The Significance Of Nutrition During 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.

Breastfeeding - A Few Basics That Every New Mum Should Know

Bringing a child into this world is definitely the most important thing in the life of a woman. However, the act of birth represents the beginning of a long process which highlights some important stages, from breastfeeding to sending your child to school. And because breastfeeding represents a very important stage of this process, this article is going to discuss a few essential things that you should know.

Breastfeeding: Making the Choice Bottles or Breast

Every single mum-to-be has to make a very important choice, which relates to the way she is going to feed her baby. And even though most specialists advise that new mothers to breastfeed their babies, only a few are willing to do try it. The truth is that human milk presents the most complex nutrition for an infant, being superior to any other alternatives. And for this reason, breastfeeding is the most recommended nutrition option for newborn babies especially for the first year of life. However, most mums reject this idea especially because there are so many other alternatives. However, even though the specialists are proposing different infant formulas, every single mum must know that all of them present various nutritional deficiencies, which can have some incredible effects on their babies. 

The Benefits of Breastfeeding

The specialists admit the fact that the exact composition of the human milk is still unknown. For this reason, it cannot be duplicated no matter how much the scientists are trying. And this is the reason why breastfeeding comes along with some unique benefits, which cannot be delivered by any other substitutes. Thus, every new mum must know that by simply breastfeeding her baby, she is able to give him or her a terrific start in life. If you are a new mum, you should know that breastfeeding provides:

• The Perfect Nutrition: The breast milk is the only one that meets the nutritional needs of every baby. Additionally, breast milk cannot be contaminated with other substances. However, you must take care with regard to the foods that you consume or medication that you take as some of them can contaminate the milk and harm your baby.

• A Healthy Child: It is a well-known fact that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of disease and infection in both mother and baby. The reason for this is the fact that the production and consumption of human milk actually aids in the development of the immune system. As a result, the number of breastfed infants who develop cancers, diabetes, gastrointestinal conditions and asthma is much lower than the number of those babies who are fed with different formulas. As well, breastfed babies are less likely to develop the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as SIDS.

What Else You Should Know about Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is not as difficult as you might think. However, in order to get everything right from the very first moments, there are a few steps that you should follow, such as:

§  Breastfeeding Preparation: Everyone knows that breastfeeding is a natural process. However, there are a few things that you must consider and even do in advance. Learning how to breastfeed your baby can take a lot of practice and for this reason, you should attend special classes that are ready to help you to develop the right skills.

§  Read Books: You can always find the information needed in a good book and there are plenty of good books in this area.

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§  Give It Some Time: Breastfeeding your baby is similar to everything new in life that we try, sometimes you can pick it up straight away and sometimes it takes a lot of practice and patience. The first weeks are always the most difficult ones. Most women succeed to breastfeed their babies perfectly after only a few weeks.

Breastfeeding comes along with another great advantage: it is very convenient. And this is because there are no baby bottles to handle or formulas to buy, meaning in the long term it will save a lot of money. There are a few accessories that you might want to have, such as breast pumps, and special nursing pillows. But, prior to taking any decisions, make sure that you consider all the available options and get only those that can really help you to enjoy a perfect nursing experience.