How to have a healthy teen pregnancy

While you may not have planned to have a baby at such an early age, you probably want a healthy pregnancy.

In the three topics below, we will discuss how you can achieve a healthy teenage pregnancy. Diet, exercise and a healthy and safe lifestyle are important factors during pregnancy. Malnutrition or lack of certain nutrients and/or eating unsafe foods can cause serious problems for the developing baby and mother. Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy, can help reduce pregnancy symptoms, and prepare your body for an easier birth. An unhealthy lifestyle (drugs, active lifestyle, smoking) can adversely affect your growing child and cause irreparable harm.

Nutrition

Nutrition is essential for a healthy teenage pregnancy, so here are some helpful dietary tips for a healthy mother, pregnancy, and baby:

nutrition during pregnancy
essential vitamins, nutrients, and minerals for pregnancy
prenatal vitamins
foods to avoid
staying hydrated

It's important to remember that your growing baby only needs about 300 healthy calories per day (for an average pregnancy)! The saying that you "eat for two" is misleading because you don't have to double your food intake. If you want to avoid unnecessary weight gain, add just 300 calories to an already healthy and balanced daily calorie intake. You should also be aware that pregnancy is not the right time to "diet" or try to lose weight, as it can be dangerous for the baby. Talk to your doctor if you're worried about being underweight or overweight during pregnancy.

Food groups and healthy choices

There are several different aspects of your food choices that are important to think about. One of them is the product groups you choose. We all know that there are many foods to choose from, including proteins, fruits and vegetables, breads and cereals, dairy products, fats and sugars. This is especially important during pregnancy because your body and your growing baby have more needs than you're used to. Of course, fats and sugars should be limited, as with a normal wholesome diet.

There are certain foods that should be avoided, including but not limited to:

raw or undercooked meats
shellfish
certain fish (high in mercury or other pollutants)
unpasteurized cheese and milk
deli meats
raw eggs
caffeine in coffees, sodas, energy drinks, large portions of chocolate, etc.

There are various problems that each of these products can cause. It is often a type of food poisoning, infection, or toxicity that can cause miscarriage, fetal growth retardation, or other pregnancy problems.

Prenatal vitamins

While you should be able to get all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals you need from the healthy foods you eat, you may still need supplements. This is where prenatal vitamins come in handy! These vitamins are not intended to replace healthy food, but only complement it. There are many good options for prenatal vitamins, but if you have any questions, ask your doctor for advice or a prescription.

Here are the vitamins and minerals you should look for in vitamins (there may be others):

Calcium: 1300 mg for teenagers
Folic acid (vitamin B9): 400-800 mcg (0.4-0.8 mg), maximum 1000 mcg (1.0 mg) per day.
Iron: 27 mg
Protein: 71 g
Vitamin A (beta-carotene): 770 mcg, maximum 3000 mcg per day
Vitamin B1 (thiamine): 1.4 mg
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): 1.4 mg
Vitamin B3 (niacin): 18mg, maximum 35mg per day
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine): 1.9 mg, maximum 100 mg per day.
Vitamin B12: 2.6mcg
Vitamin C: 80 mg (under 18), 85 mg (over 18); 2000mg maximum per day
Vitamin D: 600 IU, maximum 4000 IU per day
Vitamin E: 15mg, maximum 1000mg per day
Zinc: 11 mg

If you are not eating 2-3 servings of oily fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, herring, anchovies) per week, you should also add omega-3 fatty acids to your diet. DHA and EPA are the two most important omega-3 fatty acids, and experts recommend getting 300mg of DHA and 200mg of EPA daily.

What about morning sickness and food cravings?

Morning sickness and nausea/vomiting can make healthy eating difficult. When it's hard to resist eating, experts suggest "eat what you can, when you can" and add healthier food and prenatal vitamins when you're feeling well enough. If your nausea and vomiting gets to the point where you cannot hold water/fluids for several days or food for several days, you should contact your doctor or seek help. Dehydration and malnutrition are dangerous for pregnancy!

Intense [and sometimes downright bizarre] cravings accompany many pregnancies and are hard to ignore! Whether it's something ordinary like a hamburger or ice cream, or something weird like peanut butter cucumbers, you may feel like you need that food. As long as you don't overindulge and/or eat dangerous things while pregnant, you'll be fine. Even if you're hungry all the time, remember that you don't have to eat as much as your body tells you to - 300 extra calories a day is all you need during an average pregnancy.

Exercise

You'll also want to talk to your doctor about exercise, which is also good for you and your baby.

Recommended exercises

Get at least 30 minutes of exercise 3-4 times a week. Walking, swimming, or prenatal yoga are three great low-impact exercises that can help you maintain and maintain a healthy pregnancy. Exercise during pregnancy can have important implications: it can help you prepare for labor and make it shorter and/or more bearable, improve sleep, and improve your mood.

If you can and your doctor approves, exercise is good for the well-being of your entire body. Core exercises, stretching, and hip flexor exercises can help prepare the most vulnerable parts of your body during pregnancy for the baby's weight. Start early to strengthen and stretch/relax the muscles in these areas.

Lifestyle and habits

It is also important to make changes to your lifestyle if it includes bad habits. To give you and your baby the best chance of a healthy pregnancy, it's best to avoid the following:

alcohol
illegal drugs
smoking of all kinds (including secondhand smoke & marijuana)
caffeine
prescription medications
roller coasters

Engaging in the above things while pregnant can cause permanent harm to your growing baby. Things like newborn addiction to street drugs or caffeine, fetal alcohol syndrome, malformations or oxygen deprivation syndromes due to smoking, heart problems, premature births, etc. may result from participating in these activities. If you think about it, you don't want to put your child's life and health at risk just for a temporary fix or a "fun" night out! If you currently have an addiction or problems with the above habits, please trust your doctor to get help to stop smoking.

As far as alcohol, smoking, illegal drug use, and prescription drug abuse, there is no set amount of use or consumption that will cause problems for your growing child...any amount can cause difficulty or deformity! As a rule, problems arise with excessive and prolonged use of any of these things; however, even a single drink or puff can be problematic.

There are many free rehab clinics with no penalties for pregnant women trying to stop using various addictive substances. Talk honestly with your doctor and/or local pregnancy center for free help to stop smoking. If you want to go and get help for a bad habit, these people don't want to punish you, but rather come to your side and help you help yourself and your child!

Roller coasters, riding motorcycles or horses, and shooting guns are all pastimes that you should also avoid during pregnancy. All of them involve a "kick", "fall" or a lot of blows that can interfere with the safety of the baby in the womb.