Pregnant Women Face Myriad Health Challenges – Here’s How to Tackle Them

Pregnancy is a beautiful and amazing experience. But it also comes with many challenges, both physical and emotional. Some of them are common and manageable, but others can be quite severe and even lead to pregnancy-related death. With proper care, however, you can minimize the complications associated with pregnancy.

According to data collected by Maternal Mortality Review Committees, between 2017 to 2019, more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths could have been avoided. This means a large number of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable with proper care during pregnancy.

Fortunately, there are many ways to help you stay healthy during pregnancy so that you have an easier time managing your symptoms and maintaining your health during this exciting time in your life.

Go for Regular Prenatal Screenings and Check-Ups

Pregnant women often face myriad health challenges, making it difficult for them to understand where to start and how to tackle them. The good news is that you can take a few steps to maintain your health and that of your unborn children.

Essentially, you should have regular prenatal screenings and check-ups throughout your pregnancy. These are especially important if you have had any problems in previous pregnancies or if you have any health issues that may affect your baby’s development.

Regular prenatal screenings and check-ups will also let doctors monitor your baby’s growth as well as your own health. According to studies, prenatal screening aids medical professionals in identifying the physical requirements of a pregnant woman in order to reduce morbidity and mortality. This is important because it indicates that regular prenatal screening can help you address any issues that may arise during your pregnancy.

If you notice any symptoms like weight gain, swelling in your feet or hands, changes in vision, and headaches, then call your doctor right away because these could be signs of preeclampsia that affects pregnant women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy.

Improve Eating Habits

Maintaining healthy eating habits during pregnancy is essential for your as well as your baby’s health. According to recent studies published in the National Library of Medicine, consuming a healthy diet before and during pregnancy is linked with a lower possibility of pregnancy-related disorders, including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), obesity-related problems, and others.

What does this mean? Well, it means that eating well can help you avoid some of the most common complications that can arise during your pregnancy. In fact, these complications are serious enough that they can cause long-term damage for both you and your baby if left untreated.

What does this mean for you? It means that you should take care of yourself by eating healthy foods and avoiding unhealthy foods like sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food. This will ensure that you stay healthy throughout your pregnancy so that both you and your baby are ready and healthy when it’s time to meet.

Monitor the Quality of Your Drinking Water

While many pregnant women don’t think about the safety of their drinking water, it’s important to monitor the quality of your water to avoid health issues during pregnancy.

As per the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), pregnant women should drink 8 to 12 cups (64 to 96 ounces) of water each day. In particular, it’s not just about quantity but also about quality, as low-quality or contaminated water can lead to serious health consequences for pregnant women.

To explain this point, let’s take a look at the Camp Lejeune Water Contamination incident. Many pregnant women unknowingly drank contaminated water for years, which later caused serious birth defects in their children. Pregnant women who were exposed to contaminated water had a higher risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, or having children with birth defects, such as low birth weight and cleft palate.

Many affected women later filed a Camp Lejeune Lawsuit that helped them receive compensation for the loss and suffering they experienced as a result of drinking contaminated water during their time at Camp Lejeune.

These incidents call for monitoring the quality of your drinking water during pregnancy so that you can stay healthy and avoid facing any health complications during this time.

Stop Smoking, Drug and Alcohol Use

As a pregnant woman, you should be aware that smoking and drug and alcohol use during pregnancy can cause great harm to your unborn child. In fact, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that pregnant women who misuse prescription medications or use tobacco, alcohol, or illicit drugs can seriously harm their unborn child’s health.

You and your unborn child will benefit when you stop using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco during pregnancy. If you are still wondering how, below are some of the top reasons:

• You will have a healthier pregnancy.
• High likelihood that your baby will survive.
• You will save money by not buying cigarettes/alcohol/drugs.

If you are an addict, then there are many ways to cut back on your substance use. Here are some tips to help you quit smoking, using drugs, or drinking alcohol:

• Try to avoid situations where you might be tempted to use substances, such as clubs or parties where people are smoking or drinking heavily.
• Make a strategy for how you would handle a tobacco, drug, or alcohol craving. For example: If you get a craving for cigarettes at 2 pm on Sunday afternoon when you’re at home alone with your kids, You’ll call your friend who doesn’t smoke and see if she wants to go for coffee.
• Create a list of activities that will help you cope with cravings, such as going for a walk or reading a book, so that you have options besides smoking or taking drugs when the urge strikes.

Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise is a great way to keep your body healthy, as well as keep up your strength and stamina. During pregnancy, it’s especially important to stay active: you’ll feel better, look better, and be able to handle all the changes your body is going through.

Exercise can also help alleviate some of the more common health challenges that pregnant women face: it helps with leg cramps, constipation, back pain and swelling, fatigue, heartburn, and nausea.

There are a plethora of reasons why exercise is crucial during pregnancy. Pregnant women who exercise during their pregnancies benefit from things like reduced GDM, cesarean births, and operative vaginal deliveries, and shorter postpartum recovery times, according to studies.

During pregnancy, women become more vulnerable to conditions like high blood pressure, stress, and diabetes during pregnancy. With regular exercise, you can strengthen your heart muscle and improve blood flow, which can help prevent these conditions.

Moreover, exercise also helps you gain strength and endurance so that you can manage any physical demands that come with having a baby weighing down on your body.

Final Thoughts

Pregnancy is a wonderful time for any woman. However, this exciting phase brings its own sets of challenges. You may be experiencing health challenges that you’ve never dealt with before, and you might not know where to turn for help.

The tips we provided in this article can help you to take care of yourself during pregnancy so that you can enjoy this special time as much as possible.