When you think about premature babies, you sure think of the complications that may come with that kind of birth. It is very important to take good care of yourself when you are trying to conceive and during pregnancy, which helps you prevent premature birth of your baby.
A preterm birth is one that occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy. If you have already had a premature baby, you are at higher risk for another preterm birth. Another cause is getting pregnant too soon after the last delivery. Others include being pregnant with twins or more or having uterus and cervix problems. You can prevent preterm birth by some basic lifestyle changes as well.
How Can You Prevent Premature Birth?
Healthy Diet
Eating lot of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains keeps you healthy and helps you during conception. Once you conceive, nutrients like proteins, different vitamins, iron, folic acid and calcium, etc., are vital and should be taken in adequate amounts during your pregnancy. It is also important to stay hydrated, for which you need to drink enough amount of water every day.
Health Care
Go for a check-up as soon as you know you are pregnant. Your doctor or midwife is your best friend and advisor during this period. Never miss any follow-up appointments with your gynaecologist and take all sonographies as per schedule. This helps you diagnose any problems early in the stage and the doctor can help you with solutions. Also, talk to your gynaecologist about whatever vaccinations required and stay away from contracting infections.
Keep your Doctor Updated
If you are suffering from any chronic disorder like blood pressure, diabetes, depression, or thyroid, let your doctor know about it well in advance. The doctor will recommend medications, which you should follow to prevent any complications in your pregnancy that leads to preterm birth.
Apart from eating a healthy diet, avoid smoking including passive smoking, and alcohol because it may interfere with your pregnancy and cause complications.
Make sure you eat healthy, exercise, get enough rest, and stay away from stress during pregnancy. Being happy and positive, and ensuring good mental and physical health will help you have a healthy pregnancy, labour and birth.