When it comes to managing your pregnancy, it’s easy to find a list of healthy habits you need to include in your daily routine, as well as a list of recommendations. But what habits should you be avoiding? Knowing what you can do is just as important as knowing what you can’t do and so this article is going to look at 5 habits every pregnant woman should avoid.

Not getting enough sleep

Now that you’re pregnant, it’s likely you’re going to start feeling sleepy during the day and more often, too. Although it may feel necessary to ignore these urges, it’s important that you listen to your body and take the occasional nap.

The urge to sleep is likely only going to affect you most during the first trimester of your pregnancy. Listening to your body and taking a power nap can help you feel refreshed and energised; don’t tire yourself out unnecessarily.

Read More: Simple Guide to Sleeping Well During Pregnancy

Getting stressed

Unfortunately, stress is a part of everyday life, but including unnecessary stress in your life could be harmful to both you and your baby. Remaining calm and relaxed means your body can do what it does best, so there’s no point feel anxious when nothing can be helped. It may sound easier than reality, but try and do some deep breathing, or take some meditation classes when you feel like it’s all getting to be too much.

Read More: 8 Ways to Take Care of Yourself During Pregnancy

Skipping prenatal visits

Prenatal visits are incredibly important to determine how healthy you and your baby are. Skipping them could mean that you’re not aware of serious issues or complications until it’s too late. Ensure that your prenatal visits are a top priority. It may be worth discussing this with your employer to ensure that you can get the right amount of time off when you need to.

Read More: What to Expect at Your First Prenatal Check Up

Eating red meat too often

Research suggests that there is a link between eating red meat and gestational diabetes. For those with a larger amount of red meat in their diet saw an increase of risk of up to 49% and this can lead to further complications such as an increased risk in childhood obesity.

Although it’s not necessary to steer clear of red meats completely, it’s worth restricting the amount you have in your diet and think about protein substitutes if you feel your diet is lacking. Non-meat sources of protein such as nuts can reduce the risk of gestational diabetes by up to 40%.

Read More: 12 Superfoods to Eat During Pregnancy

Watching TV at mealtimes

Watching TV whilst you eat my not seem like such an issue at the time, but the problem arises when this habit continues after the birth of the baby. A mother that watches TV whilst eating is more likely to continue this habit once their child is born. This in itself then creates a bad habit within the household and is thought to lead to an increase in childhood obesity later in life. More importantly, though, if mothers breastfeed whilst watching TV, they’re likely to miss subtle clues that indicate their baby is full which can lead to overfeeding.

Resources:
http://www.health-and-parenting.com/healthy-pregnancy-avoiding-harmful-habits/
https://www.allaboutwomenmd.com/knowledge-center/things-to-avoid-during-pregnancy.html
http://www.eatthis.com/6-bad-habits-pregnant-women-should-avoid/

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