Hey friends! In case you missed it, I answered your questions regarding pregnancy and birth plans in my monthly newsletter! If you’re not subscribed, don’t miss out on exclusive information and content, and subscribe here. Besides everything I went over in the newsletter, I wanted to cover a few things in this blog post so I could give you more in-depth answers. Find all of the answers to those extra questions below!
How should I sleep during pregnancy? Any certain positions I should avoid?
As your belly grows, sleeping on your back may become more and more uncomfortable–and sleeping on your stomach is just not an option when the belly starts to pop! But sleeping on your back is going to be uncomfortable because in the second and third trimesters, lying on your back may compress a major blood vessel that takes blood to your uterus/heart/brain! So you’ll start feeling lightheaded and dizzy! The best position is to sleep on your side during your second and third trimesters. And get yourself a pregnancy pillow like this one. Keep one or both knees bent, it’s probably going to help to sleep with a pillow between your knees and another under your belly.
What makes a pregnancy “high risk”?
This is a great question and honestly quite difficult to answer! Because there are so many conditions that can make a pregnancy “high risk”. Now there are certain conditions that are more “high risk” than others, such as severe preeclampsia, antiphospholipid syndrome, heart disease, maternal cancers in pregnancy, fetal anomalies, uncontrolled diabetes, placenta accreta, multiple gestations–just to name a few–that would require a lot of frequent visits and likely a TEAM of doctors taking care of the patient. But then there are other conditions that are considered “high risk” but maybe don’t need an entire team of doctors but rather visits with an OBGYN and a Maternal-fetal-Medicine specialist (MFM)–things such as well-controlled diabetes, well-controlled hypertension, advanced maternal age, etc! If you don’t know if your pregnancy is high risk or you don’t understand some aspect of your care I encourage you to ask your doctor!
How do I prepare for breastfeeding?
My tips to help:
- During your pregnancy, find a lactation counselor (already establish care so that if you run into issues or have questions after delivery your lactation counselor already knows you!), and get your breast pump! Did you know that most insurance companies cover the cost of a breast pump–ask your doctor if you qualify!
- Plan for skin-to-skin contact with your baby immediately after delivery, this has been shown to improve bonding and breastfeeding.
- Free up time for breastfeeding–when you get closer to delivery and if you’re able to, have frozen meals ready to go so you don’t have to worry about dinner and can use the extra downtime to breastfeed, have friends and family help you around the house!
- Also, remember that breastfeeding is one of the most challenging things you can ever do. So remember to show yourself some grace. It’s something that is new to you but also new to your baby! And hey–if you need to supplement with formula or just simply formula feed…that’s okay too! It only matters that your baby is eating and growing appropriately!
