Good hydration is always essential, but drinking enough water is even more important in pregnancy.
Firstly, it helps deliver all the goodness from your food and prenatal vitamins to your baby. Water helps your body to absorb essential nutrients from food and transports them to your blood cells, from where your baby consumes them via the placenta.
Water also encourages good digestion, which can often slow down during pregnancy (leading to constipation),it flushes you out and takes away toxins, helping you feel less uncomfortable, especially as your baby grows bigger and your stomach gets squashed.
During pregnancy you’re more prone to water retention, known as Oedema, it’s responsible for those puffy ankles and feet and the fact that your rings may no longer fit on your fingers anymore. Drinking more water will help with fluid retention by flushing you out along with excess sodium, minimising swelling.
You don’t need to drink more water than usual when pregnant, but you do need to make sure you drink enough, stick to around 2 litres a day. Keep it still and filtered in a drink bottle which you can carry around with you wherever you go, avoid sugary drinks and too much caffeine which acts as a diuretic, which can dehydrate you.
If plain water gets a little boring, try adding lemon or cucumber slices to water. Lemon acts as a great natural detoxer and cucumber gives you a hit of vitamins, or try some fresh mint leaves to help your digestion.