You know the phrase, "You are what you eat." Well, for a pregnant woman, her newborn becomes what she eats too.
A study of pregnant baboons shows that when a mom-to-be eats a high-fat, calorie-loaded diet, her offspring ends up with faulty heart development. The child is also likely to be born insulin-resistant, increasing the risk for Type 2 diabetes.
That's why it’s so important to adopt a healthy diet, take prenatal multivitamins with DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid), and achieve a healthy weight leading up to and throughout your pregnancy.
But in 2022, almost 60% of women who gave birth were overweight or obese. So if you’re expecting (or intending to be expecting), here’s what you need to do:
• If you want to become pregnant and are overweight or obese, ask your doctor for a referral to a nutritionist and get a prescription for physical activity.
• Enlist your posse for support. Get a workout buddy. Join local groups that engage in regular exercise.
• Find "you time" to meditate so that you can reduce stress that may derail you.
• Make upgrading your nutrition a friends-and-family project. Use Dr. Mike's "What to Eat When Cookbook" to help you ditch red and processed meats, sugar-added foods and beverages, and highly processed foods — and get seven to nine servings of fruit and veggies a day.
And don't forget that you and your partner need to take prenatal vitamins for at least six weeks (hopefully for six months) before conception.