Pregnancy Health: Diet, Pain & First-Trimester Concerns - Expert Advice

Question
QUESTION: Dear Dr,

My wife is 1 month pregnant now. I would like to take your opinion about her diet and what measure we should have to take for the health of the child and the mother? please guide me and if possible give me reply  in details. It is our first experience so we are very conscious in this matter.

My second problem is that my wife has pain on one side of her abdomen. she sometimes complain about stress in her legs. Moreover I would like to inform you that her menses stops coming as expected but she discharge black color mucus sometimes when she is expected her menses time. For example her expected date of menses is March 8 as her last period was on Feb 10th. She feels some discharge on March 6th but only some black color liquid came out in very small quantity. Can you guide us that why it is happening ?

Regards,
Dhoni"

ANSWER: Dhoni,

I will do my best!  First let me say congratulations on the pregnancy! There are several important factors regarding a pregnant woman's diet.

I will try to hit the high points for you.

First, it is very important to have a well balanced, low fat diet. She needs to be sure she gets:
6-11 servings of breads and grains,
2-4 servings of fruit,
4 servings of vegetables
4 servings of dairy products,
3 servings of protein sources (meat, poultry, fish, eggs or nuts).
Use fats and sweets sparingly,
And drink LOTS of water.

It is also essential that she be taking a prenatal vitamin, as it is crucial to get enough folic acid (and other nutrients) for the baby to form and develop right.

Almost as important are the things she needs to avoid.  They are:
Alcohol
Tobacco
Limit Caffeine to 300 mg a day
Saccharin is strongly discouraged during pregnancy - other artificial   sweeteners are FDA approved.
Limit Fat (this is where the hormones and other drugs given to animals is in it's highest concentration.
Avoid undercooked meat (No rare steaks)
No Soft Cheeses like feta, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined, and Mexican-style cheese (the are not pasteurized)
Do not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish (They have high levels of mercury)
No raw fish, especially shellfish - like oysters and clams
Avoid pre-bagged salads as they can have Lysteria (a bacteria harmful to the baby)
Avoid ciders and milks that are not pasteurized
Organically grown fruits and vegetables are the best because they lack herbicide and pesticide exposure.
Green tea should be limited or excluded.

I think this pretty much covers the high points of a pregnancy safe diet!  (I know it is a lot and women for a lot of years have eaten everything I have just said not to and had healthy babies, however if something does go wrong you don't want it to be because of something that you could have avoided, like leaving something out of your diet.)


Now, as far as the discharge your wife had on March 6th sounds like what we refer to as implantation spotting.  Sometimes when the embryo embeds in the uterus, it can cause a little bit of bleeding.  Old blood turns brown, so I am assuming this is what you are describing.

I hope I have been of some help to you and your wife.  I hope the best for her pregnancy!

Good Luck!

Tandi


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Dr,

Thanks a lot for such a detail answer from your side. I am thankful to you as I am not expecting this much detailed and answer. I would like to ask few 2 more questions for further clarification.

1) The diet you've mentioned is recommended for my wife to take per week?

2)Second thing I would like to clarify is the abdominal pain at one side and stress in the legs. Can you please inform me that why this pain occurs? We heard about Ectopic pregnancy also which is very dangerous and I am worried about it. FYI The pain in her abdomen is not very severe but it appears sometimes like pulsing.

Kindly provide me information.

Regards,
Dhoni

Answer
Dhoni,

The diet I spoke of is every day, not every week.  It is a fairly typical food pyramid diet.  A serving size consist of:
Fruits and Vegetables:
   *  One medium-size fruit
   * 1/2 cup raw, cooked, frozen or canned fruits (in 100% juice) or  vegetables
   * 3/4 cup (6 oz.) 100% fruit or vegetable juice
   * 1/2 cup cooked, canned or frozen legumes (beans and peas)
   * 1 cup raw, leafy vegetables
   * 1/4 cup dried fruit
Breads and grains:
   * 1 slice bread or 1/2 bagel the size of a hockey puck.
   * 1/2 cup cooked rice equals a cupcake wrapper.
   * 1/2 cup pasta equals an ice cream scoop.
Meats:
   * 3 ounces lean meat, chicken, or fish measures up to a deck of cards or a check book.
Dairy:
   * 1 ounce cheese equals about 4 dice.

So, it really isn't as difficult to get the servings as it looks!

As far as your second question, it is not uncommon to have cramping in the abdomen, especially early in the pregnancy.  Pain on one side could be caused by a cysts, air in the intestines, or something as serious as ectopic pregnancy.

If you are concerned, I would have to recommend calling her Ob/Gyn and requesting an apt.  He/she can do an ultrasound to confirm that the pregnancy is in utero and try to determine where the pain is coming from.

I am not sure what to say about stress in the legs, this is not a common pregnancy symptom and something that she should also talk to her doctor about.

Good Luck!  I hope I have answered your questions!

Tandi