Once you become pregnant, you are extra careful, diligent and alert about everything you do or eat. You are cautious about your surroundings as well as your health. The baby’s health is directly related to your health, so you are extra careful about anything you eat or drink. One thing that you constantly hear is the importance of drinking adequate water during pregnancy. Some people may also advise you to have warm water while you are pregnant. But you may be concerned about the safety of drinking hot water during pregnancy. Read this article to know more about this.

Is It Safe To Drink Hot Water During Pregnancy?
Why Is Drinking Enough Water A Must In Pregnancy?
Benefits Of Drinking Warm Water During Pregnancy
Caution While Drinking Water In Pregnancy

Is It Safe To Drink Hot Water During Pregnancy?

As long as the water is not scalding hot, it is safe to drink hot water during pregnancy. If you drink very hot water, it can burn the lining in your mouth, so it is not recommended to drink very hot water whether you are expecting or not. Plus, it may increase acidity in your stomach, which can be quite uncomfortable. It is a safe option to drink warm or lukewarm water which has many benefits. According to Chinese traditional medicine, the temperature of the water should be in accordance to your body temperature. It is seen that drinking warm water is more beneficial than drinking normal water. Warm water helps you to fight fatigue

Why Is Drinking Enough Water A Must In Pregnancy?

Every article you read on pregnancy and every person you talk to about it would advise you to keep yourself hydrated by drinking enough water every day during your pregnancy. Why is this? Pregnancy can often result in fatigue, lethargy and dehydration. This can, in turn, cause dizziness, blood pressure fluctuations, constipation and cramps. In fact, in the last trimester, dehydration can even result in preterm labour. So it is absolutely important to remember the following:

• Drink 6 to 10 glasses of water daily for proper hydration and function of bodily processes. The intake is also dependent on the season, area where you live and your activity levels. During summers, or if you live in a humid area, increase your intake as you will be losing water through sweat. During winters, or if you sit in an air-conditioned room often, you might not feel very thirsty. Despite this, you need to consume water often to ensure that your body works efficiently
• Have water at regular intervals, make it a habit and do not wait to get thirsty – if you are not much of a water drinker, use various mobile apps that can remind you to drink water at regular intervals
• Water retention is a common problem during pregnancy, and it can be treated by drinking more water
• If you are doing light workouts, drink more water post-workout. Even during workouts, continuously sip water
• Water carries the nutrients from the food you eat to your baby and aids in the development of the placenta. So, even if you are eating nutritious food, if you do not drink enough water, your child will not fully benefit from it. So a good hydrate mother will lead to a healthy fetus

Drinking enough water daily not only avoids dehydration, but it will also reduce the chances of urinary infection, which is very common during pregnancies. It also improves your energy levels and stamina.

Benefits Of Drinking Warm Water During Pregnancy

Drinking lukewarm or hot water during pregnancy (remember, not scalding hot!) will not only help you hydrate yourself, but it also comes with its own set of added advantages.

1. Helps in detoxification and digestion: Drinking a glass of hot water during pregnancy to start your day can help you flush out toxins from the system. It makes your digestive tract clear up, making it all the easier for the nutrients to reach your baby. Plus, drinking warm water melts the oil and fats depositions in the body, whereas cold water hardens them.
2. Helps in curbing morning sickness: Drinking hot water during pregnancy will reduce the occurrence of morning sickness. It will also reduce your acidity and heartburn – two common problems women complain of during pregnancies
3. Averts constipation: Warm water is known to improve the bowel movement, thereby ensuring healthy digestion and avoiding constipation – another common problem during pregnancy. Better digestion and lower levels of toxins can help your body to relax, and you will not feel uncomfortable
4. Better bronchial health: Warm water also ensures good bronchial health as it reduces the chances of throat infection, cold, cough and flu. This is especially beneficial during the cold months of the winter when viral infections are common. During pregnancy, we should try as much as possible to avoid any infections that will need medicine intake, which in turn might cause problems to the fetus
5. Better hydration: Drinking hot water during pregnancy can help you stay hydrated and resume your body’s natural processes with ease – which get messed up thanks to all the hormonal changes. This indirectly also contributes to having good skin, making you glow during pregnancy.

Caution While Drinking Water In Pregnancy

The most important thing to remember while drinking water is to ensure it is pure and does not contain any harmful toxins. Tap water in India is considered unfit for direct consumption. Even pipes in many of our buildings result in the accumulation of lead and other minerals in high quantity in water. And if you live in a city, you might be getting hard water out of your pipes. In fact, even well water (which is a rarity) can contain germs and other toxins. While they might always result in harm, it is very important you do not drink impure water during pregnancy. Many a time, these, when passed to the fetus, can cause damage to multiple vital organs of your baby. Below tips can be helpful:

• Try to invest in a good water purifier that cleans water through reverse osmosis and UV technologies. Many people buy water purifier and forget about it thinking water will always be safe now. If you invest in such a purifier, make sure you service it often and clean it according to the instructions given in the manual
• Whether you have a good water purifier or not, make it a habit to boil the water before consumption. Ideally, it would be best if you boiled a few litres of hot water during pregnancy in the morning, keep it in a jar and keep drinking from this. Before drinking, you can also be slightly warm it to make its lipid. You can also store it in a flask in the desired temperature
• Carry your filtered and boiled water in a bottle wherever you do. This is to make sure that you do not drink unsafe water when you are outside the house. Further, try to use a steel bottle or a good quality plastic bottle

Water is essential to carry all the nutrients to the fetus, thereby helping in its proper growth and development. So it becomes very necessary to drink an adequate amount of water during pregnancy and keep yourself hydrated in order to keep all the illness at bay.
Did you drink warm or hot water during pregnancy? What benefits did you derive from it? Please do leave your experience in the comments section below.