This new life carries the hopes of parents and the whole family, so expectant mothers start frantically supplementing nutrition, hoping to accelerate the baby's growth. Do pregnant women need to avoid excessive nutrition? Principles of maternal diet.
[Pregnant women need to avoid excessive nutrition]
Avoiding excessive nutrition intake of energy and nutrients can lead to the conversion of excess energy into fat, which accumulates in the body and eventually leads to obesity. Obesity is closely related to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
Excessive fat intake can cause not only obesity but also hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia, which are directly related to cerebrovascular accidents and atherosclerosis. It can also lead to fatty liver, fatty heart, and fatty brain.
Excessive intake of inorganic salts such as calcium can easily lead to kidney stones. Excessive sodium intake can cause hypernatremia, edema, and hypertension.
Excessive intake of vitamins A and D can cause toxicity.
Excessive intake of iodine can cause iodine-induced goiter, hyperthyroidism, and other conditions.
Excessive intake of energy nutrients accelerates fetal growth and development, resulting in a larger gestational age than the actual age, leading to difficult labor and potential birth injuries. Large babies are prone to complications such as hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, and hypercholesterolemia after birth. It is also a potential factor for obesity, abnormal glucose metabolism, and hypertension in adulthood.
Excessive intake of certain amino acids can cause nutritional imbalances and result in fetal growth restriction, deformities, and intellectual disabilities.
Excessive intake of vitamin A can cause miscarriage, anencephaly, eye deformities, cerebral fissure, and cleft lip. It can lead to central nervous system abnormalities, cardiovascular and genital abnormalities, and facial abnormalities.
Excessive intake of vitamin D can cause multi-organ calcification. Therefore, it is important to be cautious of excessive nutrition.
[Principles of maternal diet]
1. Eat small meals frequently. Due to the growth and development of the baby, the mother's appetite increases. Often, one meal is not enough to satisfy the hunger. Therefore, it is best to eat small meals frequently, with 4 to 5 meals a day. This not only helps control food intake but also relieves stomach pressure.
2. Have appropriate snacks. In addition to regular meals, expectant mothers can also have some snacks or supper. It is best to choose easily digestible foods such as milk, soda crackers, or fruit. Otherwise, being hungry at night can affect the health of both the mother and the fetus.
3. It is recommended to first rule out pathological conditions, such as high blood sugar. With the improvement of living standards, there are many pregnant women with abnormal glucose tolerance, especially in the middle and late stages of pregnancy. Therefore, it is advisable to check fasting blood sugar.
