Expected niggles when expecting
A healthy pregnancy is the first step in your child’s nutritional journey through life. A healthy pregnancy ensures optimal growth of your baby while avoiding unwanted risks. It is important to remember that everyone experiences pregnancy differently; you may experience all or some or nothing from the niggles.
Habits to keep:
Wearing seat belts
Use only approved medication, herbal medications, vitamins, and minerals. Not all medications, herbs, etc are safe during pregnancy
Controlled exercise, only do brisk walking if you did not exercise when you fell pregnant. Consult a biokineticist, physiotherapist, sports trainer, or your doctor for advice.
Avoid infectious diseases. The best is to stay away from any sick person.
Washing of hands is very important
Wash all fruit and vegetables prior to preparing or eating.
Carefully clean your food preparation area and utensils
Habits to kick:
Daily intake of caffeine
Smoking
Drinking alcohol
Using illegal drugs
Avoid overheating including saunas, hot tubs, and sunbeds
Full body heat wraps
Strenuous exercise
Nutrition:
What you eat during pregnancy affects the development of your unborn child and the child’s health afterward.
It is advisable to see a dietician when more information is needed or an eating plan.
Quality is more important than quantity.
Do not eat for two but with two in mind
Combining food groups do not exclude any food group
Eat several small meals and snacks per day
Meals need to include protein
Drink your fluids in between meals instead of during a meal
Eat a bland snack before bedtime
Eat and drink what appeals to you
Take vitamins and minerals with food and not on an empty stomach
Most studies advise that you exclude caffeine intake where some allowed caffeine intake to 200mg in 24 hours
Guideline for caffeine content in beverages:
Decaf filter coffee 10 mg
Milk chocolate 25 mg
Green tea 30 mg
350 ml Coke 35 mg
Regular chocolate 50 mg
Cup of tea 75 mg
250 ml Red bull 80 mg
Instant coffee 100 mg
Filter coffee 140 mg
Espresso 300 mg
Food groups:
Food group Portion size How many portions/day
Starch 1 slice of bread 8
½ cup cereal, rice/cereal
Protein 30 g meat/chicken/fish 6
½ cup beans, 1 egg
2 teaspoons peanut butter
Vegetables ½ cup raw vegetables 4
1 cup raw leafy vegetables
Fruit 1 medium fruit, handful grape 3
½ cup cut fruit or juice
Diary 1 cup milk/yogurt 3-4
Matchbox size cheese
What to go for and what to avoid:
Healthy snacks include: Nuts and fruits
Plain yogurt and fruit
Whole wheat rice cakes
Seed crackers
Boiled eggs
Veggie sticks
Eat nutritiously: Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables
Drink +- 2 L of fluid per day, mainly water
Small frequent meals and snacks aim for 6
small meals per day
Protein food in meals and snacks
Whole grain calcium-rich foods as a low-fat dairy
High-risk food to avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding:
Raw and unpasteurized dairy products
Unpasteurized soft cheese, camembert,
Brie, blue cheese
Raw or uncooked poultry, meat, eggs, seafood
Refrigerated pate, meat spreads, smoked seafood
Ready-to-eat deli food
Niggles to expect:
Most common Less common Least common
Nausea Breast tenderness Hemorrhoids
Weight gain Constipation Leg cramps
Heartburn Flatulence Varicose veins
Fatigue Skin changes
Frequent urination Cravings
Emotions
Nausea:
Eat several small meals and snacks per day
Avoid big meals
Eat a bland snack before bedtime
Carry healthy snacks in your handbag
Eat and drink what appeals to you
Eat before you get hungry
Drink your vitamins and mineral supplements with meals and not on an empty stomach, you can also drink is at bedtime and you can also drink it in different intervals
Drink up to 10 glasses of water
Avoid fatty or spicy food, strong smells, and funny textures
Suck on hard-boiled sweet or ice cubes
Food is best tolerated cold at room temperature
Heartburn:
Avoid fatty, spicy, or gas-forming food
Avoid refined carbohydrates ( like bread, and cakes)
Avoid rich dishes with cream, sauces, gravies
Avoid overeating
Eat several small meals per day
Chew food thoroughly and eat slowly
Do not lay flat for an hour after a meal
Breast tenderness:
Wear a supportive bra
Apply cool moist
Frequent urination:
Urinate frequently and ensure that you empty your bladder completely
Do Kegal exercise
Hemorrhoids:
Prevent constipation by increasing roughage intake to promote regular bowel movements, and ensure you drink more water when increasing fiber intake
Avoid heavy lifting
Do kegel exercise
Take sitz baths
Consult your doctor for treatment
Fatigue:
Rest when possible
Go to bed early
Lift your feet
Lay on your arms on your desk at work when possible
Ensure stable blood sugar levels by eating regularly a healthy small meal or snack
Flatulence:
Avoid gas-forming food
Increase roughage intake to promote regular bowel movements, and ensure you drink more water when increasing fiber intake
Eat several small meals per day
Increase physical activities
Constipation:
Increase roughage intake to promote regular bowel movements, and ensure you drink more water when increasing fiber intake
Increase physical activities
Eat several small meals per day
Backache:
Maintain a good posture when walking and sitting
Relieve your back pain with cold and hot pads and try to rest
To get out of bed - roll onto your side, swing your lower legs down from the bed, push up into a sitting position, and stand up
To get up from the floor - get onto your hands and knees, put one foot on the floor in front of you, keep the other knee on the floor, and use your legs to stand up and hold onto your other knee or an object.
Getting up from a chair - move a little bit to the front end of the chair, put your feet apart, put your hands on the armrest, and use your legs to push you up from the chair.
See a physiotherapist or biokineticist
Only use medication for pain that is prescribed by a doctor
Varicose veins:
Stay off your feet as much as possible
Elevate legs higher than hips
Avoid tight garments such as girdles or supporters
Avoid crossing legs, knees, or ankles
Notify your physician if any redness, local soreness, or warmth develops in a vein
Wear elastic stockings if indicated by the physician
Leg cramps:
Eat a healthy diet and drinks plenty of water
Don’t stand tiptoe or point your toes
Stretch before bedtime
Increase consumption which is high in calcium
Take calcium supplements at bedtime
Skin changes:
The following skin changes will disappear after birth:
Darkening of the skin around the eyes
The dark line between the belly button and pelvic bone
Vascular spiders
The hair on the breast and tummy
Stretch marks, reddish lines: apply lotion or oils on dry or itchy skins
Pimple structures on the edge of the areola ( darker skin around the nipple) are called Montgomery glands and they lubricate the areola during pregnancy and after birth guide the baby to the breast and nipple
Emotions:
Try to get adequate sleep
Pamper yourself
Set aside time for relaxation
Exercise regularly
Eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of water
Communicate your feelings with your partner and friends
A word on cravings and picas:
Cravings are known during pregnancy. You crave to eat a certain food source or crave something you normally do not eat or crave strange combinations of food.
Pica is when you crave to eat a non-food product like soil or chalk.
When to see your doctor:
Sudden swelling of face or hands
Blurred vision, seeing spots, flashes of blind spots
Severe or persistent headaches, dizziness, or fainting
Rapid weight gain
Persistent abdominal pain, cramping, or contractions
Fever
Vomiting or diarrhea lasting longer than 24 hours
Major changes in your baby’s movement
Pelvic pressure or heaviness
Pain or burning when urinating
Vaginal bleeding
Leak or gush of fluid from your vagina
Reference:
Childbirth Education: practice, research and Theory; Francine H. Nichols and Sharron S Humenick
Family-centered maternity and newborn care; Celeste R. Phillips
The ICEA guide to pregnancy and birth; International Childbirth Education Association, Meadowbrook Press, New York
Understanding Nutrition; Ellie Whitney and Sharon Rady Rolfes