Tips For Healthy Pregnancy

Here are some tips.

- Dr Prempal Singh 'Valyan'

As soon as you become pregnant, hormones start adjusting your body's systems to create a nourishing and protective environment for your baby. The changes you go through during pregnancy are normal and good for your child, but they can lead to all sorts of discomforts for you: among them are constipation, nausea, backache, and fluid retention.

What's more, these changes can wear you out physically and emotionally. Like most expectant women, you'll probably experience only a few of these discomforts and only some of the time. Most problems will disappear shortly after your baby is born. In the meantime, here are some simple, safe tips to help you find relief.

Breathe easy: In your last trimester, your baby will more than double her height and quadruple her weight. Somehow your body must find room to accommodate this growth. In doing so, your expanding uterus pushes your stomach and other organs upwards, reducing the room your lungs and diaphragm have for breathing. Try this exercise to relieve discomfort:

Stand with your arms hanging down from your sides.

Inhale slowly while raising both your arms over your head.

Exhale slowly while you lower your arms.

Repeat this exercise five times, taking a few normal breaths between each of the repetitions.

A swell time: The increase in blood volume sometimes slows down your circulation, so a certain amount of swelling is normal in late pregnancy. Ankles and feet tend to swell the most because the baby's weight puts pressure on the veins in your pelvis, slowing the return flow of blood from your legs to your heart.