A guide to Pregnancy/Pregnancy Nutrition
Every day I get a whole lot of queries, from worried parents /expecting mothers /women
who are pregnant or most of all who want to conceive, regarding the auspicious time to give
birth or the right time to conceive to avoid complications for the baby yet to set foot in this world.
I understand each and every concern of the families, especially of mothers. Since, soon they
are going to bring a new life into this world which is a one big leap in anyone’s life. And I am
definitely sure about one thing that it fills one’s life with so many beautiful colors that it’s not
worth to take even a tiny pint of risk at this crucial time of your journey.
Many of my offline clientele and even during some online consultations, I came across
these complaints with context to pregnancy or C-sections. Most of them are concerned with
several complications which usually occur during those trimesters, for instance, gestational
diabetes, pregnancy induced hypertension etc.?
Choosing the right food and pregnancy nutrition can have a major impact on the creation of the
other human being that’s inside you. Mother’s preconception health plays a very important part
in a newborn’s future health and hence, if a would-be mother takes good care of her body’s
nutritional needs before entering into pregnancy (which is a whole new area known as
‘Preconception Nutrition’ and which I am soon going to cover in my upcoming article) then it
can be counted as a lifelong gift from a mother to her child. Since, pregnancy nutrition can prevent the occurrence
of many degenerative diseases that can show up in future in your child’s adulthood.
Establishing good dietary habits during pregnancy is as much of importance. Because
several pregnancy related complications are actually connected with your body’s nutritional
status and therefore are completely avoidable, only, if you know what is happening inside your
body, why it’s occurring and what to do at that particular point of time. Pregnancy nutrition services help you to
avoid many of these complications if services of expert dietitian/nutritionist are taken from time to time.
Some of the complications in pregnancy which can be averted with slight improvements
in your diet are:
The most common problem that happens with all the pregnant women is what we call as
‘morning sickness’ or what the doctors call as “nausea and vomiting in pregnancy”. 50% to
90% of the pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting in pregnancy during first 3 months
of pregnancy i.e. during the first trimester of pregnancy and it usually revolves around 17 th week
of gestation. Usually morning sickness does not lead to a serious lose of weight in mostly
pregnant mothers but can turn into ‘hyperemesis gravidarum’ in quite a few.
There could be a long list of its causes since its causal factors vary from food to noise, motion, light etc.
Can be Avoided : However, it can be avoided by taking small frequent meals, by taking drinks
between meals, some researchers suggested protein foods to be of particular help while some
suggested simple, easily digestible carbohydrates. It may seem to be a simple problem to handle but I am afraid if
you say it loud with a pregnant woman around.
Yes, it isn’t always easy to figure out what works best for you but your dietitian or nutritionist can certainly help you in choosing an alternative that’s best for you without putting you or your baby at any risk. A good advice doesn’t hurt anyone. That’s why it is specifically important to have a well qualified diet consultant / dietitian / nutritionist around you at such crucial time.
Another problem that has a really high occurrence in pregnancy is ‘heartburn’ or in our
science language, we call it “Gastric eosophageal reflux or GERD”. I think we all have a
general knowledge of why it happens in pregnancy. For those who don’t, let me take your
imagination to an inflated balloon. Imagine your uterus to be an inflated balloon while you are
pregnant. Now when your uterus keeps on inflating, as obvious as anything, it will pressurize
and push your intestine and stomach up and up and up…it will also cause your oesophageal
sphincter muscle to become a little relaxed. And the result is whatever you are going to eat, the
contents will come up with the stomach’s acid all mixed in it, thence causing your ‘heart’ to
‘burn’.
A simple solution to this problem is to replace your big dinner plates with little side plates. Think
about it ! Well, your dietitian needs to be vigilant to the contents of your plate as well as what
constitutes your daily diet so as to avoid and prevent heart burning.
Coming to the most monstrous (well, that’s what I think of it!) of all the above stated
complications is ‘Constipation and Hemorrhoids’. Everybody knows well how they contracted
this problem in the past. Even now in pregnancy, the cause remains the same; fibre and water
intake. Several medications taken to relieve other complications can also force your body into
constipation. Straining the stools, sometimes due to inconvenience caused by your enlarged
uterus, can lead to the risk of hemorrhoids in some pregnant women. However, if you stick to
the diet plan your dietitian suggested you, with enough options and space for fibre rich foods
and recipes, you can easily overcome this problem too.
I have discussed a few of the most common pregnancy related complications here.
However, much of them are still left to discuss in details, for example, gestational diabetes,
pregnancy induced hypertension, edema, eclampsia etc. Look forward to our upcoming article
on the pregnancy related complications and how to avoid them in the coming week.
Note: We are starting Astrology&Nutrition packages for pregnant women considering the care and nutrition they
require for their and their baby’s well-being. Since everybody has a different body, different body metabolism,
different body needs, it is best to consult an expert dietitian and nutritionist to design personal diet plan for you as
per your medical history and diagnosis. You can also opt for pregnancy nutrition services only if you wish to do so through our blog.
Your diet/nutritional needs will be handled personally based on your medical history, reports and body
requirements. These are not general tips found on every other blog.
Feel free to get in touch for pregnancy nutrition packages and astro-nutrition packages. Drop us an email on
jyotishresearch@gmail.com
The above article has been contributed by Dr. Soumya Gupta. She is a PHD in Human Nutrition
having vast experience in dietetics, nutritional researches. She is a life member of “Indian Dietetic
Association” and “Nutrition Society of India” She will be working with us on pregnancy nutrition
related cases. All services will be chargeable*.