{"id":23316,"date":"2022-03-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/meal-plans\/?p=23316"},"modified":"2024-08-08T16:11:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T12:11:04","slug":"the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pregnancy is a beautiful, introspective and unique journey for every woman. There are plenty of experiences to look forward to, not just when the baby is born but throughout each of the trimesters too. You\u2019re eating for two, moving for two, and maybe even dreaming for two (or more, if you\u2019re expecting twins and multiples). Regardless of the number of children you\u2019re about to have or have had previously, each pregnancy will differ from the other and from woman to woman. While it\u2019s important to prepare for the new arrival in your life, it\u2019s also a good time to remember looking after the one person the baby will depend on after the birth: The mommy, aka YOU.<\/p>\n<p>On 21<sup>st<\/sup> March, Mother\u2019s Day in the UAE, we had an unfiltered discussion with Dr. Ava Ghasemi-Holdich, co-founder of Aurelia Psychology, Dubai about the importance of self-care during pregnancy and motherhood. Both Karolina, our Brand Marketing Manager and Dr. Ava broke it down to basics while talking about their journey from pregnancy to the birth and now as new and experienced mothers.<\/p>\n<p>Self-care doesn\u2019t mean pampering yourself with a salon visit or going on a shopping spree (both are acceptable, though, so don\u2019t let us stop you!). Self-care is just devoting time to looking after yourself as completely and holistically as possible, said Karolina. Self-care is about making time for things you like\u2014taking a walk in nature, meeting friends, engaging in a hobby or even something that\u2019s baby-related. It\u2019s about reconnecting with what truly sparks joy within you, described Dr. Ghasemi-Holdich.<\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, we asked both the mums to share words of wisdom for mums-to-be, new mums and women planning to take the plunge into motherhood. Here\u2019s what they had to say.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Karolina: Good nutrition is key<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ever since I started working at Kcal, I signed up to a meal plan. Given my busy lifestyle and the nature of my role, nutrition was one less thing for me to worry about. When I got pregnant, I made small modifications to my existing plan in order to nourish my growing baby. Post-birth too, I stuck to eating right. Not only did that help me have a healthy pregnancy, but it made my postpartum journey easier, since I knew I have nutritious food on hand at all times.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dr Ava: Being active helps<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Being a psychologist, I\u2019m constantly seated in my appointments, attending daily appointments. My job is rather sedentary, so every opportunity I got, I stood up and moved around as much as I could. If I could take a walk, do some yoga or anything that would get me active, I\u2019d do it. It helped boost my mood during both my pregnancies and also allowed me time to disconnect from everyday stresses of life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dr. Ava &amp; Karolina: Don\u2019t get caught up in mom-guilt<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As working mums, we often feel guilty for leaving our children to go to work or maybe even taking a little time to self-care, because it feels like we\u2019re missing out on spending time with our babies. Our \u201cmom-guilt\u201d kicks in, but it\u2019s important to set some time for yourself\u2014whether it\u2019s a few minutes each day or a single day each week, don\u2019t forget to look after yourself while prioritising your child. Whether you\u2019re taking a walk without a toddler in tow or are just sat in another room scrolling through your phone while your kid plays or naps, it\u2019s okay (read: necessary) to take time for yourself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dr. Ava &amp; Karolina: Take all the help you get<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re pregnant and once you\u2019ve had your baby, it\u2019s important to have a community you can be a part of and reach out to for help and advice. This could be a mom support group or simply leaning on your friends and family to step in once in a while to mind the baby while you take a shower or nap. Don\u2019t feel like you need to be a helicopter mum and do it all with no help\u2014let people in. If you need to hire a nanny so you can go back to work, don\u2019t be embarrassed about it. It\u2019s all about what works for you.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to sign up to a meal plan, let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n<p>Watch the live video on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CbXBU2_JHyF\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about Aurelia Psychology through their <a href=\"https:\/\/aureliapsychology.com\/\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pregnancy is a beautiful, introspective and unique journey for every woman. There are plenty of experiences to look forward to, not just when the baby is born but throughout each of the trimesters too. You\u2019re eating for two, moving for two, and maybe even dreaming for two (or more, if you\u2019re expecting twins and multiples). [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,70],"tags":[17,50,51,37],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood - Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood - Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pregnancy is a beautiful, introspective and unique journey for every woman. There are plenty of experiences to look forward to, not just when the baby is born but throughout each of the trimesters too. You\u2019re eating for two, moving for two, and maybe even dreaming for two (or more, if you\u2019re expecting twins and multiples). [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-25T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-08T12:11:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/importance-self-care-during-pregancy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"superadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"superadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/\",\"name\":\"The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood - Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/importance-self-care-during-pregancy.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-25T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-08T12:11:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c72c4e6a03f5378e4402d866f9054d35\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/importance-self-care-during-pregancy.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/importance-self-care-during-pregancy.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog\",\"description\":\"Eat Better Every Day\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c72c4e6a03f5378e4402d866f9054d35\",\"name\":\"superadmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf4aebfc28780212e267186fe954139a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf4aebfc28780212e267186fe954139a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"superadmin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/author\/superadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood - Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood - Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog","og_description":"Pregnancy is a beautiful, introspective and unique journey for every woman. There are plenty of experiences to look forward to, not just when the baby is born but throughout each of the trimesters too. You\u2019re eating for two, moving for two, and maybe even dreaming for two (or more, if you\u2019re expecting twins and multiples). [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/","og_site_name":"Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog","article_published_time":"2022-03-25T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-08-08T12:11:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/importance-self-care-during-pregancy.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"superadmin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"superadmin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/","url":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/","name":"The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood - Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/importance-self-care-during-pregancy.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-25T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-08T12:11:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c72c4e6a03f5378e4402d866f9054d35"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/importance-self-care-during-pregancy.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/importance-self-care-during-pregancy.jpg","width":1200,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-self-care-during-pregnancy-motherhood\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Importance of Self-Care during Pregnancy &amp; Motherhood"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/","name":"Kcal - Health &amp; Wellness Blog","description":"Eat Better Every Day","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c72c4e6a03f5378e4402d866f9054d35","name":"superadmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf4aebfc28780212e267186fe954139a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf4aebfc28780212e267186fe954139a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"superadmin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/author\/superadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23316"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24292,"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23316\/revisions\/24292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kcallife.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}