Pregnancy, a special and important period. A unique journey in which a little miracle develops in your belly for nine months. During this period, it is important to support your health as an expectant mother in the right way. In this blog we tell you what to do and what not to do, so that you can keep your body in optimal condition and your baby can develop optimally and have the best possible start.
1. Healthy diet
Of course, healthy eating is not something you pick up (temporarily) during pregnancy, as it is always advisable to pursue optimal health with a healthy and varied diet. But during pregnancy, it's not just about your health but also that of your baby, so the right nutrition is extra important. Choose body-building foods to get as many important nutrients as possible and feed your body optimally:
Pure, unprocessed (organic) food
Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables
Enzyme-rich foods: pineapple, papaya, avocado, yoghurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefi
Cholesterol-rich foods: eggs, salmon, cod
Iron-rich foods: spinach, legumes, pumpkin seeds
Eat enough protein: 1.5 grams per kg body weight per day (beef, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, kernels, goat or sheep dairy products, vegetable protein powder)
Eat enough saturated fat from avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, butter and/or olive oil
Drink plenty of fluids, about two litres a day. This prevents constipation. Preferably drink water or (herbal) tea. Avoid herbal teas with raspberry leaf, aniseed, fennel, liquorice and cinnamon. Do not drink too much green tea and black tea. Teas such as rooibos and chamomile are safe to drink.
During pregnancy, avoid the following products:
Raw, red meat
Vacuum-packed fish (and only eat fish that is well cooked)
Raw eggs
Processed food, fast food, E-numbers
Sugar and fast carbohydrates (alcohol, biscuits, sweets, crisps, white bread, crackers)
Refined oils and trans fats such as margarine, sunflower, rapeseed, rapeseed, soybean and peanut oil
Caffeine
Alcohol
Rather no cow's milk products, opt for goat/sheep or vegetable ‘dairy’ (but avoid soy products)
Preferably no gluten-rich grains (especially wheat)
2. Support your body with supplements
It is sensible to give your body extra support with supplements during pregnancy because of the increased need for certain vitamins and minerals. The supplements also affect not only your energy and health, but also the health and development of your unborn baby. The main supplements you should take during pregnancy are:
Pregnancy multivitamin
A pregnancy multi contains many different vitamins and minerals that support you to get through pregnancy in the best possible way and prepare your body for breastfeeding. It forms a great foundation to ensure your body is in good health and you give your baby the best possible start.
Folic acid
Folic acid plays an important role in the development of your unborn child. It contributes to the formation of the nervous system, which is created from the first day after conception. It also reduces the risk of neural tube defects (e.g. spina bifida (‘spina bifida’)), heart defects and cleft lip and palate. Important to choose an active folic acid variant: 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF). Folate instead of folic acid.
Vitamin B12
B12, like folic acid, is an important building block in your baby's development. Studies have shown that vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with infertility, miscarriages and neural tube defects. The best forms of Vitamin B12 are methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. These forms of B12 are biologically active and do not require further conversion in the body.
Vitamin D3/K2
Is important for building and maintaining the skeleton of mother and child, among other things. It also contributes to a healthy immune system. D3 deficiency increases the risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and low birth weight.
Vitamin K2
This vitamin has a positive effect on proper blood clotting but this fat-soluble vitamin is also important for maintaining strong bones and strong blood vessels, among other things.
Omega-3
The DHA present in the omega-3 fatty acid is important for foetal brain and eye development. If insufficient DHA is present then the child snuffs it from the mother, this can lead to postnatal depression after childbirth. In addition, EPA from Omega 3 has a beneficial effect on high cholesterol and hypertension of the mother, among others.
Always go for pure supplements with the right ratio and dosages. Choose supplements with easily absorbable compounds and active ingredients so that your body absorbs the vitamins and minerals properly.
We carefully put together the Pregnancy Vitamin Pack for women with a pregnancy wish, who are pregnant and during breastfeeding period:
3. First aid for pregnancy discomforts
Pregnancy discomforts. Not every woman suffers from them, but if you suffer from them, they can be quite annoying. Read here what the most common pregnancy ailments are and how to reduce them naturally:
Nausea
Is caused by the pregnancy hormone HCG. Many women suffer from nausea (in the first 12 weeks), but fortunately there is a natural way to help. In fact, research has shown that vitamin B6 (pyroxidine) can help prevent and reduce pregnancy nausea. In addition, drinking fresh ginger tea can provide relief from nausea.
Obstipation
Progesterone plays an important protective role during pregnancy. However, a disadvantage of progesterone is that it retains fluid and it makes the bowels work more slowly. This can lead to constipation (hard bowel movements, constipation). Suffering from constipation? Make sure you drink enough water (at least 2.5 litres a day) and eat enough fibre. Fibre can be found in:
vegetables: eat at least 500 grams a day
fruit: 2-3 pieces a day
legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, beans: put on the menu twice a week
nuts and seeds: 25 grams per day
whole-grain rice and whole-grain cereals (preferably gluten-free)
psyllium fibre: for constipation, take 5 grams 1-3 times daily before meals with a large glass of water.
Exercise and good intestinal flora also contribute to good bowel movements.
Anaemia
Do you suffer from fatigue, dizziness, headaches? Then you may be suffering from anaemia, which means there are too few red blood cells in your blood or the blood cells are not working properly. Red blood cells contain haemoglobin (Hb), which carries oxygen through the blood to cells in the body. During pregnancy, your Hb levels are always a little lower because during pregnancy you have more blood in your body with proportionally more plasma (fluid) than red blood cells.
With a shortage of red blood cells, there is also too little haemoglobin (Hb) in the blood. The production of haemoglobin requires iron, folic acid and vitamin B12. Iron deficiency and vitamin B12 deficiency are therefore the most common causes of anaemia.
Anaemia can be diagnosed with a blood test or a (self) test (finger prick). Is your haemoglobin (Hb) level 7.5 mmol/l or lower? Then it is advisable to take an iron supplement.
Ligament pain
Even from early pregnancy, you may experience ligament pain, which feels like menstrual cramps. Later in pregnancy, ligament pain feels like a nasty, sharp pain in the lower abdomen. A warm hot water bottle on the lower abdomen often brings relief for ligament pain. Also make sure you get enough rest and relaxation, which your body needs. You are also more likely to experience ligament pain on busy, tiring days. A magnesium supplement can also provide relief. Magnesiumbisglycinate with taurine relaxes the muscles and counteracts tyre pain.
Heartburn
Heartburn is common during pregnancy. Progesterone causes the sphincter between the stomach and oesophagus to relax more easily, allowing stomach contents to enter the lower part of the oesophagus. Later in pregnancy, heartburn can occur due to the growing uterus which then presses against the stomach, pushing up the stomach acid.
Tips against heartburn:
Do not eat too large portions
Eat slowly and chew well
Try not to eat anything 2-3 hours before bedtime
Keep your head elevated while sleeping
Get enough exercise during the day (at least half an hour)
Sufficient relaxation
4. Prepare for labour
You cannot predict how you will give birth, every birth is different. That is why it is important to prepare yourself well for giving birth, even if you have given birth before. Besides all the practical things that need to be arranged, it is also important to prepare mentally. A pregnancy course, yoga or a mindfulness (hypnobirthing) course can give you more confidence in giving birth and also teach you how to deal with tension and stress around giving birth. Involve your partner in the course as well.
Try to keep up enough exercise throughout the pregnancy, including towards the end. Sporting at your old level will no longer be possible, but make sure you continue to exercise sufficiently. Swimming can be fine, or take a nice walk every day.
By the end of the pregnancy, your baby has taken up so much space in your belly that there is less room left the stomach. You will find that you can no longer eat large meals. Just make sure you keep eating enough, as giving birth requires energy. Eat smaller portions of food, spread throughout the day so you still get enough nutrients.
Make sure you get enough rest and sleep, it is important that you start labour well rested. Take maternity leave on time and take it easy in the last weeks before giving birth.
5. The birth: via birth canal or via caesarean section?
At the end of the pregnancy, your baby will be delivered either via the birth canal or by caesarean section. In a vaginal birth, the mother's intestinal flora is passed on to the baby. Your baby's gut flora is thus created during birth. A vaginal delivery is therefore the most ideal situation for giving birth. Babies born by caesarean section create half the diversity of gut bacteria. In the case of a caesarean section, it is advisable to give the baby probiotics from the first week after birth. In children born naturally, you may choose to give probiotics for intestinal complaints. Consult your (naturopathic) doctor or orthomolecular therapist about this.
6. When can I start using the Daysy again?
You can start measuring again from 6 weeks after giving birth. If your period has not started yet, you will still have yellow fertile colours. There is an ovulation before the first menstruation, which is why Daysy remains yellow. You don't know when you will have your period so you don't know when that ovulation will be. Breastfeeding is no guarantee that you cannot get pregnant.
From the first menstrual confirmation, you have green colours and Daysy starts indicating the expected ovulation so also the fertile days before ovulation. So she picks up your cycle quickly.
!!! Don't forget to charge your Daysy every 2-3 months during your pregnancy.
7. Breastfeeding and measuring with Daysy
Breastfeeding and measuring with Daysy is no problem. Just make sure you measure right when you wake up in the morning before you get up and get active. For optimal use of Daysy, we recommend at least 1 hour of uninterrupted sleep before measurement. Suppose you have an interrupted night once where you get up every hour to go to your baby and sleep badly, then skip the measurement that morning. That's no problem and Daysy won't get confused by that. Handle red = fertile on days you don't measure.
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