Research shows that what you eat (and what you don't eat) during pregnancy can have a profound effect, not only on how healthy and enjoyable a pregnancy you have, but on the health and development of your baby for his or her whole life. Your baby depends on you for all the nutrients required for healthy growth and development, so it obviously makes sense to eat as many of the foods that are best for him or her at each particular stage and to avoid the ones that are not.
Though many of the basic requirements remain the same throughout your term, an ideal nutritional programme should take into account the particular and changing needs of the growing foetus in each specific
trimester as well.
Nutrition has an important role to play in minimising and managing many of the common ailments associated with pregnancy too, the incidence of which will also vary across the term.
We have listed below the areas on which we tend to concentrate on a
trimester by
trimester basis though, of course, no one pregnancy is the same, and all our consultations are tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of the individual concerned:
1st Trimester
q Quality not quantity: explaining the importance of a nutrient rich diet, rather than ‘eating for two’
q Building iron and calcium stores
q Strengthening the immune system
q Do’s and don’ts:
alcohol, caffeine, food poisoning and safety etc.
q Weight management (up or down if necessary) without ‘dieting’
q Maintaining iron and calcium stores
q Anaemia and advice on iron supplementation
Managing Problems
q Indigestion and
heartburnq Headaches
q Leg cramps, tooth and gum problems
q Essential fatty acids; the importance of ‘good’ fats
q Protein and fluids
q Energy foods
q Herbal teas
Managing Problems
q Fluid retention, carpal tunnel syndrome and leg cramps
q Sleeplessness
q Raised blood pressure and toxaemia/pre-eclampsia
q Obstetric Cholestatsis
Preparing for Labour
q Carbohydrates and energy nutrients
q Nutrients to prepare you specifically for
labourq Energy giving snacks to keep you going
Post-natal
q Recovery
q Breast feeding
q Weight Loss
