It is common to hear that in pregnancy you should eat a lot (but this should be extremely healthily and well - avoiding all junk food) because you are eating for two! Well this is actually incorrect. Your calorie intake during pregnancy only requires a very slight adjustment with only about 15% increase required. However, your nutrient requirements literally double!
So continuing your excellent supplementation regime during pregnancy is essential. In fact it is just as important as it is during your preconception preparation. Often throughout pregnancy specific nutrients requirements increase even further as the pregnancy progresses.
Is it time to seek a second opinion?
My patients often come in telling that their doctor, obstetrician, physiotherapist, pharmacist, neighbour, mother, sister and a whole entourage of strangers said they should not be taking supplements or the doses they have been taking during pregnancy because it could be dangerous for the baby. And some of my patients understandably, initially get really scared and stop everything until they see me again, and I explain the facts, the information I am now sharing with you.
The scientific body of evidence showing that not only vitamins and minerals are safe during pregnancy but they are *absolutely essential* at therapeutic doses is too overwhelming to be denied. Therefore, if you doctor, nurse or obstetrician tells you should not be taking supplements or you should only be taking negligible amounts, plain and simple: find a new one! Because the likelihood is that they are not up to date in a lot of other areas that may impact your wellbeing and that of your family as well.
The approach when dealing with your loved ones is simple: nod, agree and continue doing what you know is best for you and your family - don't enter into a debate, you will get tired. And stress during pregnancy is not good for you or the baby.
Are you short changing yourself...
However, this is yet another reason why I'd never recommend that you self prescribe and that you find a practitioner who truly knows what they are doing when it comes to natural fertility treatment because if you are not sure about what you are taking, you are likely to just stop and that is not in the best interest of your fertility (during preconception) or your baby.
However, a competent integrative medicine or naturopathic practitioner can substantiate everything they are doing with their experience, their results and scientific evidence. And above all, the chance is very good that because they are an objective person (not caught up in the emotion of it all, as you are and should of course be, after all you are having a baby!), they are going to be much better at helping you make the right decisions with your best interests in mind.
This is especially true, if you 'hit any bumps on the road'. If both you and your partner have diligently completed your 120 days of preconception preparation, it is unlikely you will experience the "normal" pregnancy ailments most women experience, including morning sickness. However, granted that if do have trouble with supplementation at that stage your practitioner will be the best person to suggest different ways of getting your nutrients either by changing products, delivery methods, dosages and so on.
Not all supplementation is what it claims...
In addition, don't be fooled by supplement advertisement either! Although this has been previously discussed, it is important to reinforce that just because the label has a beautiful pregnant woman and the words say it is for pregnancy & lactation. If it is being sold over the counter the chances are excellent that the doses will be too small for optimum nutrient intake in pregnancy.
This is particularly true if the claims say that one tablet will cover all your requirements. This is IMPOSSIBLE! One tablet (meant for human consumption, not horses) simply is not large enough to give you all the nutrients your baby requires for growth and development. Take calcium for example, a calcium tablet is the size it is because that is the amount of physical space required to fit a large enough dose, during pregnancy you need around about 1200mg of calcium daily, for that you will possibly need to take a couple calcium tablets.
So if you see a 'one tablet' natal complex with no other supporting nutrients claiming to cover all your needs - it sounds too good to be true, because it is.
It is also really important to remember that during pregnancy the baby takes all the nutrients, the mother, gets what is leftover (if there are any), but soon enough, the mother will give birth and majorly deplete all her nutrient stores (placenta and baby included) very quickly becoming depleted herself.
Then, when breastfeeding begins, the mother gets all the nutrients and the baby gets what is left over (if there is anything) via the breast milk - hence the important of continued supplementation throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding if you are to be providing yourself and your baby with all the important nutrients you both require. Remember babies grow and develop extremely quickly in the early days. Without proper nutrition (which does not, by any means, replace an EXCELLENT diet) development may be impaired.
So now you can see, with all the reasons outline above why it is so essential to continue on your good quality supplementation regime as outlined and adjusted by your practitioner during your pregnancy, as a sort of your insurance policy for the healthy development of mother and baby.
Copyright (c) 2009 Gabriela Rosa and Natural Fertility & Health Solutions P/L.
Leading Sydney-based natural fertility specialist, researcher and author Gabriela Rosa is devoted to helping bring healthy babies into the world and empower individuals through better health. Boost your natural fertility, get pregnant fast, increase the odds of IVF, prevent miscarriages and take home a healthier baby - click here for FREE fertility advice and your FREE Natural Fertility Booster ezine subscription.
