Pregnancy is the time when a woman should look after her own health not just carefully but responsibly too. This does not mean that a future mother has to forget about taking care of herself for a period of nine months - unless of course she wants too!
Women shouldn’t abandon their regular beauty treatments because they're pregnant if they don't want to, as long as the treatments are safe to use whilst pregnant and you've spoken to the therapist carrying out such treatments. The main thing you'd need to know is what will be safe for your baby’s health and from what it is better to abstain. I've gathered some information thanks to the wonderful and experienced friends from YesDates.com.
Face Care
There are a few big plusses when your pregnant and one of them is how amazing the skin can be! Due to hormonal changes, the skin becomes less oily and more delicate, so if you had acne before, then there's a potential that pregnancy can do your skin wonders. However, if it is excessively dry, then you should pay special attention to it, but don't worry too much until after the baby is born. You may even find that you'll even throw away some cosmetic products that were perfect for you before the pregnancy, but not any more thanks to the changing needs of your skin. One item that should certainly live in your cosmetic bag during pregnancy is intensive moisturising creams based on natural plant extracts as they'll prevent peeling and ensure a healthy complexion - be sure to use them at least twice a day and make sure they're safe during pregnancy.
Body Care
Since a pregnant woman's figure undergoes significant changes during pregnancy, the skin experiences significant stresses and stretches. Stretch marks are one of the many consequences of pregnancy for thousands of females on a yearly basis, and although we can't entirely avoid them, increasing the elasticity of the skin can be helped, but you'll have to use different moisturisers. Most often stretchmarks appear on the belly, hips, chest, and breast. Trying to prevent stretch marks is much easier to deal with then the ones that have already appeared.
For the prevention of stretch marks on the zones of their probable appearance areas (belly, hips, chest and breast), it is necessary to apply special moisturisers, whether that be creams, oils or gels. It's important to use these as there are components in their structure that stimulate the production of elastin and collagen. You can also use a proven traditional medicine during pregnancy – which is moisturising your skin with olive oil - a lot of women do it, I gave it a try after I had Spud, but not during pregnancy. This method is especially popular among Russian females - you've probably noticed how beautiful and well-groomed they are, and if you've ever wanted to know why are Ukrainian women so perfect, then it's most probably down to their old wives tale secrets that both the countries share!
Dental Care
You need to consume more calcium containing food during pregnancy, as much as possible really to compensate the deficiency of calcium that is also considered a building material for bones of your future baby. Calcium rich foods aren't just dairy foods like many think, you can find calcium in cheese, kale, yogurts, milk, broccoli, sardines, water cress, cabbage, nuts, soya drinks and more! It's recommended that a pregnant woman has 1,200 to 1,400 milligrams of calcium a day, which may seem like way too much, but we need to remember that our bodies will take whatever it wants from us to grow our unborn babies.
Hair Care
Again, just like your skin, your hair can be amazing during pregnancy! Whilst many can't wait to say goodbye to the strange cravings, morning sickness and constant heartburn, some of us mourn for the amazing skin and hair our pregnancies gifted us. It's important to remember that everything that we use on our bodies or hair can be absorbed, so it's important to check everything is pregnancy friendly, and often hair dye isn't on the safe list. Often pregnant women are afraid to cut and to style their hair, but they have no need as cutting and styling hair isn't a problem. Dying your hair can be a problem, and many hair dresser's will not be willing to help you with a change of hair colour, our skin absorbs everything that gets into it, including paint components. So, if you decide to dye your hair at home, try and buy a natural pregnancy safe dye, apply it very carefully, and try to avoid contact with the scalp.
Nails Care
Whilst some women believe their nails stop growing during pregnancy, many will be shocked to hear that pregnancy hormones actually make the nails grow faster, which may not be a bad thing for some. For others though, nails that grow too quickly can be thin, weak, and easy-to-break, causing brittle and peeling nails. To ensure your nails are in the best condition they can be, eat a balanced diet, and see your midwife about pregnancy friendly vitamins that contain Biotin (a B-complex vitamin) - that has been shown to improve nail firmness, hardness and thickness. You could also try and get Biotin into your system by including eggs, banana's, milk, mushrooms, whole grains, peas and nuts into your diet. If you want to paint your nails during pregnancy, again just make sure the base coat, polish, and top coat are pregnancy safe! To see the latest fashionable nail trends and colours visit http://casanovastyle.com/.
Good Sleep
Whilst everyone need's a good night's sleep, it's more important for a pregnant woman to get a really good nights sleep as her iron levels will already be lower than usual. To ensure you get a good nights sleep, you shouldn’t overeat at night, bed linen should be made of cotton or linen as well as the night clothes you wear, and if you can, I highly recommend purchasing a pregnancy pillow, it was the best pregnancy aid I used, and still use ;).
Until next time,
Jada x
