— Stay cool without air conditioning during a hot summer pregnancy
Staying cool during your pregnancy is important, not only so that you don’t lose your mind, but also for your health and the health of your baby. But you want to maintain a healthy body temperature naturally, and here are some of the simplest, lowest-cost, and natural methods for doing so.
One of the safest and easiest ways to stave off the heat in the middle of a summer pregnancy is to go for a swim! You don’t have to move around a lot to release that heat – just sit in the cool water and let the surrounding liquid do the work of mellowing out your body temperature to a more manageable level. Swimming in the local pool or the ocean are both great options, but if you don’t have a facility available to you, try cooling off in the bathtub or by taking several cool showers throughout the day.
What you wear will have a big impact on how cool you feel. A simple and low-cost way to stay cool during a warm pregnancy is to dress for the heat so that you won’t be suffering under layers of heavy fabrics. This can mean choosing lightweight textiles such as cotton and hemp. Be sure that the fabrics breathe naturally so that you’ll cool through them.
Synthetics tend to be less breathable, and are not recommended during a hot pregnancy. Cooler clothes will also help to prevent heat rashes, which are never comfortable while you’re making a baby.
If you’ve ever watched kids enjoy the coolness of a spray park, you know how refreshing it can be to be misted with cool water on a hot summer’s day. This is also true for pregnant women, and although you may not want to trek out to the nearest spray park to get cool (although this would certainly work!), you can stay cool by misting yourself with cool water anywhere you are. Just fill a spray bottle with water (add some natural aromatherapy if you wish) and spritz yourself to provide a kiss of moisture that will help you to cool down.
Try to stay away from caffeine and salty foods as well, which will prevent your body from staying cool naturally.
If you need a quick fix for the heat, try wrapping some ice in a washcloth and applying it to your forehead, back of your neck or ankles – places where your body typically gets rid of heat. This may also help to reduce swelling in your feet and ankles as well as in your hands. You may also want to chew on ice cubes to help soothe a hot body.
This one is a no-brainer, but sometimes so simple that we forget. Whether it’s a ceiling fan or a desk or floor fan, being in front of a moving stream of air will help you cool of quickly. Although the moving air won’t change the air’s temperature, it will speed the body’s cooling mechanism by taking the air heated by your body away from your skin, helping you feel cooler quickly. To add a real cooling boost to this technique, run a damp cloth over your skin while sitting in front of the fan for an extra cool feeling.
More Resources:
Pregnancy Calendar
Signs of Miscarriage at 15 Weeks Pregnant
If you notice white discharge at the onset of your pregnancy, don’t get all worked…
“Naah… not again… it was a false alarm.†You must have heard many pregnant women…
Trying to conceive? You may have to fight and eliminate these foes from your diet…
Ear infection is a very common childhood ailment that most of us have suffered at…
Morning sickness can be the worst of all miseries of pregnancy. Few women face it…
You will know your baby is colicky when she cries uncontrollable all day and night,…