Baby Nutrition Care

Pregnant woman who drink very little milk, have a greater risk of giving birth an infant with low birth weight. A research shows that this is related to the vitamin D in the milk.

Pregnancy is a special time when one must pay attention to a healthy and balanced diet in order to reduce the risk of micronutrient deficiencies. In this case, vitamins and minerals play their roles and contribute their importance for the proper conduct of the pregnancy. Women who want to get a child, be sure to do well to look at a sufficiently high intake of vitamin B9, also called folates, and if necessary takes supplements. A deficiency of vitamin B9 at the time of conception and in the very early stage of pregnancy increases the risk of growth retardation because of severe deformity.

Vitamin D is not the only vitamin required for proper development of the baby. A new study shows that vitamin D is very important and it is the main factor that causes the giving birth of babies with low birth weight.

It is relatively easy to demonstrate this. The researchers carried out an experiment on a group of pregnant women where their daily consumption of milk was recorded. Then, the birth weight of their babies was also recorded after giving birth.

It was remarkable that the weight of babies for the women who drank milk during pregnancy was higher. The mothers with less milk consumed per day (250 ml), averaged 110 g less compared with mothers consumed with more milk. The study even noted that with each additional glass of milk a day, the weight of the newborn was 41 g increased.

This effect is due to the vitamin D in milk and not to other components mainly from specific proteins and calcium exists in the body. The pregnant women are recommended to drink enough milk during pregnancy. If necessary, they are advised to discuss with their doctor whether or not they need a supplement. On top of that, regular milk drinking habit at the time of menopause is also favorable. This is because vitamin also contributes to the strength of calcium in the bones and protects against the risk of osteoporosis.

This article was written by referring to Yahoo Answers.

Many pregnant women are concerning about their pregnancy. A question has been brought up in a discussion :

I’ve been eating cheese and yogurt… and that seems to be fine to eat.
but milk and ice cream kill me!!!
Do I have to make myself drink it for the baby?

Here are the comments and suggestions :

1. If you are lactose intolerant, you can buy soy milk, etc. I also hated milk, not because of intolerance, but just didn’t like it. My Dr. said a quart a day–my solution was to buy something like Nestles Quick and put in my milk. The chocolate taste made it taste good enough for me to drink. It is important for you to get enough calcium while you are pregnant because the baby will take what he/she needs and you could come up short to protect your own bones, teeth, etc. You can also check with your OB/GYN to see if he has any suggestions like taking a calcium supplement, etc.
2. No. You can get calcium from other sources. The reason that cheese and yogurt sit better is because they have enzymes in them that aid in digestion. Pasturized milk and ice cream do not. There are over the counter products that temporarily give you those enzymes and will help you if you want to eat ice cream or drink milk.
   There are some good natural supplements that give you way more calcium than milk. Look up spirulina…it’s an awesome source of calcium!
   P.S. Chocolate and caffiene interfere with your body’s ability to absorb calcium, so if you’re concerned about not getting enough, avoid those.
3. Don’t force yourself to drink milk if you’re lactose intolerant. The yogurt and cheese will help as sources of calcium. You can check with your pracitioner to see if you’re getting enough calcium or not. If not, he/she can prescribe a calcium supplement for you. The biggest problem with too much cheese is constipation.
   Also, Natrel makes a lactose free milk in homo, 1 and 2 percent and skim milk if you’re very concerned about your milk intake.
4. I am lactose intolerant…. you can get lactose free milk if you like it, that being said, I couldn’t even take milk in my TEA (decaf) when I was pregnant – the dairy killed me – lactose intolerance aside, it made me completely nauseous. Go for other calcium rich foods, some vegetables and fruits are loaded with it, and when all else failed (and I could eat again) mac & cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches or yogurt with granola all stood in for milk in a rather large way…
5. No, of course you don’t have to drink milk. (There are many cultures in which animal milk isn’t used at all. Vegans never drink milk.) Making yourself sick by eating a food you can’t tolerate doesn’t help your baby in any way.
   Eat a balanced diet. Include in it whatever dairy products you CAN tolerate (yogurt is usually good for LI folks). If you like milk, you can drink the lactose free type, or take the lactaid pills. But if you don’t like it, a varied diet and your prenatal vitamins will cover all your bases.
   (And, just to clear up one myth, the fact that you are LI doesn’t mean that your baby will be. Infants are never lactose intolerant, so if baby has difficulty with your breastmilk, or with a standard formula, don’t let anyone try to tell you that it’s becuase he’s LI. )
6. No, you don’t. What baby (and you) need is what is found in the milk and ice cream, not the products themselves. Calcium is important for building strong bones in both your quickly growing little one and yourself, but you certainly don’t need to make yourself sick in order to make sure you get enough. Aside from yogurt and cheese (both excellent sources of Calcium), you can take a Calcium supplement. Just be sure to O.K. it with your doctor first. Congratulations on your baby!
7. I’m 36 weeks pregnant and haven’t had cow’s milk for a loooong time =) I do eat cheese and when i can, ice-cream, but i’m a little sensitive to Lactose.. Baby is growing fine and i’ve had no problems at all. I guess the only thing is the calcium. You can get Calcium enriched Soymilk which is what i drink, otherwise i’d say take suppliment pills because your bones/teeth get really weak while pregnant >.< Good luck!
8. Don’t eat something that you have an intolerance to! Stressing your body is the worst possible thing you can do for the baby!
   I would speak to your doctor and maybe have an allergy test. It might be that goats milk works for you. But really, all you need to eat is your normal healthy diet.
9. Cheese and yogurt are a great addition to support your growing fetus. Instead of milk try drinking soy milk. It taste better and it has just about if more nutrients like calcium and vitamin D. Most importantly its great for lactose and tolerant people.
10. You can get calcium from plenty of other sources. Cheese, yogurt, fortified soy milk, fortified tofu, broccoli, dark green leafy vegetables and fortified orange juice all have enough calcium.

This article was written by referring to Yahoo Answers.

Many pregnant women are concerning about their pregnancy. A question has been brought up in a discussion :

I’m 11 weeks pregnant and for the past three weeks, I have been throwing up everyday. Everything I eat. Especially when I eat meat. I’m trying to eat everything I can to support my baby nutrition but my stomach can’t handle any food. Is there anything I can do from throwing. Is my baby going to be okay?

Here are the comments and suggestions :

1. Your baby will be fine….make sure you are not getting dehydrated and are drinking alot also try small meals at first its good to try and eat healthy but try eating what sounds good not what you think is the best choice for the baby this does not mean just cookies and cakes but you will be surprised how you will pick something that is healthy with my last daughter all i wanted was beans and cheese at first and this is full of protein and calcium and i ate it everyday for like 3 weeks my Doctor said it was fine and my baby was great and as the throwing up got less and less i added in all the other foods! so try what sounds good and hopefully it will work!! good luck.
2. welcome to pregnancy.. you baby will be fine though eat a lot of fruit and crackers!
3. I don’t usually recomend meds but I was sick like you too, I threw up at LEAST 10 times a day and unfortunately if you are that sick it can be harmful to the baby because if you are not getting enough nutrition neither is the baby. Ask your doctor about a medicine called Zofran. It really worked wonders for me and I didn’t throw up once after I got on it. It is also very important that you take your pre-natal vitamins and if they make you sick like they did me take them at night with a small snack. Also try eating foods that are high in floic acid, cereal has alot of folic acid in it. It is VITAL for a baby to develope. Just a tip – grapes really made my stomache feel better.
4. Ok several things you could try. Keep in mind though that it is different for every woman who is pregnant.
   1. Anything that is ginger or mint. I ate those andes mints all the time for my nausea and they really helped. Or tea.
   2. Try eating something really plain like crakers or bread before you get out of bed in the morning. This puts something in your stomache to help fight the nausea. Sometimes, morning sickness is just because your stomache is completely empty.
   3. Try toning down the spices and variety of your food. A certain spice may be making the nausea worse. Sometimes its something like milk that could be causing it.
   4. Avoid strong smells. Not just strong food smells either. Whenever I smelled a hint of Pine-Sol, I got sick.
   5. Eat something right before bed and take your prenatal vitamin then.
   6. Graze all day. Don’t eat “meals”, just kind of munch all the time. Basically, spread your food out throughout the day. This will help when you get farther along and have less room for your stomache. After a few bites my last few weeks I felt like I swallowed a rock. I got very used to constantly eating.
   If it gets really bad, where you can’t keep anything down, then go to your doctor. You need to keep hydrated and get enough nutrients right now. This is one of the key times during the pregnanacy where the baby is growing by leaps and bounds. So you need to keep yourself healthy. I also ate tums all the time. Should have invested in them when I was pregnant. They are one of the very few medicines you can take, and they give you extra calcium too!
5. You might have a condition called ‘hypermesis gravidarum’. http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/naus… Has more information about it that might help you. I’m sure your baby will be fine.
6. I had morning sickness the first 5 1/2 months of pregnancy and the only thing that helped with the nausea was ginger ale and sour patch kids. Keep taking your pre-natal vitamin at a time when you feel the least amount of nausea.
   I was told that any food in the beginning is better than no food at all and not to worry too much about the nutritious content. This is because the baby is first priority in your body and any kind of nutrients from any food will go to your baby first and you will be the one who is deprived from the nutrients.
   Also keep drinking your water too. Hope this helps!
7. Ahhh… the joys of ‘morning sickness’. I had it really bad in my first trimester too. The good news is that it usually wears off by the second trimester, although not always. Have you talked to the doctor? Mine ended up writing me a prescription because I was getting dehydrated. Also, is it possible that you had an urinary tract infection? Pregnant women are more susceptible to them and they can make you throw up alot too. Good Luck!
   Oh and by the way, the baby will be fine. My doctor said its common for women to actually lose weight during the first trimester and that the baby will get everything it needs from you.
8. The baby gets everything he needs from you, he doesn’t care whether or not you are eating well …. you have all the vitamins and minerals stored in your body and he will just suck it up. That is what my doctor told me, I was sick for the most of my pregnancy and I kept loosing weight, although I tried to eat well, I couldn’t keep anything besides crackers.. and the baby is completely fine {and big, too!}. So good luck, hope it won’t last as long as mine sicknesses did…

Some pregnant women may be advised or choose to restrict milk consumption and may not take appropriate supplements. We hypothesized that maternal milk restriction during pregnancy, which can reduce intakes of protein, calcium, riboflavin and vitamin D, might represent a health risk by lowering infant birth weight.

Milk is an important source of vitamin D, calcium, riboflavin, protein and energy during pregnancy, yet many women choose or are advised to avoid drinking milk for a variety of reasons, including the prevention of allergies in their children. Limiting milk intake compromises the quality of the maternal diet; women who avoid milk may not obtain adequate levels of vitamin D, calcium, protein or riboflavin. Milk restriction is a risk factor for pregnancy-associated hypertension. Low vitamin D intake is associated with neonatal rickets and decreased birth weight. Inadequate consumption of riboflavin is associated with decreases in weight, length and head circumference of babies at birth.

Although most nutrients in milk may be replaced from other foods or with supplements, vitamin D is found in few commonly consumed foods except for milk fortified with the vitamin. Dermal conversion of the precursor cholecalciferol to activated vitamin D is a seasonally unreliable source, particularly when the exposure of skin to sunlight is limited, and may not compensate for low nutritional intake. Under optimal conditions, 15 minutes of daily exposure of the hands and face to sun is required to produce adequate vitamin D, but this conversion is reduced by the prolonged winter season at more polar latitudes, by use of sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) above 8, and by ozone air pollution. People whose skin pigmentation is dark are more vulnerable than others to insufficient vitamin D conversion.

According to a study, women whose daily consumption of milk during pregnancy was 1 cup (250 mL) or less consumed less protein and vitamin D. As a result, they gave birth to smaller babies than did mothers who drank more milk. The conclusion is every 1-cup increase in daily milk consumption increased birth weight by 41 g; 0.000001g increase in daily vitamin D intake increased it by 11 g.

Clinicians should be alert to the effects of milk restriction and its associated reduction in vitamin D intake, and encourage pregnant women to maintain milk consumption. Adequate intake of vitamin D is especially important during winter months.

Pregnant women need a variety of foods, from dairy products to cereals and fruits, to ensure that their baby gets the nourishment it needs. Most women gain some weight during pregnancy, and this is desirable, since your body is creating new tissues and helping the baby grow.

The great news about nutrition during pregnancy is that you have the ability to play a little part in your child’s destiny. By eating right and feeding yourself and your fetus all the necessary nutrients, you can take control of your child’s future health and set a strong foundation that will give you reason to be confident in a healthy infant, healthy toddler and healthy child.

In this case, the need for iron during pregnancy is greater than before, since the blood cells of the baby are also being formed. This also helps prevent fatalities caused by excessive bleeding during childbirth. As a result, a pregnant woman will go into the postnatal period as a healthier person, better placed to face the challenges of new motherhood.

In addition, due to pregnancy, your body is making so much extra blood, that you could become anemic without the help of extra iron. This extra iron supports the extra blood in your system and helps with the growth of the placenta and the fetus. Remember, your baby will take what it needs first to develop and grow, and therefore, your body may suffer if you’re not getting enough of the necessary vitamins and minerals needed throughout pregnancy. Routine blood tests you take throughout your pregnancy will verify whether your hemoglobin levels are normal. If you do become mildly anemic, don’t worry about your baby. The pregnancy anemia can be detected through blood tests.

The recommended foods which are rich in iron are such as lean red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, beans and lentils. On the other hand, vitamin C can help your body to absorb the iron in your diet, so drinking plenty of orange juice will also help prevent you from becoming anemic. Tea and coffee make it difficult for your body to absorb iron, so it’s best to cut down on these drinks or avoid them altogether. To help your body absorb iron you should combine these foods with those rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits or juice, tomatoes, broccoli or cabbage.

It is recommended that pregnant women avoid eating liver as although this is rich in iron it may have adverse health effects during this sensitive time. The red grape juice and prune juice had profound inhibitory effects on iron bioavailability. It is suggested that individuals in need of optimal iron absorption should avoid red grape and prune juice or at least vary the types of juices consumed.