Nutrition issues during pregnancy are always of concern to expectant mothers. Contrary to the recommendations of the supervising doctor from the antenatal clinic, many pregnant women are lax about nutrition. One of the problems is overeating during pregnancy. When relatives and friends find out about the interesting situation, recommendations begin to pour in from all sides to eat more and whatever your heart desires. Only the lazy don't try to feed a pregnant woman. Expectant mothers themselves often also begin to get involved in gluttony, justifying their behavior by saying that if you want something, it means the baby needs it. The sight of a pregnant woman constantly chewing something causes affection for many, but in fact, overeating in an interesting position is fraught with the appearance of various problems.
Weight gain during pregnancy: normal and excess
Mainly, overeating is fraught with excess weight gain. Since weight gain occurs naturally during pregnancy, you need to learn to understand which of the gained kilograms are “correct” and which are already extra. Weight gain during pregnancy occurs due to the growing fetus, placenta, amniotic fluid, and increased volume of circulating blood. If by the end of pregnancy the scales show 10-15 kg more than before, this will be a completely normal increase. Most of this weight will “go away” in the delivery room. For women with underweight, an increase of up to 20 kg is allowed throughout pregnancy. Unfortunately, those kilograms that were not associated with the growing fetus will remain with the mother after childbirth, and will have to be dealt with separately. However, excess weight is scary not so much after childbirth as during pregnancy.
How does overeating affect a pregnant woman's health?
During pregnancy, all organs and systems experience increased stress. If we add to these loads the problems typical of people with excess body weight, we get a completely sad picture. First of all, excess weight caused by overeating is an additional burden on the cardiovascular system. Being overweight, a pregnant woman has a much higher risk of getting high blood pressure or varicose veins. The digestive system also suffers from additional stress. During pregnancy, there are already problems with digestion, since under the influence of hormones the amount of digestive enzymes produced is reduced and the contractile activity of the smooth muscles of the digestive organs slows down. In addition, excess weight during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of late gestosis and even the occurrence of its most severe form - preeclampsia.
Separately, I would like to highlight the danger of overeating and gaining extra pounds for the musculoskeletal system. In the later stages of pregnancy, even with normal gains, it becomes quite difficult to move. Many expectant mothers complain of fatigue, pain in the back and legs. Indeed, a growing belly increases the load on the spine, and the gained kilograms - on the legs and feet, and with excess weight gain these problems only get worse. However, physical activity is simply necessary for pregnant women at any stage. It is needed both to maintain the health of the pregnant woman and to train the body before childbirth.
Why overeating is dangerous for a baby
Overeating by an expectant mother during pregnancy is dangerous not only for her own health, but also for the health of the baby. This is logical, because if, due to excess weight gain, the mother’s metabolism is disrupted, problems with the heart and blood vessels arise, blood pressure increases, or kidney problems appear, the child, who is fed through the bloodstream, will experience a lack of oxygen and nutrients. All this can affect not only intrauterine development, but also the future health of the child. Children of overweight mothers are prone to obesity and diabetes.
Overeating and body beauty during pregnancy
Another negative aspect of overeating for pregnant women is aesthetic. Pregnant women, 
especially towards the end of pregnancy, they often feel unattractive and have a lot of complexes because of this. If more extra pounds are added to the tummy, the expectant mother may completely fall into melancholy and depression. In addition, gaining excess weight during pregnancy can be accompanied by such an unpleasant phenomenon as stretch marks that appear on the hips, buttocks, chest and abdomen. While everyone can bring their weight back to normal after childbirth, dealing with stretch marks is much more difficult, and for most people they remain for life.
What you need to know to avoid overeating
In order not to get all the “delights” from overeating during pregnancy, the expectant mother needs to know a few important things.
1. Eating during pregnancy should not be “for two”. The body's daily requirement increases by only 200 kcal. Anything that is eaten in excess of this requirement will not benefit the child, but will go into your “baggage”.
2. While in the womb, the child receives all the necessary substances through the bloodstream, so it is not the quantity of what he eats that is important, but the quality. Nutrition during pregnancy should not be in excess, it should be balanced.
3. You shouldn’t “pamper” yourself with harmful “chemical” food during pregnancy, because it is this that usually turns out to be superfluous (it’s unlikely that any expectant mother overeats on healthy cereals and vegetable salads). The opinion that pregnant women have no dietary restrictions is erroneous. On the contrary, given that a pregnant woman is responsible not only for herself, but also for the unborn child, she should carefully monitor her diet and exclude everything that is not healthy food.
4. Being in the tummy, the child cannot want anything, so you should not justify overeating with the thought that if you want something, then the child needs it. During pregnancy, food preferences may indeed change, but this does not affect the amount eaten.
5. If you really feel a “ravenous appetite”, before you go to the refrigerator, think: maybe you are filled with anxieties, fears and worries, and your appetite has nothing to do with the body’s needs? Expectant mothers have a lot of reasons to worry, but it is better to find constructive ways to deal with surging emotions.
It is very important for expectant mothers to eat right, and overeating is dangerous not only for the woman, but also for her baby. Proper and moderate nutrition will help mom maintain not only health, but also the beauty of her own body. Following simple recommendations will help you adjust to the desired eating schedule and avoid overeating.
Without exaggeration, pregnancy can be called a time of construction. Moreover, the tender and fragile expectant mother is “united in all faces.” She is an architect, a foreman, a builder, and even a supplier of building materials - food. Since deficiencies in this construction project are expensive and difficult to eliminate, overeating during pregnancy by the expectant mother is not just the primary, but the most important and significant factor.
What should a pregnant woman eat?
Very often, a pregnant woman’s legs swell not because she has a diseased heart or kidneys, but because she regularly “indulges” in pickles and smoked meats, and then drinks a lot of strong tea or coffee. Not suspecting that the extra pounds will, first of all, put pressure on the unborn baby, she gets disproportionately fat, chewing without a break “for herself and for that guy.”
Harm of overeating during pregnancy
Most women do not even realize how harmful and dangerous the habit of “eating for two” is during pregnancy. Moreover, there are two victims of overeating - a sluggish, swollen, shortness of breath mother and a loose, sickly child. Often, extra pounds of a pregnant woman are the reason for weak labor. Obstetricians have long noticed that cesarean sections are more often necessary for obese women in labor.
During nine months of pregnancy, a woman should gain 7-9 kilograms, of which 3-3.5 kilograms are children’s, 2-3 kilograms are maternal and about 2 kilograms are amniotic fluid and placenta. All the rest are a reason to think about it and seek advice from a doctor. For example, rapid weight gain during pregnancy is one of the signs of diabetes, and weight gain in the second half of pregnancy can be a sign of a dangerous disease for expectant mothers - nephropathy.
It has been established that children who at birth “overweighted” more than 4 kilograms grow worse than their “lean” peers, and by the age of 3 months the difference is completely erased. But other differences persist for a long time, sometimes for life. Obese children get sick more often and more severely, and once acquired fat cells remain forever and are a source of obesity in the future. If the newborn weighs more than 4.5 kilograms, you need to sound the alarm. Such children lack many reflexes, the heart beats much slower, the muscles are flaccid and weak. Most of these children are immature and less viable. Physiologically mature children rarely get sick in the first year of life, but immature heavyweights get sick often and develop worse. There is something to think about for an expectant mother when her hand involuntarily reaches for the refrigerator.
How to deal with overeating during pregnancy
The question of quantity, of course, depends on the age, height, temperament, energy expenditure and state of the gastrointestinal tract of the pregnant woman. It must be remembered that satiety occurs only after half an hour after eating. This is the time needed for the absorption and breakdown of sugar, which affects the hunger center of the brain. If you feel full immediately after eating, you are overcome by drowsiness, an overfilled stomach puts pressure on your lungs and uterus, you have difficulty breathing, rest assured, you have overeaten.
Limit your consumption of “empty” calorie flour products, sweets, spicy and salty foods, as well as off-duty snacks and drink less non-vitaminized liquids.
If between breakfast, lunch, and dinner you are haunted by a feeling of hunger, then it is better to satisfy it with fresh fruits, a handful of nuts or crackers. Thirst should be quenched with a small amount of juice or other vitamin drink.
It is especially important to quell the rampant appetite in the last two months of pregnancy, when the most intensive growth of the child occurs. In the final three weeks, it is generally better to fast and switch to a strict fruit and vegetable diet. The goal is simple - to maximally empty the intestines with the help of plant fiber and cleanse the body of toxins accumulated during pregnancy and thus ease the course of childbirth. Even obstetricians of the last century noted that the more fruits in the food and the less other products, especially bread and various cookies, the easier and safer childbirth is. Long-term observations of naturopathic doctors show that following a fruit and vegetable diet in the last three weeks of pregnancy leads to the birth of healthy, strong and flexible children. They are much tougher than those children whose mothers did not follow a plant-based diet.
For women whose gastrointestinal tract reacts poorly to an abundance of raw plant fiber, jelly, compotes, and mousses are recommended. Juices can be diluted with a strained liquid decoction of rolled oats; lean porridges can be heavily seasoned with baked fruits. Thanks to a fruit diet, the child does not receive excess calcium and his bones do not have time to harden. During childbirth, such children are more flexible, which protects them from birth injuries.
When following a fruit diet, childbirth, as a rule, proceeds much easier, faster and with less pain, ruptures and cases of surgical intervention are rare.
Reasonable limitation of concentrated protein foods has a beneficial effect on breastfeeding, which is absolutely necessary for full development. Women who strictly followed the doctor's recommendations, a healthy diet, monitored their weight and refused to overeat during pregnancy quickly regained their previous slimness.
How much weight should I gain during pregnancy?
It is not entirely appropriate to call the kilograms gained during pregnancy extra, because they include the weight of the baby, which can average up to 3.5 kilograms by the end of pregnancy. Don’t forget about the weight of the placenta, amniotic fluid, uterus, enlarged mammary glands, total blood mass and fat that the body stores “in reserve.”
For each woman, optimal weight gain during pregnancy is different, as it depends on the initial weight before pregnancy and the physical health of the expectant mother. Your doctor is obliged to advise you on this matter.
To determine the optimal weight gain yourself, you need to calculate the body mass index (BMI) - the ratio of weight (in kilograms) to height (in meters) squared.
Thus, if your weight is 55 kg and your height is 1.67 m, then your BMI is: 55/1.67 2 = 19.7.
- With BMI<19.8 – прибавка веса 15–17 кг
- With a BMI from 19.8 to 26 – up to 15 kg
- With a BMI >26, a weight gain of up to 10 kg is acceptable.
Weight gain during pregnancy can be uneven, so don't worry if you gain more in one week than in another. However, try to immediately target stable, gradual weight gain; watch your health and diet.
If your appetite begins to increase, do not worry, this is normal for an expectant mother. The growing body of the child and you need additional nutrition, so in no case should you starve or deprive your baby of substances important for life.
Check out nutrition tips from the Nutrilon® team.
In addition to this, we have prepared for you a list of recommendations on how not to.
Create a menu for every day. Include in it foods and dishes containing essential microelements and substances, and roughly estimate the calorie content of your diet. The optimal daily caloric intake depends on a number of factors (weight before birth, height, body type, pregnancy period, etc.). Please consult your doctor regarding this matter. You can find a list of important vitamins and substances on our website.
Eat small meals. Eat 3 times a day and have 2-3 light snacks. Don't skip breakfast and lunch, otherwise the feeling of hunger will overtake you in the evening, and you risk overeating before bed.
Try not to eat at night. Try to eat the most high-calorie and difficult-to-digest foods in the first half of the day, leaving light foods for the evening. It is not advisable to eat after 7-8 o'clock in the evening, because at this time your body and the body of the child, who has already adjusted to your rhythm, are preparing for sleep.
Don't starve! If you feel very hungry, eat a few nuts or dried fruits, 2-3 tablespoons of bran, washed down with water or juice. These products swell when they enter the stomach and create a feeling of fullness.
Drink water. Try to learn to distinguish between the feeling of thirst and the feeling of hunger. When faced with the urge to snack, drink a glass of still water. Thus, if your body needed water to maintain normal metabolism, it will get it. If you are really hungry, a glass of water 30 minutes before a meal will fill your stomach and prevent you from overeating. Freshly squeezed juices, fruit and herbal teas are also very beneficial during pregnancy due to the beneficial substances they contain.
Burn calories. Do pregnancy exercises, swim, or just walk for 20–30 minutes a day.
Don't eat too much. Remember that you need to leave the table with a slight feeling of hunger. Your brain will receive a signal that your stomach is full only 20 minutes after you start eating.
What should you avoid during pregnancy?
Each person has certain gastronomic preferences and needs. During pregnancy they can get worse. But remember that eating fried and fatty foods, salt and sugar only adds extra calories and has no nutritional value. Excessive consumption of foods such as chips, cakes, and buns will lead to difficulties in regaining your figure after childbirth. So, what foods should you exclude from your diet?
Butter buns, bread made from premium flour, a variety of pastries.
Sparkling water, sweet carbonated drinks.
Sausages, sausages, fatty meats, smoked meats.
Prepared and canned foods (due to high salt content).
Cream cakes, rich mousses and puddings, chocolate, chewing gum.
Crackers, chips, fast food.
Eliminating these foods from your diet and following a proper diet will help you survive your pregnancy well and ensure the healthy development of your baby.
Under no circumstances should you try to lose weight during pregnancy. Strict diets and fasting can put the health of the unborn child at risk: lead to brain damage, deterioration of metabolism, and reduce the child’s birth weight, thereby exposing him to the risk of all kinds of diseases. Being underweight can lead to premature birth or the birth of a baby with developmental disabilities.
What to do if you are underweight?
Not only excess weight is dangerous for the expectant mother. Being underweight during pregnancy can also cause problems. If your weight is low to begin with, you may have to gain weight more intensely than other women. This issue should be discussed first with your doctor. He will tell you about healthy eating and give recommendations on how to gain the desired weight. You can also contact the Nutrilon® team experts with your questions.
During pregnancy, women often gain excess weight as their appetite increases and the body itself adapts to absorb more energy to make reserves. But the weight does not always become stable and fit into the norm for pregnant women. Overeating during pregnancy can have the opposite effect and instead of benefiting the woman, she will get complications. During pregnancy, almost all organs experience additional stress, complicating their functioning. The digestive organs are no exception here. Overeating and pregnancy are poorly compatible things, since even pregnant women have their own standards that help maintain the body in such a state that it does not cause overload. Even with obesity, weight gain during pregnancy should fall within these norms. Therefore, it is important to choose a balanced diet during pregnancy without gaining excess weight.
What are the risks of overeating during pregnancy and its consequences?
The main consequence of overeating is excessive weight gain. This leads to the fact that a woman has problems with the functioning of her internal organs, not only due to the state of pregnancy, but also due to excess weight. Additional stress on the cardiovascular system may not appear immediately, but only later, in the form of various diseases and their complications. The following problems may occur:
- High blood pressure;
- Varicose veins on the legs;
- Digestive problems when the stomach cannot cope with the given load.
The last factor is complicated by the fact that digestive enzymes during fetal growth are not produced as well as before conception. Overeating during pregnancy can result in food not being digested. Here we are talking more about unhealthy overeating, which has nothing to do with the increased appetite of a woman in this state. The smooth muscles of the digestive organs contract worse, so it is better to eat little and often.
The consequence of all this is the appearance of late gestosis. If the case is completely advanced, it can develop into a severe stage - preeclampsia. Overeating in the early stages of pregnancy is not yet a very dangerous factor, since the size of the fetus is not yet so high, and the body is just beginning to undergo restructuring and the woman is not yet accustomed to this situation.
Overeating during pregnancy and how it affects other areas of life
Problems with the musculoskeletal system are a separate, very important factor. This is especially typical for later stages, since the size of the baby inside is as large as possible and even without excess weight it becomes difficult to move. When extra pounds appear, complications may arise when walking and joint problems may develop. The feeling of overeating during late pregnancy is especially dangerous, as the load becomes maximum, which can cause injury.
Basically, expectant mothers in such a situation complain about:
- Back pain;
- High fatigue;
- Severe tension in the legs while walking.
This leads to the fact that a woman’s desire to move disappears, which in turn creates favorable conditions for obesity. To avoid severe problems, it is better to strengthen your muscles before giving birth, as this will be useful in the future.
Overeating during pregnancy, what to do and how it will affect the baby
The health of the unborn child is also at risk. This is explained by the fact that a pregnant woman’s metabolism is disrupted, which makes the fetus’s nutritional supply unstable. High blood pressure, kidney problems and other complications create difficulties for the normal nutrition of the child, who receives all substances through the bloodstream. In addition to the lack of the proper amount of nutrients, the fetus does not receive enough oxygen, so oxygen starvation begins. All this affects the development and future health of the child, and in particularly advanced cases can lead to miscarriage.
Many people think about what needs to be done in order not to overeat and at the same time supply the body with the required amount of substances. Some look for answers to overeating during pregnancy on the forum, others turn to nutritionists. At the same time, there are some very simple and effective tips. First of all, you need to eat not for two, as many people think, but for yourself and the fetus. Thus, the daily share of energy consumption increases by only 200 kcal, and not by 2000, as you might initially think. Overeating does not benefit the growing body, but the mother’s fat deposits.
It is not the quantity of food eaten that is important, but its quality. Food should be healthy and nutritious, and the diet should be balanced. This does not mean that you need to eat everything. If there is a lack of any specific substances that are considered “gastronomic whims of pregnant women,” they should be consumed, but eating in excess is definitely not recommended.
Overeating during pregnancy: what to do
During pregnancy, it is worth minimizing the consumption of products of non-natural origin. Food with flavoring additives and substances that increase appetite will be as harmful as before pregnancy. Moreover, harmful elements in semi-finished products will also affect the child, and even more so than his mother.
Being in the mother's belly, the baby does not have any food preferences, so the role of selecting nutrition is assigned exclusively to her. Changing your taste preferences is indeed possible, but the amount you eat should not change much. If you feel a very large appetite, then you may want to eat away some anxieties and fears, which is typical for people even without pregnancy. At this time there are really a lot of fears and worries that have a negative impact on health and that need to be overcome somehow. The body tries to do this in the simplest and most accessible way, with the help of food.
One of the main factors is the ability to control oneself. This will help cope with greater feelings of hunger and anxiety. You shouldn’t deny yourself natural products or what you really want, but everything should be in moderation.
Pregnancy involves weight gain, and if you have an excessive appetite, you can do a lot of harm. After all, the consequences of overeating are excess weight.
The growing body weight of the expectant mother is associated with an increase in the uterus, fetus, amount of amniotic fluid and additional blood volume.
You need to understand that if the weight does not increase too rapidly and the mark on the scale shows 10-15 kilograms more than before conception, it is within normal limits. Most of this excess weight will disappear with the birth of the baby.
As for fat cells, they will need to be dealt with later. It is important to understand from the very beginning what is allowed and what is better to refuse, in order to avoid difficulties with weight gain. So that the feeling of overeating does not appear during pregnancy.
Overeating during pregnancy has consequences. As you know, all organs and systems experience double load. When excess weight is added to this, the pressure on the heart and vascular system increases.
Expectant mothers already have difficulty processing food through the production of too many hormones, and if a pregnant woman overeats fatty foods, this can cause indigestion, which will lead to dehydration, which is too dangerous for the fetus.
Overeating in early pregnancy can lead to varicose veins or high blood pressure in the future.
There is a high probability of infection through the amniotic fluid, which must be renewed after 4 hours.
An unpleasant situation is the load on the musculoskeletal system of a pregnant woman - the greater the weight, the more difficult it is to walk with it.
A woman harms her health and worsens the condition of her body, and at the same time she makes it worse for the child.
What are the dangers of overeating during pregnancy?
- metabolism is poor, the baby receives fewer nutrients;
- negatively affects the functioning of the heart and vascular system. Blood flow is disrupted, oxygen starvation may occur;
- The kidneys do not work properly, making it more difficult for them to fight harmful substances that enter the body. They can go into the baby's body.
These factors can easily cause deviations in the development and formation of fetal organs and systems.
It is believed that children whose mothers are overweight are predisposed to diabetes and obesity.
It is worth considering whether children need such care and drawing appropriate conclusions. After all, mothers are responsible for their children. And a small whim is not equivalent to the health of the child.
To cope with this condition, you need to know some rules and try to follow them.
How not to overeat during pregnancy:
- you need to eat only 500-600 calories more than usual;
- It is important to remember that useful substances must be taken not in quantity, but in quality. Nutrition should be beneficial, and not satisfy the whims of a woman;
- You will need to give up harmful foods with flavor enhancers. They are the ones who often force you to eat without measure;
- If you constantly feel hungry, it is better to consult a specialist. There may be a psychological issue that needs attention.
A change in preferences is not a child’s prompting, but only a reaction to the production of a large volume of hormones in the body.
It is advisable to carefully review your diet and switch to proper nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding in order to reduce the risks of health problems.
It happens that the feeling of heaviness in the stomach does not go away. This happens when the stomach is repeatedly overfilled. Then you cannot do without medication. But for pregnant women, not all drugs are allowed.
What to do if you overeat during pregnancy:
- First you need to call your gynecologist. He knows the approved medications;
- you are allowed to drink water to make it easier for the stomach to digest the contents;
- after consulting a doctor, it is advisable to take a tablet of pencreatin or mezim (an enzyme that helps digest food);
- try to stick to the diet for several days;
- do not eat heavy food to relieve the stomach.
If a pregnant woman overeats for the first time, it is better not to stuff herself with medications and wait a little. When the feeling of overeating does not go away after some time, turning to medication is inevitable.
Diet and eating schedule matter more than expectant mothers realize. It is advisable to pay attention to them in order to avoid unexpected unnecessary troubles.
What are the dangers of overeating during pregnancy: consequences
During pregnancy, women often gain excess weight as their appetite increases and the body itself adapts to absorb more energy to make reserves. But the weight does not always become stable and fit into the norm for pregnant women. Overeating during pregnancy can have the opposite effect and instead of benefiting the woman, she will get complications. During pregnancy, almost all organs experience additional stress, complicating their functioning. The digestive organs are no exception here. Overeating and pregnancy are poorly compatible things, since even pregnant women have their own standards that help maintain the body in such a state that it does not cause overload. Even with obesity, weight gain during pregnancy should fall within these norms. Therefore, it is important to choose a balanced diet during pregnancy without gaining excess weight.
The main consequence of overeating is excessive weight gain. This leads to the fact that a woman has problems with the functioning of her internal organs, not only due to the state of pregnancy, but also due to excess weight. Additional stress on the cardiovascular system may not appear immediately, but only later, in the form of various diseases and their complications. The following problems may occur:
- High blood pressure;
- Varicose veins on the legs;
- Digestive problems when the stomach cannot cope with the given load.
The last factor is complicated by the fact that digestive enzymes during fetal growth are not produced as well as before conception. Overeating during pregnancy can result in food not being digested. Here we are talking more about unhealthy overeating, which has nothing to do with the increased appetite of a woman in this state. The smooth muscles of the digestive organs contract worse, so it is better to eat little and often.
The consequence of all this is the appearance of late gestosis. If the case is completely advanced, it can develop into a severe stage - preeclampsia. Overeating in the early stages of pregnancy is not yet a very dangerous factor, since the size of the fetus is not yet so high, and the body is just beginning to undergo restructuring and the woman is not yet accustomed to this situation.
Overeating during pregnancy and how it affects other areas of life
Problems with the musculoskeletal system are a separate, very important factor. This is especially typical for later stages, since the size of the baby inside is as large as possible and even without excess weight it becomes difficult to move. When extra pounds appear, complications may arise when walking and joint problems may develop. The feeling of overeating during late pregnancy is especially dangerous, as the load becomes maximum, which can cause injury.
Basically, expectant mothers in such a situation complain about:
- Back pain;
- High fatigue;
- Severe tension in the legs while walking.
This leads to the fact that a woman’s desire to move disappears, which in turn creates favorable conditions for obesity. To avoid severe problems, it is better to strengthen your muscles before giving birth, as this will be useful in the future.
Overeating during pregnancy, what to do and how it will affect the baby
The health of the unborn child is also at risk. This is explained by the fact that a pregnant woman’s metabolism is disrupted, which makes the fetus’s nutritional supply unstable. High blood pressure, kidney problems and other complications create difficulties for the normal nutrition of the child, who receives all substances through the bloodstream. In addition to the lack of the proper amount of nutrients, the fetus does not receive enough oxygen, so oxygen starvation begins. All this affects the development and future health of the child, and in particularly advanced cases can lead to miscarriage.
Many people think about what needs to be done in order not to overeat and at the same time supply the body with the required amount of substances. Some look for answers to overeating during pregnancy on the forum, others turn to nutritionists. At the same time, there are some very simple and effective tips. First of all, you need to eat not for two, as many people think, but for yourself and the fetus. Thus, the daily share of energy consumption increases by only 200 kcal, and not by 2000, as you might initially think. Overeating does not benefit the growing body, but the mother’s fat deposits.
It is not the quantity of food eaten that is important, but its quality. Food should be healthy and nutritious, and the diet should be balanced. This does not mean that you need to eat everything. If there is a lack of any specific substances that are considered “gastronomic whims of pregnant women,” they should be consumed, but eating in excess is definitely not recommended.
During pregnancy, it is worth minimizing the consumption of products of non-natural origin. Food with flavoring additives and substances that increase appetite will be as harmful as before pregnancy. Moreover, harmful elements in semi-finished products will also affect the child, and even more so than his mother.
Being in the mother's belly, the baby does not have any food preferences, so the role of selecting nutrition is assigned exclusively to her. Changing your taste preferences is indeed possible, but the amount you eat should not change much. If you feel a very large appetite, then you may want to eat away some anxieties and fears, which is typical for people even without pregnancy. At this time there are really a lot of fears and worries that have a negative impact on health and that need to be overcome somehow. The body tries to do this in the simplest and most accessible way, with the help of food.
One of the main factors is the ability to control oneself. This will help cope with greater feelings of hunger and anxiety. You shouldn’t deny yourself natural products or what you really want, but everything should be in moderation.
Nutrition issues during pregnancy are always of concern to expectant mothers. Contrary to the recommendations of the supervising doctor from the antenatal clinic, many pregnant women are lax about nutrition. One of the problems is overeating during pregnancy. When relatives and friends find out about the interesting situation, recommendations begin to pour in from all sides to eat more and whatever your heart desires. Only the lazy don't try to feed a pregnant woman. Expectant mothers themselves often also begin to get involved in gluttony, justifying their behavior by saying that if you want something, it means the baby needs it. The sight of a pregnant woman constantly chewing something causes affection for many, but in fact, overeating in an interesting position is fraught with the appearance of various problems.
Mainly, overeating is fraught with excess weight gain. Since weight gain occurs naturally during pregnancy, you need to learn to understand which of the gained kilograms are “correct” and which are already extra. Weight gain during pregnancy occurs due to the growing fetus, placenta, amniotic fluid, and increased volume of circulating blood. If by the end of pregnancy the scales show 10-15 kg more than before, this will be a completely normal increase. Most of this weight will “go away” in the delivery room. For women with underweight, an increase of up to 20 kg is allowed throughout pregnancy. Unfortunately, those kilograms that were not associated with the growing fetus will remain with the mother after childbirth, and will have to be dealt with separately. However, excess weight is scary not so much after childbirth as during pregnancy.
During pregnancy, all organs and systems experience increased stress. If we add to these loads the problems typical of people with excess body weight, we get a completely sad picture. First of all, excess weight caused by overeating is an additional burden on the cardiovascular system. Being overweight, a pregnant woman has a much higher risk of getting high blood pressure or varicose veins. The digestive system also suffers from additional stress. During pregnancy, there are already problems with digestion, since under the influence of hormones the amount of digestive enzymes produced is reduced and the contractile activity of the smooth muscles of the digestive organs slows down. In addition, excess weight during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of late gestosis and even the occurrence of its most severe form - preeclampsia.
Separately, I would like to highlight the danger of overeating and gaining extra pounds for the musculoskeletal system. In the later stages of pregnancy, even with normal gains, it becomes quite difficult to move. Many expectant mothers complain of fatigue, pain in the back and legs. Indeed, a growing belly increases the load on the spine, and the gained kilograms - on the legs and feet, and with excess weight gain these problems only get worse. However, physical activity is simply necessary for pregnant women at any stage. It is needed both to maintain the health of the pregnant woman and to train the body before childbirth.
Overeating by an expectant mother during pregnancy is dangerous not only for her own health, but also for the health of the baby. This is logical, because if, due to excess weight gain, the mother’s metabolism is disrupted, problems with the heart and blood vessels arise, blood pressure increases, or kidney problems appear, the child, who is fed through the bloodstream, will experience a lack of oxygen and nutrients. All this can affect not only intrauterine development, but also the future health of the child. Children of overweight mothers are prone to obesity and diabetes.
Another negative aspect of overeating for pregnant women is aesthetic. Pregnant women, especially towards the end of pregnancy, often feel unattractive and have a lot of complexes because of this. If more extra pounds are added to the tummy, the expectant mother may completely fall into melancholy and depression. In addition, gaining excess weight during pregnancy can be accompanied by such an unpleasant phenomenon as stretch marks that appear on the hips, buttocks, chest and abdomen. While everyone can bring their weight back to normal after childbirth, dealing with stretch marks is much more difficult, and for most people they remain for life.
In order not to get all the “delights” from overeating during pregnancy, the expectant mother needs to know a few important things.
1. Eating during pregnancy should not be “for two”. The body's daily requirement increases by only 200 kcal. Anything that is eaten in excess of this requirement will not benefit the child, but will go into your “baggage”.
2. While in the womb, the child receives all the necessary substances through the bloodstream, so it is not the quantity of what he eats that is important, but the quality. Nutrition during pregnancy should not be in excess, it should be balanced.
3. You shouldn’t “pamper” yourself with harmful “chemical” food during pregnancy, because it is this that usually turns out to be superfluous (it’s unlikely that any expectant mother overeats on healthy cereals and vegetable salads). The opinion that pregnant women have no dietary restrictions is erroneous. On the contrary, given that a pregnant woman is responsible not only for herself, but also for the unborn child, she should carefully monitor her diet and exclude everything that is not healthy food.
4. Being in the tummy, the child cannot want anything, so you should not justify overeating with the thought that if you want something, then the child needs it. During pregnancy, food preferences may indeed change, but this does not affect the amount eaten.
5. If you really feel a “ravenous appetite”, before you go to the refrigerator, think: maybe you are filled with anxieties, fears and worries, and your appetite has nothing to do with the body’s needs? Expectant mothers have a lot of reasons to worry, but it is better to find constructive ways to deal with surging emotions.
It is very important for expectant mothers to eat right, and overeating is dangerous not only for the woman, but also for her baby. Proper and moderate nutrition will help mom maintain not only health, but also the beauty of her own body. Following simple recommendations will help you adjust to the desired eating schedule and avoid overeating.
