Your health and wellbeing are directly connected to that of your child. To keep you both healthy during the pregnancy, here are five tips to protect yourself and your newborn before going into labor.
Take Antibiotics
There are diseases that a mother can pass onto her child before giving birth. Many of them are treatable during pregnancy. One such disease is Group B Strep. This bacteria can pass from mother to child and will cause serious, and sometimes fatal, medical conditions. The mother should take an antibiotic between week 35 and 37 of her pregnancy as a precaution.
Take Legal Precautions
Hospitals, doctors, and nurses are given your full confidence and trust when it comes time to deliver your baby. Although the hospital staff does everything they can to ensure that you and your baby are both healthy, complications due to human error always have the potential to occur. Should you or your child suffer from a birth injury due to negligence on the part of the hospital staff, you’ll want to speak to a birth injury lawyer to discuss your rights and legal remedies.
Prenatal Yoga
Ask any mother and she’ll tell you that going into labor is a long and painful process. There are options available to you to help with the pain. One common option is an epidural, but if you’d rather explore a more natural and holistic route, there’s prenatal yoga. Women who practiced prenatal yoga before giving birth reported less pain during labor. This is attributed to the breathing exercises and increased endurance from stressful yoga poses.
Pelvis-Opening Exercises
A major fear of expecting mothers is that the baby will become ‘stuck’ during labor or that the baby won’t fit through the birth canal and will require a C-section to complete the delivery process. Performing a routine of exercises designed to open the pelvis can help to assuage these fears and promote an easier delivery for both you and the baby.
Have a Hospital Bag Ready
Going into labor could happen during the convenient hours of the day or during the middle of the night while you and the rest of the world are asleep. Since labor can begin at any moment, have a maternity bag prepacked and ready to grab as you rush out the door. This will help ensure you have any medications, toiletries, and conveniences necessary for your safety and comfort.
During your pregnancy, it’s vital that you follow your doctor’s instructions to refrain from eating or drinking foods and beverages that could put you or the baby’s health in danger.
