This week we're looking at pregnancy nutrition on TalkMum. It can often be challenging to make sure that you and your baby have a healthy diet before, during and after your pregnancy. Mum Cath starts things off by telling us about her unusual food intolerance during pregnancy.
When you are pregnant it is very important that you have a healthy diet. Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is essential in order to ensure your growing baby gets the best start in life. For most people, filling the trolley with a variety of different fruits and vegetables becomes a regular part of shopping, even for women who previously never even looked at vegetables. Every mum wants to have a healthy baby so eating healthily is just one of the many ways of doing this.
I know which foods to avoid during pregnancy and always try to eat a healthy diet and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. I generally manage more than the recommended “5 a day”, however, when I became pregnant with my second son six years ago I found that I was unable to digest any fruit or vegetables. Initially I thought it was the orange that I normally eat mid-morning that was causing my upset stomach but after not eating them for a week I found I was still suffering! It took me a couple of weeks to work out that my recurring upset stomach always occurred after eating fruit or vegetables. There didn’t seem to be any fruit or vegetables in particular that were causing it and I quickly learnt not to take any to work as a snack!
I also tried stewing fruit rather than eating it raw, and adding small amounts of vegetables to dishes like shepherd’s pie and lasagne, both of which made no difference at all. Concerned, I mentioned the problems I was having to my midwife who suggested that I made an appointment with my doctor, just to get it checked out. He advised that I should have a number of blood tests, all of which came back normal and at this point he concluded that it was just an unexplained symptom of pregnancy and hopefully it would sort itself out once I had the baby. The only advice he could suggest was to take vitamin supplements to make up for the lack of vitamins in my diet. I visited the local chemist who was very helpful and he recommended Pregnacare tablets as these are great for pregnancy nutrition as they contain all the vitamins and minerals that a pregnant woman needs.
My son was born fit and healthy at 8lb 1oz and once I returned home I found that I could eat fruit and vegetables again which was a huge relief!
Have you had a similar experience with pregnancy nutrition? Any strange cravings or intolerances?
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