Pregnancy Tips for Healthy Pregnancy

• See your practitioner before becoming pregnant.
• Start changing your food habits to include a healthy variety of foods.
• Exercise! Starting now will help you stay in shape during pregnancy, can lower your risk of miscarriage, and has been proven to help reduce labor complications and length.
• Educate yourself!
• Eat a new vegetable you've never tried.
• Figure out what to do about chemical birth control, like the birth control pill.

• Stop smoking. There are many programs to help you.
• Take a prenatal vitamin. They can be prescribed by your practitioner or you can buy them over the counter. Ensure it contains 0.4 mg of folic acid.
• Ask your partner to join you on your new healthy habit changes.
• Track your cycles. Learning what you can about your cycles will help determine when you ovulate and when you conceived. These make for more accurate due dates.
• If you need a new practitioner, interview before you become pregnant.
• Ask your friends about pregnancy and parenthood.
• Avoid chemicals that could possibly harm your baby. You can find these at work, in your home, and just about anywhere, be environmentally sensitive.
• See your dentist before you get pregnant and brush your teeth daily.
• Stop changing cat litter.
• Announce your pregnancy when you are ready.
• Talk to your parents, what do you want to take from their experiences? How do you want to be different?
• Join a prenatal yoga or exercise class.
• Keep your prenatal appointments with your midwife or doctor. This will help ensure that if you have any problems that they are caught early and kept to a minimum.
• Take an early pregnancy class (if possible).
• Remember to add 300 - 500 calories a day while pregnant.
• Keep a food diary to ensure that you are keeping up with your daily requirements.
• If you are decorating your house or a nursery remember to avoid fumes often associated with paint and wall paper. Perhaps have friends do the heavy work while you help make snacks for them. Keep the windows open!
• Baby sit a friend's baby and learn a bit about caring for a newborn.
• Take a breastfeeding class to help prepare you for the realities of breastfeeding.
• Stretch before bed to help prevent leg cramps.
• Continue to exercise, even if you have to slow down. This will help you recover more quickly.
• Have film and cameras ready!
• Practice relaxation whenever you can. Try for at least once a day.
• Pack your bags if you are going to a birth center or hospital. Don't forget your insurance cards, pre-registration forms, camera, birth plan, etc.
• Review the signs of labor and warning signs.
• Take a picture of yourself before the baby comes!
• Read birth stories.
• Kiss the baby!