Download Pregnant and Lactating Women Assessment

Zahia – Nutrition Assessment Task 12R3 – Pregnant and Lactating Women
Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the womb of a
female. During pregnancy women’s bodies work harder than usual to grow a new life within. With the
added workload comes greater nutrition and food safety needs to support the body, and to give the
baby the optimum start to life, during this time. Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the
mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. Human milk is
optimally designed to meet an individual’s baby's needs for growth and development.
Hure A, Young A, Smith R & Collins C. conducted a study on pregnant women, named Diet and
pregnancy status in Australian women for Public Health Nutrition, 2009. Pregnancy status was defined
as pregnant, trying to conceive, and had a baby in the last 12 months. The Dietary Questionnaire for the
study was used to calculate diet quality using the Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS)
methodology. Nutrient intakes were compared with the Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and
New Zealand. A nationally representative sample of 7486 Australian women were sureyed, aged 25 to
30 years. The results concluded that pregnancy status was not significantly predictive of diet quality,
before or after adjusting for area of residence and socio-economic status. Pregnant women and those
who had given birth in the previous 12 months had marginally higher ARFS than ‘other’ women. No
single food group accounted for this small difference. Across all pregnancy categories there were
important nutrients that did not meet the current nationally recommended levels of intake, including
dietary folate and fibre. In conclusion it was found that women do not appear to consume a wider
variety of nutritious foods when planning to become pregnant or during pregnancy. Many young
Australian women are failing to meet key nutrient targets as nationally recommended.
Breastfeeding cause changes in, and place extra demands on, women’s bodies. Some of these may
affect their bones. Most women do not experience bone problems during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
And if their bones are affected during these times, the problem often is corrected easily. Nevertheless,
taking care of one’s bone health is especially important during pregnancy and breastfeeding, for the
good health of both the mother and her baby. Some studies suggest that pregnancy may be good for
bone health overall. Some evidence suggests that the more times a woman has been pregnant (for at
least 28 weeks), the greater her bone density and the lower her risk of fracture. In some cases, women
develop osteoporosis during pregnancy or breastfeeding, although this is rare. Osteoporosis is bone loss
that is serious enough to result in fragile bones and increased risk of fracture. In many cases, women
who develop osteoporosis during pregnancy or breastfeeding will recover lost bone after childbirth or
after they stop breastfeeding. It is less clear whether teenage mothers can recover lost bone and go on
to optimize their bone mass.
Pregnant and lactating women need extra vitamins, minerals and nutrients to provide for their baby.
The best way of obtaining these vitamins is through the women’s diet. Preventing food poisoning and
protecting oneself from other food risks is extremely important. Pregnant women are required to
consume Folate - A B vitamin which prevent birth abnormalities such as spina-bifida, Iron - Pregnancy
increases women’s need for iron due to blood loss found in green vegetables and cooked legumes,
Calcium - essential to keep women and their baby’s developing bones healthy and strong found in dairy
foods, Omega 3 which is important for the development of the central nervous system, brain growth
and eye development in a woman’s baby before and after he/she is born found in e.g. oily fish, Iodine -
Zahia – Nutrition Assessment Task 12R3 – Pregnant and Lactating Women
which is required for healthy thyroid function in both the mother and unborn baby found in e.g.
idodized salt, Zinc - which is particularly important for the rapid cell growth that occurs during
pregnancy which can be found in lean meat, wholegrain cereals, milk, seafood, legumes and nuts,
Vitamin C – this need is increased in pregnancy due to larger blood volume in the mother and the
growth of the unborn baby, found in citrus fruits and water of which eight glasses a day is required.
Nutrient needs for lactation are generally the same as pregnancy needs except the need for iron is much
less. Lactating women usually don't menstruate so their need for iron is even less than that of a nonpregnant woman that is having regular menstrual cycles.
Pregnant women can suffer from various nutritional diseases and health issues such as Anemia – Lower
than normal number of healthy red blood cells, Gestational diabetes – Too high blood sugar levels
during pregnancy and Depression – Extreme sadness during pregnancy or after birth (postpartum).
Lactating women can suffer from Sore Nipples, Breast Pain, Nipple Blisters, Thrush, Mastitis – Causing
fever and flu-like symptoms (nausea & vomiting) and Body aches, One side of the breast can become
larger than the other, Breast lumps may occur and breasts might become itchy.
An effective day’s menu for a pregnant and/or lactating women would be as followed: Breakfast: Cereal
and milk – For fiber and calcium intake to decrease constipation and to keep bones healthy and strong
and to support the lactation of the child. Lunch: Tuna sandwich on wholegrain bread with a slice of
cheese and baby spinach and a bottle of water – For Omega 3 intake for the development of the central
nervous system, brain growth and eye development of the baby, fibre to prevent constipation, calcium
to keep bones healthy and strong and support the lactation of the child and iron to replace lost blood.
Snack: Oranges, papaya and kiwi fruit cuts, and a bottle of water – Vitamin C due to larger blood volume
in the mother and the growth of the unborn baby. Dinner: Lean beef with a side of broccoli, kidney and
lima beans with iodized salt and orange juice – Iron and zinc to replace lost blood and support rapid cell
growth, iodine for healthy thyroid function in both the mother and unborn baby and Vitamin C to
support larger blood volume
A recommended strategy to promote optimum health through good nutrition for pregnant and/or
lactating women would be to follow a well balanced diet with sufficient calorie intake, Check their
thyroid due to millions of women suffering from an underactive metabolism, also known as
hypothyroidism, which often goes undiagnosed; Hypothyroidism accounts for more than 6 percent of
miscarriages and can be cause for learning disabilities in the child so the earlier it is detected the more
effective, be sure to drink plenty of water because it is easy to become dehydrated whilst
pregnant/lactating and to consume fish oil so that the baby can develop healthy and optimal brain
tissue, ensuring that the fish oil has been tested to make sure that it does not have mercury or other
problematic compounds.