It has been wisely said that God created mother as he couldn’t be there with every child. Mother is the most beautiful creation of God, she nurtures all. Thus, nature is also referred to as Mother Nature. But in our society women are always neglected. When the question arrives in terms of adequate nutrition, female members of the family always comes last into consideration. But to make our future healthy and a good one we should focus equally on female members of the family because malnutrition is like a vicious cycle. Thus for a healthy tomorrow, we have to focus on the health of a girl child. As we all know healthy mother means a healthy baby. Let’s go through the importance of nutrition and mothers health.
When the baby is in the mother’s womb it gets all the much needed nourishment through the mother’s body. If the mother lacks in nutrition the baby starts to extract nourishment from the mother’s reservoir. Adequate nutrition before and during pregnancy has a huge potential for long term health impact than it does at any other phase of life. Women who are well nourished before conception for them the need of the growing foetus is easily met and there is no deterioration in the mother’s condition.
Women with low body weight and poor nutritional status before pregnancy have more chances of delivering a baby with Low Birth Weight, infection, anaemia haemorrhage or even in severe cases stillbirth or miscarriage. On the other hand overweight women are more likely to have foetal death, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), and abnormalities during labour. So, here are few tips for a new mother to have a healthy baby.
- Small and frequent meals should be taken throughout the pregnancy. In the first trimester, it is more advisable as nausea and vomiting are one of the very common symptoms during the 1st term.
- Consumption of toned or skimmed milk, eggs or other non-veg products helps to fulfil the excess protein demand.
- Fibre intake should be increased as it helps prevent constipation and the soluble fibre is helpful for maintaining good gut health.
- Diet should be rich in calcium to prevent osteomalacia. Supplemental calcium can also be taken.
- Iron-rich foods should be incorporated through diet and supplementation, as during this time iron is stored in the foetal body for future use as breast milk has no iron in it.
- Raw fruits and vegetables should be included in the regular diet to meet Vit-C level.
- Plenty of water should be consumed to keep the bowel healthy.
- In the case of hypertension or pedal oedema salt intake should be restricted.
- Avoid fat rich foods, fried foods, excessive seasoning foods, strongly flavoured vegetables, etc. as it can cause a more nauseating sensation.
- Too much coffee or tea consumption should be avoided.
- Omega 3 fatty acid helps in the formation of the baby’s brain, thus consumption of adequate omega 3 through diet and supplement is helpful.
- Fluids should be taken between meals rather than along with meals.
- An adequate amount of calorie should be taken, but while choosing the fat we have to be cautious as not to take saturated or trans fat, as it can alter the blood lipid profile.
- Sugar substitutes should be used in moderation during pregnancy, as it has a negative impact on foetal growth.
- Weight reduction regimens should not be followed during pregnancy as it alters foetal metabolism.
To conclude, a mother sacrifices a lot throughout her lifetime for her child. Initially as a child we are totally dependent on her, but as we grow up we tend to forget her importance and all the sacrifices that she had made for us. It is high time to be cautious and give her the respect that she deserves.
On this happy day of Mother's Day let’s take an oath to care for our mother as she does for us.
Happy Mother! Happy Us!!!
