Perfectly Pregnant

During your pregnancy, you will need a slight increase in the quantity of food you eat and a major improvement in the quality of food you eat. Pregnancy is an ideal time to improve your eating habits. After all, you’re a parent now and eating well is an important responsibility. Furthermore, the bond you’ve already begun to develop with your baby will motivate you to make wise decisions.

Mothers who are well-nourished during pregnancy:

• Have fewer problems with morning sickness, constipation, fatigue, heartburn and muscle cramps.
• Experience fewer cravings for high-fat, high-sugar foods that have little nutritional value.
• Are less likely to develop pregnancy complications, such as anaemia, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, premature birth or giving birth to a baby with low birth weight.
• Have an easier labour with fewer complications.
• Find it easier to take off excess weight after the birth and experience less postpartum depression.

Proper nutrition during pregnancy also results in healthier babies who:

• Are a healthier weight at birth.
• Are less likely to experience complications during and immediately after birth, including birth defects.
• Are less likely to experience developmental delays.

Best of all, you will learn practical strategies for making these beneficial eating habits a long-lasting part of your family’s life.

While a baby is in the womb, the brain grows more rapidly than in any other stage of infant or child development. And during the first year after birth, the brain continues to grow rapidly, tripling in size by an infant’s first birthday. So, it would make sense for a pregnant and lactating mother to supplement her diet with brain-building nutrients, primarily the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish and flax oil (one tablespoon of flax oil daily, four ounces of tuna or salmon three times a week).

In fact, some nutritionists recommend that pregnant and lactating women take 200 milligrams of DHA supplements a day.

It is a fact that Omega-3s are foundational to the development of your baby’s brain, eyes and nervous system. When it comes to Omega-3s you are going to quickly learn that correct Nutrition Really Does Matter…

Recent studies show that getting enough of this vital nutrient can increase your baby’s IQ, help your baby have longer quieter sleep periods and decrease the depressive symptoms of postpartum for the mother.