Prenatal Nutrition
Why worry about what you eat during pregnancy?
Because your baby's development, how you feel during your pregnancy, how well your labor and delivery go, how well you recover, and how well breastfeeding goes all depend on the kind and amount of food you eat during your pregnancy. The single most important thing you can do to insure a healthy baby is make the commitment to start eating right - now!
What can
happen to me if I do not eat
right?
COMPLICATIONS!
1.
Your baby may not grow big
enough
to be healthy. Birth weight is the most
significant
factor
in predicting your child's future health and mental development.
a bigger baby
is better!
2.
Your uterus is likely to
malfunction
during labor, which means a longer, more
painful
labor.
If your uterus cannot contract effectively and you are having a
hospital birth,
drugs will be administered to stimulate contractions, or your baby
will be born
by C-section. If you are having a home birth, you may have to
transfer to the
hospital.
3.
Your liver may begin to
malfunction
as a result of protein deficiency, and you may
develop Metabolic
Toxemia of Late Pregnancy, a dangerous condition which can kill
mother and baby.
4.
Brain damage, hyperactivity,
learning
disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, respiratory
distress syndrome,
sudden infant death syndrome, and stillbirth are all linked to
improper nutrition
during pregnancy.
5.
Breastfeeding may be difficult
or impossible when the mother has not had proper
prenatal
nutrition.
6. It
is normal for women in late
pregnancy to become insulin resistant, raising their
blood sugar. This is not true diabetes and
does NOT predispose one to diabetes.
However, by ingesting large amounts of grains
in the diet (wheat, corn, oats, barley,
rice and other grains) this can cause a fungal
infection which inhibits the ability of the
pancreas to produce insulin. Grains have
fungal organisms that grown on them, and
these fungal organisms produce mycotoxins
which are the cause of the fungal infection
which affects the pancreas. In this
country, grains are stored in large silos and there
the fungal organisms grow and reproduce until
the grains are milled into flour or meal.
There is no way to get these mycotoxins out of
the grains. Plus, there are SO many
products that contain high fructose corn
syrup, this also greatly increases the toxin
problem. So not only should we abstain
from grains but also any product that has
high fructose corn syrup on the label.
In general
nutritional guidelines for
pregnant women are:
Women who
choose to give birth
unassisted
and do their own prenatal
care
will focus on nutrition as their first
line of defense against prenatal problems.
Go on to
learn about Metabolic
Toxemia of Late Pregnancy, and specific nutritional
guidelines for pregnant women.
See our Protein
Counter to make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet.
Drop us a line!
For more articles about pregnancy and birth, see The Online Childbirth Class
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Copyright
2001-11 Judie C. Snelson and The
Center
for Unhindered Living
