This Third Trimester Care Plan is recommended to help you achieve an optimal birth experience by ensuring your baby is receiving adequate nutrition, hydration, and settling into an optimal position. This will also help you alleviate discomfort during your pregnancy, labor, and delivery. This list can seem overwhelming… deep breaths we’ll walk you through any questions you may have!

If you haven’t already enrolled in a Childbirth Education Class now is the time! You can find recommendations on this page.

Nutrition:

Your daily calorie goals are your body weight + a zero and add 200-400 depending on your body size. Ex: 180lbs= 1800+400 would be 2200 calorie per day.

If you are getting your daily calorie intake you should be hitting your carbohydrate minimum of 125g per day.

*Do NOT exceed 200g of carbs per day. There are some small studies that point to lower carbs = smoother and less pain in labor.

Hydration:

Ensure that you are adequately hydrated. You should be consuming approximately half your body weight plus 20 oz of water per day. Example: If you weigh 140 lbs, then you should be consuming 90-100 oz of water per day.

Exercises:

Begin exercises such as pelvic rock and tilts. Visit this Spinning Babies page for additional exercises.

Yoga is great in pregnancy OmBalance in Dallas is a great place to meet other mothers.

Squats are beneficial throughout pregnancy and labor. We recommend at least 50 wall squats per day or 20 min of deep supported squat (back against couch, elbows supporting, feet flat and aligned with shoulders, bottom near floor). Here is a great article with a Squat Challenge. Remember you don’t have to do them all at once. You can do a few at a time, a great place to start is every time you go to the restroom knock out 10 squats!

Optimal Fetal Positioning:

Maintain good posture and begin sitting on your birth ball regularly. Avoid reclining in chairs or bed, since this encourages a posterior position.

Try these daily exercises: 7 Easy Exercises for An Optimal Pregnancy & Labor

Utilize Chiropractic care to alleviate pain/discomfort and assist with optimal fetal position.Chiropractic Care Studies show that women who have chiropractic care throughout pregnancy, reduce labor time by 24%.

Supplements:

Begin Drinking NORA Tea if you haven’t started already. You can find it easily online or purchase the ingredients to make your own. This is a great tea for pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. Here’s a great article on how to make your own NORA tea and why midwives recommend it!

28 weeks 2 cups a day

36 weeks 4 cups a day

Chlorophyll 50 mg in the AM and 50 mg in the PM this is a great supplement for digestion, energy and anemia

Floradix -helps with iron levels, energy, mood - as directed

Omega Fish Oil -helps with anxiety, brain development, varicose vein (yes, hemorrhoids too!!) prevention - as directed

B12 -helps improve your sleep, prevent and treat anemia, boost energy & mood

GBS is a common bacteria in both men and women’s intestinal tract. Though GBS is generally not of concern to adults, it can be concerning during birth as baby has not been exposed to this bacteria. Evidence Based Birth Explains it best! We routinely check for GBS at intake and at 36 weeks and love it when you are negative.

Tips for Reducing GBS colonization!

Any good women’s vaginal health probiotic 1 three times a day orally, also open one at night and sprinkle it on a pantyliner and wear it over night

Grapefruit seed extract tablets 1 three times a day or Grapefruit seed extract liquid- put 3 drops in 1oz of water and drink it once a day

D Mannose double the recommended dosage