Keeping healthy in pregnancy

All parents have worries from time-to-time in pregnancy. Talk to your partner or someone you trust about how you feel.

If you or your partner are starting to feel low or anxious, reach out to your midwife, GP or health visitor for support. There's lots of help available if you tell people how you're feeling. The following feelings do not mean you'll be a bad parent or that you won't love your baby.

• Worried about caring for or bonding with your baby or how your life will change when they arrive.
• Numb about the pregnancy or unhappy.
• Scared of the changes happening to your body.

It's easy for resentments to build up and cause distance in a relationship. Visit Bump, Birth and Beyond for tips on good communication with your partner or family members and what to expect when you become a parent.

Families in Kent and Medway can access a free online course called 'Understanding your Relationships.' This course covers topics such as feelings, communication, conflict in relationships, anger, repair and more. Use the access code Invicta to register for your free account.

Smoking halves your chances of becoming pregnant. Breathing in someone else's smoke is also a risk. Men who smoke can have reduced quality sperm and erection difficulties.

Quitting smoking is the most important thing you and your partner can do to give your baby the best start in life. One You Kent has a specialist team dedicated to supporting pregnant women and their families to quit smoking. Their friendly advisors offer non-judgemental support and will contact you every week at a time convenient to you. Find tips and support for pregnant women and their families in their video playlist.

There's no known safe level of alcohol in pregnancy, so it's best to avoid it completely while trying to get pregnant, and during pregnancy. Alcohol can damage sperm production, so men should cut down on drinking too. Try swapping your usual drink for fruit juice with fizzy water.

Your body does amazing things during pregnancy - Start4Life has a useful week-by-week guide to pregnancy. Keeping active will help you stay fit and adjust to your changing body shape during this period and help you in labour.

Walking or swimming for 30 minutes a day is great exercise and you can get others to join in and help keep you motivated. Your pelvic floor muscles are put under more strain during pregnancy. You can help strengthen these by completing pelvic floor exercises.

Finding times throughout the day when you can relax and put your feet up, so your baby can have free movement is also important.

Eating a healthy diet will help you to maintain a healthy weight, and make sure your baby grows and develops well.

The key is variety and balance and the 'Eatwell plate' is a great guide. There is no need to eat for two as they used to say but you may find that you are more hungry than usual. Start the day with a healthy breakfast to help reduce the urge to snack.

Aim to eat five or more different types of fruit and vegetables every day, as well as some iron-rich protein such as lean meat, beans, or tofu. Vitamin C in fruit and vegetables will also help your body absorb iron from plant sources such as fortified cereals, dried fruit and green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale. Iron will help you avoid anaemia where low iron levels can make you feel very tired.

Add some high fibre starchy food such as bran, rice or pasta to each meal. Choose low fat dairy foods or other foods with calcium which is important for your baby's growth and development.

There are some foods you should avoid during pregnancy for safety reasons.

Taking a supplement with folic acid will make sure that you are getting everything that you and your baby needs. Taking folic acid every day can reduce the risk of your baby being born with spina bifida. While you are trying to get pregnant and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, you should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day.

Taking vitamin D every day can keep your bones and muscles healthy and give your baby enough vitamin D for the first few months of life. This is particularly important if you have dark skin, you're indoors most of the day, or if you usually wear clothes that cover up most of your skin.

If you are on certain benefits and are pregnant or have children under the age of four, you can claim Healthy Start vouchers. Find out if this applies to you at Healthy Start.

These weekly vouchers can be used to buy milk, fruit and vegetables, pulses, and infant formula milk. You can also get vitamin supplements.

If you catch flu or Covid-19 while pregnant, you are at a much higher risk of becoming seriously ill. This can result in an increased risk of premature birth or a baby who is seriously below birthweight. This is because pregnancy changes how the body responds to infections and puts them, and their babies, at higher risk of complications requiring hospitalization than non-pregnant women. The flu and COVID-19 vaccines are the best defence we have against serious infections. Vaccinated women have a lower risk of severe disease requiring hospital treatment and it reduces the risk to their unborn child of stillbirth and prematurity.

Having your flu and Covid jab are completely safe while you're pregnant and help to protect you and your baby. You will also be offered a whooping cough vaccine during pregnancy. The vaccine antibodies you make will also pass across the placenta and help protect your baby in the first few months of life, when babies are at their most vulnerable.

You can book your vaccination appointment online, by downloading the NHS app or by calling 119 if you can’t get online. You can also book your flu vaccine by finding a local pharmacy or through your GP practice and some maternity services.

Your chance of getting Covid-19 is not higher than anyone else but you're at higher risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19 if you're pregnant. If you get Covid-19 late in your pregnancy, your baby could also be at risk.

Pregnant women are being urged to have their free Covid-19 vaccination to protect them and their baby. Hundreds of thousands of pregnant women worldwide have been vaccinated, safely and effectively protecting themselves against Covid-19 and dramatically reducing their risk of serious illness or harm to their baby. If you have any questions about the vaccination you can speak to your doctor or any healthcare professional. They can answer any questions you may have.

It's really easy to grab a jab, you can book online or turn up to a walk-in clinic without an appointment. You can find all the latest information about Covid-19 and pregnancy including where to access immunisations from Bump, Birth and Beyond.

If left untreated, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can cause serious harm to your baby and long-term health issues for you, including infertility. It's a good idea to get tested for STIs before you start trying for a baby. The Kent Sexual Health service can provide STI testing and treatment, psychosexual therapy services as well as care for people living with HIV. Make sure your cervical screening test is up to date too.