Beneficial Pre-pregnancy Dietary Guidance

This week we will focus on dietary changes that can be useful if you are thinking about becoming pregnant.  We all know that we need to eat more vegetables and drink more water, but in a culture that is all about quick dinners and breakfast on the run, it can sometimes be hard to focus on the actual nutrition that goes into your body.   So we asked our experts what women need to know about eating healthy and preparing our body for pregnancy.

We wish to thank Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD for participating in this interview.

1.  Portion Control

The solution is not always avoiding bad foods altogether but practicing portion control, which brings us back to that good old saying “everything in moderation”. “The problem is that people have a tendency to eat too many calories in comparison to the physical activities that they are doing.  The portions become bigger and unfortunately some of the foods are useless, meaning that they provide no energy or nutrition to the body.  This is usually one of the reasons why we start reaching for that late afternoon sugary snack for a quick pick me up,” says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD. 

Ms. Ward created and conducted corporate nutrition education programs for five years with Medical Care Affiliates/Health Promotion Affiliates in Boston, where she also counseled patients.  She has also worked at the Joslin Diabetes Center and the American Heart Association, and for seven years counseled children and adults at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates.  As a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association from 1992 to 2002, Ward was featured in nearly 1,000 print and broadcast interviews, including CNN, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, and ABC Radio News. 

She is the author of the The American Dietetic Association book Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, and After Pregnancy that is being released on May 26, 2009.  She is launching a new website www.expectthebestpregnancy.com on June 1, 2009.

2.  Plan a healthful diet.

“Start planning a healthful diet before you become pregnant.  Be clear about if you are under-or overweight, and if you need to lose weight.  Weight rarely comes off after a pregnancy and EXCESS WEIGHT DURING PREGNANCY can cause the child to become OVERWEIGHT LATER IN LIFE,” asserts Ward,  
“A great resource is the food pyramid on www.mypyramid.gov.  It can help determine the caloric intake and activity level that you need.  It works for a regular diet, but also if you are a vegetarian or vegan.” 

3.  Include your spouse/partner.

Support is important when it comes to making changes to your diet.  Ward urges,   “Including your significant other can be very helpful, especially if you as a woman are trying to lose weight at the same time”
“Do it together as a couple.  When you both start eating healthfully before you wish to conceive it is easier to continue when the child comes, and creates good habits for the future.  It is important to also understand that excess weight can have an impact on the pregnancy and on the child’s health down the road.  Help your partner understand that there are two people involved with the health of the pregnancy”.

4.  Taking a nutritional supplement.

The admonition of “an apple a day” will not be sufficient if you are planning to become pregnant.  “Prior to conception a woman should start taking a multi-vitamin with 400mcg of folic acid.  Taking folic acid can prevent Neural Tube Defects.  Talk to your doctor about it and follow his or hers guidelines for taking supplements,” states Ward.  Some women may also be deficient in calcium and  vitamin D  “Taking a calcium supplement is also important If you don’t consume three servings of dairy foods daily or the equivalent as plant foods.  Not all dairy products are fortified with vitamin D so look for products that are.”

5.  Create a new lifestyle.

Creating a different mindset and lifestyle is the most important thing about changing your diet.  Ward concludes, “Learning another set of skills to changing your diet can be helpful.  Start planning your meals more frequently and incorporate more cooking, shop for healthy foods and bring healthy snacks with you.  A lot of people are spending a lot of time commuting, so planning ahead and bringing healthful snacks to work, or making the lunch box the evening before can also help create healthier eating habits.  It takes some restructuring of your life to eat healthfully, but the benefits are numerous”.

The American Dietetic Association book Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, and After Pregnancy will be available for purchase on www.amazon.com on May 26, 2009, but is available for preordering now.

About the writer:

Jeanne Holm Ackah is the founder and CEO of www.ecobabyworld.com.  Having worked in sales, spent almost a decade in the beauty industry and a certified yoga teacher having trained with Shiva Rea, Max Strom and Judith Hanson Lasater, she is an entrepreneur by heart.  She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.