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Getting adequate nutrition becomes quite a challenge during the final weeks of pregnancy. Not only do you feel as big as a house but the baby is squishing everything including your stomach, which makes it very difficult to eat a big meal. During the final weeks of pregnancy it is much easier to just eat several smalls meals a day instead of the regular 3 meals. You may feel like you are snacking all day long by doing this but if you make nutritious choices you are doing yourself and the baby good.
Here are some great healthy snack ideas as you try to get enough to eat and adequate nutrition during those last few weeks of your pregnancy.
- Fruit. Having bite sized pieces of fruit to snack on during the day is a healthy way to curb those sweet tooth cravings.
- Dried fruit and nuts.
- Cheese can help with your intake of both calcium and protein.
- Crackers, especially those high in fiber and whole grains. You can add a little protein and calcium by spreading peanut butter or cream cheese on the crackers.
- Cottage cheese and fruit. This is a great idea for lunch. You get lots of good energy creating protein in a light meal that won’t weigh you down.
- Chicken or tuna salad on whole grain bread that is high in fiber. (Remember to watch your intake of tuna though and follow your doctor’s recommendations)
- A fresh salad with light dressing. Choice lots of in season veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers (whatever you like and is in season). You can even add some turkey, ham, or other meat to make a meal of it.
- Cereal. You can snack on dry cereal or have a bowl with milk for any meal.
- Anything that tickles your fancy, is light, and provides good nutrition.
Preparing for the day ahead of time is a good way to avoid snacking on empty calorie, high fat, poor nutrition foods. Have all the bite sized portions available and snack away. If you have any particular cravings think of healthy ways to curb those cravings like fruit for sweet cravings, crackers and cheese for salty cravings, etc. The nice thing about learning how to snack well during your pregnancy is that the lessons your learn will likely carry over into your postpartum period making it much easier to shed that baby weight!
If you are concerned that you are not getting adequate nutrition at any time during your pregnancy talk to your doctor. They can evaluate you and determine if you perhaps need to meet with a nutritionist.
Before you start trying to get pregnant you want to do everything you can to make sure you are ready emotionally, physically, and financially for this life changing experience. Being ready physically means being healthy. Being healthy is important to help support a growing fetus but also to help you conceive in the first place. Good eating habits and a healthy diet are an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
Getting pregnant comes easy for some women but for others it isn’t so easy. There is a lot about our daily lives that can impact our ability to conceive such as our stress level, our work/life balance, the safety of our job, how or if we exercise, and what we eat.
What we eat can have a big impact on our ability to conceive, but it also has a big impact on that tiny little baby as soon as it begins to grow inside of you. We all know that good nutrition is important during pregnancy but it is also important before you get pregnant as well. What goes into our body seems to have an impact on fertility.
Here are a few things to consider about your diet when you are trying to get pregnant.
- Reduce your intake of alcohol. You shouldn’t drink alcohol while you are pregnant so this is a great time to get used to not drinking. Skip that extra glass of wine with dinner.
- Eliminate caffeine if you can, if not at least reduce your intake of caffeine. Caffeine has been linked to miscarriage risk early in pregnancy so it is a good idea to cut your caffeine intake before you get pregnant anyway.
- Eat whole grains instead of a lot of refined carbohydrates. Skip the white bread and pasta and go for the heartier whole wheat versions instead.
- Increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Pick fruits and vegetables with a lot of color.
- Watch your fish intake. Limit how much fish you consume each week and make sure what you do eat is low in mercury. Steer clear of those high mercury fish like tuna, swordfish, etc.
- Increase your iron intake. You can get iron from foods like red meat and spinach. You can also consider a multivitamin with iron (most women’s multivitamins contain iron).
- Eat a well balanced diet, try to avoid fad diets especially those that limit any one food group.
Talk to your doctor about your current diet and what changes he or she recommends for women trying to conceive. If you think your diet may be impacting your ability to get pregnant consider going to a nutritionist for help. The saying goes that we are what we eat. By starting to maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes healthy eating habits you may be able to impact your chances of getting pregnant.
The Today Show this morning featured a segment on a research study that found some additional benefits of folic acid in pregnant women. As many of you know, or should know, folic acid when taken prior to and during the early stages of pregnancy helps to reduce the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida in your developing baby. It is recommended that women of child bearing age get 400 mg of folic acid every day.
As if reducing the risk of neural tube defects isn’t enough reason to stay on top of your folic acid intake new research has found that folic acid may also reduce your risk of going into premature labor. The study found that women who were taking a folic acid supplement for at least one year prior to becoming pregnant cut their risk of a very early pre-term birth (between 20 and 28 weeks) by 70 percent compared with women who did not take folic acid. There was also a reduction in pre-term births between 28 and 32 weeks of 50 percent.
The recommendation remains that women of child bearing age get 400 mg of folic acid every day. It can be difficult to get adequate folic acid from foods so a supplement may be your best bet. Foods that do contain folic acid include fortified cereals and breads, green leafy vegetables, legumes, some berries, and sunflower seeds. Talk to your doctor about the best way for you to get enough folic acid in your diet.
A majority of pregnancies are still unplanned so your best bet is to take a multivitamin that contains one hundred percent of your folic acid if you are of child bearing age that way you will get the benefits if you become pregnant unexpectedly. Folic acid is also thought to aid in heart health as well, so even if you aren’t planning on getting pregnant there are other benefits.
Talk to your doctor if you have questions about folic acid and its benefits.
A new study conducted by Kaiser Permanente in California, and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, shows a link between caffeine consumption and miscarriage risk. The study looked at over 1000 women, they were interviewed at an average of 10 weeks into their pregnancy. 16% of the women were found to have miscarried. Of those who miscarried, 60% of them had consumed up to 200mg of caffeine everyday, with another 15% saying they consumed more than 200mg of caffeine daily. By contrast only 25% of the women who miscarried had reported not consuming any caffeine.
Several studies have been conducted to determine the effect of caffeine on early pregnancy, however, previous research studies did not control for morning sickness (which often results in a reduced risk of miscarriage). In this particular study they did control for morning sickness and found an increased risk of miscarriage based on caffeine consumption even among those women who reported having morning sickness in early pregnancy.
Not a lot is known about why caffeine causes an increased risk of miscarriage, however, it is thought that since caffeine crosses the placenta is affects cell development and may even impact the blood flow from mom to baby.
Doctors have long cautioned women against consuming too much caffeine during pregnancy, but didn’t really know how much was too much. The results of the study seem to indicate that any amount of caffeine increases the risk of miscarriage, but that 200mg or more causes the greatest increased risk. 200mg of caffeine is equivalent to 2 cups of coffee, 4 caffeinated sodas, or 4 cups of tea.
I wasn’t a caffeine drinker before my pregnancy so it was easy for me not to consume any caffeine during my pregnancy. Women who rely on caffeine to get them going in the morning are likely to have a harder time staying away from or reducing the amount of caffeine they consume during pregnancy. A few things you can do to combat the exhaustion of the first trimester without turning to coffee are: get enough sleep (nap more, adjust your schedule so you can sleep more, etc), eat a healthy, balanced diet, and exercise.
Talk to your doctor about the results of this study and determine what you can do to reduce your own risk for miscarriage.
Weight gain during pregnancy is both something pregnant women hate to talk about and something that is continuously confusing for most women. How much weight you are supposed to gain during a normal pregnancy varies widely. It used to be that there was a one size fits all approach, however, research has shown that weight gain during pregnancy should vary depending on how the woman comes into the pregnancy. A woman who is underweight coming into the pregnancy will likely be told to gain more weight than average while a woman who comes into pregnancy overweight will be advised to gain less than average. Any special circumstances in your pregnancy will also impact your doctor's recommendations.
Weight gain during pregnancy plays many key roles including nurturing mother and baby. Much of the weight we are supposed to gain during pregnancy is directly related to the baby, resulting from the growing baby, the growing uterus, our growing breasts, and the increased volume of fluids in our body necessary to support the pregnancy. We also tend to gain a little extra weight that provides an added cushion (literally!!). This is thought to be an evolutionary thing so that our bodies have extra nutrients to continue to support the pregnancy even if we, for whatever reason, can't get food. It is important that each woman talk to her doctor or midwife about weight gain during pregnancy early on, what amount they should aim for, how best to ensure healthy weight gain during pregnancy, and any other concerns you may have.
You may know how much weight you are supposed to gain, but often we have no idea how best to go about healthy pregnancy weight gain. There is always the option of consulting a nutritionist who specializes in pregnancy, but often that is too time consuming and too expensive if not covered by your health insurance plan. Now the USDA has begun to make this task a little easier by developing food pyramids designed specifically for pregnant and breastfeeding moms. You should also discuss your diet with your doctor but this is a great way to get started and give you some information and questions to bring up.
No one likes to gain weight but during pregnancy it is important to the health of your baby. Just remember that weight gained in a healthy manner will be much easier to shed after the baby arrives.