Summer is fast approaching and with rising temperatures, being pregnant at this time of year can feel like a special kind of torture, but it doesn’t have to. There are lots of methods you can utilize to make your life more comfortable when you’re expecting during the summer, and moving to Sweden doesn’t have to be one of them. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the effects of heat on your pregnancy, and how you can stay cool and healthy.
Effects Of Heat On Your Pregnancy
In general, if you take the right precautions, it is unlikely that there is much to worry about if you’re pregnant in a very hot environment. However, there are some potential issues to be aware of. Overheating is a serious issue whether you’re pregnant or not, but it’s particularly easy to overheat if you are pregnant, due to the changes in your body and excess weight you are carrying. Sometimes it can even pass the mother by, so it’s important to look out for signs that you might be overheating such as dizziness, feeling weak and feeling particularly hot. Although it is rare, hyperthermia can negatively affect a growing fetus, so it is important to stay cool during the summer.
Making Sure You and Your Baby Are Healthy
Chances are you’ll never not be worrying about whether your growing baby is healthy while you’re pregnant, and this is totally normal. Checking up on websites such as pregmed.org can help to ease your nerves and alert you to what is normal when pregnant, and what is not. As always, though, if you’re are worried, it is best to check with your doctor to make sure.
Take a Siesta
The hottest times of the day are in the middle, around lunchtime, so it’s best to avoid being outside or doing lots of activity during this time. The summer months are the perfect time to adopt a more European lifestyle and start taking midday siestas. In other words, nap-time. The heat can naturally make us feel more sleepy, so pull the drapes across and switch on a fan or the air-con and settle down. If you find you can’t sleep, use this time to read, meditate, journal or visualize what your life will be like once the little one arrives. What’s important is that this a chilled out time away from the heat.
Hydrate Yourself
Of course, one of the most important steps you can take when pregnant in the heat is to drink plenty of water, more water that you feel you need in fact. This can be annoying, since when you’re pregnant you might already feel like you need to pee a lot, but a few more trips to the bathroom is much preferable to heat exhaustion.
Minimize Salt Intake
Minimizing salt intake can help to keep your hydration levels up and stop you from over-heating. This is because salt dehydrates you and makes you need to drink more (which can also then affect your amniotic fluid) so it’s generally a big no-no during pregnancy.
There are more ways to keep cool during pregnancy, such as carrying a spray-bottle of water around with you and investing in a decent fan, but these are the top three that help to keep women cool, wherever you are in the world. Hopefully this helps you become a little less apprehensive about being pregnant during the summer months.
