The Top 10 Best Gadgets for A Smooth Pregnancy

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Told by A Mom of Three & Labor Nurse

Having experienced three pregnancies myself, and taken care of countless pregnant women as a labor and delivery nurse, I've learned a lot about the essentials that can help make your journey through pregnancy more comfortable and enjoyable. Without these ten best pregnancy products, I don't know if I would have loved pregnancy the way that I did. So, I'm here to share those with you. Here's a detailed look at those pregnancy must-haves:

Click here to scroll to the bottom of this post to see the quick-look podcast show notes for this episode.

Top 10 Best Pregnancy Products in 2023

10. A Birthing ball

Starting at number 10, one of my favorite must-haves for a smooth pregnancy is a birth ball or like normal people call them, an exercise ball, a yoga ball, whatever. To me, it’s a birth ball.

You can actually start benefiting from using a ball long before your actual birth. Birthing balls are useful tools throughout your pregnancy and even during labor. They can ease pain and pressure in your back, pelvic area and tailbone.

During pregnancy, sitting on a birthing ball improves your posture which can relieve some of your aches and pains AND encourage baby to be head down if they aren’t already.

There are actually studies that show that using an exercise ball during pregnancy can reduce the rate of episiotomy, a procedure where your provider makes an incision at the bottom of your vaginal opening to help your baby come out.

A birth ball can also aid in your comfort during labor by providing you with support in various positions such as squatting, lunging, rocking, sitting, and leaning. You can start sitting on a birth ball as early as you’d like and then – toward the end of pregnancy – begin encouraging labor and dilation by gently bouncing and swaying while keeping your pelvis nice and open.

…Speaking of bouncing…

If you have a birth ball in the house when you have a baby, I can almost guarantee that you’re going to bounce while holding that sweet baby, trying to get him to go to sleep. I've been there. Babies LOVE the exercise ball. 

9. Belly Creams and Oils

Number 9 is belly creams and oils. I’m not going to tell you that you can prevent stretch marks completely because there is more than just one factor that contributes to stretch marks. And quite frankly, we shouldn’t be expected to prevent marks from showing when we’ve grown and stretched to create life.

BUT I’m also only human and I’ve totally looked at my belly and thought “omg is that a stretch mark?!” – in fear. Throughout my first pregnancy I started putting creams and oils on my skin at the very first signs of a bump starting to pop. By the end of it, I finished my pregnancy and postpartum without a single stretch mark. With my second pregnancy, come on, I was busy and distracted and maybe a little convinced that I wouldn’t get stretch marks so I didn’t start using creams and oils until deeper into the second trimester. I gave birth with one stretch mark on my belly. Third pregnancy came around and i had a few stretch marks pretty early on and they lasted all the way through and just got darker and deeper as my belly grew.

So, was it because of the difference in my skin care routine? Or was it because my belly had stretched and recovered three times? I guess we will never know. But I can’t help to think that it helped none-the-less. Not only can moisturizing with creams and oils help with the outward appearance of your skin. But it can help with elasticity as your baby grows and decrease itchiness that comes with a stretching belly too. So if you’re looking for a belly oil or cream to add to your daily routine, go for one that has NO petroleum, mineral oil, parabens, or artificial fragrance.

8. Maternity Bras

Coming in at number 8, a good maternity bra can change your life.

Almost immediately after becoming pregnant, my tolerance for discomfort is significantly decreased. Especially in the belly or bra area so i needed comfortable bras that would accommodate the changes that happen to our breasts during pregnancy.

What’s great about investing in maternity bras during pregnancy and not waiting until after birth is that:

-You’ll be more comfortable as your body grows

-You can start pumping at the end of pregnancy if you choose to do that in preparation for baby if you have a nursing/pumping combo bra

-You’ll have them ready for breastfeeding and skin to skin when baby arrives.

I’m obsessed with my maternity bras and now, 15 months postpartum I’m still wearing them. Let’s be honest, they aren’t my maternity bras anymore…they are just my bras. These are my favorite. I keep buying more because I love them so much. I have the sports bra type that convert into a pumping bra with one little click and I have the comfy ones that pull to the side. I loved these for sleep, especially when nursing a baby in the middle of the night.

7. Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

Number 7 brings us red raspberry leaf tea. You might have heard about Red Raspberry leaf tea to prepare for labor and that’s absolutely one of the reasons I love Red Raspberry leaf… But there are other reasons to love Red Raspberry leaf too!

Red raspberry leaf is known to ease menstrual discomfort, improve reproductive health, and balance hormones to increase fertility. You can drink this tea while TTC to help encourage implantation and possibly preventing miscarriage by strengthening and toning the uterine wall.

The uterus needs a lot of vitamins and minerals to function properly and red raspberry leaf tea has almost all of them. Red raspberry leaf is rich in vitamins and minerals, containing vitamins C, E, and A, a variety of B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus. It also contains essential trace minerals such as zinc, iron, chromium and manganese. 

One study found that women who consumed RRL tea regularly are less likely to go overdue or give birth prematurely. These women may also be less likely to receive an artificial rupture of their membranes or require a cesarean section, forceps, or vacuum birth than the women in the control group.

Other benefits of red raspberry leaf include:

• May reduce morning sickness
• Improves the effectiveness of contractions
• Improve strength of amniotic sac
• Reduced pain during labor and after birth. By toning the muscles used during labor and delivery, labor may be shorter and less painful.
• Helps balance postpartum hormones

So, yeah. As you can see, I love red raspberry leaf tea for lots of reasons. Talk to your trusted provider about whether or not it’s something you should try and when it’s safe for you. I personally enjoyed drinking a cup a day while trying to conceive and then I stopped drinking it during the first and second trimesters and then started drinking a cup a day again between 34-36 weeks until the end of my pregnancy. It wouldn’t hurt to continue drinking it postpartum too. I’ll link the brand I like in the show notes for you guys. 

6. Magnesium Bath Salts

My number 6 top pregnancy product for a smooth pregnancy is magnesium bath salts. Let me tell you. This works SO well for general aches and pains of pregnancy. If you’re prone to back pain, sciatic pain, pelvic pain, or foot aches, magnesium baths are going to work wonders for you. It’s not going to cure any of those things but you’ll definitely get relief.

Magnesium chloride is an essential mineral and plays an important role in your pregnancy. Baths and foot soaks with magnesium flakes are completely safe and a great way to get the pregnancy supplements into your body. Benefits an include relief from aches and pains, stress reduction, hemorrhoid help, reversing magnesium deficiency, and relief from itchy skin. So if you want to take a bath or soak your feet, add some magnesium salts to the water. Just be careful not to take a very hot bath or overheat while you’re pregnant. Warm water is safe but steer clear of submerging yourself in hot water during pregnancy.

5. Prenatal Vitamins

My number 5 top pregnancy product is going to be a good prenatal vitamin. I wish they were all created equal and you didn’t have to rummage through all of the options out there to find the right one. But truly, it is important to have one that can benefit you and your growing little one as much and as easily as possible. Think – one that is easy to take, doesn’t make you gag at the though, is easily absorbed in the body, and has all of the essential vitamins and minerals that your growing and changing body needs as you grow another human.

If you’re already taking a prenatal vitamin but you’re not sure that it’s the right one, you can always make the switch. It’s never too late. So here is what you’ll want to look for.

-Avoid gummy vitamins if you can. Although they might make taking vitamins a lot easier for some. Unfortunately, with a gummy multivitamin or prenatal vitamin, some essential nutrients are usually missing or present only in lower doses and the amount of sugar added might not be worth it.

-Check for serving size on the bottle. If you find a prenatal vitamin with everything you’re looking for, make sure you check to see how many pills you’ll actually be taking every day to get it in. Sometimes it’s up to 6 pills a day! I’m sorry, but that is so not going to happen over here.

-Be sure to find a vitamin that includes Folate instead of Folic Acid. Folic Acid is the synthetic form and some people have a harder time converting it into a form that can actually be used in the cells. This is my favorite brand.  

4. Vitamin E Oil

Number 4 on the list is vitamin E oil.

We can use Vitamin E oil in lots helpful ways during pregnancy. Vitamin E on the face can help with discoloration and spots that sometimes darken during pregnancy, on the belly to fade noticeable stretch-marks, but my favorite use is actually applying it to the vulva and perineum during the later weeks of pregnancy in preparation for the stretching that will happen when you birth your baby.

Topical vitamin E oil during pregnancy improves skin elasticity by increasing the amount of nutrients inside your skin. Your skin is less susceptible to stretch marks and tears with more elasticity. A topical application also supports new skin cell growth and encourages cell regeneration. Start applying vitamin E oil in this delicate area around 34 weeks to reduce the chance of tearing or need for episiotomy during delivery.

3. Boobie Protein Shake

At number 3, one of the best pregnancy products for a smooth pregnancy is the Boobie protein shake. I feel like anyone who had really bad aversions, weird cravings, or constant hunger during their pregnancy is going to really appreciate this one. I didn’t drink a pregnancy protein shake at all during my first two pregnancies but finding this brand during my third pregnancy was a game changer. I’m not kidding you, when I started taking this protein shake regularly, my headaches decreased, my energy was better, and then after my baby was born, it helped with milk supply without needing to use fenugreek which can cause some unpleasant side effects in baby like gas and bloating.

I also love the electrolytes from this brand to add to my water too. I just feel like pregnancy and postpartum take so much out of you and it actually takes intentional supplementation to replenish yourself enough to see a difference in the way you feel and function. 

2. Belly Support Bands

My second favorite pregnancy product is belly support. Now, if you’ve been around for a while, you know how much I love my postpartum belly bands. But I feel like most if not all pregnant moms could use a little bit of belly support too.

Throughout all three pregnancies, I used belly support in different ways and always loved it.

If you’re having back pain, you might need more support but belly bands CAN be comfortable. The one that I have is literally made out of bamboo and it’s so soft and comfortable but provides really great back support when the belly is really big or when it’s not your first pregnancy and the belly just doesn’t seem to sit quite as high anymore. OR if you’re having pelvic pain. You can get a wrap that goes around your hips and gives you that extra support when everything seems to be loosey goosey and causing all sorts of problems.

So, yes, get a belly support band. It can help with so many ailments. 

1. Pregnancy Pillow

Finally, my number one most favorite pregnancy product that I could not live without and that I have serious separation anxiety about when I have to tuck it way… is my pregnancy pillow. 

Listen, having to sleep on your side to stay off of your back and keep off of your baby while you sleep can be hard. But with a pregnancy pillow, staying on your side is just so much easier and more comfortable.

If you get the large, U shaped pillow that goes all the way around, you can tuck one side under the belly to give you support and not feel like your belly is pulling downward, and you can have your partner shove the back part against your back to keep you feeling supported and feeling cradled while you sleep. AND you still have the U part to rest your top leg on and keep your pelvis open and aligned for good pelvic posture during pregnancy.

Now, if you’re not fully convinced that a pregnancy pillow is the best product for you for sleep, ok fine, but hear me out, I carried that thing around with me when I wanted support while sitting, watching TV, folding clothes, AND the best part, I kept it close once the baby was born to use as breastfeeding support. It was honestly so hard to give it up. 

Best Pregnancy Products – Conclusion

Pregnancy is an incredible journey, but it can also be a demanding and sometimes uncomfortable experience. These top 10 must-haves are my personal favorites to ensure that your pregnancy is as smooth and joyful as possible.

Please remember that each pregnancy is unique, and what worked for me may not work for you in the same way. Always consult with your healthcare provider and tailor these products to your specific needs and comfort.