Your Summer Pregnancy Survival Guide

It’s summertime! And in many parts of the United States, the hot weather is here. Some people love a summer pregnancy: they feel their best and love the summer sun and pool days with their best friends. But not all pregnant women think that way! You’re carrying a little heater around in your belly while pregnant, so the hot summer months can be overwhelming and make you so grateful for air conditioning. Whichever part of the spectrum you fall on, I’ve put together a summer pregnancy survival guide for you. I want you to be able to take care of yourself and your baby in the hot, summer heat and enjoy this part of your pregnancy!

A neighborhood pool can be a wonderful place when you’re pregnant during the hot summer months. Not only does the cool water feel amazing if you’re someone who feels hot all the time, but swimming is also an ideal way to exercise during pregnancy. It’s a low-impact, full-body workout that can also help the baby get into an ideal position for birth if you’re in your third trimester! Most pregnant women love the buoyancy they feel in the water and enjoy how cool it feels, even if they aren’t swimming laps. If the pool you go to is in the sunshine, remember to wear sunscreen with a high enough SPF that you won’t get a sunburn and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated while you’re at the pool. While you’re enjoying out time outside, be in tune with how your body is feeling and plan frequent breaks in your day by either sitting in the shade or going inside to cool off in the air conditioning. This will help keep you from overheating. You don’t want your body temperature to get too high and heat exhaustion can happen even if you’re not doing anything incredibly active.

If you are prone to sunburn, sit outside in the early morning or late afternoon. And remember, your skin color, use of sunscreen, geographical location, altitude, and time of day all impact your body’s ability to convert sunlight into Vitamin D, so plan accordingly!

My most important summertime tip is to stay hydrated! I can not overstate the importance of hydration during pregnancy, and this is especially true when you are outside in the sun during the summer. Make sure you carry a water bottle with you all the time! While the typical guideline is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water a day, you’re going to need to drink even more than that when you’re outside or sweating. If you’re not a huge fan of water, use fruit or mint to flavor the water so you can drink more of it. In general, you’ll want to drink at least 8 ounces every 30 minutes that you’re outside (or 2 glasses of water per hour). Adding electrolytes to some of your water can improve the availability of the fluids you drink, which will also help prevent dehydration. Although sports drinks are known for replenishing fluid levels, they tend to have a lot of sugar and more artificial ingredients, so they’re not my recommended source of hydration during pregnancy.

You can also get additional fluids through the foods that you eat—watermelon, cucumbers, pineapple, and celery have a particularly high water content and make a great snack in the summertime. If you want a cold treat to help you cool off, you can make sorbet or popsicles with almost any fruit you like. Here are a couple of my favorite, simple recipes for surviving the summer heat:

Watermelon Sorbet

1/2 seedless watermelon (cubed and frozen)

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp honey

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until a smooth consistency is reached. Eat immediately or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 1 hour.

Information provided in blogs should not be used as a substitute for medical care or consultation.