Pregnancy & Childbirth
Advice for Prenatal Care
Prenatal Care Advice: Do's
- See doctor regularly
- Eat healthy
- Drink water
- Get enough sleep
- Get flu shot
Prenatal Care Advice: Don'ts
- Smoke
- Avoid exposure to toxic substances (cleaning solvents)
- Drink alcohol
- Use illegal drugs
- Eat sworfish (foods of high mercury)
- Use scented feminine hygeine
Prenatal Care Advice: Nutrition
- Drink plenty of fluids
- Eat red meat, poultry, leafy green veggies, whole grain cereal, beans and Ginger tea/ Gingerale
Prenatal Advice: Exercise
- Walking up to 30 mins.
- Swimming
- Low impact aerobics
- Dancing
- Yoga
- Stretching
Stages of Childbirth
Stage 2: Labor
Stage 3: Afterbirth
Delivery of placenta, umbilical cord, and amniotic sac out of mothers body after baby is born.
Trimesters
1st Trimester: Baby
- Fully formed-has arms, hands, fingers, feet, toes.
- Can open and close fists and mouth.
- Reproductive organs develop.
1st Trimester: Mother
- Hormone levels change significantly.
- Uterus begins to support the growth of the placenta and fetus, your body adds to its blood supply to carry oxygen and nutrients to the developing baby, and your heart rate increases.
- These changes accompany many of teh pregnancy symptoms, such as fatigue, morning sickness, headaches, constipation.
2nd Trimester: Baby
- Will be almost 4 times as big as it was at the end of the 1st trimester.
- Sex becomes appearant
- Beginning to form urine and discharge it into amniotic fluid.
2nd Trimester: Mother
- Most of the early pregnancy symptoms will gradually disappear.
- New symptoms- Leg cramps and heartburn.
- Abdomen will start looking pregnant, as uterus will grow rapidly in size.