This episode is sponsored by beauty and lifestyle brand Voya. I have been loving their Mama Oil for helping to keep my skin as supple as possible as my belly grows. For this second episode in the series, we're assuming you are pregnant and we're taking a birds eye view at what to expect from your pregnancy from beginning to end. Here I am joined by obstetrician Dr Sarah Murphy. We'll look at confirming your pregnancy, when you go to the doctor or to the hospital, how many scans you can expect to have, the difference between public, private and semi private. The different options available to you from your traditional hospital birth to home births. This will give you a clear of idea of how your 9 months will go, including rough ideas of when to get yourself to some antenatal classes and what to expect from those. All in all, this episode will take in the pregnancy milestones to expect, and hopefully take some of the fear and unknown out of this new experience out of the equation for you. Within this episode, we also look at the first trimester in detail and how in the name of all that is good and holy that you'll cope with it. Now, some of you may be lucky - and therefore I am extremely jealous - in that you have zero morning sickness. For me, and a good many of women who become pregnant, it's par for the course and it's really really hard. We'll look at coping mechanisms, remedies, medication your consultant may prescribe, why morning sickness happens and what other symptoms to expect and how to manage them.

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For this episode I am joined by a good friend who happens to be the greatest nutritional expert I've ever known, and I just love her for her no frills approach - she says it like it is, Dr Orla Walsh. Orla is a dietician, she's also a mum herself and for this episode we are talking all things nutrition and pregnancy. So what can you eat, what can't you eat? How to cope with symptoms such as heartburn? Or constipation? What do you need to ensure you're getting enough of in your diet? What about supplementation? Water intake?

This episode is proudly sponsored by Pregnacare which is the supplement I have been taking since day one. I've been on Pregnacare Max which offers the ultimate formula in the range for mums-to-be who want the maximum nutritional support from Pregnacare. This advanced formula helps to safeguard daily intake of nutrients important during pregnancy, providing 400micrograms folic acid, incorporating the special, readily bioavailable form L-Methylfolate, together with other essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, Calcium & Omega 3. Vitabiotics pregnacare also have a new exciting gummy form with 17 nutrients which are handy as an alternative to tablets for those who may have difficulty in swallowing tablets or simply prefer a chewable format available in pharmacies nationwide in-store and online.

It's incredibly important to ensure you're getting the right vitamins and minerals throughout your pregnancy not just for the baby but also for you. Be sure to follow me on instagram @CarolineForan where I will be giving one lucky listener of this series the chance to win the ultimate Pregnacare hamper.

https://www.vitabiotics.com

Enjoy the episode!

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For the last episode in this 8 part pregnancy series, I am joined by Layla O’Mara, qualified postpartum doula and acupuncturist and founder of NuaNua.com (where she offers an incredible postpartum wellbeing course) to talk about coping with the fourth trimester. Yes there is a fourth. The baby has arrived but you are in recovery mode and everything is new to you. While the focus culturally tends to shift from you to baby, at this point, your wellbeing, mentally and physically has never been more important.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.