Best Self-care Gifts for Pregnant Women

When it comes to celebrating a pregnancy, friends and family members often focus on the baby. You can't blame them — shopping for baby gifts is fun. Expecting moms, though, deserve to be pampered during this special but often trying time.

That's why giving the mother-to-be gifts that encourage self-care is a great idea. Self-care — actively doing things that help your mental, emotional, and physical well-being — is beneficial to everyone but especially pregnant women, because it contributes to the health of both mother and baby.

Examples of self-care can include exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, eating a nutritious diet, and managing stress levels.

"Growing a human is rough on the body," says June Doran, who shares advice and personal experiences about pregnancy and mothering at Growing Serendipity. "New moms know this. But I think they would tell you that prioritizing self-care during pregnancy is more about making self-care a habit before the baby arrives.

"Because once baby arrives, and you're responsible for a completely-dependent-on-you tiny human, self-care becomes so much harder to make time for."

Doran offers these general suggestions for pregnancy self-care:

• Make time for rest, exercise, and nutrition.
• Listen to podcasts or music on walks.
• Sleep instead of scrolling social media.
• Stock your pantry and fridge with easy-to-grab snacks, such as baby carrots, string cheese, wheat crackers, and fruit.
• Decide who are the parenting "experts" that resonate with you — and ignore everyone else.

How friends and family can help

If you are close with a mother-to-be, offering to take some tasks off her plate is a great way to encourage her to make time for herself, Doran says. Partners, she shares, also can help by becoming as involved as possible in the pregnancy: going to doctor appointments, helping set up the nursery, reading up on what life is like with a newborn, etc.

"Friends can give gift cards for things like cravings (hello, ice cream after a long day at work!), new comfy clothes, or a pedicure, for when you can't reach your feet anymore," Doran suggests.

Another good choice for moms-to-be, Doran shares, is the gift of laughter. "Give her a funny pregnancy book," she suggests. "Because sometimes, when you're experiencing the not-so-fun parts of pregnancy, the best thing you can do is laugh."

She also says that as long as the mom-to-be is getting a balanced diet, she shouldn't be afraid to indulge her cravings. "There have to be some perks to being pregnant, after all!" Doran exclaims.

10 self-care gifts for pregnant women

Need more ideas? If someone you care about is expecting, you can help her care for herself by choosing one of these gifts for pregnant women.