What is the best thing to eat before giving birth? Features of nutrition before childbirth

Having learned that she is pregnant, a woman accepts a lot of restrictions: in lifestyle, behavior, habits and, of course, food. Now we are not talking about the famous folk wisdom saying that now to the expectant mother you'll have to eat for two.

Quite the contrary! Throughout the entire period of bearing a baby, a pregnant woman must follow certain gastronomic rules, adhere to a diet and eat according to a special regimen.

Today nutritionists successfully formulate various options menu for pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy. Indeed, nutrition in the first trimester is significantly different from the third and, even more so, from prenatal.

The prenatal period is considered to be the month before the expected delivery.

How to find out your due date?

The expected date of birth is calculated by the obstetrician-gynecologist observing the expectant mother based on the date of the last menstruation and normal duration full pregnancy(40 weeks). It is also noted in sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth, which is issued in antenatal clinic. Knowing this date, a month before the “special” day, a pregnant woman should begin gastronomic preparations for it.

In order for the birth to be successful - without unpleasant moments, easily and without breaks - you should adjust your own menu according to the basic rules, which will be described below.

What should a pregnant woman eat a month before giving birth?

For 8 months, the baby grew and developed in the womb. The process of laying down organs and tissues was especially active in the first trimester. Therefore, at the beginning of pregnancy, the expectant mother's diet included a significant amount of animal protein. It was represented by meat, fish, milk, cottage cheese, butter, eggs and other products.

A week before the expected delivery, you should abandon animal protein in favor of plant protein.

The main products and dishes that make up a pregnant woman’s diet a month before delivery should be:

• Porridge (cooked in water);
• Roasted vegetable dishes;
• Dairy products;
• Plant food;
• Freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit juices;
• Mineral water;
• Teas, including herbal ones (only if there are no contraindications during pregnancy on the packaging).

What should a pregnant woman eat 2 weeks before giving birth?

Time passes - the expected date of birth is approaching, and restrictions are becoming stricter. After eliminating animal protein from the expectant mother’s diet, you should say goodbye to cereals and bread.

The basis of nutrition 2 weeks before delivery should be plant and fermented milk foods.

Speaking about plant foods, I would like to note that it is better to season vegetable salads with unrefined vegetable oil, ideally olive oil. This is explained by the large amount of vitamin E it contains. A woman needs it before childbirth, since its presence in the body makes a woman’s birth canal more elastic.

As a result, childbirth takes place without ruptures or forced incisions.

Oils also contain Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid who play important role in the formation of oxytocin (a hormone that supports labor).

I would like to immediately make a reservation that we are talking about unrefined oils. They are consumed in “raw” form, that is, not subjected to heat treatment. Heating makes them harmful.

A great way to saturate your body with natural vitamin E is to drink a glass of freshly squeezed vitamin E every day. carrot juice, washing it down with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. However, this should not be done for those who have liver problems.

Another option is to eat a salad of grated carrots seasoned with vegetable oil every day.

What should a pregnant woman eat a week before giving birth?

The due date is approaching...

A week before giving birth, you need to give up fermented milk products. Only plant foods remain in the diet.

Refusal from “fermented milk” is explained by the unnecessary presence of large amounts of calcium in the body. It had to be replenished at the stage of “construction” of the child’s body, so that the expectant mother felt good and did not have pain in the bones and problems with teeth.

Therefore, obstetricians-gynecologists advise their patients to lean on cottage cheese throughout pregnancy.

However, a week before birth, excess calcium can lead to ossification of the baby's skull. This is especially dangerous during pregnancy beyond 40 weeks. The skull bones of an unborn baby must be soft to fit through the narrow birth canal.

How to eat on the day of birth

Immediately on the day of birth, it is advisable to limit food intake. It's better to leave only water. Intestines in prenatal period must be clean, so all pregnant women undergo a cleansing enema before giving birth.

Many women also experience nausea and vomiting during labor. Therefore, you should not be overzealous in nutrition.

How much can a pregnant woman drink during the prenatal period?

The question of the amount of water you drink per day is acute throughout pregnancy.

If the observing obstetrician-gynecologist sees swelling, as a rule, he will advise limiting fluid and salt intake. Therefore, you should strictly follow your doctor's recommendations.

If there are no difficulties with edema or other problems, simply limit your fluid intake during the prenatal period. It is better to eat a whole fruit than to drink a glass of liquid.

Speaking about what you can drink and what you cannot drink, we note the following points.

You shouldn’t even think about soda and alcohol throughout pregnancy, and especially before giving birth. Pregnant women who are prone to high blood pressure, it is worth reducing the consumption of strong tea and coffee in the prenatal period.

It is best to drink clean bottled or purified water, green and herbal teas permitted during pregnancy. Excellent product, which helps remove water from the body - tea brewed with apple peels (apples should be your own and not bought in a supermarket).

You will definitely agree with me that dietary restrictions are mere trifles compared to the happiness that fate has given you!

A child is love made visible.

One of the most important points in preparation for childbirth is readiness female body to very strong physical activity. What is meant? IN in this case- elasticity of the vaginal muscles. From this not obvious, with difficulty controlled quality depends on whether a woman will have ruptures during childbirth or not.

Proper preparation for childbirth is, first of all, proper nutrition. How can nutrition affect the elasticity of intimate muscles and help avoid tears during childbirth? The most direct. And we will show it now.

What should the diet be like during the ninth month of pregnancy?

The basic nutritional rules for a pregnant woman do not change even in the ninth month: a minimum of preservatives, dyes, flavor enhancers and other artificial food additives, no alcohol, maximum vegetables and fruits, regular consumption of fish as a source of unique food nutrients. However, in addition to these nutritional rules, new ones should appear that will help increase the elasticity of the perineal muscles. It is also necessary to reduce or completely eliminate from the diet foods that impair the elasticity of intimate muscles. What kind of products are these?

What you can and cannot eat a couple of weeks before giving birth

• Animal protein. in the ninth month of pregnancy, you need to sharply reduce your consumption of red meat - it makes the intimate muscles “hard” and can cause birth injuries in the baby due to a difficult birth. Therefore, you should reduce or completely eliminate meat, and minimize the consumption of fish and eggs. This will allow the muscles birth canal to be more elastic, plastic, will facilitate the advancement of the child, which will serve as the prevention of ruptures during childbirth, birth injuries of the newborn.
• Hard cheeses are another product that it is advisable to exclude from your diet. Hard cheeses contain a lot of calcium, which in the ninth month of pregnancy is not beneficial, but harmful (it helps to harden the bones of the baby’s skull). In addition, hard cheeses make digestion difficult and make stools hard and problematic. And the same muscles are responsible for defecation and childbirth. And too much effort when releasing feces can even lead to premature birth, especially if this threat existed.
• Vegetable oils should definitely be in the diet. They are a good prevention of hemorrhoids, increase muscle elasticity, and prevent drying out of the mucous membrane during childbirth.

• Vegetables and fruits. Before giving birth, you need to lean on carrots: they are rich in vitamin E, which maintains tissue tone and promotes their speedy recovery after childbirth. Carrots are low in calories and are a source of essential vitamins and minerals. Pumpkin is also very useful - it contains a lot of pectins, which have a very beneficial effect on health. gastrointestinal tract. Zucchini, squash, and cucumbers are very beneficial for the liver, which last month pregnancy has to work very hard: the child has already grown and requires more and more attention from the mother’s main organs.

When your body is already preparing for childbirth, you can help it by adhering to certain nutritional rules.

Just don't starve!

A fairly large number of expectant mothers, worried about quite noticeable weight gain during pregnancy, begin to starve.
This is strictly prohibited and even dangerous; under no circumstances should you starve yourself while you are carrying a baby. Thus, you will not only deprive yourself of vital energy and strength, but your baby will also suffer.

Agree that giving birth healthy baby, as well as maintaining your own health is much more important than maintaining a slim figure during pregnancy. Moreover, get rid of extra pounds you can always, but after childbirth.

Diet and nutrition of a pregnant woman

Pregnant women are advised to completely remove the baby from their diet throughout the entire period of gestation or at least minimize its consumption. fatty foods(sausages), as well as fried foods.

It is not recommended to drink coffee, especially for those who are used to drinking it in large quantities. The consumption of sweet soda with dyes and other unhealthy foods - chips, crackers - is excluded.

Per month Before giving birth, the expectant mother should start eating lighter foods than before this period. You should also not load your stomach with large portions.

During this period, your diet should consist of porridge with water, fermented milk products (kefir, cottage cheese, homemade yogurt), and a large amount of vegetables (fresh, baked, steamed).

You should exclude or try to consume animal protein (meat, fish, eggs) in minimal quantities from the menu.

For two weeks before the expected date of birth, the menu becomes even more dietary - baked goods and cereals are included in the list of foods that should not be consumed. Keep eating vegetables and dairy products.

Behind a week Before giving birth, reduce your consumption of fermented milk products. Vegetables and fruits are your diet for this time.

In a day expected childbirth or when contractions have already begun, it is not recommended to eat at all. On the day of birth, the diet will consist of drinks - weak tea, dried fruit compote, non-carbonated mineral water. If you feel really hungry, try eating a couple of crackers.

If you want to eat immediately on the day of birth, you don’t feel sick, you feel that you can digest the food, and with the doctor’s permission, you can eat.

What foods are good before childbirth?

As you already understand, about a month before giving birth, fermented milk products and vegetables are beneficial.

Also, the diet must contain vegetable oil - olive, flaxseed, sunflower - to your taste. Add it, for example, to salads.

Such a menu will allow you to avoid stomach problems before childbirth and eliminate the likelihood of constipation, which during childbirth can become a prerequisite for the development of hemorrhoids.

Black (bitter) chocolate during childbirth

In some maternity hospitals, expectant mothers are advised to have a bar of dark chocolate with them on the day of birth.

The fact is that this product can stimulate the dilatation of the cervix, and eating chocolate also stimulates the production of serotonin - the “happiness hormone”, which to some extent can reduce pain.

Milk and white chocolate are useless during childbirth. Only real, natural dark dark chocolate has stimulating properties.

Can pregnant women practice fasting days?

In fact, the last week before giving birth will already be a fasting week, because you will only eat vegetables and fruits.

But throughout pregnancy fasting days(kefir, vegetable) can also be arranged, provided that you tolerate them normally, feel well, and do not suffer from a strong feeling of hunger.

There are different opinions about what you can eat before giving birth. They are all quite contradictory. What is the right thing to do? The most important thing is to listen to your needs and common sense. And if you want something “forbidden”, then just don’t forget about moderation. Each body is individual, and even during labor, which is regulated by identical natural hormonal fluctuations, a woman may experience different, individual food needs.

If you want, then eat to your health! In this case, it would be more correct to ask which foods you can eat before giving birth, and which ones you should avoid.

Nutrition before childbirth for several weeks

It is reasonably recommended to switch to a plant-based dairy diet 3-4 weeks before giving birth. Yogurts, fruits, cottage cheese, cereals, salads, soups allow you to get enough without overloading the intestines and pancreas. Starting from week 36, the baby can be born at any time. Therefore, such a diet contributes to the normal course of everything birth process, whenever it begins, and preparing the body for childbirth.

Why can’t it be sweet and rich? Firstly, these are extra calories. Secondly, during the digestion of these products, fermentation processes predominate in the intestines, which contributes to gas formation. Plus, these same foods contribute to or worsen constipation. You also need to take into account the likelihood of the appearance or exacerbation of hemorrhoids.

What should you pay attention to?

A fairly important product before childbirth is vegetable oil. This powerful protection from ruptures during childbirth. Under its influence, elasticity blood vessels and tissues of the birth canal increases. If you have gastronomic preferences in this matter, then you can use any: olive, sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseed, etc. Use oil for salad dressings, which is more convenient, or drink one spoon in pure form daily.

Should I eat during labor and labor?

The physiology of childbirth is such that in a hungry woman, labor slows down and stops. The reason for this is an increase in adrenaline levels. With the onset of contractions, if the desire arises, it makes sense to eat. If you don’t want to eat, then you shouldn’t.

The female body can independently replenish energy costs from its own reserves. Judging by the feelings of most women in labor, they don’t want to eat during labor, and they don’t have time. This is especially true for quick (quick) births. The food in them is irrelevant and inappropriate. But in protracted labor They recommend eating... Chocolate.

Why do you need chocolate during childbirth?

Chocolate is used to stimulate labor. But definitely black (bitter). In some maternity hospitals, a bar of dark chocolate is on the list of required things to bring to the maternity hospital. It is believed that the substances contained in dark chocolate have a stimulating effect on the cervix - it opens faster and reduces the pain threshold. A decrease in sensitivity to pain occurs due to the content of serotonin, which stimulates the release of endorphins - the “happiness” hormones. But you need to be careful - dilatation of the cervix is ​​often accompanied by nausea and the urge to vomit.

The use of chocolate to stimulate labor has positive and negative reviews. Therefore, it is up to you and your doctor to decide whether to eat chocolate before giving birth. Just get ready to take him to the hospital. And during childbirth, you decide for yourself whether you specifically need it or not. If you decide, then the main thing is not to eat the whole tile at once. Choose the freshest and highest quality chocolate for childbirth, with the maximum content of cocoa butter. White and milky tiles do not have a pronounced stimulating effect on the cervix.

When consuming dark chocolate to stimulate labor, it is worth remembering its sensitizing effect - the ability to cause allergies. An allergen can affect not only the mother’s body, but also the baby being born.

5 rules for eating before childbirth

• If you want to eat, do it. The presence of psychological discomfort caused by hunger prolongs labor. If you have no appetite, you shouldn’t force yourself to eat.

• Eat cooked food in small portions.

• The best foods before childbirth are a boiled egg, dried fruits, crispbread, baked fruit, biscuits.

• Most likely, after eating the above foods, you will feel thirsty. Bring water or pre-prepared herbal tea, tea in half-liter bottles with “sport” caps. As practice shows, it is more convenient to drink from them without spilling. It is a generally accepted fact that the best drink during childbirth is pure water. A large volume of liquid in the stomach stretches the walls and slows down digestion. Thereby causing the urge to vomit. You need to drink in small portions.

• Bring some dark chocolate with you.

Eating before labor does not affect its duration or frequency surgical interventions. Surgical delivery – C-section- Possibly after eating. Previously used for pain relief general anesthesia. This was the reason for the ban on food before childbirth. Epidural anesthesia is now widely used. Therefore, the food taken is not an obstacle to the operation.

There is an opinion that you should not eat before childbirth in order to prevent involuntary bowel movements during the period of pushing. For the same reason, an enema is recommended before childbirth. Physiologically, the body is designed very wisely and at the beginning labor activity the intestines empty on their own. So this argument is not a reason to torture yourself with hunger during childbirth.

Conclusion

Eating before childbirth should not cause discomfort. Small portions of permitted foods will help you regain strength and lift your spirits. You already know what you can eat before giving birth. For the rest, rely on your body, just listen to it.

In the third trimester, closer to the date of birth, expectant mothers are already beginning to think about what has not yet been done for a successful delivery. All prescribed ultrasounds have been completed, tests have been completed, and necessary purchases have been made. All that remains is to wait and at the same time eat right to help the body cope with the most important task in life - giving birth to a long-awaited and desired child. So, more about the diet before childbirth.

The main principle of nutrition during pregnancy is simple and healthy food, rich in vitamins, proteins, . The absence of canned food, fatty and spicy foods on the menu is also desirable. Indeed, during the period of bearing a child, a woman’s body becomes vulnerable to stress that was previously tolerated normally, for example, to the consumption of fatty foods. During pregnancy, they can cause diarrhea, which is fraught with vitamin deficiency and lack of nutrition for the baby in the womb.

1. 30 days before the expected date of birth. Nutritionists advise to “say goodbye” for a while to animal protein in the form of meat and fish, eggs and butter, as well as milk. Fermented milk products should be left in the diet. Yogurt and cottage cheese, kefir and sour cream - one of these products should be on the menu every day. The emphasis should be on plant foods and porridges with black bread, desserts for which can be fresh juices, fruits and dried fruits, and herbal teas. But you should also be careful with herbs a month before giving birth, because, for example, thyme stimulates uterine contractions. Therefore, it is better to remember this tea after childbirth.
2. Fourteen days before the expected birth. It is advisable to remove even porridge from the diet during this period, leaving only plant foods and fermented milk products. These can be a variety of vegetable salads with vegetable oil, potatoes and beans in moderation, yoghurts and cottage cheese casseroles. Such food will help the expectant mother's intestines remain unloaded. And such restrictions are explained by the fact that the child in the womb of its mother is already too large, and it is not easy for her body to cope with the processing of heavy food.
3. Seven days before giving birth. During this period, nutritionists advise pregnant women to exclude fermented milk products from the menu and leave only plant-based ones, that is, temporarily become vegetarians. Juices and fruits, vegetables and salads with vegetable oils. Vegetables can be boiled and baked, fruit soufflés and jelly can be made.
4. On the day of the expected birth, If you feel the first contractions or your water breaks, it is better not to eat anything. This is explained by two factors. The first is one that occurs during contractions. The second is the need for the intestines to remain empty, since after childbirth it will be difficult for a woman to go to the toilet. It is recommended to do an enema at the beginning of labor, since it is less painful than during the process. When contractions begin, you can drink without gas with lemon. It is better if it is table water.
5. Diet. A month before giving birth, it is advisable for a woman to switch to fractional meals. It can be 4 or 5 times. In this case, the optimal interval between meals will be 3-3.5 hours. Eating a little, but often, will greatly ease the work of both the stomach and intestines. It is better if you eat higher-calorie dishes in the first half of the day (porridge), and fermented milk products and fruits become the basis of your dinner. This diet will make it easier for the expectant mother to sleep and move, because some women even have great difficulty walking a month before giving birth. It is better not to drink juices after 19.00, otherwise the pressure of the uterus will increase. bladder and the diuretic effect they have can make you get up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.
6. Method of preparing food. A month before giving birth, it is better to prepare vegetables by baking in the oven rather than boiling. This heat treatment will preserve more vitamins and nutrients in them.