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Tips and adviceto keep both
mum and babyhappy and healthy
A HEALTHY STARTTO PREGNANCY
IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
Pregnant? So what now?
When you first find out that you are
pregnant, it can feel as if there is so
much to do and learn. It can seem as
though everyone is giving you advice.
This booklet has some simple tips to help
you as you make a start
A good starting point is to tell your
family doctor (GP) or a midwife, even if
you think you are only just pregnant.
They can help you make plans about the
rest of your pregnancy, and answer any
questions you might have.
Becoming pregnant is a big event and
not everyone is happy to find out that
they are pregnant. If you are not sure
you are happy about being pregnant,
you can talk about your options to
your GP/midwife or British Pregnancy
Advisory Service (BPAS).
Now that you are pregnant, here are
some things to think about:
� What to eat to keep you and
baby healthy
� What extra vitamins your body
might need as it changes and grows
� How to keep active
� Stopping smoking
� Avoiding alcohol
� Having some vaccinations
You can find out more about all of these
in the next few pages.
Get in contact:
Visit your GP: If you don’t have a GP
look on www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/ to
find your nearest doctor.
Speak to a midwife: Your GP can put
you in contact with a midwife or you
could contact them directly – you don’t
have to be registered with a GP to see
a midwife.
Stoke Mandeville community midwives (if you live in north or mid
Buckinghamshire) Tel: 01296 316120
(Mon-Fri 8:30am-1pm)
Wycombe community midwives (if
you live in South Buckinghamshire) Tel:
01494 425172 (Mon-Fri 8:30am-1pm)
British Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas) 08457 30 40 30 www.bpas.org
Early pregnancy
Your first appointment
Your first meeting with your midwife
will last around an hour. They will ask
you questions to get to know you
better and they will give you lots of
information about keeping healthy.
You will be given your pregnancy notes
that you keep during your pregnancy.
These notes are a folder, containing
important information about you and
your pregnancy, and where you can find
more information.
Make sure you tell your midwife if you’ve
had any problems with a previous
pregnancy, or have any illnesses like
diabetes or high blood pressure, and any
medication that you take. Don’t forget
that you can ask questions too, and tell
the midwife if you are worried about
anything, including domestic abuse or
depression. They will be able to help you
with extra support, if you want it .
Feeling unwell
At the beginning of your pregnancy, you
might feel more tired than usual. You
might also feel sick, or actually be sick.
Although this is usually called morning
sickness, it can happen at any time
of the day, and is completely normal.
It happens as your body begins to
change with the pregnancy and usually
settles down by about the 14th week of
pregnancy, although for some people
can go on until 20 weeks of pregnancy.
There’s lots you can do to cope with
morning sickness, including drinking
lots of fluids, eating small meals more
regularly, and avoiding very sweet or
strong tasting food. Some people find
that ginger, such as ginger biscuits or
non-alcoholic ginger ale can help. You
should contact your midwife or your GP
if you have been very sick and haven’t
been able to keep any food or drinks
down for 24 hours, or if you feel unwell
or feverish, or have bad stomach pains.
Try not to do too much – tiredness can
make morning sickness worse, so allow
yourself to rest.
Get in contact:
More information on your first midwife
appointment can be found on:
www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk/
birthchoices/index.htm
For more information visit
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy
Healthy Eating
Through pregnancy, your body will go
through lots of change, so it’s really
important to keep fit and well, in order
to help your baby to develop and
grow. Maintaining a healthy weight
in pregnancy and not putting on too
much weight is really important. You
don’t have to ‘eat for two’; in fact you
only to eat a little more in the last three
months of your pregnancy and then you
only need 200 calories extra each day
(equivalent to two slices of wholemeal
bread and margarine). If you have a
BMI of over 30 at the beginning of your
pregnancy, then ask your midwife for
advice on diet, as obesity in pregnancy
is a risk for both mother and baby (you
can work out your BMI using the link
below). Eating a healthy diet is the most
important way to make sure your baby
gets everything it needs.
� Eat your 5-a-day portions of fruit
and vegetables, to get essential
vitamins and minerals
� Eat some protein every day, such as
meat, eggs, fish, beans or pulses
� Eat two portions of dairy foods every
day, such as milk, yogurt or cheese.
Make sure that you wash your hands
before and after handling food, and
wash fresh fruit and vegetables before
eating to remove any soil or dirt.
Below are some foods to avoid or take
care with when you’re pregnant
because they might make you ill or
harm your baby:
� Unpasteurised milk and cheeses
made from it (like brie)
� Liver or Pâté
� Raw or partially cooked eggs,
including desserts like tiramisu and
home made ice-cream
� Raw or undercooked meat or
shellfish
� Not more than 200mg of caffeine a
day- 2-3 cups of instant coffee or 4
cups of tea
Get in contact:
For more information about what to eat
and avoid in pregnancy www.nhs.uk has
lots of up-to-date advice.
Recipe ideas can be found at
www.nhs.uk/start4life
BMI (body mass indicator) calculator www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/
Healthyweightcalculator.aspx
Supplements
Adding to your diet
You can get most of the vitamins you
need from ordinary foods, like fruit and
vegetables, but sometimes you need a
bit of extra help. This can be as vitamin
tablets (also called supplements), which
you can get from your local pharmacist
or supermarket. When you talk to your
midwife, ask if you qualify for free
vitamins.
There are also two vitamin supplements
that it’s recommended that you take:
� 400 micrograms of folic acid each day – you should take this from before you are pregnant until you are 12 weeks pregnant. Some
people will need more than this -
your GP or midwife can give you
advice. Folic acid is important for
pregnancy as it can help prevent
birth defects known as neural tube
defects, such as spina bifida.
� 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day throughout your pregnancy and if you breastfeed. Vitamin D
is needed to keep bones and teeth
healthy. In children, not having
enough vitamin D can cause their
bones to soften and can lead to
rickets (a disease that affects bone
development in children).
If you have a BMI of more than 30,
you will need to take vitamins in larger
amounts than this. Your GP or midwife
can help you with this.
Things to be aware of
If you want to get your folic acid or
vitamin D from a multivitamin tablet,
make sure that the tablet does not
contain vitamin A (or retinol). Do not
take vitamin A supplements, or any
supplements containing vitamin A
(retinol), as too much could harm
your baby.
Get in contact:
Healthy Start vitamins: If you are at
least 10 weeks pregnant and on benefits
or under 18 years old you might be able
to get free vitamins. There’s lots of ways
of finding out if you can get Healthy
Start vitamins. You can speak to your
midwife or call 0845 607 6823 or visit
www.healthystart.nhs.uk
Keeping active
Walking for 30 minutes a day will help
to keep you fit and healthy, and also
help to reduce problems that can occur
in pregnancy, like diabetes, miscarriage,
stillbirth and birth defects. It can also
help you sleep and to keep your blood
pressure low.
You can add extra activities into your
day – it all counts towards your 30
minutes of being active. Try:
� Walk to work or take a walk around
the shops at lunchtime
� Get off the bus one stop early
� Park the car further away than
you need
� Use the stairs, not the lift
� Talk and walk with a friend
� Walk the dog
Don’t be limited to walking – exercising
in water, like swimming or aquanatal
classes are great as your bump gets
bigger. There are also lots of exercise
classes that you can do when pregnant,
like yoga – make sure you let the
instructor know you’re pregnant.
Things to think about avoiding
� Don’t start new, strenuous exercise, if
you aren’t used to it . Build up slowly,
and let the instructor know that you
are pregnant
� Contact sports, where you might get
hit, or sports where you might fall,
such as horse riding or skiing should
be avoided
� Do not scuba dive or sky dive – the
changes in pressure are not good
for baby
Get in contact:
To find leisure centres and classes in
your area try:
Aylesbury Vale District Council 01296 585858
www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk
Chiltern District Council 01494 729000
www.chiltern.gov.uk
South Bucks District Council 01895 837200
www.southbucks.gov.uk
Wycombe District Council 01494 461000
www.wycombe.gov.uk
Find out more about how to keep active
in Buckinghamshire at
www.buckssport.org/en/reactivate
Stop smoking and avoid alcohol
Smoking
It might not be easy but stopping
smoking is one of the most important
things you can do for your baby.
Smoking during pregnancy can cause
very serious problems for the baby.
Babies are more likely to be born
underweight and have breathing
difficulties. There is a greater risk of
miscarriage or stillbirth. And the risks
aren’t just in pregnancy – the risk of cot
death is 3 times higher for a baby whose
mum smokes, with smoking around
children leading to higher numbers
of asthma and ear, nose and throat
infections. Remember it’s not just you
– anyone else who smokes at home
should also think about giving up too.
There is lots of help to stop smoking,
and you are more likely to be successful
with some help. Your midwife can help to
organise this for you.
Alcohol
Drinking alcohol when you’re pregnant
can affect the baby’s development and
lead to serious conditions like limited
growth or facial abnormalities. It’s best
not to drink at all when you’re pregnant,
but if you do drink, try to limit your
drinking to two units (a glass of wine or a
pint of low strength lager) once or twice
a week.
Drugs
Do not stop taking medication
prescribed by your doctor. Make an
appointment with your doctor to discuss
whether you should carry on taking it.
Avoid taking medicines that haven’t
been checked with your doctor or
your midwife. This includes ‘natural’ or
homeopathic remedies.
Illegal drugs can affect your baby’s
health, and you should talk to your GP or
midwife if you use these drugs regularly.
They will support you to find help in
stopping or managing any addiction.
Get in contact:
Buckinghamshire NHS Smokefree
Support Service: 0845 27 07 222
www.smokescape.org
Drug and alcohol support services: Aylesbury 01296 337717
High Wycombe 01494 474804
www.smartcjs.org.uk
Feeling sad and unhappy
Being pregnant and having a baby
is a very emotional time, even if your
pregnancy was planned. It can seem
as though all the attention is on your
baby, and it can be difficult to manage
all the demands on you.
During pregnancy, and for the first
year after giving birth, so many things
change. You may feel more tired, or
more anxious, or just be crying more
than usual. You are not alone – about
1 in 10 women will feel like this during
pregnancy or after having the baby. It
doesn’t mean you are a bad mother
or not coping. If you feel down or
depressed or have lost interest or
pleasure in doing things then speak to
your GP or midwife. There are lots of
things that can be done to help and
they do not always need to involve
taking medication, such as counselling
or support groups. Sometimes, the
stress isn’t about the baby, but might
be more usual things like housing or
money worries.
Here are five ideas you could try
Connect
Visit the children’s centre
to find an antenatal group
Be Active
Join an antenatal exercise
group - like swimming or
yoga
Keep learning
Take a baby first aid
course - you never know
when you might need it,
and you might meet some
other new mums too
Give
Take a turn in hosting
mum and tots group
Take notice
Keep a pregnancy journal
-you’ll be amazed at how
quickly baby grows as
your body changes
Vaccination and other precautions
Current advice includes having
vaccinations against flu and whooping
cough, and checking when you last had
an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)
vaccination. These will help protect you
and the baby against some illnesses that
are very serious during pregnancy.
You can get an infection that can
be passed on through cat faeces
or undercooked/raw meat, called
Toxoplasmosis. It can be very serious,
and may cause miscarriage or stillbirth.
Avoid emptying cat litter trays when
you’re pregnant – if you can’t get
somebody else to do it, wear disposable
rubber gloves and wash your hands
thoroughly afterwards. Also wear gloves
and wash your hands thoroughly after
gardening. Pregnant women should
avoid newborn lambs.
Talk to your GP or midwife about any
serious conditions that run in the family
(genetic diseases), like cystic fibrosis,
sickle cell disease or thalasseamia.
Many of these conditions can be
screened for, and advice from a genetic
counsellor could help you understand
any risks and choices.
Make contact with your local children’s
centre- they can provide advice about
childcare, parenting, benefits and have
links to healthcare services.
Get in contact:
For more information of genetic
conditions look at www.nhs.uk/
conditions/genetics
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TOP TIPS FOR A HEALTHY PREGNANCY
© 2014 | ROCK19 Designed by Rockfall Creative [email protected]
Developed in conjunction with both
NHS Chiltern and Aylesbury Vale
Clinical Commissioning Groups
Tips and adviceto keep both
mum and babyhappy and healthy
A HEALTHY STARTTO PREGNANCY
IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE