Hi! This video is all about how you can boost the blood flow to your baby in the womb and maintain
a good oxygen supply. Your baby will constantly be receiving blood and oxygen from the placenta
but there are things that you can do to boost that supply and certain things that you should
avoid which could hinder your baby's supply. If you're new here welcome! My name is Anja and I'm
a hypnobirthing practitioner. My YouTube channel is here to support you on your motherhood journey
so don't forget to click the subscribe button and the bell icon so you don't miss my weekly videos :)
First, I'm going to share the eight things that you should be doing to boost blood
and oxygen flow to your baby in the womb then I'm going to cover what you should avoid doing.
For blood and oxygen to circulate around your body properly during pregnancy your body requires good
levels of hydration so it's really important that you're drinking plenty each day. During
pregnancy, your blood volume increases by up to 50 percent to help nourish you and your baby but, in
order for that extra blood to circulate well, your body needs to be well hydrated every single day.
You should aim to drink about one and a half litres of fluid every single day. Water is best
but it's also okay to drink herbal teas and fruit cordials.
Carrying a bottle of water with you if you go out, or keeping a glass of water by your side when
you're at home, can keep you on track with how much you're drinking throughout the day. So long as your
pee isn't a really dark yellow colour or strong smelling, that's a sign that you're well-hydrated
and this ensures that optimal blood and oxygen flow is circulating down to your baby in the womb.
Treating yourself to a pregnancy massage, or getting your partner to massage you,
is another great way of increasing blood and oxygen flow to your baby.
Massage boosts circulation around your entire body and massage strokes activate what's called
your 'parasympathetic nervous system' which is responsible for relaxation. When your body is
relaxed and tension free, blood can circulate more easily throughout your body and down to your baby.
As you probably understand already, blood carries oxygen around your body
so if your blood flow is boosted that boosts the amount of oxygen going down to your womb.
During pregnancy, your body needs extra iron and that iron produces extra blood that helps to grow
a placenta and grow a healthy baby. Many women can become iron deficient during pregnancy so it's
really important that you're taking a pregnancy multivitamin every day that contains iron
plus eat iron rich foods like spinach, kale, broccoli, lentils, nuts, seeds and red meat.
Getting outside for a walk each day is another fantastic way of boosting the blood and oxygen
supply to your baby. Exercise makes it easier for your body's circulatory system to work properly
and that will benefit both you and your baby.
You don't have to do a really fast, strenuous walk every day....Just a moderately-paced 30 to
40 minute walk is enough to make a positive difference to your baby's blood and oxygen supply.
If you want to go one step further, you can factor pregnancy workouts into your weekly routine.
Many pregnant women will do some form of light weight training
or some low-impact workouts. Some women will go swimming a few times a week. As pregnancy
progresses, it's really common for pregnant women to get swollen legs, ankles and feet
and that's because their legs have to carry around all of that extra pregnancy weight.
That's why the legs are mostly affected by blood circulation issues. However, if you factor
workouts into your weekly routine, that can greatly improve your blood circulation throughout your
entire body and down to your baby in the womb. It can also prevent other issues like swollen legs.
Pregnancy yoga can really enhance blood flow around your body and to your baby.
Yoga also encourages you to breathe deeply and slowly and that kind of breathing increases
oxygen supply to your baby's placenta. My recommendation is to search for pregnancy
yoga classes in your local area or look for some online. It's actually on my to-do list
to create some simple pregnancy yoga videos for my YouTube channel so watch this space!
There's plenty of meditations on my YouTube channel for you to enjoy :)
I've got ones for the first, second and third trimester. Meditation during pregnancy reduces
stress and induces feelings of relaxation calmness and happiness and, as you know already,
relaxation in your body is key to optimal blood and oxygen flow around your body and to your baby.
This might sound strange but eating dark chocolate during pregnancy can be
really beneficial! When you eat dark chocolate, your body produces more nitric oxide and nitric oxide
supports your entire circulatory system. It helps improve blood flow around your body and to your baby
and it helps to reduce the risk of developing pregnancy conditions like pre-eclampsia which is
high blood pressure. Thirty grams of dark chocolate is considered to be the ideal amount to eat every day.
Dark chocolate is considered to have at least 55% cacao in it but when I was pregnant I ate
dark chocolate with about 70% cacao. I just wanted to point out here - that if you've been
diagnosed with gestational diabetes (before you start eating any dark chocolate) please check
with your maternity care provider first to ensure that it's safe for you to do so. Now I'm going to
move on to the things that you should avoid doing during pregnancy if you want to ensure that your
baby's getting enough blood and oxygen. I'm sure you're not doing this but I have to say it anyway...
If you're smoking during pregnancy you should stop asap! Remember, your oxygen supply is also
your baby's oxygen supply and if you're breathing in harmful chemicals, they're
going to pass through to your baby's placenta. This can limit your baby's supply of oxygen
and the delivery of nutrients. Nicotine can also permanently damage your baby's brain and lungs.
The average weight gain for a woman during pregnancy is between 22 and 26 pounds (lbs) which
is about 10 to 12 and a half kilograms (kgs). If you gain too much weight during pregnancy, or you're already
overweight to start, with you're more likely to grow a thicker and heavier placenta in the womb.
Thicker and heavier placentas are associated with adverse effects to babies,
restricting their growth and their oxygenation levels.
That's why excessive weight gain during pregnancy is not good for your baby's well-being.
Gestational diabetes can increase health risks to your baby because you can develop high blood
pressure and that restricts blood and oxygen flow to your baby. It can also lead to you
going into labour prematurely. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to completely eliminate your
chances of getting gestational diabetes but you can drastically reduce your risk by maintaining
a healthy weight during pregnancy, staying active every day and ensuring that you're eating a diet
that's high in fruit and vegetables. When you lie down on your back during pregnancy your uterus and
your baby press on your vena cava and your vena cava is a large vein that sends deoxygenated blood
back to your heart. Your vena cava is vital to your body and your baby's circulatory system.
If the weight of your baby presses against that vein, it could have a negative effect
on your circulation which could reduce oxygen and blood flow to your baby. It's recommended
that, after 27 weeks of pregnancy, you should avoid lying completely flat on your back and
you should use pillows to position yourself in a semi-reclined position at a 45 degree angle.
Ideally though, you should lie down on your left-hand side. This is best for your
body and your baby's blood and oxygen flow as your blood circulates in a clockwise direction.
It's normal to get a bit stressed and anxious in pregnancy, believe me I've been there! There's
so much to think about and there's so much to prepare for! But you've got to understand
that stress causes tension build-up in your body and if your body is stressed and tense
that actually restricts the amount of blood and oxygen flowing down to your baby in the womb.
Great ways of reducing stress and anxiety during pregnancy
include enjoying a nice warm candle-lit bath in the evenings, perhaps diffusing some calming
essential oils into the room that you're in or even meditating and breathing deeply and slowly.
Finding ways to relax during pregnancy can ensure that you maintain optimal blood and
oxygen supply to your baby. That brings us to the end of the video but before you go
please make sure that you check out my hypnobirthing mini-course :) I've created
the mini-course to support you and your partner to prepare for your baby's birth in the calmest
and most positive way. It's a really affordable and easy-to-follow online course and you can check it
out in the video description below. Thanks so much for watching today and see you in my next video :)