It is important for women who are or may be pregnant when a disaster situation hits to prepare fully to provide for herself and her baby. Here are several tips on how you can prepare.
There are many reasons that people should look ahead and prepare themselves and their families for the future. Anything can happen and a little preparation can make your circumstances significantly better and it may even save lives.
It is especially important that women who are pregnant or nursing prepare for unforeseen circumstances because their bodies are under a lot more stress providing for a child. In addition, you will want to be able to fully care for that child even in a disaster situation.
Most health care providers recommend that you do not try to become pregnant during a disaster situation or during the month or two following the end of that situation. This is because you were probably put under a lot of stress during the disaster and the two months allows your body to build up all of the nutrients that it needs again.
The key to being able to provide for yourself and for your unborn child is to have enough supplies that you could provide fully for yourself and your child for at least several days, if not weeks, without going to the grocery store. It is even advisable to have enough supplies that you could provide for your family for a couple of years if you can.
This can take up a lot of storage space, but it certainly can provide an extra sense of security. You will also need to make sure that you have a way to protect this food.
In rough times when food is scarce, there are many people who will resort to stealing and other crimes. You do not want to be a victim of these circumstances.
Make sure that you have gun and know how to use or team up with another family that has a lot of boys who can use guns and promise them some of your food in return or something. There are many ways that you can protect your supply.
It is important to keep in mind that although many food storage items keep for a long time, they do not keep forever. As a result, you will need to use some of the things in your supply and replace them periodically to make sure that it stays up to date.
You do not want to get into a disaster situation only to find out that your supply is old or has gone bad. It is important to not take risks and eat old food during a disaster situation because medical aide will be stretched thin.
Many people are going to need medical assistance. You do not want to add yourself to this list by eating something that makes you sick.
There may not be enough medical personnel or the correct medications to help you in the area. As you are expecting, you will want to make sure that you store a lot of protein, which usually means beans for long term storage.
It is also going to be critical that you store a lot of water, particularly if you are nursing. You need to drink more water when you are expecting so that you do not get dehydrated.
The typical rule is that you need to have one gallon of water per person per day. As you are providing for two people, you are going to need more than one gallon of water for yourself a day.
Keep in mind that you will probably eat more food throughout your pregnancy as well. You will want to calculate this in as you begin collecting foodstuffs.
In addition, you will want to think about when your child grows older. You are going to need foods that he or she can eat when he or she begins eating solids.
Most disaster situations in the United States do not last longer than a couple of months when it comes to natural disasters. However, loss of employment can also mean that food will be short.
As a result, you will want to make sure that you have stocked up on baby food and other items. It is also important to consider storing vitamins so that even if you cannot get fresh fruits and vegetables, you will still be able to get all of the nutrients that you need.
In an emergency situation, formula is often given to mothers with babies. If you are breastfeeding, you will want to drink it yourself so that you can pass the nutrients on to your baby.
You may also want to have a good, informative book on birth in case you cannot get to a hospital and a friend or neighbor has to help you deliver. Others have delivered at various places other than hospitals before and it will be okay.
Terry Daniels has assisted in disaster recovery around the world for years. When it comes to Water Damage Minneapolis area, he recommends BELFOR.
Contact Info:
Terry Daniels
TerryDaniels09@gmail.com
http://www.belfor.com
