Pregnancy can be a confusing time with lots of different advice on offer, so we have produced some top tips to help you and your baby stay as well as possible. Please also see your midwife or doctor for further advice, since only they can give specific, accurate advice that is tailored to you and your situation. 

Healthy Diet- Eating healthily will help to keep you in optimum shape and will help your baby to develop and grow. There are foods to avoid and foods which can help increase iron stores, see our eating for pregnancy page for more information.  

Folic acid suppliment- Folic acid helps to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, such as Spina Bifida and an additional supplement is recommended in pregnancy. Ideally it should be taken for 3 months before trying for a baby, but this is not always possible, so as soon as you find out that you are pregnant you should start taking it and then continue until you are 12 weeks pregnant. 400 micrograms is normally recommended unless you have any specific health conditions or family history. Please see your GP if you are unsure. 

Take gentle exercise-  Pregnancy does not need to be a time where all exercise is stopped, being fit and healthy helps with the demands of pregnancy and motherhood. The type of exercise you do may need to be adapted for pregnancy, see our pregnancy exercise page for more information.

Do those pelvic floor exercises- These exercises can often be forgotten, but they are a crucial part of pregnancy and post birth recovery. They can help prevent urinary and muscle problems during pregnancy and after delivery. See our pelvic floor exercises page for more information.

Stop smoking and reduce passive smoking- Smoking or being exposed to smoke can cause problems with your health and your baby’s health. Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen available to your baby and can affect growth. It is never too late to stop smoking and if you stop at any time, the beneficial effects for your baby begin immediately. Please see the NHS choices website for more information and support to help you or your partner quit.

Think about alcohol intake- The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) advises women who are pregnant to avoid alcohol in the first three months of pregnancy. They also advise that if you chose to drink alcohol in the rest of your pregnancy you should not have more than 1 to 2 units once or twice a week. See NHS choices for more information on the adverse effects and to find out what a unit of alcohol is.

Be aware of fetal movements- Once you feel your baby start to move regularly it is very important that you are aware if the movements stop or change. If your baby does ever have a period of reduced movements or stops moving in the usual pattern, you should get advice from your midwife or hospital. Monitoring your baby’s heart rate or having a scan usually reveals that things are fine. However, this is not always the case, so it is very important for this to be checked out. If in doubt ask your midwife or phone the hospital. 

Think about Ante-natal classes- In most areas these are available to all first time parents or mothers and sometimes to those who have had babies before. You can go yourself or take a partner or friend. These classes provide lots of extra information and important advice from midwives. Often the classes cover labour, delivery and details of types of pain relief, as well as feeding and after- care for mothers and babies. They are also a great way to meet people and develop a network in your area. Ask your midwife or GP for more information. 

Be aware of your feelings - Pregnancy, birth and the post-natal period (after you have had your baby) can be an emotional and tiring time and it is normal for your emotions to be very mixed . However, if you feel low for a prolonged period or have any worrying thoughts, it is important to seek advice and support from your GP, midwife or health visitor. Please see our depression information page and the NHS choices website for more support and information.

Think about your options for labour

Birth plan- you may want to create a birth plan. It can help your midwife or doctor to quickly see what you would like to aim for and what you would prefer to avoid in labour and delivery. It is important to remember that this will be an “ideal” but things can change in pregnancy and labour and may not always go to plan. Your doctor or midwife may need to advise something that is ‘off plan’ usually because of safety issues. The reasons why will be explained to you.

Location- there may be different locations available for you to have your baby, depending on your pregnancy and medical history. If your pregnancy is considered ‘low risk’ you may want to have your baby at home with a midwife or you may like to go to a birthing unit run by midwives. These aim to be more informal than a hospital setting. If the pregnancy is considered high risk or you would prefer to give birth in hospital then it will be in the delivery suite which is staffed by midwives and doctors and there is usually has a neonatal care unit on site.

Pain relief options- this is an individual choice and every woman’s labour is different. Do not compare yourself to other women, choose what is right for you. There are lots of methods and strategies that do not involve drugs such as breathing exercises, massage, warm heat packs, water, TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) and hypnotherapy. These are not proven to take pain away, but they can help and by working through these options some women may not need to use anything else. Other options include:

• Entonox (Gas and Air)- otherwise known as laughing gas, Entonox does not take pain away, but most women find it helpful. It is often described as ‘distracting’ or similar to feeling drunk. It is breathed in through a mouthpiece during contractions and the effects wear off once you stop breathing it in. It does not affect the baby.

• Pethidine- is an opiate drug given by injection and its benefits last for about 4 hours. It does not take pain away, but women describe similar feelings to those produced by Entonox. It can also make women feel sleepy or drowsy. Pethidine has a sedative effect on the baby and therefore it should be avoided in the later stages of labour.

• Regional anaesthesia in the form of a Spinal or Epidural- these usually take away all pain. An epidural is a small catheter (tube) which sits in your back and delivers drugs which make you numb from your abdomen down. The epidural can be topped up throughout labour as needed. A spinal injection is a ‘one –off’ injection into the spine to give the same effect. However, it usually lasts for no more than 4 hours and is often used for caesarean sections so that mothers can be awake to see their baby at delivery. Both are very effective forms of pain relief, but they do restrict movement in labour. They may also slow the labour down and there is a small increase in the chance of needing an ‘assisted’ delivery by ventouse or forceps.

See the Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association website for more information about pain relief options.

See the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists website for more information on ventouse and forceps delivery.

Think about feeding- There is a great deal of information available about feeding your baby. Evidence shows that breastfeeding is best for you and your baby, but it is not always possible for every woman and her baby. You will be supported whichever way you feed your baby. Your midwives will give you information about breastfeeding and explain the benefits to you and your baby. It is not something you have to decide before labour, but you should have thought about it as once your baby is born he or she will need to be fed within the first hour after birth. Please see the Unicef baby friendly website for further information about breastfeeding.

Skin to skin contact-  This should be offered to all mothers regardless of the type of delivery or if they wish to breastfeed or formula feed. ‘Skin to skin’ means that the baby is delivered onto your chest and has direct skin contact with you, which should ideally be maintained for at least an hour after birth. It helps to keep babies warm and helps to regulate their breathing. It also promotes bonding and establishes breastfeeding. There are certain situations where skin to skin contact is not possible, but it can always be done later on or perhaps your partner or friend can have the baby against their skin instead.


Useful websites
 

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists website has a wide range of information and guidelines on many women’s health topics. This can be found at: www.rcog.org.uk/womens-health/patient-information

NHS Choices website also has a range of health information. This can be found at: www.nhs.uk

The Unicef baby friendly website. This can be found at: www.unicef.org.uk/BabyFriendly

The Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association. This can be found at: www.oaa-anaes.ac.uk

Research

To find out about our research please follow these links:

Baby Bio Bank


Page last updated December 2011

 

Wellbeing of Women