Pregnancy and Maternal Health Care

Posts Tagged ‘Pregnancy Nutritions’

The participation of females in professional life has led women to develop increasingly in various occupations: politics, medicine, law, etc., But all this at what cost to extend the maternity leave?

There is no reason to question the right of every woman to perform professionally, more so in the competitive world of today, where both men and women should show their talents to survive a shrinking market consumerism.

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Any mother or expectant mother should know that an adequate nutritional status has consequences for herself and her baby, in the short term will be a boy and he is definitely not more than the propagation of our species.

That is why this period is as important as health educators and you must give the greatest possible interest in all that means this time.

The following are things that we can not know to achieve optimal nutritional status, both in pregnancy and lactation.

Energy metabolism is increased, which should increase your daily calories, but they must be calorie “nutritious” and not “empty” calories. Nutritious calories are achieved by simply performing a varied and balanced long-term manner, choosing in this way:

* Cereals and Pulses: wheat, oats, barley, corn and all its derivatives, as well as soy, lentils, beans, chickpeas, beans. They’re going to give lasting energy to carry out activities throughout the day. And they are even more nutritious whole grains (bread, crackers, cereal bars).
* Fruits and Vegetables: there are plenty on the market, we vary the colors, combine greens, yellow, red, stem, leaf, etc. Just as with fruits, vary among citrus fruits, red, white. This group is essential as we provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and water.
* Dairy: we all know the great importance of calcium throughout life, but in this period we must make the ossification of the baby, bringing you through the milk, yogurt, cheese, ricotta. What is important to highlight is that during lactation the transfer of calcium from the mother’s milk, is relatively independent of maternal calcium intake.
* Meat and eggs: the essential mineral that gives us this group is the “iron” and here the statistics are alarming, since it is estimated that 40% of mothers suffer from anemia and iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in pregnancy is associated with less weight gain over the same and may have undesirable consequences on the baby. This group also will give us high quality protein.
* Fats: we consume but with selection of them since they are of vegetable origin (oils, nuts) as well as fat from fish, we provide essential fatty acids, which we put him through one of these foods. Why should we opt for this type of fat, limiting the consumption of animal fat: butter, cream, meat fat, chicken skin, cold cuts, sausages, etc..
* Sugar: must be consumed in moderation, as excess fat becomes.

Therefore, we see that all foods can be consumed and in turn is a good time to learn, practice and incorporate good eating habits that will last a lifetime and thus we also teach our children.

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Folic acid is a substance found in many foods and has been shown that in certain regions of the world in which there is a deficiency of folic acid in the diet, such as parts of England there is an increased risk of malformations in nervous system – such as spina bifida or myelomeningocele, and has also been seen that administration of folic acid in the diet prevents this type of malformations.

That is why the administration should be the same in women who are looking for a pregnancy, and folic acid should be taken before pregnancy to occur and continue eating until around the third month of pregnancy. The recommended dose of folic acid to prevent problems with neural tube closure are about 1mg per day, unless the woman has a baby with a problem of this kind, in which case the recommended dose is higher, around 5 mg per day.

Calcium is a mineral widely distributed in foods. The problem during pregnancy and lactation requirement is the high biological situations they represent. Some organizations still differ on the recommendation of calcium during pregnancy on the grounds that even with smaller amounts of calcium are successful pregnancies. But we should remember that probably the effects of a low calcium intake is expected in the long term.

The best way to consume the amount of calcium you need is eating 3 servings of foods from the milk group (remember that this group does not include butter or cream).

When it comes to consuming milk does not necessarily refer to a glass of whole milk. When you cook any food that has milk for their preparation, without realizing you are consuming milk. Clear examples are the mashed potatoes, pudding or pancakes. Any other preparation you want to enrich with milk also going to provide an increased supply of calcium. If you like milk shakes are an excellent choice!

Other foods rich in calcium include yogurt and cultured milk, but certainly higher values are found in cheese, especially hard cheeses. The more mature the cheese more calcium.

A concept to consider is the amount of fat as these foods provide. Those with better calcium / fat are milk and nonfat yogurt, and on the other side of the spectrum are hard cheeses. If you’re not having problems with excessive weight gain do not worry too much and you have to eat hard cheeses podes.

Remember to eat 3 servings of dairy products.
One serving equals:

* A glass of milk (200 cc)
* A pot of yogurt (200 grams)
* 3 slices of cheese machine
* 2 tablespoons grated cheese
* 1 ½ cups ice cream

Final advice: foods mentioned differ greatly in how much calcium they have depending on the brand. It is good to learn to read the nutritional information on the label of the products we consume. Any food that will supply 100 mg of calcium per 100 grams of food podes regarded as an acceptable source of calcium.

Vitamin A (retinol) has many functions in the body to be very necessary at any age for their benefits in vision, skin, mucous membranes, teeth, soft tissue and skeletal growth, immune system, nevioso and in the use of iron, but is important during pregnancy because it participates in the development of the baby.

It takes about 800 micrograms of vitamin A daily, which is obtained in 1 medium carrot, for example. Other sources of this vitamin are milk and its derivatives, especially those which contain more fat as butter, egg yolk and liver (beef, fish, etc.). Vegetables in yellow or orange as tangerine, tomato, red pepper, chilli, various peppers, pumpkin, apricot, medlar. It is also found in other green vegetables (as the green is very strong and masks to yellow).

While very necessary, too much vitamin A can be dangerous since it is a fat-soluble vitamin that is, its structure is fat and dissolves in fat rather than water and therefore can not be eliminated in the urine and accumulates in the body.

Consuming more than 3,000 micrograms per day during pregnancy can cause malformations in the baby’s face and skull and ear defects, blindness, bone atrophy (forehead, small nose, eyes separated). It can also cause cardiac lesions, nervous and immune system and even abortion.

Is very difficult to suffer an overdose consuming food sources of vitamin A, but medications such as multivitamins, pills vision, acne treatments, psoriasis, mastopathy escleroquística, food supplements to accelerate your tan or Skin protection it can provide an overload of vitamin and risking pregnancy.

So always, but especially if you are in the sweet hope, you should consult your doctor or nutritionist before starting any supplement or multivitamin supplement, since they are also medicines.