“Moms today are vulnerable in so many ways. With so many opportunities and freedoms, women can choose a lot of life paths including motherhood. But when genetic factors, relationship stressors, and other situations collide with motherhood, everyone can lose,” according to Erika Krull, MS, LMHP.
Although being able to bear a child gives an immense sense of fulfillment for most women since it signifies that their lives have come to a full circle, going through it tends to make some develop a mental illness. The typical ones that expectant mothers get diagnosed with are anxiety, depression, and mood disorders.
After all, it is not only your hormonal level that changes every month but also your body and priorities. That tends to be difficult to deal with, regardless of how much you want to have a baby.
Hence, here are six ideas to make things more bearable during your pregnancy.
1. Eat Right
While the momma does need to consume enough food for two people during pregnancy, you have to watch your diet still to ensure that you will not go beyond the weight limit. If you become overweight with a growing baby in your womb, it may be difficult for you to move around or give birth naturally.
2. Relax More
Considering you always work under a lot of pressure, you may need to take a leave of absence as that side of your life might stress you and your unborn kid out. Extreme fatigue can make one’s condition troublesome, or worse, cause a miscarriage. Thus, the mother has to obtain more relaxation times. “I’d use mindfulness to bring myself back to the present, away from all of the future-focused worries and back to the beautiful, curious creature in front of me,” says Ilyse Dobrow DiMarco, Ph.D.
3. Be Fit
There are exercises that trainers designed for mommies to ascertain that you are still physically active even when you are pregnant. Fitness offers many benefits too, such as making the delivery easier and maintaining the right weight.
Melanie S. Poudevigne, PhD, of Clayton State University, Georgia points out that the adverse consequences of inactivity “may be an especially important problem among pregnant women,” as up to 60 percent are inactive during pregnancy.
4. Take Supplements
Pregnant women go to doctors regularly not only to get their baby checked but also to get prenatal vitamins. These pills provide the nourishment that you may not get from what you eat, you see. They can also assist in the healthy development of the fetus.
5. Sleep A Lot
Ladies tend to feel more tired than ever when they are carrying a child because the body works so hard to take care of another human being. The best way to combat exhaustion is by sleeping. This activity assures that you can replenish your energy until the baby comes.
6. Take The Glucose Challenge Test
One of the healthcare examinations that pregnant women need to get subjected to is the Glucose Challenge Test (GCT). In a nutshell, it aims to help you find out whether you have gestational diabetes or not. The said condition is entirely different from Type 2 diabetes which men or women contract at any age since it only becomes apparent when someone goes through pregnancy.
Why Should Gestational Diabetes Get Detected Early?
Obstetricians perform the GCT on their patients who are six to eight months pregnant, in general. However, certain factors will require them to do it as promptly as the first prenatal checkup, including obesity and diabetic history in the family. The testing for gestational diabetes should take place within this period because the amount of insulin that the soon-to-be mother produces is usually higher than usual. For this reason, it can trigger more complex issues that might take effect during pregnancy.
What Should Expectant Mothers Not Do Before The Examination?
The Glucose Challenge Screening Test is unlike the typical blood sugar test that requires people to fast for several hours beforehand. The central ideology behind this valuation is to observe how quickly can the system process the new sugar that enters the body. Thus, you should not stop consuming the common foods and beverages that you take daily to make the test results reliable. Consequently, if you have weight problems, the doctor may also advise you to eat no less than 150 grams of carbohydrates for three straight days before the appointment.
How Does The GCT Occur?
On the day that you are supposed to return for the examination, you will need to drink a solution that consists of about 75 grams of glucose in a maximum of five minutes. Since it is sugar, the taste may appeal to you. If not, some testing centers offer this liquid in various flavors such as line, orange, and cola.
Once you have finished the solution, you need to wait for precisely an hour before the health practitioner can draw a blood sample out of you. During this gap, you can take a seat anywhere or busy yourself with a book or smartphone, but you cannot move around too much to allow the glucose to settle in properly.
For scientific purposes, the medical specialist will take a sample of the patient’s blood before the consumption of the liquid, and then twice after the one-hour window. It ascertains that they can generate an accurate report. If it turns out that you indeed have gestational diabetes, you may go through the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT).
What Can Pregnant Women Expect From The GCT?
The glucose solution that they will ask you to drink does not give off an adverse side effect. But because you need to consume a sweet beverage within five minutes, you might experience lightheadedness or nausea. On a positive note, this sensation will disappear after some time without any drug; thus, you should not worry much about it.
Final Thoughts
Prevention will always be more favorable than cure. Besides, if we speak of mental illness or even a physical condition like diabetes, there is usually no turning back from that. Hence, you should follow the tips given above to avoid causing trouble on yourself during pregnancy.