So you’ve just confirmed your pregnancy. Congratulations! Now that you know you’re pregnant, you also need to know what you need to do to have a healthy pregnancy and prepare for birth. I’ve prepared this post just for you!
From getting situated with a doctor or midwife to prenatal vitamins to announcing your pregnancy, there’s quite a list of things to do once you find out you’re pregnant. This list that I’ve put together is basically all the things I’ve done every time I found out I was pregnant. If you follow this list, you’ll put yourself in a good position to have the healthiest pregnancy and birth possible. You’ll also ensure that you’re staying on top of things and positioning yourself as best as possible for a successful birth.
Get some good vitamins
Your body is making another human, and you want to make sure you’re providing the best nutrition possible for this process. You probably already know you need to start taking prenatal vitamins, but you also need to know that not all prenatals are created equal.
By far, the best prenatals I’ve found (and taken) on the market are from Garden of Life. I’ve tried others, even others that are all-natural, but I haven’t found any others that have affected my body the way these have. They are raw, made from whole foods, and easy on your tummy.
To make sure you’re getting some well-rounded nutrition, you’ll also want to add some top of the line probiotics, a prenatal omega, and greens for extra energy. I took all four of these supplements during my last pregnancies and they were a HUGE difference maker for both me and my babies. My husband would always make fun of me (lovingly, of course) because I’d always say, “Wow, I can already feel a difference!” like, 5 minutes after taking them (but it was true! I did!).
Find an OB or midwife
This will be one of the most important things you do for your pregnancy. I suggest you start by asking around for recommendations from women you know or live in your area who have had babies. While you can read any OB or midwife’s bio online, I’ve discovered that word of mouth is the best reference for these kinds of things! This is how I was able to get both of the OB’s I had with my children, and they were both phenomenal.
In making this decision, you’ll need to consider whether you want to deliver in a birthing center, have a home birth, or birth in a hospital. I highly suggest praying and researching all of these options and doing what you’re most comfortable with.
All four of my births were in the hospital. By the time I was pregnant for the third time, I wanted to have my baby in a birthing center. However, because I was a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) patient, I was required to birth in the hospital.
I recommend getting the names of a few different OBs/midwives just because you never know how it’s gonna work out with your insurance. I had such insurance issues with my third pregnancy that I wasn’t actually able to see a doctor until I was 19 weeks! By that time, they were able to tell me the gender of the baby at the first appointment!
Make your first appointment
Once you’ve found the OB you like, you’ll need to go ahead and set your first appointment right away. They may not want to see you until you’re at least 8 weeks along, but it never hurts to set that appointment as soon as possible!
Evaluate your insurance
Speaking of setting that appointment, you’ll need to make sure that the OB you choose is on your insurance. If not, you may consider choosing a different insurance plan. If you really like your insurance plan but your OB is out of network, you’ll need to choose another doctor, so this is where that list of your top OBs/midwives comes in handy!
Having a baby is definitely expensive, but it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. If you have good insurance, it will help offset what you’ll end up paying.
Keep in mind that whatever insurance you have will have to cover both your OB and the hospital he or she delivers at. You’ll need the insurance to cover both, because hospitals are EXPENSIVE. Also, from my personal experience, many birthing centers are not covered well by insurance and you’ll be coming out of pocket for most, if not all, of it.
If you’re in the US, you definitely want to check and see if you’re eligible for Medicaid for Pregnant Women. If you are, it will cover your entire prenatal care, your hospital visit, your postpartum checkup, your baby’s appointments for one year, and you can even get a free hospital grade breast pump!
Make sure you have an exercise routine
If you already exercise regularly, don’t stop! Just make sure you’re not doing anything jarring to your body like jumping or running. You want to protect the precious baby developing inside you!
If you don’t have an exercise routine, you need one 🙂 Pregnancy is too tough on your body for you to not be as strong and fit as you can. Now I don’t advise going out and doing anything dramatic, but you can definitely start by adding walking to your daily routine. When you get comfortable, you can add some light strength training (keep in mind these will get a little tougher to do when you’re further along and heavier). I also really like doing pilates.
Consider hiring a doula, especially if you want to birth naturally
With my second birth ending in an emergency c-section, I knew that I wanted to try for a natural birth once I discovered I was pregnant with my third child.
What I didn’t realize was that there were going to be so many obstacles to overcome in trying to make this happen. The OB I had for my first two babies, who I loved and respected, did not do VBACs. So I had to search for another doctor. The doc that I did end up finding, who I also grew to love and respect, was supportive of my desire for a VBAC, but strongly advised me to get an epidural.
I knew that if I wanted to have the successful natural VBAC I wanted, I was going to have to do more than just hope and pray. I needed flesh and bone support, which is why I ultimately chose to hire a doula. It ended up being the best decision I ever made, and I believe that I wouldn’t have been able to have the successful birth I had without her help.
Start educating yourself
Please, please do not make the mistake that many new moms, including myself, make. If you go through your pregnancy relying solely on your prenatal appointments to provide you the information you’ll need for labor and delivery, you may end up finding yourself agreeing to things you don’t need to.
I’ve heard it said that the laboring mom’s biggest enemy is fear, and I completely agree. One reason I believe this is so prevalent is that most women don’t understand that our bodies are made to birth babies. God knew what He was doing when He created our bodies. Modern medicine makes us think otherwise.
You don’t have to be governed by fear. You can walk into your labor and delivery confident in your ability to birth. Check out my favorite resources for pregnant moms for my book recommendations.
Limit your caffeine
If you depend on caffeine to make up for the sleep you should have been getting, you’ll need to be prepared to reduce this.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, you should have about one 12-oz cup of coffee per day. So if you’re used to a morning and afternoon cup of joe, you’ll have to say a sad farewell to one of these. However, your energy doesn’t have to be limited to a pick me up from coffee. The vitamin quad I mentioned earlier will provide you with sustained energy, and Premama has a safe prenatal energy drink that will give you a nice boost as well :).
Be prepared to sleep more
Your body is going to take the sleep it needs regardless of how much you try to fight it. The first and third trimesters are when your body will demand the most sleep. If you’re a working mama, I strongly advise you to make sure you’re getting plenty of rest at night. Otherwise, making it through the day is going to be a hot mess for you, and ain’t nobody got time for that!
Prepare yourself for pregnancy symptoms
In case nobody’s warned you, here it is: your body acts really different when you’re pregnant. Some things are weird, some are gross, and some are just different. Here’s a short list:
- Increased discharge
- Increased gas
- Unbelievable tiredness (especially in first and third trimesters)
- Dark line on your skin all the way up your belly
- Breast enlargement (for obvious reasons)
- Nausea (for some moms this just lasts the first trimester)
Ramp up your nutrition
If you’re a processed food junkie, I hate to break it to you, but you’ll want to replace a lot of those empty carbs with nutrient-dense whole foods. Lots of leafy greens, veggies, fruit, whole grains, meats, cheeses, WATER, yogurt, milk or almond milk, and limited sugar intake. For more ideas AND to make sure you don’t gain any unnecessary weight AND potentially slim down safely WHILE PREGNANT, check out the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
Set aside money for maternity clothes
When you first find out you’re pregnant, you obviously won’t need maternity clothes right away. In fact, if you’re anything like I was, you may not need maternity clothes for the first 4-5 months! But if your budget is tight, you’ll want to start setting aside a few dollars here and there to purchase some items.
Don’t eat for 2!
You always hear people say that you should eat more when you’re pregnant because “you’re eating for 2”. But you don’t want to do this. In fact, according to Baby Center, you actually don’t even need to eat any extra calories during your first trimester at all!
I made this mistake with my first child because of the advice of every older woman who discovered I was pregnant. Since I’m Hawaiian, eating more is always appealing, so I took their advice.
And put on extra pounds I didn’t need.
Don’t make my mistake. Instead of eating for two, think of eating for 1.1 (I read that in a baby magazine during my first pregnancy).
Decide when to announce your pregnancy
Some couples decide to wait until the first trimester is over to announce the pregnancy. We’ve always announced ours right away, but everyone decides differently!
Pray and declare life over your baby
Lastly, and most importantly of all, pray and declare life over your baby.
When I first found out I was pregnant with my first daughter and shared the good news with people around me, you wouldn’t believe all the things I heard. “You’re gonna be so moody” “breastfeeding hurts so bad” “you’re gonna be so sick” was my feedback from some people. I know these well-meaning people didn’t mean to frighten me or make me concerned, but I definitely had to make a concentrated effort not to allow these things to define my pregnancy.
I take very seriously Proverbs 18:21, which states that “the tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” I was NOT about to declare all of those negative things over myself, no matter what. I prayed and declared life over my baby, my womb, my body, my doctor, and everything else connected to this process.
For a complete set of Scriptural declarations and prayers, check out Childbirth in the Glory. It is the BEST and most thorough resource for this that I’ve ever come across. I had it playing on repeat for my entire third birth.
And this completes my list! For a list of my favorite pregnancy resources, check out my pregnancy resources page. To jump ahead into how to be an influential mom, check out my PDF workbook, 7 Principles for Influential Motherhood.
Related Posts:
5 Tips for an Easy Natural Birth
Epidural vs. Natural Birth: My Experience
9 Things You Need for a Smooth Postpartum Recovery
8 Easy Ways to Have a Fit Pregnancy