You’re Pregnant? Your Next Steps

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You feel ill. Perhaps certain smells trigger you to run straight for the nearest receptacle so you can lose what you just ate. You’re tired for reasons you can’t explain. Your moods are swinging wildly. Oh, and you just realized your period is late. What do you do now? Most women would go get an over-the-counter pregnancy test to find out if all these symptoms add up to a positive pregnancy result. Let’s assume you are pregnant and you’ve decided your future includes the baby you now carry. You’re going to need to seek out some resources so you can get a good pregnancy education.

Your Changing Body

Pregnancy isn’t a time to worry about how society dictates a woman’s body should look. When you look in the mirror, now’s not the time to apply labels like ‘skinny’ or ‘fat.’ Instead, focus on your health and the health of your baby. Speak to your obstetrician or the nurses in your clinic about pregnancy nutrition classes. These classes are designed to help you nourish you and your baby in a way that will ensure you both stay healthy. Growing a human being inside you can stress your body out. If you fail to choose the right nourishing foods, you could end up with a deficiency in vitamins, minerals or both.

Childbirth Classes

One of the most common classes an expectant mother takes is the childbirth class. You’ve probably seen these depicted in movies, usually with some bumbling, clueless guy providing comic relief. They do teach you breathing techniques for use during childbirth. It’s not because you don’t know how to breathe. Sometimes people forget to breathe at all during stressful events. Practicing breathing techniques beforehand helps you to remember to breathe during childbirth. It also gives you a focus besides the birth itself.

Milk or Formula

Breast feeding isn’t for everyone. However, you won’t know that unless you try it. In the days after you give birth, you should speak with a lactation consultant. Often a female nurse, this is a person with experience coaching new mothers through the potential difficulties of breast feeding. While most new moms and babies take to breast feeding as though it’s second nature, some don’t. Some babies have trouble latching on. Some moms have delays in their milk coming in. Your lactation consultant will have answers for you about many potential situations. As a bonus, some of the lessons you learned from your nutrition class can be applied to ensuring your milk supply is rich in vitamins and minerals.

Circumstances may prevent you from breast feeding. Most experts agree that while breast feeding is best, formula has come a long way to mimicking breast milk so closely that it’s very healthy for your baby. You’ll need to ask for help at your clinic navigating the often-confusing nutrition labels on various brands of formula. You should also ask what signs to look for from your baby that would suggest the formula isn’t sitting well and should be changed.

There’s so much to learn when you’re pregnant. Pace yourself.