Melbourne - Your diet can affect your pregnancy. Healthy diet and positive state of mind can help you keep well during pregnancy and give your baby a good start in life. Your old bad habits might have detrimental effects on your pregnancy but it’s never too late to start good habits for the sake of your baby. Good habits such as quit smoking, join Maternity Class and other Maternity Exercise will prepare you throughout pregnancy by giving you knowledge and power about your pregnancy and over your labor.
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At the first 4 months of your pregnancy, some of you will experience nausea and often accompany with vomits.Although it could happen at any other time throughout the day but we used to call it “morning sickness”. But after that period, you’ll probably find that you are more hungry than normal. But the rule of thumbs “eat for two” is unnecessary, even if you expecting a twins or triplets. There are no special diet for normal pregnancy, eat a variety of different foods every day will give you the nutrition that you and your baby need. You should also avoid certain foods.
Fruit and Vegetables
During pregnancy, your digestion will become slower and might affect your bowel habits. A high fiber diet in fruits and vegetables helps your digestion and prevent constipation. This diet should be the most part of your daily diet. Eat them raw after carefully washed or cook them lightly to preserve the nutrients. Fruits will provide you with fiber and sugar that keep you energized. Wash them carefully or eat fruit that need to be skinned such as banana, orange, avocado, papaya, etc.
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Carbohydrate
Carbohydrate such as bread, rice, potatoes, pasta will help keep you full for a day. A wholegrain or whole meal varieties is much better than its processed counterparts because it provide fiber and protein. If you love bread for breakfast, make sure to eat the crusty edge because it’s high in fiber and protein that help your digestion. Carbs should be part of your main diet, but be careful for those who prone to diabetes because this kind of food has a high glycemic index that can rush you blood sugar.
Protein
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, peanuts and beans is a good sources of nutrients. Lean meat is the better choice than the marbled one. If you love poultry products, remove the skin from poultry and cook using minimum amounts of cooking oil or other fat. Eggs should be cooked well and also other meat products. Red or pink juices that come out from your food indicate that it’s not cooked well. Liver products may contain high vitamin A, but too much vitamin A can harm your baby. Fish is also a very good source of protein, especially omega3. But fish that seat on top of food pyramid such as shark, marlin, swordfish might contain high mercury that can be dangerous for your baby. A deep sea fish is preferable because it might contain less mercury. Shellfish can contain bacteria and high in pollutant, avoid it if you can, or cook it well before serve.
Milk and Dairy Products
If you love milk, make sure it is pasteurized. If it’s cheese, make sure it’s not the mold-ripened soft cheese because they can contain Listeria that can harm you and your baby. If you love cheese, mozzarella, cheese spreads, parmesan and cheddar is a good choice. Milk and dairy products are good sources of calcium. Avoid products that artificially sweetened and choose the low fat and plain varieties. Refrigerate it soon after you open the package because dairy products can be easily damage.
High Fat and Sugary Foods and Drinks
There’s a lot varieties of these kind of food. Such as candy bar, chocolate bar, biscuit, puddings, cake, ice cream, fizzy drinks and sugary juice drinks. This kind of foods and drinks are easy to get, taste good but you should avoid it. These diets provide you with extra sugar and calories without providing any other nutrients and benefits for you and your baby. This will lead to excessive weight gain, maternal obesity, gestational diabetes, childhood obesity for your baby, etc.
Preparing Your Food
Wash your hand thoroughly through running clean water. Wash all your fruits, vegetables and salad to remove soil and dirt that may contain toxoplasma. Heat your meal until they properly cooked, especially meat, poultry and eggs. Wash all your utensils, hands after preparing raw meat. Keep leftovers covered in the fridge and use it within two days. Remember moms, preparing your own food is the best choice for expecting mother.
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I hope this information that can be useful for you. You can send any question through my email or twitter or private message and start a discussion about your pregnancy.
Enjoy your pregnancy...
