In addition to these physical issues, many folks have stress-related obstacles regarding their babies’ health, birth, and parenting that keep them tossing and turning. However, working towards better sleep has major benefits. Pregnant people who get more than 6 hours of sleep per night tend to have shorter labors, are more likely to give birth vaginally, have lower risks of preterm birth, and lower rates of postpartum depression than those people who regularly sleep for less than 6 hours. 

Sleep position

A good sleeping position can solve many discomforts. Healthcare providers recommend sleeping on your left or right side so that the baby’s weight applies less pressure to the inferior vena cava, which carries blood from the feet and legs to the heart.

Moving around during sleep is perfectly natural, but a shift in position that puts pressure on these vital organs or blood vessels could be enough to wake you up. As the pregnancy progresses, you will probably be moving around less due to your increased size and discover that sleeping on your side is more comfortable.

Feel free to play around with pillow placement—perhaps you’ll find it easier to fall asleep with a pillow between your legs or under your lower back, or you’ll love a giant U-shaped pregnancy pillow.

Getting to sleep

Many people find it helpful to avoid caffeine and even exercise in the afternoon and evening. It may take some experimenting to find what works best for you. 

This is also the time to set your thermostat slightly lower and make sure your blinds are drawn or your sleep mask is ready. A very dark sleep environment can be a great way to improve sleep!

Interruptions

Even with all these good habits, there are bound to be times when you just can’t sleep. This can be attributed to a complex combination of hormones and conditions ranging from leg cramps to heartburn. Symptoms like frequent nighttime urination and fatigue can persuade you to take one or more daily catnaps.

The second trimester should be a bit easier in terms of sleep, with a slower rise in progesterone and less pressure on the bladder. Whatever the reason, get out of bed after 20-30 minutes if you’re having trouble sleeping and listen to calm music or fold some laundry in dim light.

Most importantly, don’t worry! Interrupted sleep during pregnancy is common, with a good bedtime routine and a comfortable sleeping environment, you will be having sweet dreams in no time.

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

 Read more

• Insomnia when pregnant
• 5 tips for the perfect nap

Sources

• Chakradhar Venkata, MD and Saiprakash B. Venkateshiah, MD. “Sleep-Disordered Breathing During Pregnancy.” Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. vol. 22 no. 2 158-168. Web. March-April 2009.
• University of California- San Francisco. “Inadequate sleep in late pregnancy may influence labor and delivery.” EurekaAlert. EurekaAlert, 12/15/2004. Web.
• “Pregnancy & Sleep.” National Sleep Foundation. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web.
• “Sleeping By The Trimesters.” Sleep Foundation. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web.
• “Problems sleeping during pregnancy.” U.S National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus, 6/11/2014. Web.

Weight

It’s incredibly important to track your weight throughout pregnancy, as staying within the recommended gain range is crucial for your health, as well as baby’s development. Recommended weight gain changes each trimester, and depends on your prior-to-pregnancy Body Mass Index, a ratio that measures your weight to your height (=kg/m2). You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in pounds (lbs) by your height in inches (in) squared, multiplied by a conversion factor of 703; or: BMI = (weight (lbs) / [height (in)2] x 703)

Women who do not gain enough weight put their babies at risk of developmental impairments and low birth weight. Conversely, women who gain too much weight may raise the likelihood of baby being too heavy for a safe natural birth, or put themselves at risk of developing preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. A healthy, stable weight gain is just about the best thing you can do for Baby.

Blood pressure

Blood pressure measures the pressure that your flowing blood applies to the walls of blood vessels. High blood pressure during pregnancy can indicate a serious problem like preeclampsia, while low blood pressure can also signal that something is off, and lead to dizziness or fainting.

Nutrition

Although getting plenty of minerals and vitamins is important even for non-pregnant people, certain nutrients like iron, folate, and calcium play an even more important role for you and Baby during pregnancy. It’s important to track the food groups you eat throughout the day, as well as when you take your daily prenatal vitamin, so that you can be sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need:

• Prenatal vitamins contain a variety of vitamins and minerals that become vitally important during pregnancy, like folic acid (the synthetic form of folate) and iron.
• Grains contain plenty of iron, B vitamins, and fiber, important for Baby’s blood cell and brain development, as well as your regularity.
• Fruits and vegetables have the natural and delicious fuels your body needs to run most smoothly and help Baby do the same, like folate, Vitamin C, and iron.
• Meat contains protein, which Baby needs for cell development.
• Dairy products are heavy in calcium, which Baby needs to help develop their teeth and bones.

Exercise

Staying active is very important for both Baby‘s and your health. Staying active will not only help you manage and control your weight gains, but goes a long ways towards preparing your body for labor, and preventing certain icky symptoms like stretch marks and swelling.

Sleep

Between a frequent need to pee, a stuffy nose, difficulty breathing, an elevated heart rate, and the changing shape and size of the uterus, pregnant women often do not get as much sleep as they might like to, which is unfortunate because getting plenty of sleep helps Baby grow and develop properly, and can help soothe some pregnancy symptoms. Tracking your sleep can help you get a sense of how healthy your pregnancy is, and Ovia can provide suggestions based on your other data that may improve the quality of your sleep, and your pregnancy.

Physical symptoms

The physical symptoms of pregnancy can come in a variety of forms, from the expected bloating and morning sickness to the surprising vivid dreaming and heightened sense of smell. Tracking your symptoms can help you manage and treat them, and also allow you to know whether a symptom that you have noticed is normal or not.

Emotional symptoms

Hormone levels in the body during pregnancy are totally different than when not pregnant, and some funky emotional symptoms can result as these hormones course through your body. A bit of an emotional rollercoaster is to be expected, but it’s important to track these symptoms to determine when something may be amiss, as in the case of serious depression. Stress is also known to have potentially harmful effects on pregnancy, so it makes sense to monitor your emotional symptoms so you can try to ensure as healthy a pregnancy as possible.

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

Read more

• Wifi devices and pregnancy: everything you need to know
• Activity during pregnancy: why you should track it

Sources

• “Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Number 548.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1/13/2015. Web.
• “Nutrition During Pregnancy: FAQ001.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 4/15/2015. Web.
• “Preeclampsia and High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy: FAQ034.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 9/14/2015. Web.
• Committee on Obstetric Practice. “Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: Committee Opinion Number 650.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 12/2015. Web.

As long as your healthcare provider says it’s safe, getting plenty of exercise while pregnant is incredibly important for your health as well as Baby’s, and tracking your activity can help you make sure that you’re getting enough to foster a happy and healthy pregnancy.

Activity and you

It might seem odd because pregnant women can expect to gain between 15-40 lbs. throughout the course of the nine months, but staying active is even more important when pregnant. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all moms-to-be get about 30 minutes of activity each day.

Getting sufficient activity during pregnancy will not only help you keep your weight gain to within a recommended level and assist in the prevention and treatment of pregnancy symptoms like stretch marks, fatigue, and swollen ankles, but may also decrease the risk of developing gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, among other dangerous pregnancy complications.

Staying in good physical shape will also help prepare your body for the tremendous stress delivery will bring, and will help make your pregnancy pounds slip right off after you give birth.

Tracking your activity can help you establish a pattern between the amount of exercise you’re getting, and any symptoms you may notice, so you’ll be able to make adjustments as needed. Tracking will also help you monitor your general health, which can be one of the most accurate indicators of how well your pregnancy is progressing.

Activity and baby

Baby is totally dependent on you while they’s living in them amniotic bubble, so your health affects them more than you’d know!

When you exercise to temper your weight gain, you’re also helping to ensure that Baby’s weight remains within a healthy level, as both too high, and too low of a birth weight can be dangerous for them (and you).

Exercise is very beneficial for your overall health, and the healthier you are, the healthier Baby will be. Your body can operate at a higher level of performance when you stay active, and will therefore be able to take care of them better. Exercise also helps moms-to-be deal with stress and feelings of depression, both of which are great risk factors for babies.

Tracking your activity with Ovia can help you understand when you might need to make an adjustment in your exercise regimen, both for your sake and Baby‘s.

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

Read more

• Activity during pregnancy: everything you need to know
• The best pregnancy exercises

Sources

• “Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Number 548.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1/13/2015. Web.
• Committee on Obstetric Practice. “Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: Committee Opinion Number 267.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1/2/2015. Web.
• “Preeclampsia and High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy: FAQ034.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 9/14/2015. Web.
• “Gestational Diabetes: FAQ177.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 9/13/2015. Web.

 

Content created withThe National Birth Equity Collaborative

Blood pressure (BP) measures the force that your flowing blood applies to the walls of veins and arteries — in other words, BP measures how hard your heart is working to pump blood throughout your whole body.

Blood pressure is measured using a manual or automatic sphygmomanometer (also known as a blood pressure cuff) and given as a two-number result, “systolic” and “diastolic.” One or both of these numbers need to be above normal on two separate occasions to be considered diagnostically elevated. High blood pressure (hypertension) can be especially dangerous during pregnancy, so it’s important to track it regularly.

High blood pressure during pregnancy

High blood pressure can be problematic for everyone, but when you’re pregnant, it could put both of you at risk. There are many possible risks of high blood pressure during pregnancy.  

• High blood pressure and protein in the urine are the two main symptoms of the pregnancy condition known as preeclampsia. Preeclampsia can lead to other conditions causing internal bleeding, seizures, and strokes.
• High levels of consistent daily stress may lead to high blood pressure. Chronic stress, which is not managing well with normal coping mechanisms, is also associated with pre-term labor. While it is certainly not always possible to just “stress less,” tracking your blood pressure and your stress level may help you recognize when to seek advice from your healthcare provider. Mental health care is crucial for your overall wellbeing. 
• Sometimes, high blood pressure can cause conditions that increase the risk of your baby being born prematurely. A placental abruption, when the placenta separates early and causes bleeding, is another possible complication of conditions related to high blood pressure during pregnancy.

Low blood pressure during pregnancy

Most pregnant people will notice their blood pressure drop a bit during pregnancy. Low blood pressure is generally not as serious as high blood pressure from a medical standpoint, but there are definitely some risks of low blood pressure during pregnancy.

Low blood pressure can result in fainting or dizziness, and taking a tumble is definitely something expecting moms want to avoid. So it’s important to know if your blood pressure is at such a low level that fainting or dizziness can be expected.

Tracking your blood pressure and any symptoms will let you know if your readings might be a bit low, and will allow you to identify a much needed day of rest and hydration.

Heightened risk factors

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, high blood pressure is 40% more common in Black adults than white adults. This is due to a range of factors including racism and bias in the healthcare system and socioeconomic inequalities and inequities. According to the Healthcare Cost Utilization Project, Black people are also about 60% more likely to develop preeclampsia during pregnancy than white counterparts.

Knowing your body and how it changes during pregnancy, especially your blood pressure, empowers you to seek care accordingly. Many people benefit from having an automatic blood pressure cuff at home. This allows them to check their blood pressure if they have concerns, and to learn about how daily rhythms impact their numbers. Monitor your blood pressure and communicate to your healthcare provider any concerns you may have.

Taking control

Blood pressure levels can be an excellent indicator of the health of your pregnancy, and are a great way to monitor for certain complications like preeclampsia. Tracking your blood pressure along with other data can also help draw patterns to signal you need more support. You’ll know how your sleep, nutrition, activity or other behaviors may affect your blood pressure, and vice versa. As always, it’s important to let your healthcare provider know if your blood pressure is elevated.

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

Read more

• About smart tracking with Ovia
• Blood pressure during pregnancy: everything you need to know

Sources

• P Kristiansson, JX Wang. “Reproductive hormones and blood pressure during pregnancy.” Human Reproduction. Vol.16, No.1 oo. 13-17. Web. 2001.
• S Kulkarni, I O’Farrell, M Erasi, MS Kochar. “Stress and hypertension.” Wisconsin Medical Journal. 97(11):34-8. Web. Dec-98.
• “Preeclampsia and High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy: FAQ034.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 9/14/2015. Web.
• “High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy.” National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, n.d. Web.
• “Placental abruption.” March of Dimes. March of Dimes, 1/12/2015. Web.
• Norton Healthcare. “Pregnant African-American women far more likely to have pre-eclampsia than white women.” Norton Healthcare. Norton Healthcare. May 16, 2018. https://nortonhealthcare.com/news/pregnant-african-american-women-pre-eclampsia/. 
• Heart Disease and African Americans. Office of Minority Health. U.S. Department of health and human services. February 11, 2021. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=19#:~:text=Although%20African%20American%20adults%20are,to%20non%2DHispanic%20white%20women
• Kathryn R. Fingar, Ph.D., M.P.H., Iris Mabry-Hernandez, M.D., M.P.H., Quyen Ngo-Metzger, M.D., M.P.H., Tracy Wolff, M.D., M.P.H., Claudia A. Steiner, M.D., M.P.H., and Anne Elixhauser, Ph.D.

Your diet during pregnancy can dictate the course of both your health and Baby’s. Proper nutrition will promote good health, while poor nutrition could result in lots of different complications, depending on whether you’re getting too much or too little of something.

Nutrition enormously contributes to the body’s function. Since Baby taps directly into what you eat and drink to feed them and keep them growing big and strong, it’s important to be extra diligent about getting all of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of the nutrients you need during pregnancy.

Taking a daily prenatal vitamin is a good start, but may not contain all of the vitamins and minerals that you need to ensure a healthy pregnancy for both you and Baby— most of the nutritional burden will come from your diet. Moms-to-be who track their nutrition have a much better sense of whether they are eating healthily or not, making adjustments as needed to better promote baby’s development and even combat pregnancy symptoms.

How Ovia can help

With Ovia, you can track the different food groups you eat to ensure that your getting all the nutritional value that you and Baby need, as well as your water intake and your prenatal vitamin regimen. Tracking your nutritional intake with Ovia can help us let you know when you should make an adjustment in your diet to better promote Baby’s healthy growth and development, or if a change may relieve some of your symptoms.

Getting all of the vitamins and minerals you need to stay comfortable and healthy can be a tough job, but it’s very possible and very important to do so. Tracking what you eat can help you best understand how your nutrition affects your pregnancy and your baby to ensure that Baby is developing as they should be.

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

Read more

• Prenatal vitamins: what to look for
• Fruits and vegetables during pregnancy

Sources

• “Nutrition During Pregnancy: FAQ001.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 4/15/2015. Web.
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 95: anemia in pregnancy.” Obstet Gynecol. 112(1):201-7. Web. 7/8/2015.

What is activity tracking?

Activity tracking involves recording data about your activity level and exercise schedule, generally to help monitor your health and make correlations between your activity and other parts of your life (for pregnancy, this may mean symptoms and moods).

Why track activity?

Tracking your activity during pregnancy is a great way to help you stay healthy, as it makes you super-aware of your body, and the connections between different systems. Some of the greatest benefits of tracking your activity include:

• Healthy weight gain: Pregnant women need to gain weight during pregnancy, but it’s important to keep it within a healthy range – tracking your activity can help you make sure that you’re getting enough exercise to keep your weight at the happiest of mediums.
• Managing symptoms: Staying active can really help get your blood flowing, and prevent or manage tons of your pregnancy symptoms like leg cramps, bloating, and varicose veins, so tracking your activity against your symptoms can be highly effective.
• Keep Baby healthier: Staying fit is a wonderful way to help keep your body running at 100%, which Baby is really hoping you are because they depends on you so much during pregnancy. Tracking your activity to ensure that you’re getting enough can help you monitor your overall health, which in turn, will help Baby’s.

How do you track activity?

Beside manually writing down your activities, there are other, more efficient ways of keeping track of your activity. Ovia helps you track by allowing you to log your activity directly into your account on the app or website, or through the use of integrated self-tracking devices, like those made by Fitbit and Withings. These self-tracking devices provide the easiest way possible to record your activity data, as all you have to do is make sure that you don’t forget your device at home!

Tracking your activity is a marvelous way to stay on top of your pregnancy, and make sure you’re doing everything you can for Baby!

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

Read more

• Exercise during pregnancy: why it’s important
• When not to exercise during pregnancy

Sources

• “Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Number 548.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1/13/2015. Web.
• Committee on Obstetric Practice. “Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: Committee Opinion Number 267.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1/2/2015. Web.

How’s baby?

The “How’s Baby?” section gives developmental updates on Baby, from the time your little fertilized egg implants into your womb, to when they grows a mop of hair and packs on the baby fat by the pound. The “How’s Baby” section can give you an idea of how they is growing right before your eyes, even though you can’t see them!

How’s mom?

The “How’s mom?” section gives a detailed breakdown of what is happening inside your body on a weekly basis. Whether discussing a biological mechanism that’s currently going on inside of you (“pregnancy hormones are loosening your ligaments in preparation for delivery”), mentioning common symptoms of that week, or providing advice based on where you are in pregnancy, the “How’s mom?” section is a great resource that you can use to track the great amount of changes happening to, and in, your body!

Tracking your sleep during pregnancy can give you a great indication of how healthily your pregnancy is going, any effects sleep might have on your symptoms, and how the hours you doze might affect Baby.

Sleep and general health

Pregnant or not, sleep can be an excellent indicator of your general health. We’ve always heard the old “8 hours” recommendation, but everybody is different, so people need varying amounts of sleep. However, most people require between 6.5-8 hours a night to get fully rested and recovered.

Getting too much sleep could be a sign of depression, or simply inactivity, both of which should be dealt with if you are pregnant. Getting too few hours of sleep may be a sign of stress, poor nutritional habits, or another underlying condition, and can really wreak havoc within the body and result in elevated blood pressure, among other dangerous effects.

Tracking your sleep with Ovia to make sure it’s within a healthy range is a great way to monitor your general health while pregnant.

Sleep and your symptoms

You’ll probably face a bunch of pesky pregnancy symptoms over the course of these nine months. Some you’ll be able to treat with Tylenol, some with ice, and some with exercise, but one of the most effective ways to treat lots of pregnancy symptoms is with sleep, as your body is more able to prevent and treat your symptoms if you get plenty of Zs.

Tracking your sleep on a nightly basis is a great way to ensure that you stay well rested, and by tracking with Ovia, you’ll also be able to track the appearance of symptoms against the amount of sleep you’re getting, to figure out if there may be a connection, and proceed accordingly.

Sleep and Baby

As all parents find out in the days and weeks and months after your bundle of joy arrives, babies sure do love to sleep! Babies and pregnant moms don’t usually sleep at the same time – in fact, your daily movements can gently rock them to sleep – so Baby’s sleep isn’t dependent upon yours, but your sleep can definitely impact their health.

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

Read more

• Sleep during pregnancy: the science behind those ZZZs
• Insomnia when pregnant

Sources

• “Pregnancy & Sleep.” National Sleep Foundation. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web.
• “Sleeping By The Trimesters.” Sleep Foundation. National Sleep Foundation, n.d. Web.
• Karin Bilich. “Baby’s Alertness in the Womb.” Parents Magazine. American Baby, 11/2/2015. Web.

How do you track symptoms?

In the past, moms-to-be may have tracked their symptoms with a pen and paper – however, Ovia allows you to enter your symptoms into your account for any given day in conjunction with your other metrics in order to determine a possible explanation for your symptoms. For instance, heartburn is a pretty common pregnancy symptom, but one that can be managed through proper hydration, eating more small meals, and avoiding spicy or acidic foods.

Tracking the occurrence of certain symptoms against your other data can help you determine the best course of action.

Symptoms to never ignore

In addition to monitoring and managing your expected pregnancy symptoms, tracking can also help you pick up on the symptoms that may denote a bit of trouble. Heavy vaginal bleeding, as an example, is something that should always necessitate a call to your healthcare provider, so tracking your symptoms closely will let you know when it might be time to seek help. Severe headaches, serious swelling, vision changes, high blood pressure, decreased fetal movement, leaking fluid, or significant abdominal pain are also reasons to call.

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

Read more

• Serious pregnancy symptoms you should never ignore
• About smart tracking with Ovia

Sources

• Mayo Clinic Staff. “Symptoms of pregnancy – What happens right away.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 7/12/2013. Web.

Check out the chart below for a bit of guidance!

Trigger warning* Serving sizes are listed below. If that isn’t helpful to you, skip this one!

First trimester

Second trimester

Third trimester

Generally speaking, in the first trimester, you most likely don’t need to increase your intake, but adjusting according to what foods you can tolerate may be necessary. In the second trimester, it’s recommended that you add an extra snack a day. Try to make this something with protein, fat, and carbohydrates to help you feel satisfied and meet your body’s needs. In the third trimester, you may need a bigger snack or two snacks extra per day to meet your body’s needs. Listen to your hunger and fullness signals. That is your body communicating what it needs!

Reviewed by the Ovia Health Clinical Team

Read more

• Fruits and vegetables during pregnancy
• Protein: the blueprints for pregnancy

Sources

• “Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Number 548.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 1/13/2015. Web. Reaffirmed 2023.
• Mayo Clinic Staff. “Pregnancy diet: Focus on these essential nutrients.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, Updated January 31, 2025. Web.