Pregnancy is a time of preparation, wonder and eager anticipation. It is also a time of nausea, vomiting and constipation, tiredness, swollen ankles, cranky moods and sleepless nights. Add to this the worries that invade an expectant mother's thinking. Some are rational and based on facts and some not so rational and most likely based on overactive hormone levels. Thinking about these, you will quickly understand while for many a mother-to-be pregnancy is a bit of a mixed bag.
Nausea, vomiting, constipation and to a lesser extent also hormonal imbalances, can all be linked back to nutritional choices the expectant mother makes. While it is easy to assume that a pregnant woman will of course always choose the healthiest foods possible, the reality dictates that many women still have other children to take care. In addition, they might still be working full time, run their household and volunteer in the community. Thus, the somewhat idealistic notion of the expectant mother resting with feet propped up on the sofa snacking on carrots and lightly toasted almonds is rarely seen.
Yet even the busiest mom-to-be does not need to despair! Healthy nutritional choices are easier than you think:
- First and foremost, do not skip meals. Even a small meal consisting of little more than a few carrots and a handful of Cheerios is better than nothing. The goal is to keep your blood sugar levels even and therefore your hormones in balance.
- Iron supplements which are contained in your prenatal vitamins will lead to constipation. Counteract the constipating affect of the iron by snacking on high fiber crackers and prunes. At this point in time, individually wrapped prunes are commercially available and travel great in your purse or backpack.
- Continue your pattern of exercise and avoid the temptation to just sit down and remain seated, unless advised to do so by your physician.
- Make sure that your pantry and purse are stocked with healthy snacks that are loaded with fiber: dried fruit, bran fortified cereal, and apple juice are good choices.
- Drink your water regularly and stay away from caffeinated drinks.
- Spicy foods are not the enemy but if you are not accustomed to them, they will wreak havoc with your digestive system.
- As the baby grows inside your womb, the size of your meals will need to decrease simply because your stomach's ability to hold larger quantities of food is diminishing. Make up for the lack of quantity ingested during one sitting by having more and more frequent meals that in the end will equal one regular sit down meal. This will also help with any heartburn that you might encounter at this point during the pregnancy.
Do not give in to the urge to relieve your constipation with the use of laxatives, no matter how tempting this solution may be. It has the potential to upset the electrolyte balance in your system and therefore might quite possibly do more harm than good for you and your child in the long run.
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