Nutrition during pregnancy has an important impact on the development of the fetus. Pregnant women need to have a balanced and adequate diet. Therefore, pregnant women who often fast or skip meals not only affect the mother's health but also affect the development of the fetus.
1. The role of a healthy diet in pregnant women
The role of a healthy, adequate diet during pregnancy is one of the factors that helps answer the question of whether fasting during pregnancy is okay. Accordingly, many studies have shown that the mother's diet during pregnancy affects the fetus as follows:
Nutrition affects the weight of the baby at birth: During pregnancy, a mother who is supplemented with a full and balanced diet will help the fetus gain weight well, even if the mother is underweight or malnourished. On the contrary, if pregnant mothers do not have a sufficient diet, lack of food, or an unbalanced diet, it will increase the risk of the baby being born underweight or premature. Birth weight reflects the chance of survival, and the ability to develop physically and mentally. Accordingly, children born underweight or malnourished in the womb will have a weakened immune system, increased risk of infection, low cognitive ability and intelligence quotient, affecting their ability to learn and job opportunities when they grow up;
Nutrition during pregnancy is related to some birth defects: During pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, if the pregnant mother is not fully supplemented with nutrients, it will reduce resistance, increase the risk of infectious diseases and birth defects for the baby when born such as cleft lip and palate, congenital heart disease, etc. Inadequate folic acid supplementation during pregnancy is the cause of neural tube defects in newborns;
Nutrition during pregnancy affects the intellectual development of children: The development of the child's brain while still in the womb determines the memory and ability to learn later. The above development process requires groups of substances such as vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, zinc, and iron... The last 3 months of pregnancy is the time when the brain grows and matures the most, pregnant mothers need to be supplemented with energy and nutrients with higher content. Therefore, pregnant mothers who fast affect the fetus in terms of weight and intellectual development because they are not provided with enough nutrients for development;
Nutrition during pregnancy is related to some chronic non-communicable diseases in children when they grow up: Many studies show that pregnant mothers who are malnourished in early pregnancy increase the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases in children when they grow up, such as cardiovascular disease and obesity. A poor diet in late pregnancy increases the risk of impaired glucose tolerance in children when they are born.
2. Is it okay for pregnant mother to fast?
The role of a full and guaranteed nutritional regimen for pregnant women during pregnancy affects both the physical and intellectual development of the child when born. Therefore, pregnant women need to build a moderate diet and not skip meals or fast. In addition, during pregnancy, the energy needed for pregnant women increases by about 300 calories per day. For overweight or malnourished pregnant women, it is necessary to consult a doctor about nutritional supplements to avoid cases of excess or lack of nutrients.
The nutritional regimen for pregnant women needs to be balanced and should be divided into many meals a day to help maintain the highest energy and stable blood sugar levels. A diet divided into many meals also helps pregnant women reduce symptoms of nausea and vomiting due to morning sickness in the early stages of pregnancy.
Morning sickness causes many pregnant mothers to fast, skip meals, and often ask the question: is it okay for pregnant women to skip breakfast? The answer is that breakfast plays an extremely important role, especially for pregnant women. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, providing abundant energy for a new day of activities, and supplementing nutrition for the fetus after a long night. In addition, breakfast also helps pregnant women reduce the symptoms of morning sickness. In case pregnant women skip breakfast, it can lead to the following health problems:
- Hypoglycemia, easy to cause miscarriage: During pregnancy, the health of pregnant women is weaker than normal, especially in the first trimester. Therefore, pregnant women who fast or skip breakfast easily lead to the risk of hypoglycemia, adversely affecting health and increasing the risk of miscarriage;
- Increased risk of digestive diseases: Pregnant women skipping breakfast means leaving their stomach empty for a long time (from the night before to noon the next day), leading to increased gastric acid secretion and increasing the risk of stomach ulcers;
- Fatigue, lack of concentration: Breakfast helps replenish abundant energy for the new working day, so pregnant women skipping breakfast will lead to a lack of energy, fatigue, slow reactions, and lack of concentration;
- Affects the fetus: If not supplemented with breakfast, pregnant women do not have enough energy and nutrients to supplement the fetus, affecting the development of the fetus. This effect is also an important factor when answering the question: Is it okay to fast while pregnant?
- Prone to constipation: Pregnant women skipping breakfast increases the risk of digestive reflex disorders and easily leads to the risk of constipation.
3. Measures to improve skipping meals in pregnant women?
In addition to issues related to the question of whether pregnant women often fast, measures to help improve the situation of skipping meals in pregnant women are also of great concern. Accordingly, the situation of skipping meals in pregnant women can be improved by the following measures:
- Establish a regular and regular diet;
- Choose healthy foods that are rich in nutrients;
- Daily nutrition needs to be rotated to avoid boredom when eating the same dish for a long time;
- Pregnancies can set an alarm for each small meal to avoid forgetting.
4. Healthy diet for pregnant women
Building a healthy diet will help pregnant women supplement adequate nutrition during pregnancy and limit the condition of loss of appetite or skipping meals. Accordingly, a healthy diet for pregnant women can be implemented as follows:\
- Food choices serve many purposes: Pregnant women should choose foods that contain a lot of nutrients because they will meet the nutritional needs of pregnant women at the same time. For example, milk supplements a lot of calcium and protein; beef supplements a lot of iron, zinc, vitamin B, and protein;
- Limit eating foods that only contain pure calories: Cookies, candy, ice cream... only contain pure calories and sweets that contain a lot of sugar, pregnant women should only eat in moderation because consuming too many calories will reduce the ability to absorb other nutrients;
- Do not focus too much on a diet for two people: Eating too much also causes many serious health problems for pregnant women. Pregnant women only need to add 300 calories per day, too much diet can lead to a high risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia;
- Drink plenty of water, eat foods rich in fiber: Pregnant women need to drink enough 8 glasses of water per day, supplement foods rich in fiber (about 24 - 36g of fiber per day) to help prevent the risk of constipation;
- Do not eat uncooked or unsterilized food: Eating uncooked foods such as raw salad, and canned fish... increases the risk of digestive diseases.
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