Nutrition And Preconception Planning: Video Analysis

(Shepherd, 2008). According to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (2010), a main component of the WIC program focuses on maternal nutrition during pregnancy. Eligible mothers in the WIC program undergo an initial nutritional screening to allow for early detection of deficiencies and risks that later contribute to poor growth and health in infants. (New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, 2010). Participants are provided with nutritionists and counselors to develop a plan to eliminate any risks to the health of the mother and child. WIC also promotes a healthy lifestyle to prevent complications and disease during pregnancy and birth. Low maternal weight and poor weight gain in pregnancy have also been shown to add to the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and failure to initiate breast-feeding . Lack of proper nutrition during pregnancy can cause potential health problems for the child later in life, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. (Shepherd, 2008). According to Anne Ross, babies born to mothers with nutritionally-deficient diets are more likely to suffer from impaired brain development, low birth weight, and higher risk of disease development especially during early childhood. (2003). The WIC program allows for women to be referred to many public services including home care and social workers. WIC collaborates with various nutritional programs such as the Office of Nutrition and Fitness,

14. Folate deficiencies during pregnancy can cause malformations in the nervous system and the gastrointestinal system. It can also cause miscarriages and because folic acid is important in embryonic neural tube formation, natural selection favored people with dark pigmentation because they could produce healthy offspring.

Children who are malnourish and vitamin A deficient are two times more likely to die compare to those receiving a vitamin A supplement. This increase in mortality rate is due to the vulnerability state of the child that caused by lack of nutrition. Moreover, the scarcity of the proper mineral and vitamins for pregnant mothers has cause more than 13 million underweight and premature births. Over the years Vitamins B, D, and C have proven to cure disease such as pellagra, rickets and scurvy and although this might seem easy fixes for the richer

Since the beginning of time, the birth of a baby was a sign of a new life, and within today’s society, many of those lives start within a hospital with the assistance of different medical staff. Now, every family and parent is different in regards to the upbringing of their future child well before their birth, and in order to protect and support this idea; different programs were established within Canada. The Canadian Prenatal Nutrition Program which was established in 1995 can be considered one, as they work to provide support to the health and wellbeing of pregnant women within different communities. Within their program some prominent goals mentioned are: to improve maternal-infant health, increase birth weight rate, and promote breastfeeding

Development of children begins at conception however the parent’s health and lifestyle prior to conception could influence a baby development.

The two pieces of information that I was surprised about is the fact that it is recommended that pregnant women get a moderate amount of exercise during pregnancy, I had always thought that a pregnant woman should not exercise or exert any physical effort because it may harm the baby, I was also surprised to see that food safety was mentioned as part of a healthy eating pattern. I knew that you could become ill from undercooked food or unsanitary conditions but had never considered food safety as part of a healthy eating practice, I had always considered healthy eating as just choosing healthy foods to eat and not the food prep that goes along with eating healthy.

There are certain activities women at the end of the second trimester and beginning of third trimester can do in order to ensure healthy fetal development, which later contributes to healthy child development. The first suggested activity could be the intake of prenatal vitamins, especially folic acid, which is essential for proper growth and development in the fetal stage (American Pregnancy Association, 2012). This can be achieved through taking synthetic multivitamins specifically designed for pregnant women as well as ensuring a healthy diet full of colorful fruits and vegetables. Developmentally, folic acid intake during pregnancy is critical in order to prevent neural tube defects in the developing fetus, which would lead to physical and psychological issues in childhood (Heseker, 2011).

Prenatal vitamins are recommended to prevent birth defects. A study from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill published in 2009 found that women who took vitamins before or during pregnancy had a 57 percent lower risk of miscarriage compared to women who did not take vitamins. If these pregnant women would have realized it sooner they could’ve taken prenatal vitamins to prevent it. Lack of prenatal care, being underweight or overweight, and teens under 17 years old have a greater risk of having a miscarriage.

Deficiency of the micronutrient folate continues to significantly affect the health of pregnant women and their children, globally. A great cause of concern with folate deficiency is the occurrence of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) in new-born babies due to abnormal early foetal development. According to Greene et al. (2016), NTDs are abnormalities to the formation of the brain, spinal cord or related structures from early foetal development. The rate of the prevalence of NTDs varies between countries from 0.3 to 199.4 cases per 10,000 births. In Australia specifically, approximately 19.5 cases of NTDs occurred per 10,000 cases between 2009 and 2010 (Zaganjoy et al.,

We need to supplement minimum 400 microgram folic acid before and during pregnancy to prevent major birth defects of the baby’s brain and spine called neural tube defects. Dietary sources are fortified cereals, leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, dried

For healthy pregnancies, it is critical to promote healthy behaviors. Women who do not plan to become pregnant need to be aware of the prevention methods used for unwanted pregnancies. In addition, women who plan on becoming pregnant need to be aware that they affect the outcome of whether or not their infants are born healthy because of the way they take care of themselves and their unborn children during the prenatal stage. Understanding common infant health conditions and ways to prevent them may decrease the risk of babies born with medical problems.

Folic Acid is a B vitamin, specifically B9. It is an essential nutrient required by the body to create healthy new cells. While we hear about it mostly in regards to pregnancy, it is important to understand that the need for folic acid goes even beyond this. Folic acid is essential for the body to create red blood cells which in turn prevents anemia. It is also plays an important role in the metabolism of homocysteine, an amino acid.

It is thought that nutrients insufficiency plays crucial role in preeclampsia development in pregnant women. Micronutrients and vitamins have clinical antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and they are substantial for normal placentation by acting on placental endothelial function. In addition, nutrients contribute to the spiral artery remodeling and angiogenesis. (Ilekis et al., 2017).

In Australia, the reasonableness and effectiveness of folic acid being mandatorily fortified to support healthy pregnancy when considering the occurrence of NTDS in Australian children due to the amount their mothers have consumed of folic acid during pregnancy. The main purpose for creating a mandatory policy to include folic acid to the wheat flour of non-organic bread in Australia is to reduce the incidence of NTDs across the nation. Substantial rates of NTDs occur worldwide as significantly more folate is needed early in pregnancy than in other life stages. This early stage of pregnancy is often when women are unaware that they are pregnant. The folate is required for the development of the embryonic neural tube, which develops into

It is a recognised certainty that nutrition is a fundamental requirement to sustain a healthy lifestyle and is also extremely valuable when recovering from an illness or an injury. Nutrients are absorbed in the body and this physiological process is essential for homeostasis and ensuring equilibrium is sustained within the body as without enough food and drink the body will not function correctly (Edwards & Thomas, 2009). This essay will provide information on folic acid and its properties, its role and the midwife’s role and responsibility in informing women in the early stages of pregnancy