Expecting mothers look to their delivery date with anticipation, excitedly awaiting the birth of their baby. There is much to prepare for the new arrival and some women may be feeling some nerves thinking that they may not be ready. But by following some easy preparation steps, women can go into the delivery room with full confidence that they are ready to handle the next step of motherhood.
Healthy Diet
Throughout your entire pregnancy, maintaining a healthy diet is key because what nutrients you eat, the baby eats as well. As the baby grows larger in the last few weeks of pregnancy, many mothers find eating a full meal to be uncomfortable, as the growing uterus compresses their stomachs. In this case, women should try to eat several smaller meals instead of three big meals, and the meals should be high quality foods, like meat, vegetables and fruit. If a woman physically cannot eat very much, it is vital that every mouthful that she can eat is nourishing and healthy.
Exercise
If you participated in regular exercise activities before your pregnancy, you can still exercise during your pregnancy to a certain degree. It’s best not to do anything too strenuous and make sure you drink plenty of water and take time to relax and stretch before and after. If you were not physically active before your pregnancy but would like to start, it’s okay but very light exercises would be best. In either situation, it’s best to speak to your doctor before you start any workout program.
Packing a Hospital Bag
Mothers that are entering the last trimester of pregnancy should have a bag for their hospital stay packed and ready to go. Packing items like a going home outfit for mom and the new baby, items you’d like to have during and after your delivery and any important hospital and insurance information are all great ideas. Keep a checklist handy for any items, like toiletries, that will need to be grabbed last minute.
Creating a Birth Plan
When you think of your delivery day, you may have a vision in mind of how you’d like the room to feel to you. Perhaps you want a relaxed atmosphere or you have specific medicines and procedures you’d like to avoid. Your birth plan is a great place to be specific about your vision for the day. Any additional optional procedures that you would like done, such as circumcision or cord blood banking should also be noted in your birth plan. Cord blood banking is where blood is collected from your baby’s umbilical cord after birth and stored at a facility, to potentially be used in a medical treatment for your baby or a sibling in the future. Creating a birth plan is a great way to lay out your wishes to keep your medical team and anyone on your support team in the loop.
The last few weeks of pregnancy may seem to move slowly, but women should take advantage of them to prepare for a healthy baby. Although it may seem like there is a lot of preparation before the big day, the most important thing to focus on is the arrival of your newborn.
“This article was written by Katie Moore. Katie is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche. If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact her via twitter @moorekm26.”
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