Nutrition in Pregnancy
In our country, "insufficient and unbalanced nutrition before and during pregnancy" has an important place in maternal and infant mortality. There are approximately 1 million 400 thousand births in our country every year. Inadequate and unbalanced nutrition before and during pregnancy brings many health problems leading to maternal and infant mortality.
There is a close relationship between the type of feeding before and during pregnancy and the birth weight, brain development and health of the baby. In our country, due to nutritional disorders, 58% of pregnant women have iron deficiency anemia (anemia) and folic acid, which is necessary for the production of blood cells, iodine and calcium deficiencies that play a role in the development of physical and mental development.
In our country, approximately 154 thousand babies are born with low birth weight every year. One of six babies born every year in the world is born under 2500 grams and with low birth weight. This rate is between 10-12 percent in Turkey. One of the most important causes of low birth weight is nutritional disorders in pregnant women. The need for energy and nutrients increases during pregnancy. If this need is not met, the nutrients needed for the growth and development of the baby are obtained from the mother's own tissues. As a result, various diseases occur in the mother and resistance to infections decreases.
Inadequate and unbalanced nutrition before and during pregnancy brings the risks of birth for the mother and causes pregnancy poisoning and maternal deaths. In infants, it causes physical and mental developmental retardation, a significant increase in the risk of illness and stillbirth. Long-term insufficient and unbalanced nutrition of the expectant mother leads to maternal and infant mortality. Nutrition before and during pregnancy significantly affects the health of both the mother and the baby to be born. At least 2 glasses of milk or yogurt should be consumed each day.
Instead of these nutrients, 2-3 matchboxes of cheese or 1-2 spoon sediments should be consumed. Since raw milk and cheese made from it contain harmful microbes, pasteurized milk and cheeses made from these milk should be preferred. In addition, the mother should eat one egg or the same amount of meat, chicken and fish in addition to what they normally eat. If these foods cannot be consumed, care should be taken to eat legumes, lentil or chickpea soups. Fresh vegetables and fruits that are rich in vitamins should be consumed regularly at every meal. It should be fed gradually and frequently and should not be starved for a long time.
Oils should be preferred in meals. Care should be taken to consume olive oil during the day. In addition to dried legumes such as beans, chickpeas, lentils, lemon salad, fresh onions or fruit should be consumed. Iodized salt must be used in meals. Thus, the baby is protected from goiter disease and mental retardation. Iodized salt should be stored in a dark glass jar and protected from light, sun and humid environments. Thus, loss of iodine is prevented. If you have high blood pressure (hypertension), meals should be cooked without salt or with low salt. Excess salty foods should not be consumed.
Smoking and alcohol should never be used. Smoking should be avoided. Fluid requirement increases during pregnancy. To meet this, drink more water or milk, buttermilk, freshly squeezed fruit juices should be increased fluid intake. Drink at least 10 glasses of water every day. Anemia (anemia) is more common in pregnancy. To prevent anemia; more food such as eggs, red meat, legumes, molasses and fresh fruit and vegetables should be taken into consideration. Tea and coffee consumption should be minimized. Tea and coffee should not be drunk until one hour before and one hour after meals.
Foods, especially vegetables and fruits, should be washed thoroughly before consuming to remove harmful residues from agricultural products. The best way to wash these foods is; to leave the food in a bowl full of water for 5-10 minutes, repeat this process several times, and then wash the water under the fountain. Craving during pregnancy is known to occur as a result of hormonal effects. For this reason, not every food that is needed, but what is necessary for the body should be consumed in a moderate way. During pregnancy, weight gain should be controlled to a total of 7-14 kg, 1-1.5 kg per month. Boiling and cooking juices should not be poured as the boiling water of vegetables and legumes will cause loss of vitamins and minerals. When buying fresh foods should be preferred.
The expiry date and contents of packaged foods should be considered. Foods of unknown content should not be consumed during pregnancy. Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women adversely affects brain and bone development of unborn babies and brings risks of congenital cataract and infection. All pregnant women should go out in the sun for 10-15 minutes a day, except at noon in summer.
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Rainbow Light Prenatal Daily Duo: Prenatal One Mulitvitamin and Prenatal DHA- 30 Tablets and 30 Softgels
