A healthy diet is every bit as important before pregnancy as during it, because it helps set the stage for a healthy pregnancy and makes pregnancy more likely.
Significance
During pregnancy, a woman's body provides the developing baby with all of its oxygen and nutrition. Because cells need nutritional molecules such as proteins, carbohydrates and fats to produce energy, these are important to a growing baby. In addition, healthy bodies need vitamins and minerals to engage in normal physiological and metabolic functions, explains Dr. Lauralee Sherwood in her book "Human Physiology." Because a woman's health status before pregnancy sets the stage for her pregnancy, prepregnancy diet is very important.
Function
Dr. Miriam Stoppard says in her book "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth" that certain aspects of prepregnancy diet can affect the likelihood of a woman conceiving -- and if she does, of successfully carrying the baby. Early exposure of embryos to toxins -- including high doses of caffeine and any quantity of alcohol -- makes miscarriage much more likely. Furthermore, women who are very overweight or underweight have difficulty with fertility, such that a woman who has a healthy prepregnancy diet and is at a healthy weight is most likely to conceive.
Considerations
Dr. Stoppard further notes that a crucial period of pregnancy passes most women by before they're even aware that they're pregnant. Although some women, particularly those who hope to conceive, use pregnancy tests immediately upon missing a period, many women wait until four or more weeks after conception to test for pregnancy. During the first four weeks after conception, embryos are very sensitive to toxins in the mother's body. Furthermore, they're sensitive to deficiencies in certain vitamins, such as folic acid.
Benefits
A healthy prepregnancy diet provides several benefits to the mother and baby, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What To Expect When You're Expecting." The diet gets the mother's body ready for the rigors of carrying a baby and ensures she has plenty of stored vitamins. Diets rich in folic acid help prevent neural tube defects in the developing baby, which lead to malformations such as spina bifida. Finally, eliminating toxins such as excess caffeine from prepregnancy diet helps prevent early miscarriage and increases the odds of successful conception.
Expert Insight
With regard to alcohol, experts are split upon its place in a prepregnancy diet. Some feel that it increases odds of conception because it increases sex drive and makes sex more likely, notes Dr. Stoppard. Others feel that since it's possible to be pregnant for some time without knowing it, prepregnancy alcohol presents a potential risk for fetal damage or miscarriage. Dr. Stoppard recommends that women who might conceive test regularly for pregnancy so that if they choose to use alcohol, they can stop doing so as soon as they find out they're pregnant.
References
- "Human Physiology"; Lauralee Sherwood, Ph.D.; 2004
- "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth"; Miriam Stoppard, M.D.; 2008
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
