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Start with Sound Nutrition
by Roon Frost
Every year, approximately four million infants are
born in the United States. If there’s one wish
every parent-to-be makes, it’s for a healthy baby.
Fortunately, there are ways you can help make good on
that wish.
Preconception
“The most important doctor’s visit may be
the one that takes place before a pregnancy is conceived,”
says Peter S. Bernstein, MD, MPH, at New York’s
Montefiore Medical Center. Get a thorough physical (reviewing
any health conditions and your vaccination records).
Also ask what medications can harm the fetus, and
start taking prenatal vitamins including daily supplements
of folic acid, which helps prevent birth defects—months
before conception. Folic acid is best taken with B12
and other B-complex vitamins.
If weight (too much or too little) is an issue, this
is the ideal time to correct it. If you drink or smoke,
stop before you try to conceive. “A good diet
and avoidance of fatty foods, alcohol, and other liver-irritating
drugs before pregnancy is helpful in minimizing morning
sickness” in early pregnancy, says Elson M. Haas,
MD, founder and director of the Preventive Medical Center
of Marin in San Rafael, California.
Also avoid potential toxins—lead, mercury, and
pesticides—in the environ-ment. Air pollution
may lead to low birth weight and preterm delivery, for
example. Prenatal exposure to PCBs (polychlorinated
biphenyls) may lead to dental and respiratory problems—and
can even reduce children’s responses to vaccines.
Maternal exposure to organophosphate pesticides has
been linked to neurological deficits in their offspring.
Since you are unlikely to know when you’ll conceive,
switch to organic foods before you decide to start a
family.
By the time most moms-to-be schedule their first prenatal
visit, they’re 10 to 12 weeks pregnant. Many birth
defects are likely to occur before then. Home pregnancy
tests are usually accurate two weeks after a missed
period, allowing a woman to see her doctor sooner, rather
than later.
Eating for Two
A daily diet rich in fruits and vegetables can cut the
risk of miscarriage in half. Choose whole grains (foods
that list “whole” wheat or “whole”
oats as their first ingredient) instead of refined bread,
cereal, pasta, or rice. Maternal concentrations of vitamin
E have been linked to healthy fetal growth. Healthy
intake of antioxidants during pregnancy may help lessen
the chance of your child’s wheezing at age two.
“The pregnant woman’s body needs more
of everything,” says Dr. Haas. On average, women
need 2,400 to 2,800 calories daily (20 to 25 percent
more) during pregnancy—and even more during the
last trimester. Aim for 60 grams of protein from eggs,
fish, legumes, and yogurt.
To maintain a healthy weight, choose whole foods with
a high nutrient-to-calorie ratio. A high-fiber diet
of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains helps prevent
constipation, a common problem for pregnant women. However,
“I do not suggest strict veganism during pregnancy,”
adds Dr. Haas. “Although it can be done, it does
not have the same degree of safety as eating a wider
range of protein foods, let alone the added calcium
and iron needed. Even though vitamin B12 may be absorbed
better by vegetarians than by meat eaters because of
their needs, it is not found in many vegetable foods.”
Make sure you get plenty of calcium, vitamin D, and
other bone-building vitamins and minerals. Dr. Haas
recommends 1,000 to 1,300 mg of calcium, which is difficult
to obtain from diet alone, for baby’s and mom’s
bones, teeth, muscle and heart function, blood clotting,
and nerve transmission. Toward the end of pregnancy,
extra calcium and magnesium (1,500 to 2,000 mg of each)
may help reduce pain from contractions and muscle aches,
he adds.
While it’s wise to limit saturated and trans
fats, omega-3 fatty acids are critical to your baby’s
brain development. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in cold-water
fish and fish oil supplements can support your child’s
eye-hand coordination and may help prevent learning
problems.
Anemia sometimes develops in the second trimester,
though it’s unlikely to affect the developing
baby. Enjoy foods rich in iron: leafy greens, organic
meats, prunes, and raisins. If your physician prescribes
iron supplements, take them with vitamin C to improve
absorption. While you don’t want to take extra
iron unless it’s necessary—since it can
interfere with the absorption of zinc—a new study
shows that 100 mg a day won’t adversely impact
a pregnant woman’s zinc levels.
If consumed during the last four weeks of pregnancy,
a high intake of several foods (citrus, margarine, and
polyunsaturated vegetable oil) has been linked to the
baby’s increased risk of allergies, including
eczema, by two years of age. Also avoid nitrates and
nitrites in bacon, hot dogs, and lunchmeats throughout
pregnancy.
Stay Hydrated
Your body needs more liquids when you’re pregnant.
Consume at least eight 8-ounce glasses of clean, pure
water daily plus an extra 8 ounces for every hour of
light exercise.
While juice counts as a liquid and can add nutrients,
it adds calories, too. Limit your intake of caffeinated
beverages; they’ll just make you urinate more
(and you may actually lose water). Steer clear of beverages
with sugar substitutes (aspartame and saccharin) as
well as artificial colors and flavors.
Are Herbs Safe?
Nausea is common during the first trimester and may
last past the twentieth week in some women. Recent double-blind,
placebo-controlled research finds ginger “fairly
low-risk and effective” for nausea and vomiting
in pregnancy. Herbalist/midwife Aviva Jill Romm, a medical
student at Yale, recommends sipping a little ginger
tea every 15 minutes or so. “Because some women
find it as nauseating as anything else,” she suggests
mixing ginger tea or a few drops of ginger tincture
with a little carbonated water and maple syrup to sweeten.
Red raspberry tea may be useful during the second
and third trimesters, Romm suggests, and this herb has
been traditionally used to support the uterus and healthy
labor. For colds after the first trimester, echinacea
appears safe to take for two or three days, as well,
Canadian research finds. TFL
SELECTED SOURCES
– The Baby Center Essential Guide to Pregnancy
and Birth by Linda Murray et al. ($14.95, Rodale, 2005)
– The Complete Guide to Everyday Risks in Pregnancy
& Breastfeeding by Gideon Koren, MD, FRCP ($17.95,
Robert Rose, 2004)
– “Consequences of Prenatal Toxin Exposure
. . .” by J. H. Williams and L. Ross, Eur Child
Adolesc Psychitary, 1/2/07
–“Dietary Intake and Use of Dietary Supplements
. . . among Pregnant Finnish Women” by T. Arkkola
et al., Br J Nutr, 11/06
–“Duration of Pregnancy in Relation to Fish
Oil Supplementation and Habitual Fish Intake . . .”
by S. F. Olsen et al., Eur J Clin Nutr, 2/7/07
–“Effect of High-Dose Iron Supplements on
Fractional Zinc Absorption and Status in Pregnant Women”
by L. J. Harvey et al., 1/07; “Maternal Antioxidant
Intake in Pregnancy and Wheezing Illnesses in Children
. . .” by A. A. Litonjua et al., 10/06; “Patterns
and Predictors of Folic Acid Supplement Use among Pregnant
Women . . .” by R. M. Nilsen et al., 11/06; “Vitamin
E: Maternal Concentrations Are Associated with Fetal
Growth” by T. O. Scholl et al., 12/06, Am J Clin
Nutr
–“Effect of Prenatal Exposure to Polychlorinated
Biphenyls . . .” by F. Dallaire et al., 8/06;
“Exposures to Airborne Particulate Matter and
Adverse Perinatal Outcomes . . .” by S. Kannan
et al., 11/06, Environ Health Perspect
–“Effects of Dietary Calcium Intervention
. . .” by G. M. Chan et al., Obstet Gynecol, 9/06
–“Ginger Studies for Treatment of Pregnancy-Related
Nausea and Vomiting Reviewed” by Shari Henson,
HerbClip, 1/15/07
–“In-Home Toxic Chemical Exposures and Children
with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities”
by J. C. Graff et al., Pediatr Nurs, 11–12/06
–“Low Maternal Vitamin E Intake During Pregnancy
. . .” by G. Devereux et al., Am J Respir Crit
Care Med, 9/1/06
–“Maternal Diet during Pregnancy . . .”
by C. R. Gale et al., Arterioscl Thromb Vasc Biol, 8/06
–“Maternal Obesity in Early Pregnancy and
Risk of Spontaneous and Elective Preterm Deliveries
. . .” by Gordon C. S. Smith, MD, PhD, et al.,
Am J Pub Health, 1/07
–“Paternal Age and Birth Defects . . .”
by Q. Yang et al., Human Reproduction, 12/12/06
– Personal communication: Aviva Jill Romm, 3/07
– Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis
A. Balch, CNC ($24.95, Penguin Group/Avery, 2006)
–“A Prospective Study of Dairy Foods Intake
and Anovulatory Infertility” by J. E. Chavarro
et al., Human Reproduction, 2/28/07
–“Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Brain Development
and Function . . .” by R. K. McNamara and S. E.
Carlson, Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids, 10–11/06
–“That Prenatal Visit May Be Months too
Late” by Roni Rabin, New York Times, 11/28/06
–“Thinness ‘Poses Miscarriage Risk’,”
BBC News, 12/04/06
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