Food and Pregnancy

[cats2]

iron absorption is affected by calcium so that makes sense.  if you're anemic at all and need to take an iron supplement, just make sure to take it several hours apart from your standard vitamin and to avoid calcium.

i didn't take a special pre-natal vitamin.  just centrum, and my doctor never said anything about it.  i took a look at the labels and both kinds had the same amounts of folic acid (or at least what they recommend you have).

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True about iron and calcium...vitamin C (or citrus fruit for that matter) should help with iron absorption. Downing a prenatal vitamin or iron pill with milk is theoretically not optimal. In addition, both iron and calcium supplements tend to be constipating (and pregnancy itself is prone to constipation due to hormonal changes) Avoiding calcium in general though, would not be recommended.

The pregnancy RDA for folic acid is actually a little higher than the normal RDA of 400mcg. Most standard multivitamins have 100% of the normal RDA, and is the amount that is recommended for women of reproductive age, pre-conception. Once pregnant, the RDA goes up to 600mcg. The new formulation of Centrum tablets does have 500mcg, so you could probably meet the goal via dietary sources. For some women (such as those who have had prior pregnancies affected by neural tube defects, the recommended folic acid daily dose is actually 4mg...10x as much as the average population) RDA table based on sex/age/pregnancy

As a first time pregnant lady, I have found a lot of helpful, unhelpful, and down right annoying advice on what to eat and what to avoid.

How can one be pregnant, enjoy it, enjoy eating and raise a child to enjoy food and abhor baloney, spagetti-o's and american cheese?

Advice, stories, and ranting all accepted in this pursuit.   

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I have all the guidelines from my doctor, from "what to expect when you're expecting" and other books, the internet, etc.

My questions are based on the fact that most of the resources out there are not set up for individuals who enjoy cooking and eating.  I don't need help incorporating more veggies and fiber into my diet, as my diet currently consists of steel cut oatmeal and consistently buying veggies at my super market where I have to tell the checker what they are.

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Can't help you with the "raise a child to enjoy food...". From the prior posts, it sounds like the pregnancy diet outcomes are highly variable...so, eat what you enjoy (within safety limits), and hope for the best.

I don't quite understand the comment about "most resources out there are not set up for individuals who enjoy cooking/eating". In what way do you feel that pregnancy has cramped your cooking style? Sure, the health recommendations do affect some of the food choices, but it's not like they're recommending women go on some sort of extreme diet of exclusion...(unless it's in context of food allergies?...though that seems more associated with time during breastfeeding)

From a recently published paper in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Vol 119, Issue 5, May 2007, pages 1197-1202) "Avoidance diets in pregnancy are no longer advocated as a means of primary prophylaxis of allergic disease. The European Academy of Allergology, Asthma and Clinical Immunology has recently concluded that allergen avoidance diets while breast-feeding are now recommended only if a breastfed child is showing symptoms of food-related diseases such as eczema."

Restricting the diet of kids apparently tends to backfire on the parents, because it then becomes the highly desired food item (that may lead to overconsumption of that item)

I could only find one paper that addresses diet in pregnancy with later food acceptance, in the journal Pediatrics, 2001 June;107(6);E88 The authors' conclusion was that prenatal/early postnatal exposure to a flavor does enhance the baby's enjoyment of that flavor (during weaning). They had randomized pregnant women into 3 groups: they drank either water/carrot juice 4 times/week for 3weeks at the end of pregnancy and then for the 1st 2 months of breastfeeding. Group1: carrot juice in pregnancy/water during breastfeeding, Group2:water in pregnancy/carrot juice during breastfeeding, Group3: water in pregnancy/breastfeeding. Carrot flavored cereal was offered to the babies during weaning, and apparently those babies exposed to carrot during pregnancy or breastfeeding were perceived by their moms as enjoying the carrot flavored cereal more than plain cereal.

Which again goes back to "eat what you enjoy", and hopefully your child will enjoy that too! Don't vilify the stuff you abhor, but provide tasty alternatives.

[kiliki]

It seems as though every country, culture and obstetrician has different advice about what pregnant women should and shouldn't eat, and that very little of it rests on any sort of factual basis.

Absolutely. There is no evidence that alcohol and caffeine, in moderation, are harmful, for example, and pregnant women in many European countries don't avoid either one. Nor do women in other cultures avoid raw fish or raw cheeses. In France, raw vegetables are the taboo--there is a funny bit in Adam Gopnik's From Paris to the Moon where his wife's doctor, upon finding she's pregnant, asks urgently if she's had any salad since she conceived (and I remember from Susan Loomis' On Rue Tatin that her doctor forbid car rides later into her pregnancy, that she should walk and use the Metro. Can you imagine that happening in the US?).

Here is one very good NYT article where the pregnant author decides to look for scientific proof behind some of the food/drink pregnancy taboos. I think this bit sums it all up:

Americans’ complicated relationship with food and drink — in which everything desirable is also potentially dangerous — only becomes magnified in pregnancy.

NYT article

Edited January 5, 2008 by kiliki (log)

[FabulousFoodBabe]

I find the "no caffeine" thing so interesting.  When I was pregnant the first time (20 years ago), a middle-aged co-worker told me flatly "my mother spent her entire pregnancy sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes."

I will admit - the guy was weird......

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So did my mother, with my youngest sibling. I remember her sitting a shot glass of bourbon on her belly, cigarette hanging out of her mouth, and watching the baby kick it off.

Here's an anecdote: The day before my second child was born (almost 18 years ago), we went to a celebratory dinner with some friends. The waiter poured wine into my glass and I took one sip. An argument ensued at one of the other tables between a woman and her dining partner, over whether she should confront me or just call the police. For abusing the child. Of course, I had spent seven months on a measured diet and exercise program, testing my blood six times a day, seeing a nurse practitioner and my doctor weekly, but one sip of wine in public was enough to cause quite a problem -- for others.

Anyone else remember those days?

[pax]

Here's an anecdote:  The day before my second child was born (almost 18 years ago), we went to a celebratory dinner with some friends.  The waiter poured wine into my glass and I took one sip.  An argument ensued at one of the other tables between a woman and her dining partner, over whether she should confront me or just call the police.  For abusing the child.  Of course, I had spent seven months on a measured diet and exercise program, testing my blood six times a day, seeing a nurse practitioner and my doctor weekly, but one sip of wine in public was enough to cause quite a problem -- for others.

Anyone else remember those days?

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I am 40. I remember my aunts being told to drink a glass of Guinness a day, courtesy of the National Health Service.

One of my best baby shower presents was a huge mj bud from my women friends. In retrospect, given the temperment of this kid, I wish I had smoked it.

Edited January 6, 2008 by pax (log)

[BekkiM]

I find the "no caffeine" thing so interesting.  When I was pregnant the first time (20 years ago), a middle-aged co-worker told me flatly "my mother spent her entire pregnancy sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes."

I will admit - the guy was weird......

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So did my mother, with my youngest sibling. I remember her sitting a shot glass of bourbon on her belly, cigarette hanging out of her mouth, and watching the baby kick it off.

Here's an anecdote: The day before my second child was born (almost 18 years ago), we went to a celebratory dinner with some friends. The waiter poured wine into my glass and I took one sip. An argument ensued at one of the other tables between a woman and her dining partner, over whether she should confront me or just call the police. For abusing the child. Of course, I had spent seven months on a measured diet and exercise program, testing my blood six times a day, seeing a nurse practitioner and my doctor weekly, but one sip of wine in public was enough to cause quite a problem -- for others.

Anyone else remember those days?

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Oh yeah--fun times... Like when a coworker, who happened to be pregnant at the same time I was, had a hissy fit and started lecturing me about the dangers of caffeine during pregnany when I ate a... wait for it... mini-Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. The dangerous drug being present in the vast quantity of chocolate I had just consumed...

Just happened to notice this in the news today.

[Cleo]

The dangerous drug being present in the vast quantity of chocolate I had just consumed...

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That person would have had a lot to say to me, since when I was pregnant with my daughter, now 3, I had chocolate milk for breakfast every day. Why? Because it gave me relief from the nausea. While pregnant with my son, now 15 months, I also had the chocolate milk. Not because I was nauseaus, but just because I like chocolate milk!

My theory is the "everything in moderation" theory and just basic common sense. I stopped drinking coffee both times, not because of the caffeine, but because I didn't want to have the Sweet 'n Low. I didn't drink alcohol, but I don't drink in general, so why would I drink while pregnant? (now with a 3 year old and 1 year old, I sometimes feel like drinking would be a good idea! )

I breastfed my daughter briefly, then switched entirely to formula. I didn't breastfeed my son at all. Thankfully (knock on wood a million times) both of my children are extremely healthy and they are both excellent eaters.

I think most of this is due to good fortune, and not what I ate or did not eat while I was pregnant.

[Peter the eater]

Candied bacon?

What's that? I want some.

jayne (with 10-year old identical twin girls)

Hey, I have twins. My wife had extra care because of it too, they were mostly concerned about getting enough iron. Beyond that, the advice was to take vitamins and avoid raw and unpasteurized food such as honey.

[Cadbury]

I can't imagine anything you eat while the baby is in the womb will affect his or her future food likes and dislikes.  It is the blood in the placenta that provides nourishment in the womb.

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There have been studies which show that what you eat can affect the amniotic fluid. Large amounts of fenugreek for example can make a maple syrup type smell and flavour. It's possible I guess that baby can taste these variations and perhaps these tastes then are familiar as baby grows.

[Sugarshoc]

Just happened to notice this in the news today.

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Oh please. I was breastfed for 6 months and I have eczema and asthma and hayfever. LOL!!

[jumanggy]

Haha, I wasn't breastfed (just for, like, a week maybe) and I have eczema and allergic rhinitis. Well, atopy runs in my family on both sides. (At least I don't have asthma.) Oh, the eighties! My mom had a crush on the host of "Name That Tune" (George DeWitt, I think), though. She jokes that's why I have dimples and can flawlessly carry a tune.

[Pookie]

The only thing I have been avoiding this pregnancy is the raw sushi/eggs - mostly for food safety reasons. I don't think the sushi itself could hurt the baby but I REALLY don't want to get sick from poorly prepared stuff. I had a cold and it sucked - can't have the good drugs!

I don't drink a lot of caffeine anyways but I did have a few vanilla lattes and a glass of wine for my wedding anniversary. My midwife seems pretty happy with me.

(please send happy vibes as I am due today and can't wait to meet the kid)

[pax]

(please send happy vibes as I am due today and can't wait to meet the kid)

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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO vibes for you.

Orgasms are good for stimulating labour. Just sayin'

ETA: In the interests of keeping this in context, so does red raspberry tea.

Edited January 10, 2008 by pax (log)

[Kouign Aman]

Pookie,

good good good good vibrations going your way. I hope ya get an easy keeper!

Apparently babies can taste what you eat, starting around 5 months pregnant.

So, its easier to introduce babies to those solid foods later (so say the statistics). S'far as I know, no one's studied its carryover into later life, just at that smashed food stage.

Hoping, I ate way more broccoli, spinach and other greens when knocked up than before or since, and the little munchkin did indeed prefer those smooshed foods to things like bananas. Mangos were my intensely orange of choice. However, the little palate is maturing, and once-favored mangos have been knocked off the list along with most things that are even the tiniest bit 'sour'. (tho oddly bitter remains acceptable). It appears the window of opportunity is small.

More to the point given your current situation:

what you eat affects the taste of your milk. My kid was VERY happy when I ate mustard, garlic or horseradish.

Did not much like it when I ate legumes. I have no idea how lectins would get from my gut to my milk, but based on her gas pains, they did. So, have fun. No way to tell what will make baby happy til you try it!

Caffeine - March of Dimes puts the cut off at ~ 3 cups of coffee a day. They are kinda expert in these things.

Edited January 11, 2008 by Kouign Aman (log)

[kiliki]

So we all heard the news this week about the new study that tells preganant women to avoid caffeine completely, right? That was the attention grabbing headline I saw everywhere. But what is never explained is why, if this one study found a link between caffeine consumption over 200 mg/day and miscarriage, the researchers recommend consuming NO caffeine. If they are correct, what's the problem with a 25 mg cup of green tea, or 50 mg cup of black tea, etc etc?

And I found it interesting there were potential problems with the study that the radio and other news reports I heard ignored:

Dr. Carolyn Westhoff, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and epidemiology, at Columbia University Medical Center, had reservations about the study, noting that miscarriage is difficult to study or explain. Dr. Westhoff said most miscarriages resulted from chromosomal abnormalities, and there was no evidence that caffeine could cause those problems.

“Just interviewing women, over half of whom had already had their miscarriage, does not strike me as the best way to get at the real scientific question here,” she said. “But it is an excellent way to scare women.”

She said that smoking, chlamidial infections and increasing maternal age were stronger risk factors for miscarriage, and ones that women could do something about.

“Moderation in all things is still an excellent rule,” Dr. Westhoff said. “I think we tend to go overboard on saying expose your body to zero anything when pregnant. The human race wouldn’t have succeeded if the early pregnancy was so vulnerable to a little bit of anything. We’re more robust than that.”

NY Times article

Edited January 23, 2008 by kiliki (log)