The Food Requirements during Pregnancy : Part 4

The Prospective Mother: A Handbook for Women During Pregnancy
by J. Morris Slemons

(Page 8 of 18)

In order to comprehend the nutritional needs of the prospective mother, one must keep in mind the fact that our food always serves two purposes. These are, as we have seen, to build or to repair tissue and to furnish heat and energy. Since these needs of the body during pregnancy - as at all other times - are best understood when considered in their relation to the food-stuffs which supply them, we shall take up these various ingredients separately.

Protein, which repairs tissue and also furnishes the substance from which new tissue is made, is used more economically during pregnancy than when the maternal functions are inactive. As a result of this economy the same allowance of protein which is sufficient before conception is sufficient also during pregnancy. This fact has been put in the clearest light by extensive observations made upon animals. Dogs which were not pregnant, for example, have been carefully fed so that their food should contain just enough protein to cover the needs of the body and keep their weight constant. Subsequently, when these animals became pregnant precisely the same amount of protein was fed to them.

The result was that they gained in weight, and at the same time the waste products of protein they threw off were notably diminished. Such observations, of which there have been a large number yielding concordant results, may be safely taken to mean that an amount of protein previously satisfactory for the animal is also sufficient for her during pregnancy. We are forced to conclude that protein was used more sparingly in the latter condition - a view which has been repeatedly confirmed with regard to human beings as well as animals. It is found, for example, that an amount of protein competent to meet the needs of a man of a given weight will not only provide for the wants of a woman of equal weight while she is pregnant, but will also leave a surplus sufficient for the growth of the fetus.

With regard to the mineral substances, likewise investigations indicate that the "housekeeping" of the body during pregnancy proceeds along unusually economic lines. It is not advisable, therefore, to make any change in the diet with regard to these substances. Attempts have been made to cut down the amount of

minerals in the food for the purpose of softening the fetal skeleton. The success sometimes attributed to these efforts is, however, very doubtful, for we know that the mother's tissues will be robbed of minerals for the embryo whenever her food fails to contain them in sufficient amount for her own needs and those of the child. Practically speaking, the mineral content of diet during pregnancy requires no thought, for so long as meat and vegetables are eaten in satisfactory quantity the mineral nutrition will take care of itself.

The food-stuffs which supply heat and energy, since the amount of energy utilized by the body during the latter months of pregnancy is somewhat in excess of that previously required, do not follow the same rule as the protein and the mineral matter. It has been found that just before the fetus becomes mature the energy requirements of the mother are approximately one-fifth greater than in the non- pregnant condition. It is certain, however, that no extra demand for energy exists until the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy, and that the excessive requirement is extremely small until the last three or four weeks. Even then the prospective mother requires less energy- giving food than the average man.

Since the body handles carbohydrate more readily than fat, it is preferable that whatever additional energy pregnancy necessitates should be supplied by carbohydrates. An increase in the daily consumption of fatty food, over and above that previously found agreeable, is not only unnecessary but undesirable. Every-day experience teaches that less fat taken with the meals promotes the comfort of the prospective mother. A glass of rich milk a little before meal time, however, not only makes up for this omission but also prevents "heart-burn," a very common ailment of pregnancy.

Although there is an appreciable increase in the quantity of starch and sugar utilized toward the end of pregnancy, it is generally quite unnecessary to increase these materials correspondingly in the diet. Nearly everyone eats more of all the food-stuffs than the body needs. In the case of the prospective mother the surplus ordinarily taken meets every need incident to her additional energy requirements. Because we eat more than we need, someone has said, with as much truth as humor, that prospective mothers "neither want nor need to eat for two. The fact is more likely that enough for one is too much for two." For the average woman it is wiser to take less during pregnancy rather than more, for over-indulgence is apt to lead to indigestion. The moment when the appetite is satisfied should be accepted as the stopping point, and that will be instinctively recognized if one eats deliberately, and thoroughly masticates the food.

Regularity in the hour of eating is always healthful, and for some prospective mothers three meals a day prove quite satisfactory. Not a few, however, who adhere to this habit make the mistake of eating more than is wise; and large meals are particularly inappropriate to pregnancy. On this account most prospective mothers will be more comfortable if they take some simple and wholesome nourishment at fixed times between meals. Such an arrangement modifies a ravenous appetite, and it is, at the same time, beneficial to those who are not inclined to eat enough at the regular meals. If small amounts of food are taken five or six times a day, a tendency to be nauseated, which is not uncommon in the early months of pregnancy, can often be averted. In the latter months, too, because the capacity of the stomach is diminished through the encroachment of the enlarged womb, frequent meals generally contribute toward comfort and health. While the inevitable consequences of overloading the stomach are to be avoided at all times of the day, it is especially important to remember the disagreeable results of a hearty meal at night. The evening meal should be a light one and should be eaten three or four hours before going to bed.

The Importance of Liquid Nourishment. Every prospective mother should have brought to her attention the great importance of drinking water at regular times and in larger quantities than was formerly her custom. Since water constitutes two-thirds of the substance of our bodies, it is necessary, of course, for everyone; but during pregnancy it is especially necessary for the building of new tissue and for safeguarding the mother's kidneys. Prospective mothers would protect themselves against a number of ailments if they were more careful to drink a sufficient amount of liquids. They may easily determine whether they are doing so, for whenever the urine passed during twenty-four hours measures less than a quart, they are not drinking enough. Generally the daily elimination of urine fluctuates between two and three pints; a larger amount, however, is rather a favorable indication than the reverse.