Some pregnant women may attempt to diet, as in limiting the amount of food they eat despite needing more calories for their pregnancy needs. They do this for the sake of not gaining too much weight during pregnancy. There are dangers of not eating properly when you’re expecting. Read on…
Contrary to older practice, a woman needs not to eat for two; during pregnancy. All she is required to do is to eat to her heart’s fill and avoid overeating. Doctors throughout the world have been advising women to eat as much as they can and not to go overboard with excessive nourishment. The main objective is to have a healthy mother deliver a healthy baby.
Having said that, women who gain too much weight during their pregnancy do make themselves vulnerable to conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. It also leads to increased incidences of gestational diabetes. Their babies too may be overweight at birth, and vulnerable to health conditions such as juvenile diabetes, heart problems, depression, etc.
The fact is that pregnancy is not a permanent state of being, and therefore weight gain is a natural byproduct of this phenomenon, must be accepted gracefully.
Being overweight while pregnant
Many women tend to restrict their diet during pregnancy due to the fear of gaining too much weight, which they fear would be difficult to lose after giving birth. They may even worry about jeopardizing their sexual relationships with their partner. Some women feel a loss of sex appeal due to being overly ‘heavy’ during pregnancy.
Women who are already overweight or obese before pregnancy are often advised to lose weight during pregnancy so that they can maintain their original weight during and after the pregnancy. However, here’s the fact: They should consider losing weight at least six months before they decide to conceive so that their health would not be adversely affected.
Overweight women tend to be more susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes, heart problems, gestational diabetes, and cholesterol either during or after their pregnancy.
Why it’s best that pregnant women do not diet
- Lack of nourishment for the growing fetus can lead to miscarriage.
- Premature and weak babies with lower life expectancy or mortality rate.
- Physical deformities at birth such as blindness, malformed limbs, and other body parts.
- Dangerously underweight and thin babies.
- Dysfunctional internal organs such as heart, brain, liver, etc.
- Thicker arteries among these babies from birth onwards which would cause several health problems over the years.
- May cause NDT or neural tube defects, while in the womb, which results in the malformation of the baby’s brain and spinal cord.
- May increase the chances of developing diabetes and low blood pressure.
Diet pills during pregnancy?
As the results are detrimental for the child, all to be mothers should completely stay away from ingesting diet pills during pregnancy. The medication from these pills can transfer through the milk into the baby’s system. The safest option would be to exercise regularly before, during, and after the pregnancy. Remember, the effects of diet pills are short-lived and stop showing results as soon as the individual stops taking them. The weight gained soon after stopping the pills is rapid and in some cases harmful and excessive. If that is the case, then it would be more logical to consider these pills soon after the baby has been weaned from the mother’s milk.
