6 common mistakes women make during pregnancy

Every person is different, and goes through different life experiences.

You can’t always follow instructions and advice given by other people on the basis of their own personal experiences.

For women who are expecting for the first time, it becomes even more difficult to judge between what’s right and what’s wrong for them.

There is no hard and fast rule!

Anything that works for others may not work for you, and vice-versa. Try whatever suits you best, but avoid trying anything randomly without first consulting your doctor.

A lot of pregnant women make the following common mistakes during their first pregnancy – are you doing any of the same?

1. Not choosing the right health practitioner

Your health, and the health of your growing baby, is incredibly important.

Therefore, you should not hesitate in making a little effort when it comes to choosing the best doctor for monitoring every step of your pregnancy.

Not everyone can afford private health practitioners, so they choose to go the public health route. Public institutions don’t give you the choice in your doctor, so you’re not able to research ahead of time to find out whether you are going to get a reputable doctor or not.

You can still do a little research about the best doctors for your pregnancy by talking to your family and friends. You can also look for reviews of doctors online, as well talk to your regular general practitioner for their advice!

2. Worrying about weight gain

Many pregnant women ask themselves, “am I eating enough or not”?

No doubt, putting on too much weight or not gaining the right weight can be a cause for concern. You must be careful, as getting heavier or not gaining the required weight would lead to delivery complications, as well as having a negative impact on your baby.

Worrying won’t help; rather, stressing about your weight would not only harm your health, but it could also impact your baby’s growth negatively.

However, having said that, it is also best to follow a healthy pregnancy diet both for a healthy pregnant mother and your growing baby.

Just relax and consult your health practitioner to guide you.

Knowing the right weight to put on and right way to gain or maintain weight is very important for your baby’s development and your normal delivery. It will also help you to return to your normal weight and health after baby’s birth.

3. Avoiding physical activity

It is perceived by many people that as soon as woman conceives, she must stop any physical activity.

According to them, any movement may damage the fertilized egg!

Therefore, many women think being pregnant means no movement. This encourages a sedentary lifestyle, which can lead to complications in during labour.

It turns out, that unless you’re doing a high impact activity with movements that include sudden jerks or high speed – such as contact sports like soccer, gymnastics, tennis or even skydiving – physical activity will not impact your baby’s growth.

Rather, if you maintain a healthy, active lifestyle, you can avoid a lot of health issues and complications not only during pregnancy, but you also raise your chances of a normal labour, as well as faster recovery.

Of course, this doesn’t mean start lifting weights if you weren’t already doing so before – only stay as active as you were before you were pregnant. Don’t try to take on new sports or activities. Learn more about safe exercises during pregnancy here.

4. Pausing life

A majority of pregnant women pause their life and postpone things such as their careers and hobbies, or other such plans to focus solely on their pregnancy.

Pregnancy is just like other normal phase of life. You must enjoy this precious phase. Avoiding events and other routine life activities during this time will only keep you away from happiness.

Bounding yourself would create stress and tension in you.

You should not keep your life on hold; rather, maintaining a healthy and normal routine will help you pass this phase even better and faster. Do not waste your precious nine months of life without doing anything exciting.

5. Completely avoiding medication

It’s true that doctors suggest to every pregnant woman to not to take any antibiotics or unnecessary medication during pregnancy.

This does not mean that you cannot take even safe medication.

There’s some safe medications you can take during pregnancy, such as Paracetamol, a basic painkiller. Intentionally or unintentionally, many pregnant women avoid taking medicine, even if they are in great pain e.g. they have a headache or fever.

They prefer bearing a lot of pain than taking pain killers to relieve it.

One must talk to their doctor to know what medicines are safe to ingest during pregnancy. It’s important to do a lot of research in creditable, reputable sources to find the pros and cons of medicine during your pregnancy.

You would find bundles of data online related to safe and unsafe medications, as well as safe and unsafe vaccines for pregnant women.

6. Getting overly self-conscious

You are becoming a parent for the first time, and you are very much excited about your first baby.

Every pregnant woman should take a lot of care of herself during this time – but this doesn’t mean you should become overly conscious about your baby’s growth.

If you are satisfied with your doctor’s choices, and you are following their instruction, then you do not need to worry about your baby much.

Your doctor would give you a feedback during your regular visits and let you know in case something is not right with you or your baby.

You can cause your unneeded stress, and harm your baby’s development by becoming overly self-conscious during pregnancy.

Helpful Tips(s)

• Going for routine check-ups and consultations with your doctor is very important during pregnancy.
• Do not get scared of getting ‘shapeless’. You can easily recover after baby’s birth by doing post pregnancy exercises.
• Keep yourself on a healthy, balanced diet to help you maintain a proper weight. Contact your nutritionist for proper guidance for a healthy diet for pregnancy.
• Never try any physical activity without first consulting your doctor. Not every activity can be good for your health condition, which might be suitable for others.
• Keeping yourself busy and entertained would help your baby grow better. It will also help you to avoid taking on any unnecessary stress.