After your pregnancy test gives a positive result, your body starts changing. It adapts to your baby’s needs as they grow, which can result in continual symptoms like fatigue. Check out a few ways to fight fatigue during pregnancy so you don’t always feel exhausted. You can always bring these options and any concerns to your OB-GYN to double-check that you’re doing the best thing for your pregnancy.
1. Limit Your Craving Indulgences
Women often joke about the strange things they craved while they were pregnant. They dip pickles in icing or smear peanut butter on boiled eggs. Although giving in to those cravings occasionally will settle your mind, the food could cause your fatigue.
Foods high in saturated and trans fats make people sleepy even during the daytime. If you want to know how to fight fatigue while pregnant, consider your cravings. Eating processed junk food less frequently could help you feel more energized because you’ll eat less fat in your diet.
2. Drink More Water
Water is essential to your health whether you’re pregnant or not, but it’s even more critical to a growing fetus. If you become dehydrated, your body will experience symptoms like fatigue because your blood can’t circulate nutrients as effectively. Without nutrients and water forming amniotic fluid, your body might not support a full-term pregnancy.
Drink more water to see if your fatigue decreases. Dehydration could be the culprit causing exhaustion, especially if you have an active lifestyle.
3. Increase Your Vitamin Intake
Vitamins are the essential nutrients supporting bodily functions and fetus development. They help transport oxygen and produce hemoglobin that keeps pregnancies on track through the final trimester. You can get these vitamins with prenatal supplements, but that’s not your only option if you can’t swallow large pills or hate the taste.
IV treatments also assist people with nutrient depletion. They deliver nutrients straight to your bloodstream instead of losing some through the digestive tract. You can also select IV treatments that suppress pregnancy-related nausea, making it a potential solution for numerous sources of pregnancy discomfort.
Targeting your vitamin intake can be one of the best ways to fight fatigue during pregnancy. Your body will get the fuel it needs to support your bodily functions while helping your baby grow. Talk with your doctor about any questions if you feel this might be a potential treatment for your pregnancy fatigue.
4. Try Walking More Often
People often think you can’t exercise while pregnant, but that isn’t true. A recent study found that pregnant participants who completed moderate-intensity exercise routines three or four times weekly weren’t at increased risk of giving birth prematurely.
If you can’t picture yourself lifting weights anytime soon, you can still exercise by walking most days of the week. The movement will keep your muscles strong and release any pent-up energy. It could make it easier to sleep at night because you used more energy than usual during the day.
5. Inquire About Sleep Disorders
Your mind can develop a sleep disorder as your body changes during pregnancy. Research shows four factors influence sleep disorder development in pregnant women who previously had no issues sleeping:
- Physiological
- Anatomical
- Psychological
- Hormonal alterations
Any or all of these factors could make you sleep less during naps and overnight. Asking your primary care doctor about a potential sleep order diagnosis could be the most helpful thing for your pregnancy experience. As you read about how to fight fatigue while pregnant, keep your mind open to disorders like pregnancy-induced insomnia so you can inquire about all potential options with your doctor.
6. Eat More Frequently
Dietary research found that when people eat three meals within twelve hours every day, they have more energy than when they eat fewer meals in the same time frame. Given that pregnant women use more energy to sustain pregnancies, eating more frequently than three meals per day could solve your fatigue challenges.
As you plan your meals and snacks, remember to keep them nutritionally balanced and low in processed foods. Try snacking on something every three to four hours to boost your energy and only sleep when it’s time to rest for the night.
7. Buy More Iron-Rich Foods
When your body has a stable supply of iron, it improves cellular energy production so your body can regulate itself less strenuously. Your brain doesn’t have to spend excess energy on cellular processes, which could be causing your exhaustion. People often associate high-iron diets with eating more meat, but you can also find it in other foods.
Oats are a helpful source of iron for iron-deficient individuals. They’re also more affordable than buying more ground beef, chicken or pork. Consider making them in overnight breakfast recipes or baking them into bread. The extra iron could boost your energy so you don’t feel fatigued as often.
8. Ask For Help
There’s so much to do while preparing for a baby. You have to get the nursery ready, stock up on baby clothes and make any necessary arrangements with work to take time off. The stress of handling everything in time for your delivery could influence how exhausted you feel.
Remember to ask for help when you feel overwhelmed. Family and friends should help shoulder some of your responsibilities to put your mind at ease. If they’re unavailable, consider hiring paid helpers for things like household or yard maintenance.
9. Lower Your Home’s Temperature
If you’re struggling to sleep through the night, the issue could be your home’s temperature. Researchers found that study participants slept best in rooms kept at 20 degrees Celcius or 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Learning how to fight fatigue while pregnant could start with adjusting your thermostat. Try lowering it by a few degrees during the night and see if you get more sleep. If it’s cold outside, you could also try leaving a window cracked open to save on your electricity bill.
10. Address New Symptoms
You’ll likely experience varying symptoms throughout each trimester. Whenever one arises, bring it up with your doctor. Challenges like frequent urination, heartburn, morning sickness or digestive pain could keep you awake or drain your energy. Solving a seemingly unrelated problem could treat your fatigue. A quick chat with your doctor will help you explore this possible treatment.
Fight Fatigue While You’re Pregnant
There are numerous ways to fight fatigue during pregnancy, depending on the cause. Exploring multiple treatments could help you feel more energized. Talk with your primary care doctor or OB-GYN about potential solutions. Options like increasing your vitamin intake, starting a gentle exercise routine or asking for help with daily tasks could make it easier to rest more deeply.
