Maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet during pregnancy is essential in keeping both you and your baby happy and healthy! The food you eat during pregnancy has a direct impact on the growth and development of your baby as well as your labour process. Here are three food types we highly recommend you include in your diet to ease your pregnancy experience:
1. Probiotics
Probiotics ensure that the correct bacteria colonise your gut, easing bowel movements and improving both your cognitive function and immune system. This is a great food type to include in your diet when pregnant as it is estimated that 40% of pregnant women suffer from constipation near the end of pregnancy. Taking probiotics has been proven to reduce this to just 2%! Other benefits of probiotics include lowering the risk of infections to your baby after birth, ridding your body of bad bacteria and reducing the risk of preterm birth.
2. Iron
Pregnant women often experience low levels of anaemia when pregnant, as your body produces more blood to support the growth of your baby, thus requiring more iron production. The impacts of this include increased levels of fatigue and feelings of dizziness or weakness. If your iron deficiency is severe enough, it can even increase the risk of serious complications during pregnancy and labour. Foods high in iron to easily add to your diet include spinach, red meat, poultry, legumes, tomatoes and broccoli!
3. Folic Acid
Folic acid (or folate) is an essential addition to your diet during pregnancy as it prevents the risk of numerous birth defects such as anencephaly and spina bifida. Fortunately, there are many delicious sources of folic acid available to us such as beans, peas, eggs, asparagus, wholemeal bread and green leafy vegetables. Another easy way to ensure you’re consuming enough folic acid is to take a daily vitamin with 400mg of folic acid in it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]
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