Motherhood – A Blessing with Prudence
Motherhood is the God’s gift to a lady and the feeling of such blessing cannot be expressed in words. At the same time, it is a time when you need to be cautious, use your wisdom and be prudent. You need to take extra care of both the mother and the foetus. Timely medication, check-ups and precautions to be taken on a day to day basis will not only help the proper growth of the baby but also will facilitate the would be a mother to stay healthy during and after the pregnancy. One must follow a strictly controlled diet to provide complete nutrition to the mother and the child. Let’s explore a guide to pregnancy diet which is crucial for the mother.
Servings
Recommended servings of different foods need to be followed for a balanced diet chart. Following a balanced diet will help all nutrients are taken for healthy growth. Six to eleven servings of grains and bread, two to four servings of fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, and three servings of proteins in a day are perfect during pregnancy.
Nutrients
You must practice a diet which is high in fibre content like – whole grain bread, cereals, rice, pasta, fruits, and vegetables.There are man-made fibre supplements available in the market, which can be consumed but only after consulting your doctor. The body needs 1300mg of Calcium daily during pregnancy and you must get the same. Proper intake of iron from iron-rich sources like- lean meat, spinach, and beans can be fulfilled. For the proper and healthy development of the brain and nervous system of the baby proper intake of Iodine is compulsory, hence iodine rich foods like – milk, cheese and yoghurt must be included in the diet.
Vitamins and Minerals
Essential micronutrients – Vitamins and Minerals are required for both the mother and the foetus during pregnancy. Foods with rich Vitamin C are orange, grapes, papaya, cauliflower, tomato, and mustard. One of the most important Vitamins is Vitamin A and can be taken from carrots, pumpkin, Spinach and turnip. The mother needs a daily dosage of folate during pregnancy and good sources of folate are – green leafy vegetables, legumes, and Chicken peas. Vitamins, minerals and folic acids are available in the form of supplements- tablets and syrups and can be taken under medical supervision only.
Avoid the following
There are foods and drinks which you must avoid as a precautionary measure like you must not consume alcohol, caffeine, and saccharin-containing foods. Control your diet in terms of cholesterol intake. Avoid sea foods which have chances of mercury contamination.
At times, during pregnancy you feel like the food you eat daily has suddenly started creating problems like – you don’t feel good taking down food your food pipe, you are sick of even the smell of the food. Follow these ideas or suggestions to overcome these situations.
