Physical, psychological and social well-being throughout the childbearing cycle is the primary care in midwives model of care.
You are what you eat (diet) and you are what you do (exercise) and how you relate to others (peace of mind). Diet, exercise and mindfulness is very essential for a healthy mother and baby. Let’s discuss one by one, and these are the excerpts from Birth Village handouts (Credits to Birth Village)
Diet: The food you eat is important for your health and the growth of your baby. Diet is recommended based on your BMI (Body Mass Index) to reach recommended weight gain during pregnancy.
Remember reduce all whites: Rice, Sugar, Salt, Milk and Maida
Recommended Diet:
Breakfast: Fruits (including papaya, pineapple, small bananas), Vitamin – C rich fruits, ragi, oats, nuts and seeds (cucumber and pumpkin seeds for calcium), egg, idlis/dosa (adds to your weekly Rice portion)
Lunch and Dinner: Salad, rice (once in a day), sprout dals, pulses and adequate protein, vegetables curries.
Additional: ABC Juice (1Apple, 1Beetroot, 4 Carrot), leafy greens, veggie juice, wheat grass juice, soaked all nuts, flax seed ground fresh on salads, curries. Include varieties of colorful veggies in cooked food, 8/2 ratio of veggies and fruit daily.
Mandatory: 2-3 Liters of water, coconut water, 3 dates a day (6 dates a day after 36 weeks)
To Avoid: No fruit juices only veg juices, starchy veggies not more than once a day, fried, processed foods, additional sugar including rice and high sugar fruits, excess oil. Again remember reduce all whites rice, sugar, salt, milk and maida (all purpose flour).
Iron:
Iron is one of the building blocks of healthy red blood cells, and if you are not getting enough of it in your diet, you may become anemic, meaning that your hemoglobin is low and that your red blood cells are not efficiently carrying oxygen. Remember that your baby “breathes” by taking oxygen from your blood through the umbilical cord. If there is plenty of oxygen in your blood, then your baby can grow big and strong.
Iron is available in pill form, and the best way to keep your levels high is to eat a diet full of iron-rich foods and reach your recommended 27mg per day. Test your hemoglobin levels frequently.
Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian sources of Iron: https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-process/before-during-after/iron-blood-donation/iron-rich-foods.html
We just reduced all whites’ rice, sugar, salt, milk and maida (all purpose flour). And increased veggies, sprouts, dry fruits, dates, nuts and seeds.
Exercise: Research demonstrates that regular moderate-to-vigorous exercise helps reduce the need for interventions in labor and helps prevent pre/postnatal health problems such as metabolic disorder and hypertension. It also provides immediate and long-term health benefits to both mother and baby.
Recommended Exercise:
Walking: Strengthens heart/lungs, increases stamina
Prenatal yoga: Strengthens your entire body, especially the core muscles and relaxations
Aerobics: Strengthens your heart and tones your body.
Dancing: Your heart gets pumping and happy hormones will be released
Stretching: It keeps your body limber and relaxed by preventing muscle strains
My wife enrolled for active mama workout classes, attended 3 sessions (2hrs/session) per week till 36th week of pregnancy. Session was guided by trained professional and it included yoga, dancing, aerobics, stretching. Additionally we walked 45min per day and climbed steps (approx. 100-200 steps/day) till the day of delivery. Tips to fathers, you can walk together and spend quality time, use any fitness tracker app/watch to track, otherwise you feel you have completed 45min walk within 15min.
Exercise, helps you to prepare for child birth, allows you to sleep better and gives you more energy and stamina.
Mindfulness: According to Tracy Donegan, a medically-trained midwife in Ireland and founder of popular worldwide childbirth education program GentleBirth, mindfulness is the simple act of “paying attention, on purpose, without judgement.” Yes, it's similar to meditation, but mindfulness is a bit more simple and informal—it's more like “everything is going to be OK.” Mindfulness often happens in the form of breath awareness, focused concentration, or simple sitting.
Read more on Mindfulness here: https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-life/emotions/how-to-have-a-more-mindful-pregnancy/
Due to increased work stress and electronic gadgets our night’s sleep is deprived. A good night’s sleep is important for a healthy lifestyle. Sleep affects all aspects of your day – from how to feel, to your relationships, productivity and ultimately your quality of life.
The average adult requires 7-8 hours of sleep per night. However some people may need as much as 10 hours a night. If you tend to sleep longer on the weekends than you do during the week, you probably are not meeting your personal sleep requirement. Only way to reduce the sleep debt is to sleep as much as your body needs every night. Sleep needs to be a healthy priority!
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