pregnancy is not a disease: nutrition for gestation

Pregnancy is the only moment in a woman's life where she is potentially probed and pricked in health. She is scrutinized for all the potential complications that could happen, should she deviate from the "norm".

One of the things to be noticed is that all the focus and energy is spent on the "what ifs" and on disease, rather than focusing what a woman can do for her health and the well-being and that of her baby. One of the most important part of prenatal care is what a woman does for herself, mainly in the area of emotional, spiritual, psychological, and yes, physical well-being.

In terms of physical well-being, exercise is an important factor to remember, and so is nutrition. In Holistic Midwifery (vol. 1), Anne Frye writes: "Adequate nutrition is the single most important physical factor in determining the outcome of pregnancy." (p. 204) On his part, Tom Brewer, M.D., writes: "On my list of concerns about my pregnant patients' welfare, nutrition ranks second only to breathing. The reason is simple: well-nourished women develop far fewer complications in pregnancy, have more efficient labors, and give birth more easily to healthier babies than do their poorly nourished sisters.” (http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id94.html

Too often, women are stuck to a number ~ that of pounds to gain ~ or to the societal obsession of weight gain and its pressure of "beauty". In pregnancy, however, the weight gain is primordial for baby's growth ~ not only physical growth, but also development, including the brain.

Proper nourishment not only insures proper development of a baby's potential, but it is also protective: it "allows the blood volume to expand adequately, preventing toxemia and bringing the mother and baby to labor with the maximum reserves for withstanding the stress of birth." (Holistic Midwifery 1, p. 204) Or as Dr. Tom Brewer writes: “[nutrition] is an insurance policy, a form of protection against some of the most common and most serious problems that could befall you or your unborn baby--those caused by poor nutrition.” (http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id94.html)

Instead of counting a woman's weight gain in pounds, can we start calculating it in grams of love, commitment, faithfulness to her health... and trust in her body?