Healthy eating pre-pregnancy

Nutrition needs before pregnancy.

Healthy eating 

When you are trying to get pregnant it pays to make sure your diet is giving you all the nutrients you need. A healthy diet may improve your chances of conceiving and give your baby a better start. Fad diets or gorging on fast foods won’t do your pre-pregnancy body any favours. A balanced diet with a few special tweaks is the best way forward. If you are either too overweight or underweight it may reduce your chances of getting pregnant, so try to make sure you are at a healthy weight when trying to conceive. "Getting your body into prime condition pre-pregnancy gives your baby the best possible start in life," says British Dietetic Association spokesperson Priya Tew. "There are links between the nutrition a foetus receives in the womb and their health later on in life, with increased risks of some chronic diseases with unhealthy diets," she adds. According to the NHS you are in a healthy weight range if your body mass index (BMI) is between 20 and 25. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says women who have a BMI of more than 29 can take longer to conceive than women whose weight is in the normal range. "Follow a healthy diet with all of the nutrients you need to build-up reserves for you and ensure maximum health for any baby," says women’s health specialist dietitian Gaynor Bussell.

Protein 

 It’s important to have enough protein in your pre-pregnancy diet, good sources are lean red meat, chicken, turkey, eggs and fish. Soybean and soya products like tofu, nuts and pulses (peas, beans and lentils) are also useful protein sources.

Carbohydrates 

 Try to adopt healthier eating habits before you get pregnant. A healthy body is more likely to successfully conceive. Include complex carbohydrates, (such as bread, pasta, potato, rice, or yam) an important energy source that provides B group vitamins as well. Choose wholemeal bread, brown pasta and brown rice as higher fibre starchy foods, important for a healthy bowel and to prevent constipation, before and during pregnancy.

Dairy products 

 Milk, cheese and yoghurt are all calcium-rich foods, important for healthy bones in a growing baby, but really important for your bones, too. Get into the habit of including calcium-rich foods in your diet if you’ve not been used to thinking about this vital nutrient. If you’re lactose intolerant choose a lactose-free milk. It has a similar protein and calcium content to cow’s milk. Tofu (soybean curd) is a particularly calcium-rich food. Oat, almond and rice milks may be fortified with calcium, but their protein content is far lower than animal or soya milks.

  Fruit and vegetables 

 Fruit and vegetables are important in your diet not just because they’re a great source of vitamins and minerals, but also because they contain a wide range of fibres and phytochemicals that contribute to good health. "Try to get your 5-a-day, but if you can, try for 9-a-day if you really like your fruit and veg," says Gaynor.

Folic acid 

 Folic acid is a B group vitamin essential in early pregnancy when your baby is developing their spine and nerve supply. Although it’s found in fruits and vegetables, it’s important to boost levels in early pregnancy to reduce the risk of spina bifida and similar conditions called neural tube defects developing in your baby. For this reason, it’s important to take a daily 400 micrograms supplement from the moment you start to think about pregnancy, and continue this daily supplement for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, to reduce the risk of harm to your baby. Some women, for example those taking medication for a longstanding health condition, or who have a family member with spina bifida, may need a higher folic acid dose than most women. Discuss this with your GP, who can prescribe higher dose folic acid if you need it. In addition, "Women trying to conceive should eat more foods that contain natural folates such as green leafy vegetables, oranges, bread and fortified breakfast cereals," says Helena Gibson-Moore, nutrition scientist and spokesperson for the British Nutrition Foundation.

  Cut back the coffee 

Caffeine is a regular in our diet, whether from your morning coffee or afternoon pick-me-up energy drink, cola drinks or even chocolate. A caffeine intake above 200mg a day (that’s about two mugs of coffee) has been associated with early miscarriage, and in pregnancy the metabolism of caffeine is slowed, so a little coffee will go a long way. Get into the habit of having decaffeinated drinks, and choose a diluted fruit juice as a refreshing alternative to cola.

Iron 

 A healthy iron balance before pregnancy will help lessen fatigue, and many women don’t have sufficient iron stores due to their food choices. Iron rich foods are the darker coloured meats, eggs, nuts and green vegetables. Vitamin C can help boost iron uptake from plant sources, so include some tomatoes, citrus fruits or a glass of fruit juice with a meal to help you absorb plant iron. "Any baby will typically meet its requirements from its mothers’ stores but if the mother begins pregnancy with low levels of iron, she may suffer from iron deficiency," says Helena.

  Omega fatty acids 

 Omega-3 fats are important to include in our diet, as we can’t make them from the other fats we eat. They help to regulate our immune system and are important for brain development in your baby. Walnuts, spinach and flaxseeds are rich in the plant version of omega-3 fats, called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Rapeseed oil (supermarket vegetable oil) is also rich in ALA. Priya says: "Include oily fish 1-2 times a week to provide omega 3s which are vital for the growth of any future foetus." Omega-6 fats are also essential in our diet and come from sunflower or corn oils, seeds and nuts in the foods we eat. Olive and rapeseed oils, which are recommended for their healthy mono-unsaturated fat content also provide omega-6 fats, too.

Cut alcohol 

 The advice for women who are trying for a baby is to stop drinking alcohol altogether, or if you decide to drink, restrict your usual intake.

  Ready meals 

 Making foods from fresh allows you to make healthier choices, but if you include ready meals in your diet look for ones which have a nutrient analysis ‘green’ or ‘amber’ for sugar, saturated fat and salt. Ready meals often don’t have enough vegetables to ‘count’ as 1 or 2 of your 5-a-day, so cook some alongside, or for speed add a salad. "Following a Mediterranean diet has been shown to boost fertility and provide a great start for pregnancy," says Priya.

  Supplements

"If you have recently been on a restrictive diet I’d suggest taking a multivitamin and mineral tablet pre-pregnancy," says Gaynor, "but avoid supplements with vitamin A as retinol". Supplements designed for pregnant women have safe levels of nutrients. "High amounts of vitamin A in the diet may be harmful to a developing baby," advises Helena. "All pregnant women and women planning a pregnancy should avoid supplements or foods which contain high levels of vitamin A such as liver, liver sausage, liver pâté and cod liver oil." The small amount of vitamin A found in whole milk, cheese, oily fish, and eggs, and the plant version called beta-carotene found naturally in red, orange and green vegetables, and added to margarines and spreads are safe to eat before and during pregnancy.

  Tips for men

It takes two to tango, so to speak, so make sure your man is in tip top nutritional health before you try for a baby. Cutting back alcohol or even giving it up is sometimes recommended for men too. The minerals zinc and selenium are important in sperm production and eating a varied diet should provide enough. A standard 1-a-day multivitamin and mineral supplement may help offset any nutrient deficiencies in your man if he’s unwilling to eat fruit and vegetables.


Source: www.webMD.com