We still have two more months of summer, which means many more days of sweltering heat.
Tack on an extra 20 to 40 pounds, and good luck staying comfortable.
Kara Menard is no stranger to motherhood. She's one month away from welcoming baby number four into the world.
"We're looking at July 29," Kara said.
But this go round, she said pregnancy feels different.
"The heat has really affected the pregnancy, just with errands and going outside and bringing other children outside," Kara said.
Nurse practitioner Tammy Gillett said the rise in mercury is something that makes pregnant women like Menard much more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.
"The biggest complaints we get in the summertime is dizziness, lightheaded, they don't feel good, pre-term labor and that's from dehydration," OBGYN nurse practitioner Tammy Gillett said.
During pregnancy, women should drink at least eight cups of water each day, and when it comes to staying cool and comfortable, that added baby weight can make even the most simple tasks unbearable on a hot day.
"You increase your metabolism, your heart rate goes up and you are already carrying an extra 1,200 c.c.'s of volume, which brings your core temperature up to about 99 to begin with and then in the summer months, it will bring the heat up even more, and so you feel more exhausted and miserable," Gillett said.
When it comes to your diet, pregnancy-induced hypertension often times comes along with poor food choices when the temperatures rise.
"People have a tendency to eat a little more salt than usual because they're dehydrated, they don't drink as much as they should and they'll come in at the end with elevated blood pressure," Gillett said.
Now, with just a few more weeks until the little one is born, Kara is making some summertime changes to keep herself and baby healthy.
"I realize I need to stay inside more and take a nap and not worry about outside very much, but it is frustrating," Kara said. "I was excited about the summer and then now we have to stay in most of the time."
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