Pre-pregnancy nutrition

Gestation is a period of great transformations in the woman's body that requires the best conditions of health, nutrition, interpersonal and environmental relationships to enjoy a healthy pregnancy. The decision to initiate pregnancy should be made jointly with the couple, since both should be willing to live this experience in harmony and with responsibility.

It is recommended to plan the pregnancy, preferably after the age of 20 and before the age of 35; in addition, you should wait at least two years after the last birth, to conceive the next child.

Ideally, women who wish to become pregnant should go to the Preconception Care consultation at least one year before pregnancy to assess their health situation; but if pregnancy has taken you by surprise, as it often happens, start the medical control as soon as possible and comply to the letter with its recommendations.

How to prepare for a healthy pregnancy?

• Go to the doctor a year before pregnancy to assess the health status, medical history and possible hereditary diseases that affect the family. These consultations will also help you to start the pregnancy with the ideal weight, control vitamin and mineral deficiencies, have an optimal vaccination, avoid indiscriminate consumption of drugs and follow a healthy lifestyle.

• Quitting alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. The consumption of these substances, even in small quantities during pregnancy can cause irreversible damage to the baby; therefore, it is advisable to give up these vices long before becoming pregnant so as not to suffer the negative effects of abstinence during this stage.

• Eat a balanced diet aimed at ensuring the optimal nutritional status of the woman for the beginning of pregnancy. Pre-pregnancy nutrition strategies should be followed throughout a woman's fertile life, to prevent any nutritional deficiency from jeopardizing the initial stage of an unplanned pregnancy.

• Regular moderate physical exercise, such as walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, dancing, etcetera.

Tips for a healthy diet before becoming pregnant

• Eating enough fruits, vegetables and greens daily is an effective way to obtain significant amounts of vitamins, minerals and bioactive substances that contribute to the maintenance of health.

• Include in the daily diet at least four servings of products made with whole grains (wheat, rice, oats, corn, barley).

• Daily intake of at least three servings of skimmed dairy products (milk, yogurt or cottage cheese).

• Alternate the consumption of animal proteins -eggs, fish, poultry and lean meats-. Avoid frequent consumption of fatty or processed meats.

• Plan at least three weekly servings of legumes and five servings of nuts.

• Consume three times a week foods containing healthy fats, including omega 3 and omega 6. For example, oily fish -salmon, anchovies, tuna, mackerel, etc.-; nuts, avocado and vegetable oils -olive, sunflower, corn, soybean, etc.-.

• Reduce consumption of sweets, fried foods, canned foods, industrial soft drinks, coffee and tea.

Is it important to maintain a healthy weight before pregnancy?

Overweight and obesity during pregnancy can cause multiple health disorders to the mother and child, however, during pregnancy is not the right time to perform restrictive diets in order to lose weight, since the pregnant woman needs to increase the nutritional intake of the diet to ensure the increased demand for energy and nutrients that metabolic processes and optimal development of the fetus require.

On the other hand, it must be taken into account that in the early stages the fetus is nourished by maternal reserves, so that the pregnant woman who starts her pregnancy with low weight can contribute to the restriction of fetal growth, which increases the risk of death in the first weeks after delivery and the delay of the baby's growth until two years of age.

For all these reasons, it is necessary to eliminate obesity, overweight and underweight before conception and to arrive at pregnancy with an ideal body mass index (BMI).

Important nutrients in the pre-pregnancy period

Folic acid (vitamin B9): Folic acid is involved in the elaboration of neurotransmitters and intervenes as a cofactor in DNA synthesis in cells. Folic acid has been shown to reduce the risk of birth defects in the baby's brain and spinal cord - known as "neural tube defects". Neural tube defects cause paralysis, lack of bowel and bladder control and learning difficulties.

Folic acid is especially beneficial around 28 days after conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy, so it is recommended that women take a minimum of 0.4 milligrams of folic acid supplements daily at least one month prior to conception and continue during pregnancy to ensure that their needs are met.

Folic acid can also be obtained through the diet, especially in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, chard, and lettuce; in addition, legumes - lentils, chickpeas, etc. - and some fruits also provide folic acid. Foods rich in folate should be consumed fresh and uncooked, since cooking and prolonged storage periods easily destroy them.

Calcium: It is advisable to fortify the bones before conception, since if there are deficiencies in the calcium content of the diet during pregnancy, the body mobilizes the mother's bone reserves, increasing the risk of women developing osteoporosis later in life. A diet that includes three or more servings of milk or its derivatives could be enough to increase calcium reserves, however, specialists can guide supplementation if they consider that the daily intake is not adequate.

Iron: Iron deficiencies and anemias are frequent in women mainly due to the effects of the menstrual period, since bleeding causes frequent iron losses. Therefore, it is convenient to treat iron deficiencies during the preconception period. The best sources of iron are the red meats -lamb, lamb, etc.- and the viscera -liver and heart-. Poultry and fish also provide iron. In some cases, specialists recommend iron supplementation.

Risks of pregnancy in adolescence

• Pregnant adolescents require higher nutritional intake than adult women, since they need to cover the demands of their own development and those of the fetus. This situation causes competition for nutrients from both organisms, increasing the risk of malnutrition in both mother and child. For example, anemia is very common in adolescent pregnant women.

• Most adolescent pregnancies occur suddenly, without having guaranteed certain essential nutritional conditions, such as the weight of the pregnant woman, and the necessary vitamin and mineral intakes to avoid disorders in the baby, such as neural tube defects; this is why fetal malformations are one of the most frequent and important complications of these pregnancies.

• The immaturity of the tissues and the incomplete bone development of the adolescent's pelvis increase the risk of fetal malposition, slow deliveries, cesarean sections and even asphyxia and death.

• Gestations in adolescent mothers have higher incidence rates of preterm and extremely preterm delivery, low birth weight and very low birth weight.

• A high percentage of pregnant adolescents feel socially stigmatized, which causes depression, stress and anxiety that can manifest itself even after delivery.