Eating a whole food diet and taking a high quality prenatal are foundational for mama to stay healthy during pregnancy, optimize the development of baby in utero, and prepare mama for an easier postpartum recovery and breastfeeding journey. However, in addition to all these great reasons to maximize your nutrition, increasing your likelihood of a natural birth is also one of them!
First of all, labor and birth is like running a marathon. It takes a lot of strength and endurance! I will talk about this more for Tip #2–Training for Birth. But for now, I want to highlight how food helps us focus, endure, and stay strong during labor and delivery. Here are some examples: Healthy fats like avocados, grass-fed butter, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, omega 3’s from fish, and nuts and seeds help keep our blood sugar level for focus and that sustained energy. Water, one of the macronutrients, plays a crucial role in hydrating us, reducing stress and supporting energy. There are so many other nutrients vital to performance. Everyone knows, to run a marathon, you can’t eat fast food–you need the best nutrient rich foods possible.
Secondly, there are many common pregnancy complications that can require interventions at birth but are very preventable with the right nutrients and lifestyle. Gestational diabetes (elevated blood sugar during pregnancy) accompanies higher rate of C-sections, large babies (also called macrosomia), and birth injury–shoulders of large babies can dislocate or become stuck during vaginal delivery leading to a medical emergency for mom. [1] Preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy) is also a common complication that can lead to preganncy interventions such as being induced early, which has been studied to increase the risk of C-section. [2]
This information is not meant to alarm mamas that if they don’t have a perfect diet or aren’t in perfect health they won’t be able to have a healthy pregnancy and natural birth. On the contrary, it is meant to empower us that we have a huge part to play in the outcome of our birth experience. You’ve got this mama!
Do you want to learn more and gain support for your pregnancy? Contact me to schedule a Free Discovery Call and learn more about my Prenatal Nutrition Class coming up March 27th.
References:
https://jpma.org.pk/article-details/3216?article_id=3216