First Time Pregnancy Advice: 10 Helpful Pregnancy Tips for New Moms
Looking for first-time pregnancy advice on blogs, books, and webinars is common, especially with new moms. I’m thrilled to share these helpful pregnancy tips for new moms.
Being pregnant for the first time is a life-changing experience, both mentally and physically. Does your sister or a close friend have some good first-time pregnancy advice for how to manage your new blessing?
Regardless of whether you have someone to turn to, there are things that you will want to know to help you prepare your body and mind for motherhood.
With my experience and the help of some health providers, I’m excited to share with you 10 helpful pregnancy tips for new moms.
First-Time Pregnancy: What to Expect from Your First Trimester Pregnancy?
The first trimester is the time where your body begins to prepare itself for the pregnancy. It’s also where many women begin to see some changes in their physical appearance and experience some symptoms that they may not have ever seen before or feel concerned about.
Here are some of the things to experience from your first-time pregnancy in the first trimester.
You Might Not Gain a Noticeable Amount of Weight
You probably imagined yourself with a pleasant, round bump as soon as you saw the positive pregnancy test, but chances are you’ll only gain a few pounds during the first 12 weeks. You may struggle to increase your calorie intake when you’re feeling sick in the morning.
No nausea? Some foods and smells may make you feel queasy or lose your appetite. Also, remember that you’ll avoid high-calorie things like soft cheeses and alcohol, making maintaining your calorie consumption difficult.
Your Sense of Smell Heightens
You may notice that everything around you begins to smell funny, annoying and irritating. The perfumes, food aroma you used to like or are cool with will suddenly start to piss you off. You are also likely to resent that co-worker just because of what you perceive around them.
Your Body Feels Odd
During your first trimester, you may feel like a different person, even without a belly. You wonder how funny veins showed up on your skin. Your taste bud goes off, and your cravings wild.
You might find yourself ordering for strange food combo that you usually won’t imagine. Your pregnancy hormones are responsible for most odd occurrences during pregnancy.
You May Not Appear Pregnant
Despite putting on a few pounds, you’re not likely to show until the second trimester. Although your pants (and bras) will feel snugger, you can conceal it seamlessly by wearing tops with empire waists and belly bands. Everyone’s body reacts differently to pregnancy, but we expect you’ll start showing around your next trimester.
You, Will, Feel Better In a Short Time
Morning sickness can be awfully miserable, but there is some light at the end of the toilet — sorry, tunnel. The feeling of nausea may decrease once you reach the second-trimester mark.
After three months, there are also a few symptoms that disappear: fatigue, tender breasts, and a constant need to urinate (though the need to urinate may return when your baby gets larger and starts pressing on your bladder). Around month four, most cravings and aversions towards food tend to disappear as well.
You’re Never Sure What to Expect
Some things and circumstances are the same throughout each pregnancy, but there are many surprises along the way. Was all the Weight on your sister’s hips? The bump may probably rest solely on your belly. Heartburn during pregnancy is a scary thing, have you heard?
Perhaps you will never experience that symptom – but wait, why wasn’t anyone alerting you to leg cramps beforehand? It’s safe to say that the only thing you can count on (besides a baby belly) is this: Every pregnancy is different. In fact, even the same person might experience different things with each child.
First Time Pregnancy Advice: 10 Helpful Pregnancy Tips for New Moms
Now it’s time to get started with all the important things you need to know in this article during your first-time pregnancy. These are our top 10 pregnancy tips for new moms like you.
1. Meet Up With Your Healthcare Provider Early Enough
A bit of vital first-time pregnancy advice is to make sure you meet up with your healthcare provider- a gynecologist, general physician, or midwife once you notice being pregnant.
Prenatal care is essential for you and the unborn child if you plan to start a family or just found out that you are pregnant. You will have the opportunity to confirm your pregnancy and check for medical conditions that could be a problem.
Where you live determines when your first official antenatal appointment, called your booking appointment, will be. Booking appointments are usually scheduled between eight weeks and twelve weeks into your pregnancy. However, it may happen at any time.
You can schedule your booking appointment with your doctor anytime, which might happen in your home, a hospital, a children’s center, or during your doctor’s office hours.
2. Take Prenatal Vitamins or Supplements
Consult your doctor about the right prenatal vitamins for you and your baby, particularly how much calcium and folic acid you will need.
Your baby needs folic acid, iron, calcium, and DHA in addition to other vitamins and nutrients found in prenatal vitamins. These vitamins are necessary for the development of bones, eyes, and brains.
They are available over the counter at pharmacies and supermarkets. However, you must take medicines cautiously, including over-the-counter medications. An unborn baby may suffer harm from them.
Therefore, ask your pharmacist for advice when buying over-the-counter remedies and tell your doctor if you take any prescription medicines.
Always keep an appointment with your midwife or doctor during pregnancy. You will be able to catch any problems early and keep them to a minimum.
3. First Time Pregnancy Advice-Consume a Healthy Diet
Although it’s okay to occasionally indulge in your cravings while you’re pregnant, don’t forget that 300 calories are all you need per day. Consume adequate amounts of protein, vitamin B6, zinc, folic acid, magnesium, and calcium every day and steer clear of deli meat to prevent germs from entering your system.
4. Engage In Regular Physical Activity
Exercising regularly throughout your pregnancy can increase your chances of conceiving through the vaginal and relieve you of common pregnancy discomforts.
By beginning now, you can remain in shape throughout your pregnancy, lower the risk of miscarriage, and reduce labour complications. Exercise can also assist with postpartum recovery. However, it is recommended that you speak to your doctor before starting an exercise regimen if you had not been physically active before getting pregnant.
A popular exercise recommended for a mom in her first-time pregnancy is the pelvic floor exercise. While you’re pregnant and after your baby’s birth, pelvic floor exercises can protect you from leaking urine. Pelvic floor muscle strengthening can be helpful for your love life as well because it can lead to more orgasms when you’re sexing!
Ask your midwife about pelvic floor exercises if you haven’t received instruction during your antenatal appointments.
5. First Time Pregnancy Advice- Avoid Alcohol and Reduce Caffeine
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy is essential. When it comes to alcohol consumption during pregnancy, there are no sure-fire guidelines. Therefore, experts recommend not drinking alcohol at all while you are expecting.
As a pregnant woman, we recommend avoiding alcohol, limiting caffeine intake, and avoiding non-prescription medications.
The effects of alcohol on your baby’s brain and spinal development are potentially detrimental. Caffeine, too, has been linked to miscarriage rates, and non-prescription drugs can cause congenital disabilities.
You must include all sources of caffeine in the 200mg limit, so in addition to coffee, you must include teas (also green tea), colas, chocolate, energy drinks.
6. First Time Pregnancy Advice- Invest In a Maternity Bra
Your tender, full breasts can be an early sign of pregnancy. If your pre-pregnancy bra has been uncomfortable for you, you might want to consider getting a pair of comfortable and supportive maternity bras.
7. Safely Handle Household Chores
If you use items such as household cleaners or chemicals, handle them with caution. Be careful around products with strong fumes and warning labels. Wear gloves and avoid direct contact. Try to avoid using aerosol cans when you are cleaning and keep your windows open.
You should consider whether your job might affect your pregnancy, particularly if you work with radiation or chemicals.
8. First Time Pregnancy Advice- Get Plenty of Sleep
During your first trimester, you may feel tired or even exhausted. The reason for this is that your body is adapting to rapid hormonal fluctuations. If you can, relax and put your feet up when you have free time, although this can be difficult if you are working.
Plan to hit the bed at a reasonable time every night and to wake up at a similar time every day. Sleeping on a regular schedule will help your body learn what time it is.
Take a relaxing moment to read or listen to soft music on your couch if you’re not sleepy. Take a break from your work and put your phone away. Once your baby arrives, it will be almost impossible for you to find time to rest, so enjoy every resting moment while you can.
Realize that now may be the time to become accustomed to sleeping on your side. Lying on your stomach becomes uncomfortable as your bump grows, and lying on your back could affect the blood flow to your baby.
When compared to sleeping on one’s back, sleep on one’s side reduces the risk of stillbirth by the third trimester. Therefore, it would be wise to start now.
9. Pay Attention to Your Body
You are likely to ignore your body signals, especially if you are a working mom. The way you used to attend to things, run errands, etc., will be different from your present moment. And this is because of the tiny human that is inside you.
You will feel fatigued in the first and third trimesters as your body is telling you to rest. Pay attention to your feelings and what your body craves for, as this will quickly help you differentiate between a normal and unusual feeling that may require a doctor’s attention. However, if you feel tired, listen to your body, curl up with a good book, or take a quick nap.
10. Know When to Alert the Doctor
As part of our first-time pregnancy advice for new moms, you should identify danger signs.
While some pregnancy symptoms are normal, there are others you should never overlook. Your womb may cramp as it grows, and you may experience the occasional twinge. Whenever you experience cramps, be sure to contact your midwife or gynecologist to rule out any possible complications.
In addition, we advise that you contact your physician if you notice the following signs and symptoms:
- Pain in any form
- Intense cramps, especially with bleeding
- Fainting or dizziness
- Heart palpitations
- Leaking fluid or vaginal bleeding
- Breathing difficulty
- A decrease in the activity of the baby
- Contractions lasting for 20 minutes or less
First Time Pregnancy Advice Bonus Tip
Don’t Leave Out Your Partner
Let your partner into your pregnancy journey. Send or share this first-time pregnancy advice with him to enable your partner to understand your body changes and bond with the unborn child. You can ask for his help to massage your legs, head, shoulder and back to ease any tension.
In a Nutshell
Before the arrival of your baby, it feels like there is so much to worry about. While you are planning, be sure to enjoy the moment! Right now, you should focus on taking care of yourself to give the best start possible to your child.
Your life is at a special point right now, so take full advantage of it! Families, friends, and other moms at the same pregnancy stage can play a crucial role in making this transition as smooth as possible. Above all first-time pregnancy advice, embrace your body’s ability to grow, nourish, and deliver your baby, as mothers have done for centuries.
