Essential Vitamins and Minerals for a Healthy Pregnancy
Pregnancy is one of the unique experiences that a woman can go through in her lifetime. There are so many matters that you need to consider before and during your pregnancy. Among these matters, nutrition (especially minerals and vitamins) are very important. Your health during pregnancy and the health of your baby will be affected by these vital matters. Ultimately, it’s in your best interest to make sure that your diet included the nutrients you need for a safe and healthy pregnancy. Here, we discuss some essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins that you should incorporate in your diet.
Vitamins
Vitamin A and beta carotene help the growth of teeth and bones. You can find this vitamin in potatoes, spinach, broccoli, carrots, cantaloupe, and pumpkin.
Vitamin D is responsible for body’s ability to use calcium as well as phosphorus. Like Vitamin A, Vitamin D also has an effect on the growth of bones and the teeth. Vitamin D can be found in sunshine during certain hours of a day. So it’s highly recommended that you spend plenty of time outdoors during the early morning. Be sure to drink and eat plenty of milk and fatty fish.
Vitamin E is responsible for the forming and developing the body—namely the red blood cells and muscles. Foods that are rich in vitamin E include spinach, vegetable oil (in moderate amounts), fortified cereals and nuts.
Vitamin C helps the body develop its immune system and absorb iron. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant which protects the tissues from damage. Vitamin C can be gained by consuming citrus fruits, strawberries, potato, tomato, green bean, bell peppers, papaya, and broccoli.
Vitamin B1 or Thiamin is able to regulate the nervous system and can provide you with energy. Rice, pasta, organ meats, pork, egg, nuts, wheat germ, fortified cereals, and berries are good providers of Vitamin B1.
Vitamin B2 or riboflavin promotes healthy skin, eyesight, and energy. Good sources include meats, egg, and fortified cereals. These foods are also rich in Vitamin B3. If your pregnancy is causing you some indigestion then you can sooth your stomach with foods that are rich in Vitamin B3.
If your morning sickness tends to be severe or frequent, you can improve your condition by giving your body enough Vitamin B6, which can be found in a variety of foods. These foods include oats, brown rice, bran, nuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, nuts, pork, chicken, liver, spinach, egg, soybean, beans and carrots.
Minerals
To start caring for the baby inside you, folic acid supports the placenta, prevents spine bifida and other neural tube defects. Green leafy vegetables, spinach, beans, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, nuts, pasta, fortified cereals and orange or orange juice are all rich in folic acid.
Aside from strengthening bones and teeth, calcium is also responsible for preventing the blood clots and improving functioning in nerves and muscles. Milk, cheddar cheese, dark green leafy vegetables and juices are all tasty sources of calcium.
Iron is responsible for production of hemoglobin. Iron prevents anemia, low birth weight and premature birth or delivery. You can gain iron by consuming beef, pork, spinach, dried beans, dried fruits and oatmeal or grains that are fortified with iron.
To Eat or Not to Eat: A Pregnancy Diet Guide
Pregnancy is whole new adventure for any woman. It is a time when everything in the woman’s life seems to be undergoing transformations and there comes a need for her and her loved ones to adjust to these changes. If you’re planning for a child then it’s very important for you to know everything that you can possibly know about pregnancy. One of the fundamental issues in pregnancy is nutrition or diet. If you want your baby to be as healthy as possible then you should study up on the foods that you must eat and those that you must avoid.
Food is a vital matter that you need to consider in order to carry out a successful pregnancy. Let’s begin with the foods that you must try to avoid during your pregnancy.
Unprocessed meat or raw meat
These meats can be contaminated with toxic bacteria that exist in the sea such as Coliform bacteria, toxoplasmosis, and E-coli or salmonella. A great illustration would be sushi. In certain locations in the sea, fish meat (shark, sword fish, tile fish, and king mackerel) is contained with accumulated levels of mercury–mercury that can cause severe brain damage in the baby, affecting the developmental process in the brain. Another case would be when the fish is contaminated with specific industrial pollution. This pollutant, in scientific terms, is called polychlorinated biphenyls or PCB’s. This very toxic chemical can cause an incredible damage in IQ, memory, abnormality and can result to ultimate autism in the child. Before eating fish, study about the environment that you are living in. Contact the health department in your location and find out it the fish meat is safe.
Raw egg
Raw egg contains salmonella and should be avoided. Egg products like mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, Caeser sauce, homemade ice cream and any food that uses raw egg are also good examples of food to be avoided. Salmonella can cause serious illness and a possible infection in your baby.
You have probably heard that pregnant woman have more appetite for food than a non-pregnant woman. For the most part, this statement is true. However, we often encounter statements that are false such as: “a pregnant woman should eat twice as before in order to carry out a successful pregnancy”. One fact that any expecting woman should know is the need to provide the body with the best nutrition available in the market. This is more important than eating more. A pregnant woman is in need of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Carbohydrates
Rice, pasta and bread are great source of carbohydrates. Other great sources of carbohydrates are potato and corn.
Protein
Meat rich in protein include beef and chicken. Meat can provide a great amount of calories in a day. Beans and dairy products are good providers of protein as well.
Vitamins and minerals
Vitamin B9 is a vital vitamin. Vitamin B9 is known as Folic Acid which helps with nervous system development in your baby. You need to take this in the first trimester of pregnancy. Another important mineral is iron. The purpose of iron is to produce enough blood in your body for the delivery of the nutrition to baby. Calcium and zinc are important for developing the embryo and are best absorbed by the body through the foods you eat.
Learn more about nutrition for pregnant women in http://www.surebaby.com/foods.php.
Quick Honey Take a Picture of My Sexy Pregnant Ass
While the Japanese may be ahead of us in many areas of electronics, cars, special effects and perhaps even weapons development, they are …I am going to with centuries upon centuries behind…um like the rest of the world if taking naked pictures of women while pregnant is a “new trend.” I recently read this article that discusses the new trend of photographing pregnant women in the nude. While some people say this came into vogue when Demi Moore did it, I am going to say Europeans have been painting women since the Renasaaicnce ages with all body shapes – some with big big curves, some that are just fat and some that were pregnant. We are really kidding ourselves if we think Britney Spears or Ms. Moore started this trend.
But putting who “did it first” aside, I have to ask you, my friends….Really?! I know, I know. Pregnancy is sexy. Pregnancy is beautiful. Pregnancy is natural. Pregnancy is…blah blah blah. Sure those pictures when you are 18 weeks and you looked like you swallowed a little basketball may be all well and cute and good (provided of course you are still working out with your trainer, still don’t eat carbs, and are a celebrity with a great personal shopper), but by 35 weeks (okay okay 28 weeks) I was feeling pretty whaleish. Here is something I NEVER said while pregnant “I am feeling so damn sexy lets just capture THIS moment forever.” My pregnancy involved lots of things I did NOT want captured on film.
And while Angelina Jolie claims Brad Pitt made her feel “sexy the whole time” she was pregnant I have two things to say: 1. I am not Angelina, and my husband is no Brad and 2. She is full of shit.
I had a hard enough time taking pictures with my clothes on. Thank God for digital – I was deleting at least 8.6 pics for every 10 that were taken. Call me vain. Call me shallow. Call me anti-feminist, but “naked”, “pregnant” and “photo” really don’t belong in one sentence. (Actually, if you talk to Paris Hilton, and a few other overly trusting celebrities the word “naked” and “pictures” alone don’t belong in the same sentence, but I think that is another post entirely. )
So in sum, it was hard enough to look at myself in the mirror for those 3.2 God aweful seconds between disrobing and the shower – why in the WORLD do I want those 3.2 seconds captured on film? For OTHERS to see. Forever.
Are You NOT Having Sex with Your Husband?
We just love studies on relationships and sex! It’s so voyeuristic reading about what 80% of people are SUPPOSEDLY doing.
In a New York Times article (you can read it for yourself here), American couples are having sex 58 times per year. That’s roughly once per week. That’s roughly 58 MORE times than I am!
Wait?? What??? Um yeah! Now you know why I am so into this crap!
Anyway….. apparently this number is a median as there is a wide variation between couples under 30 years of age (111 times per year) and couples over 30 (58 times per year) and then freaks like me (1 per year). Where is my violin. Oh never mind.
Apparently, it’s not so uncommon. “It’s estimated that about 15 percent of married couples have not had sex with their spouse in the last six months to one year, according to Denise A. Donnelly, associate professor of sociology at Georgia State University, who has studied sexless marriage.”
Are couples in sexless marriages less happy than couples having sex?
Generally, yes. There is a feedback relationship in most couples between happiness and having sex. Happy couples have more sex, and the more sex a couple has, the happier they report being. But keep in mind that sex is only one form of intimacy, and that some couples are fairly happy (and intimate) even without sex. In my 1993 study, I did find that people in sexless marriages were more likely to have considered divorce than those in sexually active marriages. There is no ideal level of sexual activity — the ideal level is what both partners are happy with — and when one (or both) are unhappy, then you can have marital problems.
There are mixed opinions about what to do to rekindle marital sex. For some couples, it may be as simple as a weekend away from the kids, taking a vacation or cruise, or just having some time off, alone. Others may need help in re-establishing communication and may seek professional assistance. The sad fact is that there are few counseling professionals that deal with this issue. Often, marriage counselors focus on other aspects, rather than sex. While these other aspects may play a big role in sexual inactivity, talking explicitly about sex is essential.
Some of our former respondents have kept in touch with me, and the happiest ones are actually those that have moved on to other partners. It may be that lack of sex is a signal that all intimacy in a marriage is over, and that both would be happier in other situations. I know that this may not be a popular idea with the religious and political right, but it may be a better solution than staying in a marriage that is hurtful and unfulfilling.
In sum, these situations are just so complicated. Each couple has to examine their specific histories, their motivations and goals, and whether it is worth it to them to work on putting sex back in the marriage. It can be a difficult task and require that people take emotional and physical steps that aren’t comfortable for them.
I find this very interesting indeed. How about the fact that people let themselves get fat, sloppy and disgusting in the course of their relationships.
Or they get so bored of having sex with each other, they prefer to wash the floors or get a root canal?
Or maybe their man is soo “tapped out” from his daily porn obsession, he is just not “up to” having any more with an actually human being?
Or maybe their man is too selfish to make it satisfying for their woman?
Or maybe both or one person has an intimacy issue and eventually it catches up to their relationship?
Or possibly, there may be an illness or disability or some other physical condition preventing sex?
I’d like to blame my sexless marriage on the 65 pounds I gained from pregnancy that I still haven’t lost 2 years later and on my DH probably hating my guts (figuratively and literally).
What do you think???? Are you in a sexless marriage??? Have you been in a sexless marriage?? How did you resolve it?
Creepy or Cool??? Life-sized Replicas of Babies in Utero.
My sister recently got a 3D ultrasound which was not widely available just 2 years ago when I was pregnant. I thought about getting one then, but didn’t see the need for it. I suppose if you are a high risk pregnancy, you may actually want to take a closer look at your unborn baby for medical reasons. But just for kicks and giggles??? I didn’t find it compelling. Plus, you never know what those sound waves are REALLY doing to your fetus.
Recently, I saw this article on ultrasound waves turned into life-size replica molds of unborn fetuses.
A Brazilian student Jorge Lopes @ Royal College of Art design in London has pioneered the conversion of data from ultrasound and MRI scans into life-size plaster models of living embryos using a method called rapid prototyping.
‘It’s amazing to see the faces of the mothers. They can see the full scale of their baby, really understand the size of it,’ said Dr Lopes.
‘The technology can be also be used as an emotional tool for parents whose fetus might be deformed or needs treatment,’ added Hilary French, who heads the School of Architecture and Design Products.
A good way of understanding how rapid prototyping works is to imagine a printer that prints plastic powder instead of ink.
Then as it prints layer upon layer, it slowly builds up a 3D model.
Think of all the things you can use this for unrelated to babies?
Ok….so you tell us …. Is this creepy or cool?? What do you think???? Would you do this?? Or should we just leave the fetus alone???
Stay at Home or Working Mom – Which is Better?
Quite frankly, I often struggle with this topic myself. I chose to “Work From Home” when my child was born with the belief that it would allow the best of both worlds. I would be home with her whenever she needed me and I could still make a living!
Some days are tougher than others! I feel like I’m doing both things terribly! My attention is divided among 19 things at the same time and that includes, changing diaprs, cooking lunch for my daughter, answering work related questions (I have 3 employees working out of my house for my business), new product lines I’m launching and soooo much more! It almost seems unfair to my child and to my business because I feel like I’m failing them both.
However, there is some part of me that feels fulfilled and happy that I chose this path and am able to stay home with my daughter. I’ve fallen into a rhythm where I work while she sleeps, we play while she is awake, and then I have a babysitter for 3 hours per day, 3 days per week. It seems to work for now! I get a 6 hour workday between her nap and the babysitter, she gets to see me all day, I cook her breakfast, lunch and dinner, we spend our mornings reading and playing together and she socializes with someone other than me and her daddy. I can’t possibly think of a better scenario.
I started reading this book by Dr. Laura Schlessinger “In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms,” in which she “unapologetically urges mothers to remain at home instead of juggle a career and motherhood.”
Now I have to warn you, some of her ideas and suggestions sound a bit archaic and unrealistic. But I do have to admit, there is some rhyme, reason and sense in there if you listen carefully.
This Wall Street Journal article covers an interview done with Dr. Schlessinger discussing her book and some of her ideas.
What do you think? Should women stay home with their babies or should they work if they have to??? What choice did you make?
Home Birth vs. Hospital Birth? What do you think?
It seems that the battle over birth continued with this a study led by OSU assistant professor and midwife Melissa Cheyney.
The study compared birth records in Oregon’s Jackson County from 1998 through 2003 to attempt to find whether a correlation existed between poor health outcomes and homebirths.
A link between the two factors was not found. It did however find ongoing conflicts between doctors and midwives with physicians asserting that only hospital births were safe. This finding is in line with a 2008 American Medical Association resolution (pdf), which stated:
The safest setting for labor, delivery and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex.
Personally, I couldn’t imagine having my baby at home. She was 10 lbs 02 ounces, measured 21 inches long and refused to come out naturally. After 3 hours of serious pushing, she had not dropped at all and refused to fit through my pelvis. I think her head circumference was 15 inches. On top of it all, I tested positive for strep, needed to be on antibiotics during birth and ran a fever. There is no way I would’ve done this at home. Why risk the life of my child or myself?
On top of it all, the day after she was born, at 2AM, the nurses rushed it to take her away because one of her blood tests showed signs of infection which indicated possible spinal meningitis. Birthing at home, for me? No thanks!
Have you given birth in a hospital or with the help of a midwife? What was your experience? Did you experience tension between doctors and midwives?
Is There a Pregnant Women’s Curfew I Don’t Know About?
I’m 6 ½ months pregnant, young and single and I want to go out and hangout at bars, concerts, beaches, etc. with my friends. But it seems like everywhere you go people are giving you dirty looks like what are you doing out of your cage!?
I don’t get it!
Is it assumed that once you’re pregnant you should stay home and knit baby clothes?? It’s not like I’m drinking or going to rave parties……or even trying to pick up men. I’m just going out with friends and enjoying my time out until I can’t.
Everyone knows that once you have a baby you can’t go out whenever you want to so why can’t I do it now???
A War on Pregnancy: Just Say No
By the last month of my last pregnancy I was out of my mind. I could NOT WAIT to return to my slim self. I was all about it – I would wear mini skirts, I was going to love doing 1000 crunches a day, I would look at my size 4 friends with envy at their cute clothes, the swiftness at which they could move, the sexy shoes and I was SOOO over being pregnant. I was ready to perform my own c-section most days. I wanted out of pregnancy-ville and I was going to bring sexy back. I …WAS…DONE.
And I was. I worked out, I got the new clothes, the smaller waist….I was back. Then I see one of my friend’s that is pregnant and I want to be pregnant again. I HATED being pregnant. What is it though about seeing a pregnant woman that makes you forget that fact and instead think “Hey I want to do that to!?!?” All of sudden I am blinded by how great it is NOT to have to suck in your stomach for pictures, and the allure of flowing shirts with empire waists, and I begin to hallucinate about how much I loved being pregnant. I start to think things like…It wasn’t so bad. (Yes, it was.) I loved being pregnant sometimes (no, I didn’t..EVER), It was fun watching my belly grow (I was horrified).
And the main problem is, a lot like most drug addicts I am by the wrong people. I am running with the wrong crowd. The pregnant crowd. As discussed my friends are now reproducing at an alarming rate. Seriously, I am at the point that when someone calls me and says the words “Guess what?” I just have the auto reply of “Your pregnant.” Some of my friends have 3, 4 chidlren yet they go to a baby shower and I get the “I want another one….just one more” call.
I need to remind myself that these pregnancies create HUMAN BEINGS – babies are not meant to be collected and traded like a sticker collection or beanie babies. After the pregnancy there is actually a BABY to take care of which we all know is fine and dandy (because of course one look at baby shoes and all logic is COMPLETELY GONE) but that BABY turns into a CHILD. And a CHILD needs to be feed, and educated, and it costs a million trillion dollars. And it is going to be a lot like the three other “models” I already have now.
In the 80s we launched a “War on Drugs”. We need to bring the war back but realize this drug is more powerful than crack, more tempting than heroine: Pregnancy is really an epidemic; It is the worst drug us suburban moms have seen since Ritalian. We need to stop hanging out with the wrong crowd ,(you know the pregnant people) and put down the ovulation sticks.
Step away from the preggos and Just say no.
Almost ready…for baby
I feel like all of a sudden my body is just falling apart. Like my hips are being ripped apart, it is harder to breathe – I am really confused by it becuase I can DO alot of stuff (running around, lifting, etc.) and not get out of breath but sitting down for some reason leaves me breathless. Sometimes i feel like someone is sitting on my chest – so FAB! I feel A LOT of pressure on my stitch – I try not to say much but has become extremely painful.
The baby feels BIG. He is supposed to be about 5.5 lbs – I can’t imagine what a 10 lb would feel like. Scary. I am nervous still – just because I feel like I am so close now and I don’t want anythign bad to happen now! I came so far…..
So I have about 7 days to go! I have my last OBGYN appt tomorrow at 11:15 am ish. I am supposed to get all my instructions for my c-section because it is next monday at my appointment tomorrow.
I can’t believe I am here. I am so ready for our family to be complete, and just to move on from this phase. I can’t imagine what he is going to look like, I can’t imagine having a BABY again. LOL
