Taking care of your body during pregnancy is vital
Pregnancy is a big step, you not only have to be ready financially, but physically too.
It takes its toll on your body, so before you even think about it you need to ensure that your body is in near-perfect condition to house a child for the next nine months.
Yet a new study has revealed today that one in five women are obese at the start of their pregnancy, 17 per cent still smoke during and 10-15 per cent suffer from depression or anxiety during the pregnancy.
Based on the view that antenatal care is struggling to keep up with today's lifestyle habits and resulting pregnancy health problems, Tommy's is launching a new health campaign - Tommy's Five Point Pregnancy Plan - in order to reach every mum-to-be in the UK with help and advice on five essential health areas for pregnant women:
- nutrition
- weight management
- exercise
- smoking
- mental health
A recent survey indicates that women are still confused over calorie comsumption during pregnancy, with 40 per cent thinking you should eat an extra 500 calories a day, or not knowing exactly hoe many more they should eat. An extra 200 calories - the equivalent of two small slices of bread - is all that is recommended and only in the last 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Consequences of being overweight during pregnancy can be very serious - this includes, miscarriage, birth defects, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, complications in labour, long-term health problems for the baby and stillbirth. Obese mothers are twice as likely to experience a stillbirth as mothers within the normal weight range.
Jacqui Clinton, health campaigns director for Tommy's, says: "Poor diet, obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking and mental health problems can all impact on the healthy development of the baby. However, we know changing behaviour and certain habits can be hard, so we want out Five Point Pregnancy Plan to provide support for pregnant women."
The research also found that one in six women don't take an essential folic acid supplement when planning a pregnancy and more than half of women didn't take a vitamin D supplement at all during the nine months - even those that did were unsure about the benefits of it.
The survey also highlighted that few women saw only one midwife during their antenatal care.
"Midwives have first-hand awareness of the effect of social disadvantage on women's health and of women with complex pregnancies," says Jane Sandal, Professor of social science and Women's health at King's College in London. "When they have frequent contact and build relationships with women, they are highly trusted. This improves their chances of success in understanding and working with women to change their lifestyle."
Femalefirst Taryn Davies