New Beginnings: Pregnancy Guides - Mission Health

Personal Care:
Brush your teeth twice a day and floss
once a day. Keep regular check-ups with
your dentist.
Wear a shoulder and lap seat belt.
Do not douche. Call your care provider
if you have vaginal itching, burning or
odor with your discharge.
Sex is considered safe in a normal
pregnancy. Talk with your care provider
to make sure it is safe for you. If you have
more than one sex partner use a condom
with intercourse. Using a condom
helps protect mother and baby from
some sexually transmitted diseases.
Lifestyle:
Avoid overheating your body with very
hot baths or saunas.
Do light, easy exercise 30 minutes, 3 times
each week. Walking or swimming are
the best.
Don’t sit or stand for long periods of
time. When taking a car trip, stop every
1-2 hours to stretch your legs.
Rest every day. If you work outside the
home, rest when you come home.
E XERCISE
Exercise can help in many
ways during pregnancy.
• It can help with
headache, backache,
constipation, leg cramps
and insomnia (trouble sleeping).
• It can help build strength in your
muscles and give you more energy for
pregnancy and birth.
• It can help with stress. Stress can give
you headaches, keep you from sleeping,
make you feel tired, and make you
feel nervous.
During pregnancy your muscles relax,
your balance changes, and you may feel
more tired. This can affect exercising.
If you were active before you got pregnant,
you can continue this exercise.
If you were not active, start off slowly
with gentle stretching and walking or
swimming.
Things to remember about exercising:
• Talk with your doctor or midwife
before you exercise.
• Drink plenty of water or juice before,
during and after you exercise.
• Do not exercise when it is very hot.
• Stop if you have pain, become dizzy,
have cramps or have trouble breathing.
K NOWING Y OUR R IGHTS
Look into your rights before your
baby is born. Find out your company’s
policies on paid or unpaid leave, and if
your company is covered by the Family
Medical Leave Act.
The Family Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) requires employers with more
than 50 workers to provide both
women and men with 12 weeks of
unpaid leave for the birth or adoption
of a child. FMLA also covers all public
agencies, including state, local and
federal employers, and local schools.
Another law, The Pregnancy
Discrimination Act (PDA), requires
employers with more that 15 workers to
treat pregnant workers like disabled ones.
Under this law, if a company provides
paid leave or job security for an employee
to have surgery, it must do the same for
pregnant women.
Your rights
To be eligible for FMLA:
• You work for a company required to
cover FMLA.
• You have worked for the employer for
a total of 12 months.
• You have worked at least 1,250 hours
over the past 12 months.
Your part
• You must give notice of your plan to
take family and medical leave at least
30 days before leave is to begin.
Upon return to work
• You must be returned to the original
job and with same pay.
• The use of FMLA leave cannot result
in the loss of earned employee benefits
or those entitled to before leave.
F IRST T RIMESTER
“TO -DO ” LIST:
Take classes
✓ We recommend that all first time
parents take pregnancy, childbirth and
parenting classes. In Buncombe County,
classes are available at:
• Mission Hospital (toll free 877-213-1221,
local 213-2222)
• MAHEC’s Birth with the Heart
(674-8477)
• Possibly in your care provider’s office
• With a private teacher in the
community
• See page 13 for other community
classes
At the end of this section is detailed
information about classes offered at
Mission (the cost and when to sign up).
Your care provider can help you decide
which may be best for you.
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