Harmful_Nutrition_in_Pregnancy

Many substances can be harmful to a growing fetus, causing birth defects or unhealthy babies. Ones that most are not aware of. In order to become attentive to these, a lot of research has to be done. Concentrating on staying healthy while pregnant is in every woman’s best interest if they want a healthy child, so here are some helpful tips on what to avoid and how to nourish a fetus into a healthy baby. Dieting during pregnancy: To start off with, there are recommended intakes of certain nutrients a pregnant woman should consume. Pregnancy is a time of growth, making amino acids and protein especially important. A pregnant woman’s need for protein increases to 50 grams daily. Choose organic sources of protein to avoid exposure to pesticide, hormones, and other chemicals that can be found in nonorganic meat and dairy (Carlson-Rink, 2009). Even when not pregnant, pesticides, hormones, and other chemicals are bad for you, but especially when carrying and helping develop another human. It is best to stay as far away from consuming these products as possible. The extra protein needed when pregnant is still very important so sticking with organic meat and consuming the right amounts is best. It has been proven by many researches that folic acid is a necessity when pregnant. To receive correct amounts of this, it is best to take a multivitamin/mineral. Benefits from taking a multivitamin/mineral are astounding. “It may help to reduce the incidence of maternal high blood pressure, childhood cancers, and birth defects” (Carlson-Rink, 2009). To help avoid an unhealthy pregnancy, it is best to invest in taking a multivitamin/mineral. It won’t completely take away the risks, but it will help in some way, which is the goal to achieving a healthy pregnancy. Having low iron during pregnancy can also cause problems. “Iron deficiency is linked to miscarriage, low birth weight, preterm labour, postpartum depression, and iron deficiencies in infants” (Carlson-Rink, 2009). It is in the best interest of a pregnant woman to either eat foods high in iron such as nuts, salmon/most kinds of seafood, lima beans, and dried fruits. Knowing that some foods don’t sound appealing during pregnancy, if they can’t consume enough of these types of food then they should look into taking an iron supplement made specifically for pregnant women. These findings, based on a relatively small group of women, merit further investigation and verification in other populations consuming moderate amounts of seafood. Meanwhile, we recommend that women continue to consume fish during pregnancy but seek out varieties with lower levels of mercury (Oken et al. 2005). These findings are from a couple years ago, but no recent studies on this topic could be found. Even if this may be common knowledge, it is best to stay away from high sugar drinks. For example, soda is one of the most commonly known drinks to contain this. During pregnancy, what the mother consumes becomes what the fetus consumes. “The intake of sugar-sweetened soft drinks is related both to change in weight in women and to the risk of type 2 diabetes” (Henriksen, 2006). When a mother consumes sugar-sweetened drinks, such as soda, she puts not only herself at risk, but her growing child as well. The child would be at risk for obesity, diabetes, and other health problems just because the mother decided to consume excess amounts of sugar while pregnant. Wood Fire vs. Natural Gas: A part of nutrition is how to prepare the foods. With two main ways to cook food, wood fire and a natural gas stove, which is safer for a pregnant woman to use' There has been a study on wood fuel smoke affecting a woman’s fetus. It has been thought that the smoke from using a wood fire to cook has an impact on a baby’s birth weight. In the Environmental Health Perspectives journal, there is an article called Prenatal Exposure to Wood Fuel Smoke and Low Birth Rate, which lays out a study to prove that cooking over a fire can put a fetus at risk to be born at a low weight. This study was done in a semirural city called Rehri Goth in the country of Pakistan. The researchers did a very thorough job with this study making sure to include every outside element that could possibly change the outcome. For example, not only did they research the type of method used to cook, they also included frequency of cooking, duration, who was cooking and whom it was cooked for, etc. The results were conclusive; using natural gas to cook is much safer for the health of pregnant a woman and her fetus. Here are two graphs comparing the propensity scores between the use of natural gas and the use of wood fire. {draw:frame} {draw:frame} (Siddigui et al. 2008) These two graphs are straight from the study and prove women who are pregnant should try to stay away from the use of wood fire cooking. If not, there would be a high possibility of one’s child being born at a low birth rate. Caffeine’s Affect on Pregnancy: For miscarriage the analyzed five studies that recruited almost 43,000 women. The combined ratio was 1.36 with a confidence interval of 1.29 to 1.45, suggesting that there was a higher risk of miscarriage in women who consumed more than 150mg of caffeine per day (Grist, 2009). This may state that there are higher risks of a miscarriage, but it does not define caffeine as one of the causes. Many more elements usually play into the consumption of caffeine, such as alcohol and smoking. These factors cause a lot of studies done to become not quite conclusive. It is hard to regulate which mothers are just drinking caffeine and which are consuming other bad things for the fetus. There has been a link connected between pregnant mothers who drink caffeine and those who also drink alcohol and smoke. Thyroid Testing: Having a healthy pregnancy isn’t just about consuming or not consuming certain things. A pre-existing condition in the mother can also have effects on a baby’s health. There are many pre-existing conditions out there that are harmful, but one that has recently been examined is the effect of thyroid problems in the mother concerning her pregnancy. There are two types of thyroid problems, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The one to be concerned about in relation to being pregnant is hypothyroidism, which is when someone has an underactive thyroid. The symptoms are hard to recognize because any pregnant woman most likely has the same symptoms. The most prominent symptoms for hypothyroidism are fatigue, weight gain, constipation, and dry skin. Any pregnant women could have this thyroid problem without even knowing it. This undetectable disease without tests can possibly cause brain damage in a fetus. For something so serious, there is actually an easy remedy. All the mother has to do is ask their doctor to test for thyroid problems. Most obstetricians test only those pregnant patients who have obvious symptoms or a family history of thyroid problems. But researchers say this “high risk” approach misses nearly one-third of women whose low thyroid levels could be remedied with safe, inexpensive medication (Strote, 2009). When going through an entire pregnancy with this disease, there most likely will be problems for the mother even after birth. Hypothyroidism doesn’t go away by itself; it needs to be treated with the right medications. It could have severe affects on a mother in months following birth because all the symptoms will still occur if one keeps going untreated. Get tested because in the end it will help keep the mother and her child in healthier conditions. Bed Rest: Many women are put on bed rest when pregnant, but there are new analysis’s that say it could be harmful to the mother. When having to lie in bed for hours at a time, a woman will get bored and the psychological effects will start to set in. Having to sit there in bed with nothing to do, but think will drive a woman mad. The stress from wondering if the child is ok because of being put on bed rest can cause problems with the pregnancy. Stress induces labor, which is never good. Another side-effect is muscle atrophy. When lying in bed for more than 24 hours at a time, the muscles in the legs, back, and neck start to stiffen and then slowly weaken over time, as mentioned in the article Down but not out. This article does give a solution, “Still, with your doctor’s OK, there are things you can do to minimize muscle soreness, poor circulation, and lethargy as well as help prevent dangerous blood clots” (Gottesman, 2009). It then gives a website for examples on how to try to prevent these with little exercises, such as breathing techniques and small movements of each body. As long as there is a little movement while still on bed rest, the side-effects will be nonexistent. There are many things that can influence an unhealthy pregnancy. Diets, wood smoke, caffeine, mercury, thyroid problems, and side-effects of bed rest are just some of the many. Every day it seems there is one more cause added onto the long list. For a pregnant women to have a perfectly healthy pregnancy is almost impossible, but there are some very good precautions to be aware of at the least. Yes, it may be impossible, but even striving for a healthy pregnancy will do a woman and her child good in the end. Works Cited Boylan, S., Cade, J., Kirk, S., Greenwood, D., White, K., Shires, S., Simpson, N., Wild, C., & Hay, A.. (2008). Assessing caffeine exposure in pregnant women. The British Journal of Nutrition, 100(4), 875-82. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1553011461). Carlson-Rink, C. (2009). Healthy pregnancy. Alive: Canadian Journal of Health and Nutrition, Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf'vid=1&hid=6&sid=a41f7d9b-fa75-4f6e-b9f8-db9c27e635c4%40sessionmgr4 Crawford-Faucher, A.. (2009). How Much Caffeine Is Harmful in Pregnancy' American Family Physician, 80(10), 1153,1158,1165. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source. (Document ID: 1896863341). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb'index=0&did=1896863341&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1257983018&clientId=9255 Gottesman, N. (2009, November). Down but not out. FitPregnancy, 38-39. Janet Grist. (2009, May). Caffeine in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Australian Doctor. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry. (Document ID: 1708217861). Henriksen, T. (2006). Nutrition and Pregnancy Outcome [Electronic version]. Nutrition Reviews, 64(5), S19-S23. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf'vid=1&hid=6&sid=ba787023-b75c-4011-850c-7987ce9e8ee6%40sessionmgr13 Hooper, K., She, J., Sharp, M., Chow, J., Jewell, N., Gephart, R., et al. (2007). Depuration of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Poiychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Breast Milk from California First-Time Mothers [Electronic version]. Environmental Health Perspectives, 115(9), 1271-1275. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf'vid=2&hid=6&sid=5703622a-27dc-4cd9-8466-bcc4b50e7fb4%40sessionmgr12 Janet Grist. (2009, May). Caffeine in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Australian Doctor. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry. (Document ID: 1708217861). Kind, K.L., Moore, V.M., & Davies, M.J. (2006). Diet around conception and during pregnancy--effects on fetal and neonatal outcomes. Pubmed. Retrieved (2009, November 4) from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16790095'ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=5&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed Oken, E., Wright, R. O., Kleinman, K. P., Billinger, D., Amarasiriwardena, C. J., Hu, H. ., et al. (2005). Maternal Fish Consumption, Hair Mercury, and Infant Cognition in a U.S. Cohort [Electronic version]. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(10), 1376-1380. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf'vid=1&hid=6&sid=1bda6f2a-2225-4907-9d07-1476d4fe742d%40sessionmgr13 Romero, R., Gotsch, F., Pineles, B., & Kusanovic, J. P. (2007). [Review of the book Inflammation in Pregnancy: Its Roles in Reproductive Physiology, Obstetrical Complications, and Fetal Injury]. Nutritional Reviews, 65(12), S194-S202. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf'vid=1&hid=6&sid=b4c55984-5506-4daa-a3f6-44d828a5dde0%40sessionmgr12 Siddiqui, A.R., Gold, E.B., Yang, X., Lee, K., & Brown, K.H. (2008). Prenatal Exposure to Wood Fuel Smoke and Low Birth Weight. Ebscohost. Retrieved (2009, November 3) from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf'vid=1&hid=6&sid=3a17d00a-da1d-433e-a3ca-b3490f44b47a%40sessionmgr4 Strote, M. E. (2009, November). Doctor's debate thyroid testing. FitPregnancy, 19. What you need to know about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish (2004, March). Retrieved November 1, 2009, from FDA (EPA-823-R-04-005). http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/Seafood/FoodbornePathogensContaminants/Methylmercury/ucm115662.htm