First and foremost, it’s important that we make something very clear: during pregnancy you are NOT eating for two. It’s a great catch phrase, but it can play a trick on your mind. It gives the impression that you can eat whatever you want during pregnancy (which is extremely likely to impact weight gain and cause gestational diabetes — more on this later) and that those choices won’t have any lasting impacts on you or your child.
During pregnancy, you are in fact what you eat — the same as it goes when you aren’t pregnant. Everything we eat during pregnancy has a direct effect on the pregnancy and our baby in utero. This has everything to do with the placenta (which you’ll learn more about in the next chapter). Not only do our food choices impact our body and our baby, but the amount in which we choose to partake does so as well.
It’s important not to eat too much or too little during pregnancy. Eating too much of the wrong things (i.e. sugar intake) could potentially make it harder to lose the weight post- delivery — while simultaneously, eating too little during pregnancy (dieting, for example) can have tremendous negative effects on the baby’s overall development.
Learning the benefits of healthier choices during pregnancy can help eliminate poor eating habits or extreme minimized eating, which is shown to deprive the baby of nutrients and impact brain development. Researching different medications, herbs and potential hazards for your body is an essential part of your pregnancy journey. While herbs like ginger, fenugreek or echinacea might prove beneficial for some moms, it may not for others. While you may enjoy raspberry leaf tea when you aren’t pregnant, it’s imperative to learn the dangers of drinking it early on in your pregnancy (it can stimulate uterine contractions, causing pre-term labor). While you may routinely take the litter box out before pregnancy, it’s essential that we do research to learn the dangers of exposing ourselves to those toxins.
Strong health choices in regards to what we eatduring pregnancy, can also impact the manner in which our child thrives outside thewomb.
Essentially, we teach our babies the best means of survival outside of the womb by the choices we make when they are inside the womb. This is an exciting feat! Herein lies the perfect opportunity to give our babies the best start we can muster up, their preparation to thrive outside of the womb. The best news of all is that wherever you are in your pregnancy journey, it’s never too late to make appropriate alterations to your eating habits. There are numerous sites online to assist women in their search for delicious and easy to produce meals during pregnancy. Eating protein rich foods, those low in sugar and staying hydrated will be essential for you and baby — and it’s possible with a little bit of research.
At the end of the day, it’s never too early or too late to make adjustments should you deem it necessary to do so. Each body is different and everyone has varied needs for their specific situation. We all have a choice and it’s most important to follow one’s heart and do what works best for you and baby. There is no one-size-fits-all methodology for pregnancy and it can also vary among pregnancies for one person (each child is different and so is each pregnancy). Follow your gut and remember: the healthier your eating choices today, the easier it will become down the line to make those choices as well.
Chapter 5
The healthier we eat during pregnancy, the healthier our placenta will be. Our bodies literally grow a new organ during this marvelous time in our lives — hence why,
especially during the first trimester of pregnancy, we are so dreadfully exhausted. Our bodies are at work more than ever before and using every part of our energy to do so. As beautifully stated by Robin Lim in her book entitled “Placenta — the forgotten chakra”:
The placenta, the root of your origin, is a miraculous organ that shares and protects your life. It is the conductor that unites you with your mother and serves as the control panel of the womb-ship that sustains you until you are born. It was conceived at the moment of your genesis. Your placenta is genetically identical to you. Though you share some of your parents’ genetic identity, unless you have a monozygotic (identical) twin, no one, except your placenta, has ever been so perfectly, exactly you.
The placenta is an incredible organ which develops in your uterus and works like a two-way filter. It delivers nutrients and oxygen to the fetus via the umbilical cord, removes carbon dioxide and waste from baby’s blood and provides the fetus its early immunity. The placenta starts to develop about one week after inception and acts as a two-way filter, letting anything through to the fetus. This is why eating habits (as well as our stress levels and environmental atmospheres) directly impact the baby in utero. Health plays a huge part in our placenta’s efficiency and the better choices we make, the less likely we are to develop placental problems including placenta previa and placental abruption.
To be clear, it’s not my belief nor my desire to come across that what you eat is the exact or sole cause of these potential developments in pregnancy. Yet, I simply hope to encourage a healthier approach, in hopes of positively impacting our pregnancies.
Prior to defining the aforementioned placental issues, it’s imperative we understand that these cases impact less than 5% of all pregnancies. With one in three women having cesarean sections in the U.S. (discussed in detail in Hello, Hello: The Inspirational Guide to Delivery), the likelihood increases five-fold when a woman has had a previous cesarean section (due to scar tissue in the uterus). It’s important not to stress over these rare instances of placental problems, but to be armed with the information should it arise (and feel empowered in knowing how to overcome them).
Placenta Previa
Placenta previa is established when the placenta (which attaches to the uterine wall during pregnancy in order to maintain a flow of nutrients and oxygen to the baby) does not rise and instead sits low, covering part or all of the cervix (marginal, partial or complete). The cervix is the opening that dilates to ten centimeters during dilation, making way for the baby to push through the vagina. When it’s covered, the baby has nowhere to exit, which can cause bleeding (sometimes severe) in the mother. Although it’s not harmful to the baby in utero, severe cases of bleeding can cause mom to develop anemia, which in turn can impact the health of the baby.
Quickly mentioning the importance of your doctor and/or midwife appointments, this can typically be diagnosed early in the pregnancy with the advent of sonograms. If in fact your doctor or midwife notes that your placenta is sitting low early in pregnancy, more than likely it will rise on its own later as your belly expands and baby grows. It’s estimated that the condition occurs in approximately one in 200 women (a little less than 1% of pregnancies), but occurs in roughly 4-8% of pregnancies with a previous diagnosis from earlier pregnancies.
For moms that find placenta previa to be a diagnosis upon the time of delivery, you will likely be closely monitored in a hospital setting and may have to deliver via cesarean section if necessary. Again, keeping in mind the low likelihood that you will develop this, it’s essential not to stress about it and to focus on keeping yourself healthy. Research has shown a correspondence between certain factors and the development of placenta previa — though the exact cause is unknown. Some contributors include:
having had placenta previa in past pregnancy
previous cesarean section
having multiples (or more than four pregnancies)
being over 35
smoking or other drug use
As the number of cesarean sections continue to rise, there has been an increase in placenta previa cases as well — as a mother who had the surgery in the past is much more likely to develop the condition in subsequent pregnancies. Yet, with the factors aforementioned,