Health tips: What to eat and do when pregnant

Experts said observing some health do’s and don’ts during pregnancy ensures the health of mother and the fetus. According to Dr Victor Ohenhen, a Consultant Gynecologist and Obstetrician, a healthy baby and mother are the outcome of the nine-month ‘journey’ when there is proper health behaviour and adequate diet. He advised women to eat or […]

Experts said observing some health do’s and don’ts during pregnancy ensures the health of mother and the fetus.

According to Dr Victor Ohenhen, a Consultant Gynecologist and Obstetrician, a healthy baby and mother are the outcome of the nine-month ‘journey’ when there is proper health behaviour and adequate diet.

He advised women to eat or do the following when pregnant:

Water- Simple things mean a whole lot during pregnancy. Pregnancy increases your need for water due to a drop in plasma volume that occurs in pregnancy. Water helps to prevent constipation, hemorrhoids and urinary tract infections. It is recommended that a pregnant woman takes at least 8 cups of water daily.

Fruits and vegetables – The importance of fruits cannot be over emphasized. Fruits like Avocados are an excellent source of vitamin C, E and K. they are also rich in fibers. Spinach and Oranges are rich in folic acid, an important nutrient that helps to prevent neural tube defects during the early phase of pregnancy.

Legumes – Legumes are a superb store of protein, iron, folate and calcium. Examples of legumes are beans, soybeans and groundnuts.

Sweet potato – They are rich in beta-carotene that is converted to Vitamin A which is important for a healthy diet.

Eggs- Eggs are the ideal health food because they contain a little bit of almost all nutrients. They are a great addition to your meals during pregnancy.

Lean meat- Moderate amounts of beef, pork and chicken are excellent sources of high quality protein.

Exercise- Reasonable degree of physical activity that suits your tolerability is helpful when pregnant. The medical expert also advised that women should not eat or do the following when pregnant:

Alcohol-Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a harmful habit that has well documented effects on the developing child. Examples of these are birth defects and slow growth of the baby referred to in medicine as intra uterine growth restrictions. Alcohol consumption especially when heavy during pregnancy causes the fetal alcohol syndrome.

Herbs and Plants- Pregnancy period is not a time to use herbal products or supplements as this may result in very serious conditions in the baby especially congenital defects at birth.

Caffeine – Several studies have shown a link between high amounts of caffeine intake and miscarriages.

Junk food and refined sugars- These are not advised during pregnancy due to their effects on the child. It is important to limit the consumption also of carbonated drinks during pregnancy.

Cigarette smoking-This goes without saying, cigarette smoking generates a number of free radicals which immensely affects the health of the baby.