lying position.
- Avoid risky exercises/overexertion: Of course it’s important to get plenty of exercise when you’re pregnant, just make sure that the risks don’t outweigh the benefits! Pregnant women should avoid incredibly strenuous exercise, and dangerous activities like bumper cars, contact sports, and downhill skiing so as to not open up the potential for harm to Baby.
- Take a break when you need it: If you’re feeling dizzy, off-balance, or just not right, try taking a seat or lying down and resting - you don’t want to go for a topple!
- Know your surroundings: Accidents are called accidents for a reason - sometimes a bump or tumble is completely unavoidable, but quite frequently certain venues are more accident-likely than others. For instance, if a stage-diving heavy metal musician does a stage dive on top of your pregnant self, it’s his fault, but being at the Megadeth show may not be a good idea to begin with. Pregnant women need to evaluate each situation they are in, and think about whether or not it is a safe environment.
- Your healthcare provider, your friend: If you have any concern about a particular activity, behavior, setting, or anything else, we recommend that you call your healthcare provider to inquire about whether or not you are making the right choices. You should also call your healthcare provider if you believe your or your baby’s physical health might be in question, like after a fall.
Reviewed by Dr. Jamie Lo
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Sources
- Sir John Dewhurst. Dewhurst's Textbook of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 8th ed. Keith Edmonds. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2012. Print.
- "Staying healthy and safe at work." March of Dimes. March of Dimes, 6/3/2016. Web.
