The health of your pregnancy has a significant impact on your success in breastfeeding. The main reason being that the healthier you are, the longer you can grow your baby inside of you, which means the more developed they are, which leads to a more mature sucking reflex and digestive system.
Your diet has so much to do with how you feel in pregnancy, making it not as hard on your body, especially in the last couple of months when you are just ready to meet your baby and not be pregnant anymore. What you eat and how much water you drink has a direct effect on blood pressure, swelling/fluid retention, and many more things. Also, what you eat, if it is poor, has a direct effect on your body. A recent study found that women that drink diet soda during pregnancy are more likely to deliver preterm. Here is a quote from the article.
”Researchers discovered that mothers who consumed even small amounts of diet drinks each day had an increased risk of preterm birth. Mothers who consumed one diet drink per day had a 38% higher chance of preterm birth than those who did not drink any. Those who consumed four diet drinks per day were roughly 80% more likely to have a preterm baby than the mothers who did not drink any diet beverages. The results were no different for women who were at their normal weight or over their ideal weight during pregnancy.”
http://prenatal-health.suite101.com/article.cfm/are-diet-drinks-safe-during-pregnancy
The idea is to be pregnant as long as possible, and at least 41 weeks and 1 day (which is the normal gestational period for humans – not just 40 weeks).
Here is an example of what you should be eating everyday.
Protein - 60-80 grams of protein each day. If you have gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, or pregnancy induced hypertension, you need more.
Foods high in protein are –
Dairy: milk, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs (dairy products are optional as some women do not choose to add dairy to their diet. It is recommended that you get 1-2 servings of some form of dairy each day. If you choose to eat yogurt choose one low in sugar but do not choose one with aspartame.
Meats: beef, poultry, pork
Seeds and Nuts: peanuts, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, cashews, soy nuts
Legumes: pinto beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, navy beans, lentils
Tofu is a great protein replacement for meat. Fish should only be eaten 1-2 times a week
Complex Carbs – You need 240 grams of complex carbs a day. That means only 100% whole grains like Old Fashioned Oats, stone ground wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole sprouted grains, etc. No white flour, white rice, corn, cornmeal. Your carb intake should not exceed 240 grams a day. Not meal or snack should contain more than 25% of your total carb intake for the day.
Fruits – Pregnant women need to eat 2 servings of fruit to obtain vital minerals and vitamins contained within colorful fruits. It is strongly suggested that you choose fruits that give you the best nutritive value while remaining lower on the glycemic index. Examples are: cherries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, apricots, grapefruit, kiwi, peach and tangerine. A serving of fruit is one cup or 1 piece of the fruit. These are lower in sugar but higher in nutrients. Fruit juices are higher in sugar and should be limited to 4 ozs a day and should be considered a fruit serving.
Green leafy vegetables – 2 good sized salads per day with dark green leafy lettuce, spinach, kale, swiss chard, turnip greens, collard greens and sea vegetables is recommended. Iceberg lettuce doesn’t count because it has no nutritional value. Look for the darkest greens you can find.
Vegetables – Vegetables are free foods. Eat LOTS of fresh or frozen vegetables every day. Include all the color you can. Make sure you get a good amount of red, yellow/orange, and green vegetables (tomatoes, red bell peppers, yellow/orange bell peppers, squash, pumpkin, broccoli, green beans, celery, asparagus, okra, avocado). Vegetables that should be eaten in great moderation are carrots, potatoes, peas, and corn. They are all high in natural sugars.
Fats – Fats should make up approximately 30% of your total caloric intake each day. This would be 83 grams of fat for a 2500 calorie diet. Fats are especially important for the proper development of the nervous system. Choose healthy fats such as: olive oil (14g per T), grape seed oil, canola oil (14g per T), and omega 3 fatty acids (flax seed oil (14g per T) fish oils). Of course dairy products, avocado (31g), meats and nuts (approx 15g per oz) are sources of fats. It is not recommended to eat a diet heavy in saturated fats.
Sodium – Pregnant women should salt food to taste. This means use table salt to satisfy your palate. Salts that are recommended are Vega Sal and sea salt. Foods that are abundant in natural sodium are celery, cucumber, kelp and dulce (seaweed) and fish. Processed foods are high in sodium but are also high in other additives like MSG and nitrites that will cause other problems. Please avoid these foods.
This sounds like a lot! But, the best thing to do is try to eat something small every 2 hours. This will help with reflux (from over eating) and also help maintain your blood sugar and reduce the feelings of nausea, fatigue, and indigestion.
WATER, WATER, WATER, WATER….!!!! – Hydration is vitally important during pregnancy. Dehydration is a major factor in the health of the mother and the baby. Many women are surprised at the amount of water required to support their needs during pregnancy. It is recommended that you drink half of your body weight in ounces PLUS an additional quart for your baby. The amount will slowly increase as your baby grows. Other drinks are not to be included in this amount. Dehydration can cause an irritable uterus, headaches, increased blood pressure (if this happens, drink a quart of water and rest), and preterm labor and birth.
AVOID –
Sugars and refined foods – white sugar, refined white flour, white rice, white pasta – these act as sugar when digested. Processed foods: box mixes, cold cereal, etc.
Fats digested as proteins – processed meats are associated with common pregnancy complaints and are full of saturated fats. So don’t be fooled into thinking you are getting enough protein when eating foods such as sausage or bacon.
Supplements -
Prenatal Vitamins - Make sure you are taking a good prenatal vitamin – one that is a natural botanical based prenatal. There are a number of brands you can choose from including: Melaleuca, Nature’s Way Completia, Rainbow Light (not the 1 a day), Now, NF Formula (Prenatal Forte).
Calcium – Take an additional calcium supplement each day, preferably at bedtime for maximum absorption. Calcium Citrate, any brand, up to 2000mg per day.
Iron – Liquid Chlorophyll is the most effective way to raise the hemoglobin so you may need to add this to your daily routine.
I also have a protein guide that will give you a list of proteins and their protein content per serving. I have a glycemic index guide, a “Sneaky Way to Increase Protein” guide, a “Good Food Sources” guide if you need help picking foods with certain nutrients, and a food diary chart. These can be copied, printed and mailed if anyone wants them.
I hope today’s topic was beneficial. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tomorrow’s topic will cover Success in Breastfeeding as it correlates to labor and birth. I will also share a breastfeeding story from one of you.
Blessings to all of you,
Meredith
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
It's World Breastfeeding Week Y'all!
This week (August 1-7) is World Breastfeeding Week.
I am doing my part by sharing information I have researched and stories I have been blessed by about breastfeeding. I have a group on Facebook (Natural Childbirth and Breastfeeding) that I am sharing with, and I thought you might like the information too.
Here is what I shared with them today -
Hi ladies!
Hope you are all as excited about this week as I am. I am so happy and blessed to share information with you that I have found researching breastfeeding.
I have a few stories from other breastfeeding moms that I will share, and I will also answer the questions that some of you submitted.
*I do want to make a disclaimer - I hope that all of you are pro-breastfeeding. But, in the case you aren't, please do not take anything that is written this week (or any other time for that matter) to be judgemental towards you if you didn't breastfeed. This is an educational group. Some things will be my opinion, but most everything comes from research I have done. If you have any questions about anything that is posted, please feel free to ask.
Today, I am going to share an excerpt out of one of my favorite breastfeeding books, "So That's What They're For!" by Janet Tamaro.
This comes from the 2nd chapter in her book entitled "Breastmilk versus Artificial Baby Milk: The Fizzled Great Debate"
Did You Know?
1. Breastfeeding, thanks to the physical closeness and the rush of hormones, cements bonding (it’s an incredibly warm, comforting feeling for both of you).
2. Studies show that breastmilk is the perfect brain food during the first year of life. Formula feeding is associated with lower IQ – by 5 to 10 points!
3. Breastmilk enhances brain development and cognitive development.
4. Breastmilk provides nutrients not found anywhere else. Why is that a big deal? Because it contains immunities to diseases and aids in the development of your baby’s immune system – the “soldiers” that keep him healthy. Formula cannot do that.
5. Breastfed babies have fewer illnesses – and dramatically fewer serious illnesses. Through your breastmilk, you hand off your antibodies to disease. About 80 percent of the cells in breastmilk are “macrophages,” cells that are so powerful, they kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Other cells have been shown to kill carcinogens invading cells, preventing those cells from becoming cancerous.
6. Breastmilk has a protein called “human alpha-lactalbumin” that is lethal to tumors. This protein induces “apoptosis”. That’s a good thing: it keeps cancer cells from replicating, and eventually they take the hint and leave.
7. Because of numbers 5 and 6, say good-bye to pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, staphylococcal infections, influenza, and German measles.
8. And…it dramatically lowers the risk for eczema, ulcerative colitis, Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and urinary tract infections.
9. Ditto for other serious illnesses. Breastfed babies are four times less likely to be hospitalized for bacterial infections; less likely to suffer from Crohn’s disease (a difficult-to-treat intestinal disease), dermatitis, diarrhea, diabetes, liver diseases, and other afflictions.
10. The chance of SIDS is reduced by 50 percent compared to formula-fed babies.
11. Less gastrointestinal reflux (that’s “spit-up”, my friends).
12. Fewer cases of ear infections. In fact, ear infections are three to four times more prevalent in formula-fed babies.
13. Breastfed babies are less likely to have allergies, asthma, and allergic reactions to food and the environment. Even if you have a family full of wheezers and your baby has the wheezing gene, breastfeeding will reduce the severity.
14. Formula-fed babies see the doctor almost twice as often as breastfed babies do.
15. If you breastfeed, you’re less likely to be home with a sick baby.
16. Breastmilk is cheaper than formula. Wait, it’s free!
17. Breastmilk is easier to prepare and much easier to digest than formula.
18. Breastmilk is always the right temperature.
19. Breastmilk is always clean.
20. Breastfeeding requires no special equipment, and you don’t have to sterilize your chest!
21. If you breastfeed, you don’t have to remember food with you every time you leave the house. You’ll always have it with you.
22. Breastfeeding makes traveling less of a hassle. You won’t run out of breastmilk if your plane is delayed.
23. If you breastfeed, your pediatrician will (should!) commend you for it.
24. If you breastfeed, your baby will love you for it.
25. Breastfeeding may help your child avoid a weight problem later in life (research shows that formula-fed babies can gain too much weight, while breastfed babies gain a normal amount).
26. Ditto with adult obesity – much less likely in people who were breastfed.
27. Breast pumps make it possible to give your baby breastmilk even when you are not around.
28. Breastfed babies are 40 percent less likely to have misaligned teeth.
29. Breastfed babies have better eyesight.
30. Breastmilk is environmentally sound (and you don’t even have to recycle it!).
31. Breastfeeding satisfies crucial emotional needs. All babies need to be held, and studies have shown that premature babies are more likely to die if they are not held or stroked. Bottle feeding, no matter how well-intentioned the parents, requires less physical contact, and when a baby is old enough to hold a bottle, it’s often a solo activity.
32. Studies have shown that formula feeding may increase a baby girl’s risk of developing breast cancer in later life. (see 5 and 6)
33. Breastmilk contains normal pain relievers for baby. What a godsend to have liquid endorphins at the ready, and a breast to comfort a crying baby! We’re talking instant soothing.
34. Breastfeeding is great for jaw and proper dental development because babies use as much as sixty times more energy to get breastfed that to get formula from a bottle.
35. Breastfed babies have straighter teeth and fewer cavities.
And the BEST reason to breastfeed??? “Enzymatically hydrolyzed reduced minerals, whey protein concentrate, palm olein, soy, coconut, high-oleic safflower oils, lactose, maltodextrin, potassium citrate, calcium phosphate, calcium chloride, salt, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, potassium iodide, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, inositol, choline bitartrate, sodium ascorbate, alpha tocopheryl acetate, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, phylloquinone, biotin, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, taurine, L-carnitine”
That’s what’s in formula.
More to come tomorrow. If you would like this information in a Word document, please ask and I can email it to you.
Blessings,
Meredith
Hope y'all have a wonderful day! There will be a post each day this week! I can hardly believe it myself!
I am doing my part by sharing information I have researched and stories I have been blessed by about breastfeeding. I have a group on Facebook (Natural Childbirth and Breastfeeding) that I am sharing with, and I thought you might like the information too.
Here is what I shared with them today -
Hi ladies!
Hope you are all as excited about this week as I am. I am so happy and blessed to share information with you that I have found researching breastfeeding.
I have a few stories from other breastfeeding moms that I will share, and I will also answer the questions that some of you submitted.
*I do want to make a disclaimer - I hope that all of you are pro-breastfeeding. But, in the case you aren't, please do not take anything that is written this week (or any other time for that matter) to be judgemental towards you if you didn't breastfeed. This is an educational group. Some things will be my opinion, but most everything comes from research I have done. If you have any questions about anything that is posted, please feel free to ask.
Today, I am going to share an excerpt out of one of my favorite breastfeeding books, "So That's What They're For!" by Janet Tamaro.
This comes from the 2nd chapter in her book entitled "Breastmilk versus Artificial Baby Milk: The Fizzled Great Debate"
Did You Know?
1. Breastfeeding, thanks to the physical closeness and the rush of hormones, cements bonding (it’s an incredibly warm, comforting feeling for both of you).
2. Studies show that breastmilk is the perfect brain food during the first year of life. Formula feeding is associated with lower IQ – by 5 to 10 points!
3. Breastmilk enhances brain development and cognitive development.
4. Breastmilk provides nutrients not found anywhere else. Why is that a big deal? Because it contains immunities to diseases and aids in the development of your baby’s immune system – the “soldiers” that keep him healthy. Formula cannot do that.
5. Breastfed babies have fewer illnesses – and dramatically fewer serious illnesses. Through your breastmilk, you hand off your antibodies to disease. About 80 percent of the cells in breastmilk are “macrophages,” cells that are so powerful, they kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Other cells have been shown to kill carcinogens invading cells, preventing those cells from becoming cancerous.
6. Breastmilk has a protein called “human alpha-lactalbumin” that is lethal to tumors. This protein induces “apoptosis”. That’s a good thing: it keeps cancer cells from replicating, and eventually they take the hint and leave.
7. Because of numbers 5 and 6, say good-bye to pneumonia, botulism, bronchitis, staphylococcal infections, influenza, and German measles.
8. And…it dramatically lowers the risk for eczema, ulcerative colitis, Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and urinary tract infections.
9. Ditto for other serious illnesses. Breastfed babies are four times less likely to be hospitalized for bacterial infections; less likely to suffer from Crohn’s disease (a difficult-to-treat intestinal disease), dermatitis, diarrhea, diabetes, liver diseases, and other afflictions.
10. The chance of SIDS is reduced by 50 percent compared to formula-fed babies.
11. Less gastrointestinal reflux (that’s “spit-up”, my friends).
12. Fewer cases of ear infections. In fact, ear infections are three to four times more prevalent in formula-fed babies.
13. Breastfed babies are less likely to have allergies, asthma, and allergic reactions to food and the environment. Even if you have a family full of wheezers and your baby has the wheezing gene, breastfeeding will reduce the severity.
14. Formula-fed babies see the doctor almost twice as often as breastfed babies do.
15. If you breastfeed, you’re less likely to be home with a sick baby.
16. Breastmilk is cheaper than formula. Wait, it’s free!
17. Breastmilk is easier to prepare and much easier to digest than formula.
18. Breastmilk is always the right temperature.
19. Breastmilk is always clean.
20. Breastfeeding requires no special equipment, and you don’t have to sterilize your chest!
21. If you breastfeed, you don’t have to remember food with you every time you leave the house. You’ll always have it with you.
22. Breastfeeding makes traveling less of a hassle. You won’t run out of breastmilk if your plane is delayed.
23. If you breastfeed, your pediatrician will (should!) commend you for it.
24. If you breastfeed, your baby will love you for it.
25. Breastfeeding may help your child avoid a weight problem later in life (research shows that formula-fed babies can gain too much weight, while breastfed babies gain a normal amount).
26. Ditto with adult obesity – much less likely in people who were breastfed.
27. Breast pumps make it possible to give your baby breastmilk even when you are not around.
28. Breastfed babies are 40 percent less likely to have misaligned teeth.
29. Breastfed babies have better eyesight.
30. Breastmilk is environmentally sound (and you don’t even have to recycle it!).
31. Breastfeeding satisfies crucial emotional needs. All babies need to be held, and studies have shown that premature babies are more likely to die if they are not held or stroked. Bottle feeding, no matter how well-intentioned the parents, requires less physical contact, and when a baby is old enough to hold a bottle, it’s often a solo activity.
32. Studies have shown that formula feeding may increase a baby girl’s risk of developing breast cancer in later life. (see 5 and 6)
33. Breastmilk contains normal pain relievers for baby. What a godsend to have liquid endorphins at the ready, and a breast to comfort a crying baby! We’re talking instant soothing.
34. Breastfeeding is great for jaw and proper dental development because babies use as much as sixty times more energy to get breastfed that to get formula from a bottle.
35. Breastfed babies have straighter teeth and fewer cavities.
And the BEST reason to breastfeed??? “Enzymatically hydrolyzed reduced minerals, whey protein concentrate, palm olein, soy, coconut, high-oleic safflower oils, lactose, maltodextrin, potassium citrate, calcium phosphate, calcium chloride, salt, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, potassium iodide, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, inositol, choline bitartrate, sodium ascorbate, alpha tocopheryl acetate, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, phylloquinone, biotin, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, taurine, L-carnitine”
That’s what’s in formula.
More to come tomorrow. If you would like this information in a Word document, please ask and I can email it to you.
Blessings,
Meredith
Hope y'all have a wonderful day! There will be a post each day this week! I can hardly believe it myself!
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