Diwali 2024: Safety Precautions for Pregnant Women

While Diwali – festival of lights – is the time to rejoice, celebrate and enjoy time with your family, friends and relatives, it is also a trying time for expecting mothers, especially during their early pregnancy. Protecting oneself from noise and air pollution along with other irritants can prove exhausting and dampening on the festive fervor. But if you are careful you can still enjoy the festivities with your loved ones.

How Pregnant Women Ensure Pollution-free Diwali ?

However, in pregnancy you need to be more careful and take some basic precautions or tips to ensure that you celebrate this festival of lights with love, laughter and without any accidental accidents.

Here I am sharing with you 12 tips on how you can take care of yourself during Diwali and be part of the festivities as well. 

• Avoid Smoke and Pollution: Smoke whether excess or little is not at all good for an expecting mommy. And we all know the harmful effects of passive smoking as well. So it is better to avoid going outdoors during Diwali. The smoke and the pollution created by the firecrackers can be dangerous to anyone so a pregnant mother is at double the risk here
• Eat Wisely: Being the lady of the house, an expecting mommy can tend to get carried away with the preparation for the festival that includes endless shopping for gifts, new clothes, and new furnishings that it is quite possible that she can miss her meals. And that is not at all good for an expecting mommy. So keep a handful of nuts, and fruits and a bottle of water with you when venturing out for shopping. So that you can eat something healthy in every 2 hours and drink water as well, so as to prevent yourself from feeling dizzy and lethargy
• Wear Cotton Clothes: Avoid wearing anything heavy and synthetic as these fabrics catch fire easily. Go for good old cotton fabric for your ease and comfort
• No loud noises please: Well! While the loud noise will not per se harm the hearing of your unborn baby (specially during early pregnancy), however, since your ears have become more sensitive during pregnancy you may find the loud noise quite disturbing so avoid the areas with loud speakers at Diwali Mela or fairs and also the areas where loud noised crackers are being burst
  • Protect yourself from burning accidents: While it is fun to burst crackers, it is also important to note that since you are pregnant your reflexes are little slow as compared to when you were not, hence there are high chances of burning accidents. So all you expecting mommies stay away from the area where the crackers are being burst so as to avoid any burning accidents Since pregnant women are more vulnerable and can't be given strong medications, as there is a chance that it could harm the foetus, it is important that women take extra precautions to stay out of harm's way
• Stay away from allergens: Allergens can be in any form – paint in the house, polish on your furniture, so it is best to avoid them as they can trigger an attack of nausea or even asthma
• Sweets watch-out: No festival in Indian culture is complete without sweets and Diwali is the time when people love to indulge their sweet tooth. However, an expecting mommy should refrain from gorging too many sweets as it can lead to gestational diabetes that can create complications in the pregnancy
• Avoid Crackers at all cost: Now, please know that all the crackers have been coated with chemicals that are dangerous for everyone and pregnant lady is at all the more risk because it may lead to skin irritation as the skin during pregnancy is quite sensitive
• Light the Lamps Carefully: Pregnant mommies should also be quite careful while lightening the lamps in and around their home as the baby bump reduces the visibility and there are high chances of burning accidents
• Avoid Traditional Heavy Clothes: Yes, it is a custom to wear heavy clothes during puja, but surely no custom is greater than a life of an expecting mommy and her baby. So please avoid wearing traditional heavy clothes and keep your attire simple and elegant.
• First aid kit and emergency numbers should be handy: While hoping and praying for no mishap happens on the festive day just ensure to have a first-aid kit and a list of emergency numbers handy; so that if some mishap occurs or emergency labour pain starts due to noise pollution or any other fact, help is immediately available
• Enjoy Eco-friendly Diwali: This Diwali for the sake of your health and your unborn baby go for an eco-friendly Diwali with only earthen lamps brightening up and lighting your home and life. You can use natural ingredients to make rangoli or kolam and enjoy an eco-friendly Diwali

Hope you liked the blog on precautions a pregnant woman should take during Diwali. Do write in with your views and feedback in the comments section below.