Pregnancy and Nutrition

(all quotes below excerpted from

Joseph Keon's Whole Health, 1997)

"Pregnancy and the Revised American Diet

"The diet of a pregnant mother has always been highly controversial. Conventional wisdom built upon nutritional myths has led mothers and many well-meaning physicians to believe that pregnancy requires lots of meat and dairy products to support the development of the child. Fortunately, this is only a myth. There is no more reason for a pregnant woman to consume animal products than for a woman who is not pregnant. With the exception of vitamin B12, a mother-to-be can derive all the necessary nutrients to support both herself and her baby by eating plenty of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Pregnant women have been doing this for thousands of years, giving birth to happy and healthy infants." . . . (156)

"Pregnancy and Calories

"Pregnancy does bring an increased appetite (usually around the second trimester), as the mother is eating for both herself and her developing child. Usually, this entails an increase of about 300 calories a day. Pregnancy also increases the need for the essential fats (linoleic acid) and iron. The essential fats are abundant in pumpkin seeds, broccoli, spinach, soy, and legumes, and flaxseed oil, as well as many nuts and their butters, which are also highly caloric. Increasing the intake of these foods will suffice.

"In addition to all the unhealthy side effects of consuming high-fat animal foods, pregnant mothers on the Standard American Diet tend to gain large amounts of weight because animal products are so high in fat. The excess weight they gain not only makes pregnancy and delivery more difficult, but may also be a risk factor for both diabetes and high blood pressure. After pregnancy, the mother must contend with losing the excess weight she has gained. Vegetarian mothers, however, are much less likely to gain such significant amounts of weight during their pregnancies.

"Pregnancy and Other Micronutrients

"Iron requirements for women vary because of differing rates of absorption. Some women absorb significantly more from the foods they eat than others. Normally, the suggested intake for iron is 18 mg a day, but pregnancy increases the requirement to the range of 30-60 mg a day, depending on how well the mother absorbs iron.

"It has been found that vitamin C enhances the absorption rate of iron when the two are consumed together. For this reason, vitamin C-rich foods such as tomatoes, broccoli, and bell peppers may be combined with iron-rich food sources. Iron-rich foods include dried fruits, such as raisins and apricots, leafy greens, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. However, because iron deficiency is not uncommon among women, the best advice for a pregnant mother is to consult her physician and have a ferritin blood test to determine her iron level. (157)

"It should be encouraging to know that a 1990 report by the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, indicated that vegetarian mothers-to-be are less likely to suffer a vitamin A deficiency than their meat-eating counterparts. This is of particular importance since vitamin A deficiency during pregnancy has been associated with miscarriage. Along the same lines, folic acid deficiencies have been linked to some birth defects. Why are vegetarian mothers less likely to develop such a deficiency? Because their diet is composed of the richest sources of folic acid--whole grains, legumes, and green vegetables.

"…While a [ vitamin B12] fortified food source is fine for the health of the mother, the nutrient will not be readily available to the fetus in this form. Therefore, during pregnancy and while nursing, the mother should be sure to take a B12 supplement equal to 4 mcg (micrograms) a day. During breast feeding, it is the B12 that will make its way into the breast milk and nourish the growing infant. The consumption of a prenatal supplement has become increasingly common among expectant mothers. If the mother is taking a prenatal supplement already, vitamin B12 will likely be included in the formula. It is always a good idea to verify this on the label. Also, be sure that the B12 is derived from plant sources.

"As we have seen earlier, animal bodies concentrate all of the hormones, chemical pesticides, antibiotics, and sulfa drugs they ingest during their lifetime. When humans eat animals, they ingest these contaminants that have been stored in the animal's fat. Whatever an expectant mother eats, her baby will be exposed to as well. What a wonderful feeling an expectant mother can have knowing that she is not subjecting her growing baby to all these hazardous contaminants." (158)

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Jock Doubleday

Director

Natural Woman, Natural Man, Inc.

http://www.GentleBirth.org/nwnm.org

http://www.SpontaneousCreation.org

director@spontaneouscreation.org