Want to know what you should be eating during your eighth month of pregnancy?
Hi!
My name is Melanie McGrice, and I'm a perinatal dietitian.
Today we're going to talk about what you can do to optimise your diet and exercise during
your eight month of pregnancy.
Stay tuned!
Your baby has now grown to the size of an iceberg lettuce and is pretty much fully developed;
the next few weeks will be purely about plumping her up.
She will start moving into the birth canal to be ready for delivery.
This means that you will be able to breath a bit more easily, but the pressure on your
bladder and bowel will increase.
Constipation and urgently needing to wee are among the biggest concerns at this stage of
pregnancy, so this is the time to focus on your fibre intake.
Make sure you include plenty of insoluble fibre in your diet - the skin on fruit and
vegetables, plus the pips, seeds and stringy bits - as opposed to soluble fibre, which
is the fleshy part of fruit and vegetables, and bread, rice and pasta.
Tips I give my soon-to-be mums are to leave the skin on fruits and vegetables wherever
possible, eat a piece of fruit or vegie sticks at every snack, and include vegetables or
a salad at lunch AND dinner.
Also, try to increase your intake of wholegrains and choose higher fibre, unrefined options
such as brown rice and multigrain bread.
These less refined wholegrains also contain more iron, which is another advantage at this
stage.
If you are feeling constipated, prunes, sultanas, figs and other dried fruit are particularly
rich in insoluble fibre and can help to get your bowels going.
I know that you have started weeing more, but you also need to drink more water, not
less.
Being dehydrated will make your constipation worse because you'll end up with hard dehydrated
poo, instead of soft, easier to evacuate motions.
Also, urinary tract infections can be another inconvenience at this stage and are more common
when you are dehydrated.
Carry a bottle of water with you at all times, and keep sipping away.
Your wee should be clear or the colour of sauvignon blanc, not a straw-coloured chardonnay.
Aim to get through a minimum of two litres of water by the end of each day, although
many of you will actually need more than this.
And if you've got a UTI you'll actually need an extra 1.5L of water on top of that as well
Now remember, if you are thirsty, you're already dehydrated. So drink before you get thirsty.
Whenever I think about constipation, I think about the 'three Fs': fibre, fluid and fitness.
Exercise is great for constipation as it helps to get the muscles around the bowel moving.
A couple of classes a week is not enough to prevent constipation when you have a 3kg weight
sitting on your bowels.
Aim to exercise daily to reduce constipation, even if it just means going for a 20-minute
walk.
I've put together a 7 day pregnancy meal plan to help you eat more healthily during pregnancy.
To download it now, all you have to do is click the link below.
I look forward to chatting to you again soon!
Mwah!