Pregnancy Week by Week : Week 7 (part 3) - Sexual Intimacy During Pregnancy

Many couples want to know if it’s all right to have sexual intercourse during pregnancy. Many men wonder if sex can harm a growing baby. Sexual relations are usually OK for a healthy pregnant woman and her partner.

Frequent sexual activity shouldn’t hurt a healthy pregnancy. Neither intercourse nor orgasm should be a problem if you have a low-risk pregnancy. The baby is well protected inside the amniotic sac.

If you have questions, bring them up at a prenatal visit. If your partner goes with you to your appointments, he may benefit from hearing your healthcare provider’s advice. If he doesn’t go with you, assure him there should be no problems if your healthcare provider gives you the goahead.

Sex doesn’t just mean sexual intercourse. There are other ways for couples to be sensual together, including giving each other a massage, bathing together and talking about sex. Whatever you do, be honest with your partner about how you feel—and keep a sense of humor!

Dad Tip

It’s important to know what your partner is talking about when she talks to you about her pregnancy. If she uses terms you don’t understand, ask her to explain them. Or take a quick look in our Glossary for a definition, It helps to become familiar with all the technical pregnancy terms you’ll be hearing in the months that lie ahead.

9. Your Prenatal Vitamin

Taking a prenatal vitamin can be very important for you and your baby. Be sure your prenatal vitamin contains iodine—it’s important for baby’s brain development. A recent study showed only about half of all prenatal vitamins have it.

Don’t drink coffee or tea for 1 hour after taking your prenatal vitamin. These drinks prevent iron absorption.

Omega-3 fatty acids and DHA are good for baby’s brain development. Ask your pharmacist or healthcare provider about whether your prenatal vitamin contains them.

10. Do You Need Extra Iron?

Nearly all diets that supply enough calories for you to gain weight during pregnancy have enough minerals to prevent mineral deficiency. However, few women have iron stores to meet pregnancy demands. The recommended dose is 27mg a day.

A Look at Prenatal Vitamins

Prenatal vitamins contain many needed substances for you and baby. That’s why you should take them every day until baby is born. A typical prenatal vitamin contains the following:

• calcium to build baby’s teeth and bones, and to help strengthen your own

• copper to help prevent anemia and to help in bone formation

• folic acid to reduce the risk of neural-tube defects and to help in blood-cell production

• iodine to help control metabolism

• iron to prevent anemia and to help baby’s blood development

• vitamin A for general health and body metabolism

• vitamin B₁ for general health and body metabolism

• vitamin B₂ for general health and body metabolism

• vitamin B₃ for general health and body metabolism

• vitamin B₆ for general health and body metabolism

• vitamin B₁₂ to promote blood formation

• vitamin C to aid in your body’s absorption of iron

• vitamin D to strengthen baby’s bones and teeth, and to help your body use phosphorus and calcium

• vitamin E for general health and body metabolism

• zinc to help balance fluids in your body, and to aid nerve and muscle function

During pregnancy, your iron needs increase. Iron intake is most important in the second half of pregnancy. Most women don’t need iron supplements during the first trimester. If you take iron then, it can worsen symptoms of nausea and vomiting. In addition, iron can irritate your stomach and may cause constipation.

11. Other Supplementation

Zinc may help you if you are thin or underweight. We believe zinc helps a thin woman increase her chances of giving birth to a bigger, healthier baby. Recent reports have tied the use of zinc to reducing the length and severity of a cold. You may even have used some of these cold remedies in the past. However, we recommend you talk to your healthcare provider before using any zinc product for a cold. We don’t have information on how using zinc to help fight a cold could affect a pregnant woman. Better to be safe than sorry.

The value of fluoride and fluoride supplementation in a pregnant woman is unclear. Some researchers believe fluoride supplementation during pregnancy results in improved teeth in the child, but not everyone agrees. Fluoride supplementation in a pregnant woman has not been proved harmful to her baby. Some prenatal vitamins contain fluoride.

12. Overactive Bladder and Incontinence Medications

Do you take medicine to treat an overactive bladder? If you do, you need to talk to your healthcare provider before pregnancy or as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. He or she can advise you about continued use of your medicine during pregnancy.

The problem of overactive bladder occurs when the brain tells nerves in the bladder there’s a need to urinate, even if the bladder isn’t full. Symptoms include going to the bathroom more than 12 times a day, getting up two or more times at night and a sudden, immediate need to go. You may also leak urine.

Some Information May Scare You

In an effort to give you as much information as possible about pregnancy. The information is not included to frighten you; it’s there to provide facts about particular medical situations that may occur during pregnancy.

If a woman experiences a serious problem, she and her partner will probably want to know as much about it as possible. If a woman has a friend or knows someone who has problems during pregnancy, reading about it might relieve her fears. We also hope our discussions can help you start a dialogue with your doctor, if you have questions.

Nearly all pregnancies are uneventful, and serious situations don’t arise. However, please know we have tried to cover as many aspects of pregnancy as we possibly can so you’ll have all the information at hand that you might need and want. Knowledge is power, so having various facts available can help you feel more in control of your own pregnancy. We hope reading information helps you relax and have a great pregnancy experience.

If you find serious discussions frighten you, don’t read them! Or if the information doesn’t apply to your pregnancy, just skip over it. But realize information is there if you want to know more about a particular situation.

Medicines to treat the problem work by relaxing muscles. Some commonly prescribed medications include Ditropan, Detrol LA, Sanctura and Enablex.

13. Exercise for Week 7

Stand with your right side next to the sofa or a sturdy chair. Holding onto the sofa or chair with your right hand, lift your right foot and place it on the arm of the piece of furniture. Bend forward until you feel a stretch in your leg. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat for your left leg. Stretches hamstrings, and strengthens thigh muscles.