Why It’s So Important To Hydrate During Pregnancy

Why is it so important to hydrate during pregnancy?

How many times have you read an article or left the doctor’s office and been reminded to “hydrate during your pregnancy” or “keep drinking lots of water!”  Probably more times than you can count, right?

Here in Vancouver, my OBGYN saw me every two weeks once I reached the second trimester and EVERY week by the time I got down to the last three weeks of my pregnancy.  So you can imagine how many reminders I got to drink lots of water and keep hydrated!

Did I Stay Hydrated During My Pregnancy?

Unfortunately, I am here to tell you that I did NOT.  I want this experience I am about to share to stress the importance of hydration during pregnancy.

To start, drinking water is not easy for me.  Anyone else has this issue?

I do find the MORE I drink it, the more I tend to crave it, so I almost need to train myself to get to that craving point.

(25 weeks pregnant in the photo above)

Why drink water during pregnancy?

Many have found that it can alleviate symptoms of morning sickness, heartburn and indigestion.

But are you aware that not drinking enough water can bring on contractions and pre-term labour?

Let me tell you, it can!  And this is the scary situation I almost found myself in.

I was 29 weeks pregnant, second pregnancy and was getting some serious cramps.  This was my second baby so at this point, I KNOW what contractions feel like.  I kept brushing it off as just growing pains, “the uterus must just be stretching still and it’s causing cramps”…

It kept up pretty consistently and almost kept me up all night.  The next morning I woke up, stood up, and had to sit right back down because I was having these mini contractions that were super painful and starting to take my breath away.  As I moved to the couch my husband looked at me and asked if I was OK.

Every time I got one of these “cramps” I was breathing through it like a contraction because it was so painful.  What struck me as weird was that the cramp was happening very low down, not in my stomach or abdominal area but in my pelvic area, so it just felt off and I was confused.  Due to the constant pain, we decided we’d rather be safe than sorry.

(37 weeks pregnant in the photo above and SO happy I made it full term)

I called the hospital and they informed me that it be best to come in so they could run some tests.  I was terrified oh having the baby at only 29 weeks!

We made it to the hospital my all-time fear was if my baby was in danger in any way.  The problem driving to the hospital was it gave me too much time to over-analyze every possible outcome.

Once we arrived in the hospital they immediately took me to the assessment room and ran a bunch of tests, and the biggest test was for pre-term labour.  After nervously waiting an hour, the test came back negative.

Thankfully my baby was doing just fine and my body had not gone into pre-term labour BUT if I didn’t make some hydration changes to my diet immediately, I could throw my body into early labour.

I was highly encouraged to drink LOTS of water for the rest of my pregnancy and take it easy.  When I finally took this seriously, all these symptoms I had, faded!

It was a scary time, and yet I felt so guilty as this was something that was TOTALLY in my control.  It’s important to help spread awareness of this situation as it may be one that is not talked about frequently.

If your anything like me, maybe you find yourself taking something small like “stay hydrated during pregnancy” for granted yet it’s so important for our health and our unborn child’s safety.

(38 weeks pregnant in the photo above)

Some of the main signs of dehydration I should have been more aware of were:

• Dry Skin
• Dry Lips
• Darker Urine
• Tiredness 
• Dizziness 
• Pre-Term Contractions

You can read more here.

(10 days left till my due date in the photo above, but the baby came 8 days after this photo)

How much water should you drink?

Reports say 2 litres a day is best (6-8 glasses).  For none water lovers, it’s just important to get this amount of LIQUIDS in whatever you can.  That means water-based veggies, fruit, milk, soup, juice, tea etc… However, during the third trimester is where you want to make sure you’re upping your daily liquids.  Aiming for 10-12 oz glasses is a really good goal.

Why?

We may likely lose liquids due to water retention or being sick.  The body needs water to increase your blood volume so you don’t suffer from low blood pressure.   Your placenta and amniotic fluid need lots of water to keep it growing properly.  Also the more fluids the better our breast milk production will be, and the list just goes on…

(10 days to go, the baby came 8 days after this photo was taken, two days earlier than due date)

Don’t take for granted your water intake and hydrate during pregnancy

Spreading awareness of the importance of hydration during pregnancy is essential to a healthy baby and mama.  Dehydration can put our body and our baby in harm.

I know I am not the only one who has gone through this, and if you have any experiences of your own I urge you to share them so we can all help one another out.  Please refrain from judgement on this article.  I look back on this experience now thankful everything turned out just fine, but for some maybe it hasn’t.

If you enjoyed this article then you may be interested in:

• 8 Steps to Baby and Toddler Room Sharing
• My Epidural Experience
• The First Three Months With Two Kids
• 10 Tips – Preparing For Labor And Delivery

XO, Asia