Baby Series: Healthy Nutrition Before Pregnancy

Over my years of counseling, I have noticed that some women tend to pay the best and most attention to their diet when they are preparing to have a baby, are pregnant, or are breastfeeding.   For the women who follow a balanced eating plan, they often want to understand what they need in order to prepare their bodies for reproduction, and as they move through their pregnancy, how much more they need to help their growing fetus during the different stages of development.  For those who tend to neglect their diet, it becomes vitally important to understand what food sources will provide them with the proper energy and their unborn child the best nutrition for development.  This is also an opportune time for mothers to adapt healthy eating behaviours that will hopefully carry forth after their child is born.

As you begin to consider getting pregnant, a multivitamin is recommended for women, with particular attention to folate, iron and calcium.  Most prenatal multivitamins offer adequate amounts of these nutrients, but if you happen to not follow a balanced eating plan, or are considered a special population (e.g. previous pregnancy affected with neural tube defect, family history of neural tube defects, obesity, diabetes, epilepsy), you may require more.  It is always best to speak to your doctor or dietitian to understand what you may be missing, and how you may be able to acquire these nutrients.

Folic acid (also sometimes referred to as folate), is a B vitamin important prior to pregnancy and during the early weeks of pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects.  Folic acid helps in forming the brain, skull and spine of a fetus, ensuring the spinal cord is fully protected through development.  Whole grains and grain products enriched with folic acid, as well as dark green vegetables and legumes are primary sources of folic acid.  This is a great place to start if you are considering becoming pregnant and want to include more healthy food choices into your diet.  The amount of folic acid in these foods is small, which makes it more important to include a multivitamin with folic acid in it.

Although iron is an important nutrient to include during all life stages, during pregnancy it becomes vitally important, as the woman has to now supply iron for herself and her fetus.  Iron is stored in red blood cells, and during pregnancy, the amount of red blood cells a woman has increases in order to supply adequate iron (which carries oxygen) to the placenta and fetus, which in turn, help in brain development.  It is throughout a woman’s final trimester where her fetus is then able to build up its own iron stores.  Most multivitamins provide enough iron, but it is always best to assess your diet with a doctor or dietitian to understand whether you need more foods with iron, or any other type of supplementation.  Most iron in the diet comes from meat and alternative choices as well as whole grains enriched with iron.

We all need calcium in our diet to maintain strong bones and teeth.  It is therefore important to ensure you are getting enough so that your bones are not compromised in delivering the calcium to your growing child (calcium can leach out of your bones to be delivered to your fetus).  Milk and Milk alternatives provide an excellent source of calcium.  Including a glass of skim or 1% milk, low fat yogurt and/or low fat cheese in your daily diet will help you meet your requirements.  Vitamin D is crucial to help your body absorb calcium, so remember to enjoy the sunlight when you can, include a supplement, or food sources when you can.

A healthy weight is another important factor to consider prior to becoming pregnant.  Do you feel good about your weight? Managing your weight through life will help you lead a healthier pregnancy when the time comes.  We know the benefits of a healthy weight: decreased risk of disease or illness, able to move more freely, more confidence and overall improved health.  The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a common tool used to asses a woman’s weight prior to becoming pregnant, as it helps to identify an individual’s health risk, using their height and weight, while factoring in where they tend to hold their weight on their body (*note: muscle mass needs to be factored in carefully when calculating this).  Based on your BMI prior to becoming pregnant, your healthcare professional can help you assess how much weight is safe to gain throughout the different stages of pregnancy.  Health Canada offers a great tool to help you get started with this, which is provided in the link below.

Once your body is set for housing a new child, your nutrition along the way can be adjusted accordingly based on the different needs required for both you and your baby throughout the nine months.  The next series will look at nutrition and lifestyle factors during pregnancy.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/vitamin/vita-d-eng.php

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/prenatal/bmi/index-eng.php

share this recipe:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Still hungry? Here’s more