Pregnancy Advice

Significance Of Nutrition In Pregnancy

Learning that you are pregnant can be an exhilarating experience and a frightening one at the same time. You are now responsible for another human being. Whatever you do during the next few months can influence the physical and mental growth of the baby. Though this may sound scary, I have found that some to-be-mothers do not show sufficient contemplation towards the growth and development of their baby.

A recent report from National Women’s Health Resource Centre shows that the state of the uterus can affect the health of the child for decades. One particular study conducted on pregnant women who drank alcohol found that it resulted in increased risk of the child being addicted to alcohol even if there was only one such drinking episode. There are other studies that cite the link between obesity, diabetes and heart disease, and the nutrition the mother had during her pregnancy.

I think that all these facts show without doubt how important a healthy diet is during the time that the baby is in the womb. For a healthy pregnancy diet, you have to consider two main factors. One is the quality of food and the other is the weight gained by you. Physicians usually advice losing weight before you get pregnant as being overweight during pregnancy can lead to diabetes, miscarriage and high blood pressure, which may necessitate an emergency caesarean surgery.

So what is the normal weight gain that is advised? I would say that a gain of around 30 to 35 pounds is the normal range. In the first five months, a weight gain of about 10 pounds is admissible and later on, it can be just one pound for every remaining week of the pregnancy.

I have observed that the only time that women are not concerned about their weight gain is when they are pregnant, but this does not mean that you have to increase the calorie intake too much in the first three months. Instead, an extra calorie intake of 300 can be included at the later stage. How much weight gain or loss you need will be determined by your gynecologist or obstetrician at the time of the first pre-natal appointment. Informing them about your dietary habits beforehand will help your doctor decide on the right diet you should follow.

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.