Pregnancy Hygiene

Pregnancy can make you feel exhausted all the time, and allow chores to lay around for quite longer than necessary. The reason for this may be the inevitable fatigue that comes with the sacrifice your body is making to keep another human alive. In several ways, your body is working round the clock to keep up with nourishing and supporting two individuals!

Nevertheless, no matter how slack things seem to be (even though it’s completely out of your control), you should try as much as possible to keep yourself and your environment clean, especially to bring alive a healthy baby.

There are numerous (easy) ways to accomplish this, which include:

Watch what you eat: The sentence you are what you eat may be cliché but it still holds true. You need the extra caution particularly because you are responsible not only for yourself, but for another developing individual. Being pregnant may amount to your body having limited resources to fight infections, therefore, it is paramount that you do not give your body extra work than it is already doing. Therefore, whatever you crave during pregnancy, or whatever you eat, make sure it’s clean and free of not only germs but toxic chemicals. For example, wash your fruits and vegetables before eating, just because of the countless chemicals that may have been used to keep away pests on farms and barns. Prepare your food in as much clean place as possible. Pregnant women are usually susceptible to dreadful infections such as salmonellosis, listeriosis, brucellosis, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus infections, amongst a variety of others, which all negatively impact your health and that of your growing baby. Trust me, you do not want to test positive for these devastating infections, the aftermath is brutal. Unpasteurized dairy products, undercooked seafoods and meat products are especially dangerous to pregnant women, because they contain harmful bugs that last longer than the few minutes of pleasure of eating foods that contain them.

Clean environment: The purpose of this article is not to immediately make you become a germophobe, or to freak you out unnecessarily. Pregnant women are encouraged to protect themselves from dirty or unpleasant environments that will compromise their health. Are there stagnant water bodies around your dwellings? Stagnant water not only breeds agents of infection, but also attract them. A common example is mosquito. Mosquito transmits the agent that cause the famous, dreadful malaria infection. A bite from one mosquito can transfer hundreds of the parasite into humans. There are currently no approved vaccine for malaria infection, therefore, preventive measures must be put in place at all times. For example, sleeping on a bed covered with mosquito net can be helpful. The use of effective insect repellant can also go a long way in controlling mosquito bites.

Practice safe sex: Pregnancy period is not the time to engage with multiple sexual partners. This is to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections like syphilis or gonorrhea that will negatively impact your health and the health of your baby. Regular sex is encouraged, but watch who you spread your legs for.

Personal hygiene: You basically do not need special equipment to keep yourself clean down there. Clean water is enough to regularly wash your private part, and you may do this as often as necessary. Also, breast and nipple care, particularly during the third trimester is recommended. Soft, clean, and damp washcloth may be used as well.

Regular ante-natal check-up: Consistently attending ante-natal appointments cannot be over-emphasized. Not only do you get an update on how beautifully your baby is growing, it also helps to assure you that your vitals are faring as necessary. Have a list of all the questions you have for your doctor so you don’t forget. Tell your doctor about all the medications/herbs/supplements you are currently taking or about to take. You may also ask about food recommendations particularly if your hormones are not allowing you to keep food down, or if every food irritates you.