Over the years, one of the concerns of expectant moms is not knowing foods that affect a baby in the womb immediately, hence the need to constantly educate and enlighten first-time moms on the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ in pregnancy.
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When you become pregnant, every food you eat is shared with your baby. Funnily enough, there are some foods you eat that may not directly affect you but will harm your baby in the womb.
Therefore, in selecting your pregnancy diet, you must consider foods that help the baby to grow because your baby’s health is of utmost importance. However, you do not just eat what appeals to you but only healthy foods during pregnancy.
Although some foods should be avoided during pregnancy, the foods that are healthy for you (during pregnancy) outweigh them.
What Are The Foods That Affect Baby In The Womb Immediately?
Foods that affect a baby in the womb immediately they are consumed are capable of disrupting the healthy growth of the fetus, causing a serious health issue after the child is born or sometimes might cause instant death of the baby in the womb.
Some of the unhealthy foods that should be avoided while pregnant includes but not limited to;
Raw Or Undercooked Fish Or Meat
Listeria infection is an infection that is common to pregnant mothers. It can be gotten through listeria-infected raw fish that is consumed by a pregnant woman. Once an expectant mother gets infected, the bacterium is easily passed to the baby in the womb. This may result in miscarriage, premature delivery of your baby, or even death.
Where your baby is born safe, he or she may experience serious health challenges and some may never live like a normal child.
Undercooked fish is not safe for consumption either, especially when you are pregnant. This is because it can also result in a lot of infection that can be passed to your unborn child. Although it may have a slight effect on you, for instance, making you weak or dehydrated, the harm it will cause for your little one may be fatal.
Some dangerous bacteria can be present on surfaces of meat while in other cases, bacteria may be in the muscle fibers. Hence, it is advised that whenever you want to eat meat or fish – make sure it is hygienically well cooked so that infection problems will not be created for your little one. In addition, ready–to–eat fish or meat like hot dogs must be heated and served hot before eating.
Excessive Consumption Of Organ Meat
Organ meat like kidney, brain, tongue, heart, tripe, and others contain vitamin A, vitamin B12, copper, zinc, and selenium which are of great benefit to you and your baby but excess consumption of it will do you more harm than good most especially at the early stage of your pregnancy. It can result in congenital malformation. It is therefore recommended that an ounce of organ meat weekly is just fine for you.
Alcohol
This is one of the foods that affect a baby in the womb immediately after it is consumed. No amount of alcohol is safe to be consumed in pregnancy. It offers no benefit to your little one, instead, it will have adverse effects such as heart defects, facial deformities, disrupt brain development, intellectual disability, miscarriage, and stillbirth.
Excessive Consumption Of Certain Fishes
The excessive consumption of small forage fish like herring, anchovies, sardines, and larger pelagic fish like tuna, salmon, swordfish, mackerel, and trout can be detrimental to the health of your baby in the womb.
Vegetables And Fruits
Don’t consume unpasteurized veggie juice when you are pregnant and make sure your fruits are properly washed before eating them. Unripe fruits must be avoided because they contain latex which could result in pre-term uterine contractions thereby leading to miscarriage.
Unpasteurized Milk And Its Products
Avoid the consumption of raw or unpasteurized milk and any products made from it. This raw milk or its products may contain harmful bacteria that can lead to food poisoning and also harm your fetus.
If all you have is raw milk, make sure you boil it properly so that all the bacteria that may be present will be eliminated before you consume it.
Raw Eggs
Salmonella present in uncooked eggs can result in food poisoning. Presently, British Lion eggs are still the safest for consumption because they don’t usually have salmonella present in them. All other eggs should not be consumed raw but must be properly cooked before eating.
Foods like homemade mayonnaise should not be eaten because they often contain raw eggs. Other products that contain raw eggs are Caesar salad dressing, raw cookie dough, meringue, bearnaise sauce, tiramisu, hollandaise.
Spicy Foods
Spicy foods during pregnancy are safe for mother and child even in the first trimester when the risk of miscarriage is high, but excessive consumption can cause heartburn, digestion, and acidity challenges which will lead to your discomfort especially in the second and third trimester.
Eating spicy foods during pregnancy does not have any negative effect on the baby in the womb except that it may cause some minor discomfort for you. Examples of spicy foods include garlic, curry, hot sauce, etc
Fruits To Avoid In Pregnancy
As earlier said that what you eat is shared with your baby, and also that not all foods are suitable for consumption during pregnancy, so also it is not all fruits that should be eaten.
Here are some fruits that you should not eat once you conceive.
Frozen Berries
Frozen Berries are not healthy food while pregnant because the nutrients and flavor present in it are lost once it is frozen and if consumed, it can become toxic for both mother and child. This applies to all fruits. Eat them fresh instead of frozen.
Canned Tomatoes
Canned foods contain a high level of preservatives that are not healthy for you and your little one. Avoid consuming canned tomatoes because it does more harm than good.
Excessive Consumption Of Certain Fruits
Dates, watermelon, and papaya may not be healthy foods while pregnant because they tend to heat the body temperature which can cause uterine contractions.
Pregnancy Diets
Now that you are pregnant, you will no longer eat for yourself alone but also for your little one. This means that when selecting your regular foods, it is important you consider superfoods that contain a lot of nutrients that are helpful for the growth of your baby, hence every bite you take, will be of great benefit to you and your unborn child. You will also have to eat more quantity of food than usual.
The perfect pregnancy diet must be rich in minerals and vitamins because they are responsible for the main growth of your baby. Every pregnant woman must consume foods that contain the following;
Folic acid
It is expected that your daily food must contain not less than 600 micrograms of folic acid. Foods that contain folic acid include peanuts, liver, beans, whole grains, fresh fruits, eggs, leafy greens, etc.
Folic acid helps in the formation of the neural tube, and also helps to prevent major defects in your baby’s brain.
Calcium
Calcium is an essential nutrient for the body because it helps to build healthy teeth and strong bones. In addition, it supports the proper functioning of the heart, clotting of the blood, and adequate functioning of the nerves.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advised that women below 20 years require 1,300mg of calcium every day, while pregnant and breastfeeding mothers should consume 1,000mg daily. Foods that are rich in calcium include fortified orange juice, milk, cheese, yogurt, and soybeans.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is important to a pregnant mom because it regulates the level of phosphate and calcium in the body. It helps to keep the teeth, muscles, and bones healthy.
Sunlight is a source of vitamin D. Besides, exposing yourself regularly to sunlight and vitamin D supplements may also be a healthy consideration. Not more than 100 micrograms of vitamin D should be consumed daily.
Foods that are rich in vitamin D are egg yolk, fatty fish, cheese, beef liver, and many more.
Vitamin A
Is an important nutrient that supports a good vision for your baby, aids the development of your baby’s immunity and healthy skin. Foods that contain vitamin A are fortified cereals, fish, and liver.
Iron
Iron is responsible for making hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein present in the red blood cells that pass oxygen to the tissues. Once you conceive, your body will require more iron to produce more blood that will supply oxygen to your fetus. A lack of the right amount of iron can result in anemia.
The hemoglobin level for the first trimester is expected to be a minimum of 110g/L, it should be a minimum of 105g/L by 28 weeks, while a minimum of 100g/L before delivery
Iron sources for pregnant women are legumes, shellfish, quinoa, turkey, pumpkin seed, red meat, liver, and any other organ meat.
Final Thoughts
The journey of pregnancy from the first trimester until the day of delivery is not an easy one and therefore every step that is required to make the journey a fruitful and fulfilling one should be taken.
Foods that affect a baby in the womb immediately after it is consumed should be avoided while you adhere to the right pregnancy diets. From the healthy foods to the healthy fruits and when the time comes, you will have in your hands not just a baby, but a healthy one.
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