In the future: staying healthy while you are pregnant

While a woman is pregnant, there are a lot of things she can do to stay healthy for her and her baby. She can:

• Stay at a healthy weight
• Avoid gaining too much weight
• Continue to eat healthy
• Fill half her plate with fruits and vegetables at every meal
• Limit unhealthy food like fast food and junk food
• Drink healthy drinks, like water and low-fat milk
• Be physically active for at least 30 minutes each day
• Get 8 hours of sleep each night
• Avoid tobacco, smoking or being around smoke
• Avoid alcohol
• Avoid drugs
• Take a prenatal vitamin and minerals like folate and calcium before and during her pregnancy.
• Check with her doctor or nurse before she takes any medicines. This includes even simple things like headache or cold and flu medications
• Attend all of her scheduled doctor’s or nurse’s visits. She can bring a list of questions to each visit to remember what she wants to ask them.
• Talk to her family, friends or her partner about how she is feeling; using her support system (mom, aunties, sisters, grandmothers, elders, friends)
• Keep a positive attitude and healthy behavior
• Care for her spiritual and emotional health