It’s A Cool, Cool Summer: Dehydration During Pregnancy
It’s getting hot out there, mama!
With the rising temperatures and muggy weather, it seems a no-brainer to be mindful of hydration, but hospitalization for dehydration, or, more commonly, for increased contractions and uterine irritability is a common occurence in pregnancy during the warmer months!
What’s up with that?
When it gets warmer, your body’s natural response is to sweat and cool down your core temperature. In pregnancy, while you have more fluid in your body, it’s hard at work keeping your increased blood flow regulated, keeping amniotic fluid levels steady, and growing a human!
The increased temperature of your body and extra weight you’re carrying around means there’s more stress on your body to stabilize, and your skin has to work harder to cool you down - which means more sweat, and lower reserves.
Sometimes, this becomes apparent only after you’ve already become dehydrated. Headaches, nausea, and frequent cramping or Braxton Hicks contractions can alert you that you’ve neglected your hydration levels, and can be no fun!
What can you do to help? Guzzle more water than you think you need.
The appropriate level of water is hard to reach in the summer months; most pregnant women need half their weight (pre-pregnancy) in ounces, upwards of 2 liters a day. That’s a lot of water!
It’s hard to count glasses, so if you’re concerned your intake isn’t near that threshold, grab a pitcher or entertainment jug with a spout (they’re everywhere this season) and fill it up to the 2 liter mark. In your refrigerator or on your counter, it will be much easier to see as the water level decreases how much more you need to ingest to reach your mark.
What you’ll find over time is that while temporarily your body will flush itself out - meaning more trips to the bathroom - in time you’ll feel more refreshed, have more energy, and be able to tackle life indoors and outdoors with ease.
Keep that water in to grow babe nice and strong, and give you the energy boost you need to enjoy your favorite summer activities - including sticking those pregnant toes into the sand!
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