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 frazer@frazerpayne.co.uk

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