When a woman discovers she is pregnant, she knows she’s about to embark on a journey that has been undertaken by generations of women before her. Pregnancy truly is a wondrous time, yet the experience of it now is quite different from how it was in the past. So let’s look at some of the keys to experiencing a happy and healthy pregnancy for both yourself and your growing baby.

Food for life

Many nutrient requirements increase during pregnancy, some quite significantly during this time. Not only is your baby growing from a couple of cells to a beautifully formed foetus with fingers, toes, hair, skin and organs, but mother’s body is also going through a lot of changes. Her hormones are changing, her skin and uterus are growing and stretching, her sleep may be interrupted and her appetite affected (especially in the first trimester).

The resources of the mother are supporting all these changes in both her and baby and, for this reason, maternal diet during pregnancy is very important. What may have been an adequate diet in adult life may no longer be good enough for a pregnant mother. What you don’t need to do is “eat for two”, but what you do need to do is ensure that all the food you do eat is highly nutritious and packed with all the goodness you need for yourself and your baby.

Organic options

Eating organic foods while you are pregnant is a wonderful idea, not only for the extra nutrients these foods have but also for the little extras that they don’t have. Organic foods are grown without the use of chemicals and instead use natural fertilisers and pest repellents. It seems all too easy to forget about these chemicals when buying conventional fruit and vegies from the local store, but it’s the unseen differences that really matter.

While the foetus is developing, the placenta does offer some protection against unwanted chemical exposure but it does not prevent the transmission of all environmental pollutants to baby. Furthermore, the special barrier that prevents the crossing of certain chemicals and pollutants into the brain (called the blood-brain barrier) is not fully developed until about six months after birth, which provides a very good reason to carry on your newfound healthy diet well into breastfeeding.

Getting back to basics

A lot of what you should eat when you are pregnant is just a matter of finally implementing all those things you know you should be doing, anyway. We’re all aware that we should cut back on sugary foods, takeaway, softdrink, deepfried foods and the like, but somehow we all get busy and find ourselves eating these foods, anyway. These are precisely the habits we need to get out of during pregnancy and in the longer term for the health of our families.

Avoid during pregnancy

• Deepfried foods
• Too much salt
• Alcohol
• Sugary foods
• Smoking and recreational drugs
• Caffeine
• Unpasteurised dairy products
• Raw or undercooked eggs

Foods to avoid during pregnancy

Deepfried foods can contain trans fats, which adversely affect cholesterol, raising your bad cholesterol (LDL) and lowering your good cholesterol (HDL). Apart from this, the type of food that is deepfried is often highly processed and certainly not considered nutrient-dense. A recent study by scientists from Harvard University’s School of Public Health1 indicated that trans fats can also reduce fertility.

Too much salt can be found in many processed and fast foods. A high salt intake can adversely affect fluid retention, which can be a problem for some pregnant women, particularly in the third trimester. This potential to increase fluid retention can also adversely affect blood pressure for those women who have a propensity to high blood pressure. Conversely, too little salt can be a problem, too. As with many things, moderation is the key. If you are adding a small amount of salt to your food, ensure that it’s a good-quality sea salt that will provide other beneficial minerals.