Nutrition and Weight Management during Pregnancy

When you are pregnant, you need to take care of yourself and that includes your diet. I have often found that people simply try to increase the quantity of food, which is not the right thing to do. You need to focus on the quality rather than quantity. With the mother being the only nutrient source for the baby, a proper balance of all the food types including carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins and fibres has to be ensured.

I have found that restricting carbohydrates is what some mothers try to do in order to prevent excess weight gain. This is not good for the baby, as it can cause brain damage and developmental problems.  This is due to the release of ketones into the circulation in the absence of a sufficient amount of carbohydrates.

Further research has revealed that adhering to a low carbohydrate diet can also make a pregnancy a difficult one to deal with. I have seen many pre-natal dieticians stress the importance of adding plenty of fruits to the diet to increase the iron and vitamin content in the body, but I do not think the regular shakes are that nutritious, as they only pile up the empty calories more than the benefits the fruits provide.

Generally pre-natal dieticians prefer two main types of diet namely Atkins and South Beach Diet. These are low carbohydrate diets that are good for your health if you have gestational diabetes, obesity or low level of blood sugar. These three conditions can affect the baby adversely leading to birth defects, premature birth or early rupture of membrane, so I think that the best way to prevent such effects is to reduce the excess weight.

I have observed dieticians suggest the maintenance part of Atkins diet during pregnancy, but there are some who prefer the second part of South Beach diet. Both these diets control the amount of carbohydrate intake through consumption of whole grains and fruits only with minimal amount of white rice and bread. I think that this is not a bad form to follow as long as the baby is supplied with the needed nutrients. 

If you do not want to take up a low carbohydrate diet, you can always control your weight in other ways; eating small portioned meals frequently, taking healthy snacks and minimising the fat and salt intake will be as beneficial as the low carbohydrate diets. If any carbohydrate is needed, you have to include it but in moderate amounts only.

The most essential factor you need to remember in my opinion is consulting with your gynaecologist or obstetrician before you start on any form of diet. It is your doctor who should decide on the type of diet you should have and this depends on the medical condition both you and your baby are in.

Regardless of the benefits received, I am strongly against taking up any diet programs without the approval of the doctor concerned. Whatever type of diet you want to follow, make sure the baby receives the required nutrients in the right amounts. Improper nutrition during pregnancy can lead to complications like premature birth, low birth weight babies and birth defects too.