Your health in pregnancy
Information about your health during pregnancy
It’s really important to keep yourself fit and healthy during your pregnancy as you are now responsible for your baby growing inside of you.
Antenatal classes
Your midwife or GP will be able to tell you about antenatal classes that are running in your area that you can attend about 8-10 weeks before your baby is born. These classes help you prepare for the birth and look after your new baby. Some of the classes you can go to on your own and others welcome partners and friends. There is information about what to expect at an antenatal class on the NHS website:
Feeling depressed while you are pregnant
It’s normal to have some worries while you are pregnant and to sometimes feel a bit down, as your body is going through lots of changes and you may need to sort out housing and benefits for you and your baby. But if you feel down for most of the time then this is a cause for concern. Talk to your midwife, doctor or health visitor about your feelings. If you have had mental health problems in the past, then it is important to tell your midwife at the start of your pregnancy about this as there is support available.
Being healthy while you are pregnant
Healthy eating is important for everyone and even more so when you are pregnant to make sure your baby grows and develops well. Your midwife will be able to provide you with information about healthy eating with meal and snack ideas.
Help is available to make sure you and your baby are getting healthy food and vitamins; these are called Healthy Start vouchers. You can get free vouchers every week which you use to buy milk, plain fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables and infant formula milk, you can also get free vitamins. You can use them in loads of shops in your local area, such as supermarkets and chemists.
You could qualify if you're on certain benefits or you're pregnant and under 18. You can get an application form from their website www.healthystart.nhs.uk or you can call 0845 607 6823 and they will send you a form. Your midwife or health visitor will also be able to give you information.
Keeping fit
It’s also really important to make sure you keep fit and active to help you not only get your figure back after you’ve had your baby but to help you get through your labour too!
The government recommends that everyone does 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week, but there are really easy ways to fit this in – try walking rather than taking the bus or take the stairs instead of the lift when you’re out and about.
There are also lots of classes around Oxfordshire from yoga to aquanatal classes! Ask your midwife about what’s in your local area or check out the listings on the Netmums website www.netmums.com or find out what’s going on in your local Children’s Centre.
Smoking, alcohol and drugs
Why should I stop smoking when I’m pregnant?
Everyone knows that smoking is not great for their health, but when you are pregnant your unborn baby is completely dependant on you.
When your baby is in your womb they are relying on you for everything to grow strong and healthy, but smoking exposes them to the poisons in the tobacco smoke. Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to lots of health problems such as premature birth, stillbirth and cot death. Being in the same room as people who are smoking can be really damaging too as you are breathing in second-hand smoke and you will still be breathing in these toxic chemicals.
Who can help me give up?
Be honest! Tell your midwife or your doctor if you do smoke as they will let you know where you can get help. It can be really hard to give up, especially if you’ve tried before and all your friends smoke too, but in Oxfordshire there is specialist support to help pregnant women and young people to give up smoking.
Oxfordshire Smoking Advice Service Helpline - 0845 40 80 300
The NHS Pregnancy Smoking helpline can also help - 0800 169 9 169
Alcohol
Drinking during your pregnancy passes the alcohol from your blood and enters the baby’s bloodstream, this means that from every drink you have, some alcohol will reach your baby. Mums who drink heavily during their pregnancy can cause serious problems for their baby, such as heart defects, mental and
developmental problems as well as facial abnormalities and poor growth.
Can I drink when I’m pregnant?
The safest amount of alcohol to drink while you are pregnant is none. If you do choose to drink while you are pregnant remember your unborn baby is completely dependant on you and will be exposed to any alcohol which is in your body
If you feel that you have issues with your drinking, talk to your doctor or your midwife and they will be able to help you.
Drugs (including medecines)
‘Drugs’ doesn’t just mean illegal drugs, as some medicines can also harm your baby, this also includes painkillers that you can buy over the counter so it’s best to check with your doctor or pharmacist about all medicines before you take them, to make sure that they are safe for you and your baby.
Tell people you are pregnant, for example if you go to the hairdresser to have you hair dyed let them know so that they can check the dyes are safe for you and your baby.
Recreational drugs such as ecstasy, cannabis and cocaine can harm your baby as they can greatly increase the chances of miscarriage and cause damage, abnormalities to your baby and can slow the growth of your baby. There is support available to help you give up drugs, talk to your midwife or your doctor, there are also support organisations that can help.
There are a range of services and support groups throughout the county that you can access. Even if you have been affected by other people’s drug and alcohol abuse there are services to support you. Information is available from Young Addaction Oxfordshire.
Sexual health
I’m pregnant surely I don’t need to worry about contraception!
Using contraception is not necessary now that you’re pregnant but it’s important to still think about your sexual health especially if you’re in a new or casual relationship it’s a really good idea to keep using condoms. As you are still at risk of STIs such as herpes or Chlamydia and you will risk infecting your baby.
After you have had your baby you can get pregnant very soon after the birth.
Make sure you get your contraception sorted out and ready, as you can get pregnant within three weeks of giving birth.
You can get advice about contraception from your doctor or the local family planning clinic, there are nine clinics across the county - the main clinic, the Alec Turnbull Centre (ATC) is located in Oxford there are eight satellite clinics located in Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Didcot, Kidlington, Thame, Wantage and Witney.
You can find out about when and where the clinics are running from NHS Services or by calling 01865 456666.
If you’re under 18 a Family Planning Outreach Nurse can visit you at home or wherever is easiest for you – talk to your midwife about this or call 01865 456666.
- More about sexual health
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