In this blog, I would like to share about my prenatal experiences and also share the knowledge that I gained specifically during my second pregnancy.
I feel this is the right time to share this through this blog because those prenatal memories are still floating in my mind and it’s fresh, as my little one is just 6 months old now.
When my elder one was about 5 years old we decided to have second child. Since it is a long five years gap, when I conceived again, I was not having much clue about what all I have experienced during my first pregnancy. But I must say that as we are am an experienced parents, We were more matured in taking decisions (decisions such as choosing a hospital or being away from hometown, whether to have the delivery at hometown or in the living city etc) independently.
Prenatal experiences AND MY TIPS ON HOW TO OVERCOME:
Before telling about the difficulties, let me start with good experiences of the prenatal period. The best thing is that people around you pamper you a lot during this period. Shopping malls, office, or home wherever you go, you are going to get extra consideration and you are going to miss this after delivery. Another best thing that all women love – period free 9 months 😊
Nausea: Nausea is a feeling like you are about to throw up. Most women will have Nausea or vomiting, during the first trimester (initial 3 months) of the prenatal period. There is nothing much you can do for this ☺️. As time goes on it will improve. I have experienced that if protein food is consumed in the previous night, the morning sickness will reduce to an extent. A 2010 study has shown that women in first trimester who consumed diet high in protein experience less nausea and vomiting
Mood swings: Sometimes sever shifts in the mood can affect our day to day life. A feeling to cry or shout at people for no reason or for silly reasons. You will not have any control over these emotions. Its the side effect of hormonal changes happening in the body when the prenatal period begins. The best thing that you can do to overcome this is to make yourself aware of this and also let the people around you (husband, mom, and dad) know that these mood swings are due to the changes in the body. Try to convey this each time when you are at the peak of any emotion. Say suppose, you are in an argument with your partner (which you do always 😉) and if you are going out of control, let your partner know that you are behaving this way due to the hormonal changes. He also would calm down and console you as he knows that calming you down is more important than his feelings.
Hospital to choose: This was a big question mark when I was carrying the second time. For the first pregnancy, I knew nothing about pregnancy and I listened to experienced moms for choosing the hospital. But this time as an experienced mother, I was in search of a hospital where I would get better care as per my expectation. Also, I wanted to avoid cesarean which I had for the first pregnancy. I hated treating me as a patient when I go to a hospital because pregnancy is not a disease. As I wished finally I could figure out a hospital where I would get the care which I was expecting. I opted for midwifery care which is not that popular in India. Initially, I had little struggle to convince my hubby, but later succeeded in it. And I don’t regret for the choice I made.
As per me, during the prenatal period, any pregnant lady would expect her practitioner to be someone who cares her a lot, treat as their dear ones and give the ultimate care. I was lucky to find a hospital (Sanctum – Healthy Mother , Natural Birth center) as per my expectation .
Differentiate between myth and reality: You will start getting advises from all the experienced mothers around you including lots and lots of myths. We will be struggling to differentiate between myth and reality. This is where the hospital – Sanctum came to my rescue. Whatever suggestion I get from people I cheerfully accept it and get clear with the midwife. One of the myths I often heard is that papaya should not be consumed. But came to know from my midwife that having ripened papaya does not harm and it was one of the suggested fruits in my diet.
Exercise and Diet: This part surprised me the most during this prenatal period. During my first one, I assumed that I should not do anything other than slow walking and for diet what I heard was I should eat for two. I was least bothered about these two during my first pregnancy. This time I came to know from my hospital that, this is complete nonsense. Actually, pregnancy is the time where you should completely have an eye on your diet which in turn is good for you as well as your baby. During this period I made sure to have a balanced diet as suggested by dietician, consisting of fruits, vegetables and green leaves, protein-rich food, etc and also completely tried to avoid junk foods.
Coming to exercise, 30 – 40 minutes brisk walking everyday was a mandatory exercise. During second trimester started with little yoga asanas as told by the midwife and also did some aerobic exercises under the guidelines of a physiotherapist in the center.
To everybody’s surprise, I gained only 4kgs in the 7th month. (I was weighing around 70 initially and at the end, total weight gain was around 9 kgs). Thanks to Sanctum for the strict awareness and guidelines on what to follow. Please note that exercise and diet are specific to each individual and it will vary according to the individual’s health. Hence talk to the practitioner before doing anything. But some form of diet/exercise is always good for you and the baby.
Anxiety: Anxiety starts kicking in at end of pregnancy. Several questions come to the mind – When will the labor starts , will I be able to bear the labor pain, what happens if the labor starts at home etc etc. Up to an extend Lamaze classes helped me to prepare for labor and more than me, I think, my hubby was aware completely on what to expect during labor and what contribution/support he can give during the labor, which is very important. Before attending Lamaze classes, I was assuming that the labor pain will be very short as in movies as mine I did not experience any labour pain during my first delivery. But after attending classes I came to know what to expect and became aware of different medical and natural labor induction techniques if overdue. Most importantly it was good to know the side effects of various medical induction techniques. The intention of this is that Pregnancy is every woman’s right and we are the ones who should be the primary decision-makers when there is a need for an induction.
This journey was almost like attending training at Sanctum. I even thought of taking the Lamaze certification to become a childbirth educator. The reason is that after going to Sanctum I realised that even though I am a mother, I hardly knew anything about prenatal issues until I attended these classes. In fact, I felt most of the women would be like me on that matter and is a must to know for an expecting mother. I strongly recommend expecting mothers and their partners to attend Lamaze classes.
Please see my next blog post on my postnatal experiences and awareness and share your sincere comments in the Comments section. Feel free to contact me if you have any personal queries.