Prenatal Nutrition: How it affects Your Unborn baby:
You are what you eat – and so is your baby! Over the years, I’ve learned that some women have a hard time adopting a regimen of good prenatal nutrition. They know they should eat well, they know a balanced diet does not mean varying the flavors of the chips they eat and the sodas they drink, but it’s hard. It’s hard to change eating habits, or to not give in to cravings, or to not feel guilty for those little indulgences. Sometimes it’s just easier not to think about nutrition at all.
What would happen if your nutrition intake is not proper during pregnancy:
Poor prenatal nutrition will affect the placenta, the fascinating and complex organ that sustains your baby’s life in the womb. A placenta that is friable (easily damaged) and shows calcifications may not have been functioning at full potential, meaning your baby may not have received ideal supplies of oxygen or nourishment in utero.
Good nutrition helps to grow a strong and healthy placenta.
Poor nourishment can also lead to amniotic membranes rupturing before baby is ready to be born. Ruptured membranes put you on a clock and if labor does not begin or you are not in active labor within 12-24 hours , you will need to go to the hospital for labor induction or augmentation, which means you need to stay in bed, monitored, to see how baby tolerates the drugs. As we know, one intervention often leads to another. Vitamin C has been clinically proven to help prevent premature rupture of membranes.
If labor begins weeks or months before your due date (preterm labor), your baby misses out on the many benefits of being in the womb. Late pregnancy is when key brain development, healthy weight gain, and organ function refinement take place. Again, good nutrition can help prevent preterm labor.
Potential complications from poor nutrition for mom include gestational diabetes, placental abruption, high blood pressure, toxemia or pre-eclampsia (which is a serious life-threatening condition that can result in high blood pressure, convulsions and even death). The only cure is to get the baby out. This may be preventable with good nourishment.
Babies may look “fine” and even adorable at birth, but if they have been deprived of the full range of the vital nourishment they needed in utero, they have a greater chance of having developmental delays or physical and/or neurological disabilities. They may be small for their gestational age or low birth weight babies, factors that may also effect the breastfeeding relationship. The nutritional start your baby gets in life sets up their digestive tract with the gut flora that is so key to their immune systems. It will impact their health and well-being for life.
Poor nutrition increases your chances of pregnancy discomforts such as morning sickness, constipation, fatigue, muscle cramps and heartburn. It can also result in poor healing from the birth process, which leads to a longer recovery period and increased risk of infection.
Poor food choices during pregnancy and lactation can lead to our children having sub-optimal food preferences as they grow. What we eat flavors our amniotic fluid and breastmilk and our babies develop a preference for the flavors they have become accustomed to in utero and while breastfeeding. How amazing is that? If you want a child who grows up enjoying a wide variety of healthy foods, start now! Your food choices in pregnancy and lactation can affect your children’s food choices for a lifetime.
Some studies indicate that poor nutrition in pregnancy may lead to obesity in the child later. Your food choices in pregnancy can affect how your child’s body will handle nutrients and calories in the future. Foods you eat now will matter for a very long time.
Remember, your nutritional needs change when you’re pregnant, and what you needed or lived on before is likely not enough now. You want your child to thrive! You and only you have control over how you choose to nourish yourself and your baby, and this will directly affect how your labor, birth and postpartum period will go.
No one can tell you what to do, but your health care providers,GYN and doctors can help guide you toward making better choices. Talk to them or ask to speak with a nutritionist if you need help with your diet – it’s never too late to start making better choices!
Take care of your unborn baby.
Disclaimer
The sole purpose of these blogs is to provide information about the tradition of ayurveda. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, prevention or cure of any disease. If you have any serious, acute or chronic health concern, please consult a trained doctor/health professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. If you are seeking the medical advice of a trained Ayurvedic expert, call us or e mail.
Dr Unnati Chavda
(Promoting pregnancy wellness)
www.ayurvedapanchkarma.in
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