Prenatal nutrition involves nutrient recommendations before and during pregnancy. It has a strong influence on the development of your baby.
What should I be eating during the first days and weeks of pregnancy?
Nutrition is an accumulation of what you’ve been putting in your body over the course of your lifetime. Ideally, prior to conception, you have been eating a balanced diet with plenty of green leafy vegetables and protein. If you have not, the good news is that its not too late to get on track.
Why is prenatal nutrition important?
Adjusting your diet during pregnancy can profoundly improve your health and your baby’s health. What you eat matters.
Your baby thrives when you have a healthy placenta. On the other hand, your baby fails to grow well when your placenta is missing key nutritional components.
Everything you eat nourishes your baby. Knowing this and having this awareness can help inspire meaningful nutritional choices.
Should I go on a prenatal diet?
There are many diets designed for pregnant women. But then again, it is challenging for pregnant women to follow a specific diet all day for the duration of the pregnancy.
Developing good eating inclinations during pregnancy can lead to a lifetime of health and well-being. The commitment to healthy eating lasts longer if the choices become intuitive and not a diet that must be followed. Besides, when it comes to pregnancy, it feels much better to eat well.
What foods should I avoid?
Keep it simple: avoid sugar. Sugar doesn’t nourish you nor your baby. Processed, packaged foods should be evaded. Highly processed carbohydrates are like candy. Eating highly processed carbohydrates like pretzels can lead to gestational diabetes.
If you have high blood sugar levels, it will affect the way you nourish your baby; it will weaken the integrity of your tissues; it will increase your likelihood to tear and bleed more during labor; and it can make it more challenging to have effective sutures.
Additionally, if you have high blood sugar levels, your baby may need nutritional support after birth; your baby may experience difficulties balancing sugar levels without the resources it had in the uterus. If you eat too many sugar and white-flour-based products, your baby has to work overtime to compensate for your choices. The baby’s organs can be stressed before even been born.
What foods should I eat?
The key is balancing what you eat so that you get good amounts of proteins, carbs, vegetables and fruits. Essentially you should be eating a variety of food from natural, unprocessed sources. For instance, foods that will nourish your body include: fish, chicken, beef, eggs, green leafy greens, colorful vegetables, fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, and legumes. Try eating small meals regularly throughout the day to keep your blood sugar levels in check.
Here are some ideas for simple, healthy and nutritious recipes:
What else should I be doing?
What do you feel like doing? Notice when your energy is high and when its low. You know your body best and learning how to be aware of what your body needs is an lasting gift of pregnancy.
Stress Management
You teach your baby about reducing tension from the beginning of the pregnancy. When times are tough, spend a few minutes to soothe and remind yourself (and your baby) that you are capable of recovering and moving forward. Experiencing stress is an opportunity to teach your baby that the world is a forgiving place where we can recover, heal and move forward.
Feel Joy
Take the time to really experience joy each day. Make a short list of activities that make you feel good. Check your list and pick an activity to engage in everyday. Feeling joy releases hormones that soothe and feed your soul.
Move
Movement generates physical and mental heath. Turn up the music and dance; take a walk; go for a swim; try prenatal yoga. Whatever it is that makes you move, do it regularly and for a minimum of thirty minutes per day.
Take Your Vitamins
Take your prenatal vitamins everyday and consult your health care provider if you should be taking additional vitamins, including B6, B12 and D3.
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