What are the preparations for pregnancy?

We all know that being able to give birth to a healthy baby is a very important thing in a woman's life. Women are also very hard during the entire pregnancy period. From the various early pregnancy reactions at the beginning of pregnancy to the body becoming more and more clumsy in the later stage, they all hope that the baby can be delivered smoothly, so women must make adequate preparations before giving birth. Let's take a look at what to prepare for before pregnancy.

What to prepare for before pregnancy

1. Moderate exercise

If expectant mothers do proper exercise during pregnancy, it will help the baby's health, promote the baby's brain development, promote the development of the baby's balance organs, sensory organs, and respiratory organs, and promote the baby's metabolism. For pregnant women, it helps with normal delivery and is beneficial to the body and mind. It is good for the lung capacity, digestive function, nerve function, and muscles and bones of pregnant women, creating conditions for natural delivery.

As the due date approaches, the expectant mother's belly becomes noticeably larger, her movements become clumsy, and she becomes easily fatigued. Some expectant mothers do nothing and lie in bed all day, which is wrong. Exercise at this time is very important. It can not only allow the fetus to breathe fresh air, but also allow pregnant women to exercise their abdominal and pelvic muscles, which will help with a smooth delivery in the future.

During this period, the pregnant mother should take a walk or do some work within her ability. The amount of exercise should be appropriately reduced compared to the previous months. If she feels tired, she should rest immediately.

2. Practice breathing

Whether the delivery can go smoothly depends to a large extent on whether the mother knows how to exert force, rest and breathe. This time, the editor will introduce some simple and effective movements to all expectant mothers. The purpose is to relax the whole body to reduce the discomfort caused by uterine contractions and cervical dilation.

Deep abdominal breathing: It is suitable for expectant mothers to perform when they start to give birth and feel uterine contractions and labor pains. It can relieve the pain caused by uterine contractions. The specific method is: the pregnant woman should naturally flatten her shoulders, lie on her back, it is okay to bend her legs, put her hands gently on her belly, and continue to take deep breaths, first exhale all the air, then inhale slowly to make the belly swell; after inhaling enough air, hold your breath, relax your whole body, and finally slowly exhale all the air.

Chest breathing: It has the same effect as abdominal breathing, but please note: when inhaling, the left and right chest should bulge out and the sternum should also protrude upward; after inhaling enough air, the chest should shrink and exhale.

Shallow breathing: Lie flat on your back like during childbirth, with your lips slightly open, and take light, shallow breaths with equal intervals between inhalation and exhalation. This method is used to relieve abdominal tension.

Short breaths: Just like giving birth, clasp your hands together, concentrate your energy and take several short breaths in a row in order to concentrate your abdominal strength to slowly deliver the fetal head.

Muscle relaxation method: bend the elbows and knees forcefully, then straighten and relax. This is an exercise that uses the difference in muscle tension to relax the muscles.

Editor's Tip:

Expectant mothers who are determined to have a natural birth should spend a little time every day practicing the above-mentioned delivery-assisting movements. However, if a pregnant woman has been diagnosed by a doctor as being at risk of premature birth, she must not practice these auxiliary movements for delivery.

3. Health massage

Massage can be done during the first stage of labor as uterine contractions become more frequent, along with deep abdominal breathing. Place your hands in the middle of your abdomen. When you inhale, massage your hands upward in a semicircle. When you exhale, massage your hands downward in a semicircle. In addition, there is also horizontal massage of the lower abdomen. When you inhale, massage from the center of the lower abdomen to the left and right sides, and when you exhale, massage back.

Lumbar compression can be used at the onset of lower back pain during the first stage of labor to relieve lower back pain. The method is to lie on your back with your knees bent at about 45 degrees, and knead your upper waist and back with both hands. Make fists with the backs of your hands facing up, place them behind your back, and press hard.

4. Pay attention to bathing

The irritation caused by too cold or too hot water on the skin will affect the blood distribution throughout the body of the expectant mother, which is not good for the health of the mother and the development of the fetus. It is not advisable to take a bath within 1 hour after being hungry or full. In the hot summer, you should take a bath at least once a day; in the pleasant spring and autumn, 1 to 2 times a week is enough; in the cold winter, once every two weeks is enough.

Pay attention to the cleanliness of the nipples. Wash them frequently with warm water and apply oil after washing. This will make the skin moisturized and resilient so that it can withstand the baby's sucking after delivery. Otherwise, nipple cracking is likely to occur. The vulva of expectant mothers has undergone obvious changes. Due to the influence of hormones, the permeability of vaginal epithelial cells increases and the secretion of cervical glands increases, which significantly increases vaginal secretions. Therefore, expectant mothers should wash their vulva frequently to keep it clean and dry. When cleaning, use warm water instead of hot water. It is best to use a special cleaning solution. You can also use clean water, but be sure not to use soapy water or potassium permanganate solution.

5. Prenatal check-up

Generally speaking, expectant mothers only need to have a prenatal check-up once a month, but starting from the eighth month of pregnancy, they must have a check-up every two weeks. This is to detect maternal diseases in the late pregnancy as early as possible, especially "pregnancy toxification" which has a direct impact on the fetus.

Editor's Tip:

In addition to regular prenatal check-ups, expectant mothers should also pay attention to nutrition and rest, reduce their intake of fat and salt, and increase their intake of foods rich in protein, vitamins, iron, calcium and other trace elements, which can play a certain role in preventing the occurrence of pregnancy toxemia. In addition, pregnant women should ensure adequate rest and maintain a good mood, which can also help inhibit the occurrence of pregnancy toxemia.

The closer a woman gets to the delivery date in the later stages of pregnancy, the more she looks forward to the baby in her belly. The above is an introduction to prenatal preparations for pregnancy. I hope it will be helpful to many mothers. Female friends should also adjust their mentality before delivery and not be overly nervous. In addition, once there is a labor reaction, they should rush to the hospital in time to prepare for delivery.