Prenatal Care

Are you planning on becoming pregnant? Prenatal care is imperative to ensure the process is safe and healthy for both you and your baby. In this article, prenatal care is introduced, the basic nutrition overview for prenatal care, weight gain recommendations, and appropriate exercise prescription including their benefits.

What is Prenatal Care? 

Prenatal care is a way to keep you and your future baby healthy by receiving regular checkups from a doctor, nurse or midwife throughout your pregnancy. They will perform routine testing to help find and prevent possible problems. These typically include:

• Updates on medical history
• Checking urine
• Checking weight and blood pressure
• Checking for swelling
• Feeling the belly to check the position of your fetus
• Measure the growth of your belly
• Listening to the fetal heartbeat
• Giving any genetic testing you decide to do

Ideally, you would like to have your first visit before you get pregnant. However, visits should be made as soon as possible when learning about your pregnancy. How often you’ll get prenatal care depends on how far along your pregnancy is and how high your risk is for complications. The typical prenatal care schedule for someone who is 18-35 years old and healthy is:

• Every 4 or 6 weeks for the first 32 weeks,
• Every 2 or 3 weeks for the 32nd - 37th weeks
• Every week from the 37 th week until delivery

Nutrition for Prenatal Care

During pregnancy, it is important to make sure you’re getting the nutrients both you and your baby need. To ensure your baby’s growth and development, include these foods every day from the following food groups:

• Fruits and vegetables: Contain nutrients such as vitamin C and folic acid. Aim for 2-4 servings of fruit and 4 or more servings of vegetables.
• Bread and grains: Contain iron, B vitamins, fiber and some protein. Aim for 6-11 servings of bread and grains daily.
• Protein: Include meat, poultry, fish, eggs and beans which contain protein, B vitamins, and iron. Fish however should not be consumed more than 8-12 ounces per week, which is 2-3 servings. Safer choices are: shrimp, tilapia, cod, catfish, and canned light tuna. Avoid fish choices such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, bigeye tuna, marlin, and orange rough due to their high mercury concentration.
• Dairy: Calcium is found in dairy products and it is essential for building strong bones, normal blood clotting, and muscle and nerve function. Aim to consume at least 1000mg daily which equals to about 4 servings of dairy products.
  

In addition, a daily prenatal vitamin can help fill small gaps in your diet. Ideally, start taking them 3 months before conception. Consume 400mcg of folic acid from fortified foods or supplements in addition to dietary folate from a variety of foods. Regarding iron intake, it is recommended to get 30mg to 60mg of elemental iron to protect the health of both the baby and mother. This increase is important to meet the new demands of extra blood volume, the developing placenta, and the growing fetus. Approximately half of your iron intake will go toward the developing fetus and placenta. The other half will be used to increase the amount of blood in your circulatory system, which will help protect you during childbirth. Lastly, take no more than 10,000IU of vitamin A from supplements daily, and omit alcohol-containing beverages. 

Weight Gain Recommendations

During the first trimester, no weight gain or anywhere from 1-5lbs is recommended. In the second and third trimesters, 1-2lbs of weight gain is recommended depending on how much weight gain is necessary. This is determined by your pre-pregnancy weight also known as pregravid weight.

Exercise Prescription and Health Benefits

It is recommended that pregnant women engage in moderate intensity exercise for 150 minutes a week which breaks down to 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week because of its health benefits. Some examples include walking, swimming, and yoga. It is ok to run and spin during the first trimester if these activities are already part of your fitness routine. Here are some reasons to incorporate activity into your daily life while pregnant:

• Mental well-being

• Better sleep

• Endorphins-it can help you feel better by reducing stress

• Physical benefits-strong bones and muscles

• Reduce common pregnancy symptoms

• Maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy

The Take Home Message:

Make sure to schedule regular checkups with your doctor, eat a variety of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy, take a prenatal vitamin optimally 3 months prior to conception, and incorporate regular exercise for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.