Nutrition in Pregnancy

 

The concept of nutrition during pregnancy is the first question that comes to mind of every woman who is newly pregnant. However, the fact that nutrition is sufficient and balanced is a necessity of life and general principles must be followed in order to maintain our body and mental health throughout life. For this reason, we need to adjust our diet before pregnancy according to the needs of our own life and body.

When every newly conceived patient who asked us, “What am I going to eat now or not?”, We recommend that he first review his eating habits at that time. Because the day that starts with toast or pastry, especially in working women, it continues with fast food or passage, and it is completed with an unstable and inadequate quality dinner at late due to the late arrival home due to traffic conditions. Sometimes we snack with trouble throughout the day. It would be a much more suitable option to determine the condition of the person in the diet and then switch to regular and balanced nutrition before pregnancy.

Having a healthy pregnancy and supporting the baby with an adequate and high quality food group and providing its storage is only possible by providing these conditions.

In general, the average weight gain we recommend is between 9-13 kilos. Whenever possible, it is useful to keep this intake for a minimum of the first 3 months. In fact, if there is nausea and if vomiting is added to varying degrees, it will naturally not be possible to find an ideal in the diet. The basic rule should be to reduce the conscientious burden of the woman with nausea difficulty in early pregnancy. It should never be forgotten how strong the human body is, it contains a serious food store and it will transfer it to the baby completely. Therefore, proper nutrition for this group starts when nausea ends. Of course, if there are lentil soup, vegetable soup, highland soup, cheese varieties, olive-edible fruit varieties or other foods in the meantime, it will be very useful to consume this group. Probably the best suggestion is to try to do the best we can do both as a physician and a mother who suffered from nausea and vomiting early in her pregnancy; However, in case of severe nausea, because of anxiety of the baby will be lack of nutrients, forcing the pregnant woman herself to eat will not help. The coercion could only increase nausea and vomiting, which will be of no use to anyone.

The rate of your weight gain may increase as the weeks of pregnancy increase. The ideal of this rate is not to exceed 1.5-2 kilograms in the first 3 months, and then to go with a gain of 1.2-2 kilograms per month. Of course, our getaways will be from time to time. However, it should not be routine.

The basic behaviour model is not to skip meals and neglect the support of snacks. The most important meal is actually breakfast. We should not forget that it is very useful to eat eggs every day at breakfast. We can consume all kinds of cheese. However, we should make choices as low as fat and poor in salt. If we love olives, it is useful to boil the olives, throw the juice and desalinate. Vegetables such as tomato, pepper, cucumber and parsley should also be added to the breakfast according to the season. We can easily eat 2 slices of bread for breakfast, but choosing our bread from the whole grain (wheat, bran or rye) group will be very useful for both grain quality and regular operation of our intestines.

Meat, fish or chicken should be consumed at lunch and dinner. Having protein sources in almost every meal will make it easier for the mother and baby to meet their increased protein needs. As a protein source, it seems very important to support these meals with yogurt and dried legumes. Meals should include fresh greens (cold cuts or salads) and vegetable dishes cooked to suit ideal conditions. Not all of these foods can be eaten at the same meal, as well as bringing in excess calories. These examples are given to increase diversity.

Protein sources should meet both the increasing need of the mother and the physical and mental structure of the baby. One of the most common questions from mothers here is ‘should I drink milk? If the expectant mother does not like milk or cannot consume milk due to lactose intolerance, we can bring two solutions. The first is that we can increase the yogurt as much as we want or try drinking kefir if it does not bother other dairy products, cheese and. Second, we can try goat milk, cheese and yogurt, fruit milk such as coconut milk, almond milk. Since there are a lot of alternatives in dairy products, it is a food group that is more open to the solution.

Meat products are another important source of protein. Fish consumption is enough twice a week, but if it is prefered, it can of course be increased. It is also okay to consume other seafood. There is a more comfortable range for meat and chicken. Because this group can be eaten boiled or grilled, it can be consumed by putting it in dishes and soups. It is absolutely necessary to have meat products in at least one meal every day.

Another important nutrient that is important to be taken during pregnancy is minerals. At the very beginning of these; iron comes. Iron nutrients are found in fresh greens, red meat, poultry, dried fruits, dried legumes, whole grain products and molasses. However, tea and coffee should not be consumed during meals in order not to prevent the absorption of iron. Pregnancy should be started at the 20th week at the latest considering the personal status of the woman in need for iron. Because besides natural nutrition, nutrition may not be sufficient since the baby uses iron for its own production after 20 weeks. The absorption of iron from the intestine is 10% and for good absorption, dairy products, tea and coffee should not be used. It is useful to take 100 mg iron in healthy conditions in daily iron preparation intake. The daily dose can be increased if iron deficiency anemia is found. The bioavailability of iron products, which can be used as a chassis and are absorbed directly from the oral mucosa, without causing gastrointestinal problems and increased absorption has increased considerably.

Another mineral is calcium, and calcium is found in dairy products, legumes and green leafy vegetables. Our daily calcium need is 1300 mg during pregnancy and when we drink a large glass of milk (240 ml) we get 300 mg of calcium. Magnesium, on the other hand, will be very useful in the elimination of existing leg cramps especially in the second half of pregnancy. Magnesium in our soil is almost destroyed due to poor agricultural practices, and magnesium has decreased very much in the crops grown today and magnesium intake is almost mandatory.

Natural nutrition will be sufficient for vitamin B intake. B vitamins are mostly in whole grain foods, fresh greens, nuts, nuts, and nuts, and dried legumes.

It is easier to adjust an ideal diet in a more controlled manner with a nutritionist, rather than worrying about the woman who is pregnant over the ideal weight. Worry; It only makes things difficult and not easy. Normally it is ideal to add an extra 300 calories per day for the pregnant woman in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. However, this increase does not make sense if we are pregnant over the ideal weight. It is definitely not appropriate for the pregnant woman to try to lose weight after the 4th month.

Our average calorie requirement in pregnancy is around 2300-2400. We need to adjust it completely in proportion to our own physical condition and life. Many of us already know the limits of ideal nutrition very well, and perhaps pregnancy is a great opportunity to start implementing it. Because for the good of our baby, we must be good first.

In metabolic disorders that may develop during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, nutrition should be tailored individually with support from the nutritionist and endocrinology. It should be emphasized here that it is more personal than the general rules, because from time to time our patients want lists from us for nutrition, but this fact does not bring uniform anxiety about human application and reach the target. Since we all have different daily movements and basal metabolism, I think that the cooperation should be concluded here and the pregnant woman should be able to know herself very well.

 

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