Nutrition
"We are what our mothers ate."
"Those who take medicine and neglect their diet waste the skill of the physician."
-Chinese proverb
One topic that is not "alternative," but is often overlooked in pregnancy counseling is nutrition. Broadening your knowledge of this important component of prenatal care will serve your patients well. A basic approach to nutritional wellness is standard of care; some of the topics discussed here could be considered complementary. Please remember to encourage your patients to optimize their nutrition before, during and after pregnancy and lactation.
There is more to optimal prenatal nutrition than folic acid.
Maternal nutritional status before pregnancy influences fertility, pregnancy, and fetal growth and development. Most of our medical training encourages us to prevent clear-cut nutrient deficiencies, such as protein/calorie, iron or folic acid levels.
(Kristen Taylor, strawberries at market, flickr. CC: BY 2.0. Downloaded on August 3, 2009.)
Recommendation for practice: A personal interview and counseling concerning the daily diet should be integrated into preconception and prenatal care. Individual supplementation should be offered, if indicated (Hadders-Algra et al, 2007).
On the following pages, you will explore some aspects of nutrition that deserve special attention during pregnancy. Click on the topics in the sidebar or follow the links below to access each of those topics.
Additional word of caution: Always encourage your patients to avoid mega doses of vitamins or botanicals during pregnancy, as their effects are not well researched.