If you're planning to welcome a new baby into your life this year, then you'll no doubt be starting to think about best to get prepared.
There's so much focus on encouraging new parents to turn their attention to nursery furniture and home prep, but the most important thing to pay attention to is babies very first home - your body.
Pregnancy is one of the most incredible and beautiful things that the human body is capable of but it can also be a tough time for many and lots of people find that it really takes its toll on their body. So how can you prepare your mind and body for pregnancy in a holistic and positive way?
Mindfulness & Meditation
It's easy to focus only on the body when we talk about preparing for pregnancy and birth, but the mind is just as important. It's your mind that's going to need to pull you through the times when you're struggling with lack of sleep and when your emotions are impacted by the hormones surging through your system, so dedicating some time to learning how to connect with and calm yourself can be highly therapeutic and so helpful.
Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment and focusing on positive intentions and radical acceptance, all of which can be powerful tools to have at your disposal during pregnancy and birth as well as during the newborn days. There are many mindfulness books, apps and even courses available which can help to reduce fear and anxiety around labor as well as being useful in pain management and reducing the risk of postnatal depression.
Joyful movement
As someone who believes that diet culture can sink its claws in to people at their most vulnerable times, I think it's important not to pay too much attention to the onslaught of fitness and nutrition programmes aimed at pregnant people which center around encouraging you to "shed the baby weight" fast. Remember that weight gain and body changes are a normal part of pregnancy, and that anybody promising miracle solutions is probably just trying to profit from your insecurities - if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
However, what you can do to ensure that you're looking after your body well is to focus your attention on joyful movement. Of course this won't be possible for everybody due to varying abilities, but if you can incorporate movement in to your week that makes you feel happy and raises those positive endorphins rather than exercise that feels like punishment - then you're on to a winner. This will of course look different for every person, maybe its yoga classes or perhaps just a good vigorous boogie around your kitchen - the important thing is that you enjoy it.
Supplements
As well as ensuring that your mind and body are prepared for pregnancy, it's important to ensure that your taking care of yourself from the inside out and one way to do this is by focusing on supplements. Choosing the right supplements can help to ensure that your body is getting everything it needs to for your pregnancy and birth as well as promoting positive recovery post-birth and helping to ensure that baby gets everything they need for skeletal and nervous system development.
Making a decision on the right supplements for you can be difficult with so many on the market, I recommend choosing high quality fertility supplements designed with couples in mind to ensure that all bases are covered - Zita West offer packs including five high quality supplements for each partner, as well as Vitamin D for both.
Kegel Exercises
Starting to incorporate regular kegel exercises into your daily routine pre-pregnancy is something you're going to thank yourself for later, as doing so can help to avoid a whole host of problems ranging from urinary incontinence to reducing back pain during the later stages of pregnancy.
Work On Bad Habits
If you're a smoker or drinker, then now is the perfect time to work on eliminating these habits in order to reduce their impact on your body and on baby in the future.
You'll likely find that you have a much higher chance of kicking the habit long term if you change your behaviours such as reducing time spent with friends who also smoke or drink, or changing the circumstances in which you spend time together. You may also want to consider enlisting some help and support to help you to make positive changes, such as looking into hypnotherapy to stop smoking or reduce alcohol consumption.
I hope these tips are helpful, and that your new year plans to expand your family bring you lots of happiness.
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