No longer are you just looking after the health of one person – but you are looking after yourself for two.
When you are pregnant you are literally connected to the life you are carrying by the fallopian tube and this way the developing fetus will get to use those nutrients for their own development. By the same token though this means that any toxins you consume that may not be quite so good for you will also be consumed by your child. At the same time, as the child is still going through their development, that means that they are more vulnerable to potential problems than they would be later in life. Developmental problems are common, and they are normally fairly severe as one small problem can result in larger problems as a result.
On top of the fact that you will be nurturing the child, you will also physically need to protect them inside your stomach, and eventually to give birth to them. You also need to protect your own health to be able to do all these things and to look after yourself in the meantime. The fact that you are carrying extra weight, and that you are also sustaining another life means that you are placing extra strain on your body and that you need to avoid anything that will increase this strain further. You need to recall also that it is both your baby and yourself who are at risk if you over do it.
In order to prevent them from undergoing unnecessary trauma within the womb, you should avoid anything that might cause harm to yourself – anything that would strike your stomach or that would shake you around unnecessarily. This means being careful coming down the stairs so that you do not fall and quitting any contact sports. At the same time things like rollercoaster rides or simulators will place the child under risk that could be avoided.
Meanwhile you need to feed your child well, which means consuming the right nutrients yourself and by that same token avoiding any toxins. This means quitting smoking that can create a range of difficulties for your children as well as for your own health, avoiding drinking alcoholic beverages, and consulting your doctor before undergoing any new course of medication which could have un-expected and undesirable effects on a pregnancy. At the same time try to increase your consumption of things like vitamins, minerals and amino acids to help the fetus get everything it needs to grow healthily.
In order to lessen the strain of your pregnancy meanwhile you should aim to improve your circulatory system and strengthen your immune system. Strengthening your immune system can be achieved by eating correctly you vitamins and minerals and things like probiotics. You should also avoid gaining excess weight that will work your heart harder to pump blood around the body. This is exacerbated by the fact that you will already be gaining extra weight from being pregnant alone. Similarly things like high blood pressure or cholesterol will also make it more difficult for your body to circulate blood and nutrients and can mean that having an extra person on board is just too strenuous. You should avoid gaining unnecessary weight then, but at the same time you can also improve your child's chances further by doing your best to stay fit and healthy before you are even pregnant.
In order to give your child the best chance of being healthy and well, you need to be as well and as healthy as you can be to start with. This is also why people stand a better chance of a healthy pregnancy when they are younger – because they will be fitter and in better health at this time. To look after your child then, it is paramount to look after yourself, and this is true not only of the time that you actually are pregnant, but also of both before and after your pregnancy.
Source: Health Guidance