A life zone is a region that is known for its specific life forms. Your life zone when pregnant is the area where your new baby is growing. Like any special zone, to support life requires adequate opportunity for essential nutrients. The pregnancy diet zone gives your baby the right minerals, vitamins and nutrition necessary to develop properly. Prenatal care is critical to your babys health. Making sure your pregnancy zone is nutritionally balanced creates a reserve upon which your baby can draw for its diet needs.
Life Forms
Life is precious in every way. The life growing inside your body needs proper nutrition like he or she will continue to need after birth. Caring for your precious life form means making sure the baby is not malnourished or underweight at birth. It means balancing your diet so that all the necessary nutrients are supplied. It means keeping balance in your pregnancy diet zone.
- Maintaining hormonal balance
- Maintaining normal blood sugar levels
- Preventing blood pressure fluctuations
- Maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system for oxygen delivery
- Keeping muscle tone for strength and energy
- Controlling hunger to prevent excess calories from unhealthy snacking
Your body is a set of systems supporting your baby. The pregnancy diet zone demands attention to specific dietary needs.
- All life needs water. Drink plenty of water up to eight eight-ounce glasses
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
- Vary your diet to make sure you get a variety of vitamins and minerals
- Eat small amounts of fat
- Maintain your body weight in relation to the weight needed to gain for a healthy and normal pregnancy
- Get your carbohydrates from whole grains and fruits and vegetables, not white breads or white rice
In the pregnancy diet zone, low carbohydrates and adequate protein equates to improved triglycerides and an efficient fat metabolism system in your baby. Obesity is an ongoing problem in adults. It is becoming clear with ongoing scientific research that obesity sometimes starts in the womb. The pregnancy zone gives your baby a healthy start from day one.
Life Saving
Pregnancy places heavy demands on a womans body. There are recommended minimum dietary needs that must be met in the pregnancy zone.
- 125 grams of meat or some fish (no shellfish)
- At least 450 grams of milk
- 4 fruits
- Serving of breakfast cereal whole grains
- 5 servings of vegetables, increased to 7 servings in the third trimester
- 1100 mg of calcium
- Folate (B vitamin group)
- Iron
It is important to visit the doctor regularly. As the baby grows, nutrition requirements will change. But by following basic proven dietary guidelines, the odds that your baby will be healthy are increased phenomenally. That is the pregnancy -zone life saving health!
Azzam Sheikh
Facilitator 'Strengthening families, strengthening communities' parent programme.
pregnancy resource center
