Thursday 19 May 2016

Nutritional Counseling for Expecting Mothers

Healthy babies look cute and who doesn’t want to deliver a healthy baby? So pledge for the right intake of your diet with full nutrients that are very well needed for you and your baby. The best time to take care of your body to nourish it for baby-building actually begins from months before conception.

Nutritional deficiencies in pregnant women have been associated with many reasons, some of them relate with the pregnancy-related illnesses, including morning sickness, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, toxemia, and anemia.



Nutritional Counseling experts in Waterford on your initial prenatal visit will ask you to record everything that you eat for one week. At your next visit, your weekly food log will be reviewed to know what your nutritional strengths are and weaknesses that may come up during your comprehensive program which you are going to follow. It is the job of our nutritional consultants to make you aware of your diet and to remind you of the importance of optimal nutrition during pregnancy. Choosing which foods to eat during pregnancy gives you the vitality to nurture your baby in the womb. The summarized classification gives you a brief idea as:
  • Vegetables and Fruit: 7-8 servings of a variety of vegetables and fruit
  • Grain Products: 6-7 servings focusing primarily on whole grains more often
  • Meat and Alternatives: 2 servings of poultry, fish, lean meat, dried peas, beans, lentils, eggs or tofu.
  • Milk and Alternatives:
    • Over 19 years of age: 2 servings of lower fat milk, cheese, yogurt or enriched soy beverages
    • Under 19 years of age: 3-4 servings
  • Increase the Intake of Iron from whole grain and iron-enriched breakfast cereals, lean meats, dried peas and beans, dark green vegetables, dried fruits and nut. It is a better supplement to take as it makes red blood cells, having the potential to carry oxygen through your own body and to your growing baby.
  • Consumption of caffeine should be in moderation and it should be less than 300 mg a day. Go for healthy beverages without caffeine such as water, sparkling water, milk or fortified soy beverage and decaffeinated tea or coffee more often.
  • Avoid alcohol before pregnancy and during pregnancy phases.

 Medications you may consider:

  • One multivitamin supplement for daily consumption that includes folic acid, iron and Vitamin B12. One should note that consumption should not be more than 10,000 IU of Vitamin A because too much vitamin A can cause birth defects.
  • Folic acid is a vitamin essential to take either before you conceive and during pregnancy. This vitamin helps in reducing the risk of a baby to develop a birth defect, called neural tube defect, which affects the brain and spinal cord.
Achieving an ideal healthy weight becomes a priority before you get pregnant, is important for you and your baby. A healthy lifestyle with regular physical activity and healthy eating makes you achieve a healthy body weight. All the expecting mothers and pregnant mothers are suggested to consult your nutritional consultants in Waterford regarding weight issues and which medications are appropriate for you to take. As carrying a fetus in your womb requires a full-time job with full supervision on your lifestyle from your timing of meals, kind of foods you eat, calories and proteins you take, exercises and sleeping patterns.

After all, it is the life you are carrying inside your womb for nine months and motherhood starts from the day you have begun conducting yourself for your baby once you know that you are pregnant!