What to eat before delivery
Release time : 03/14/2025 09:30:02
To ensure the mother has enough strength to give birth, it is necessary for expectant mothers to eat before childbirth to ensure energy supply.
However, as the countdown to childbirth begins, many expectant mothers are very anxious and often accompanied by contractions that cause sharp pain. This lack of appetite is quite unbearable.
Some thoughtful father-to-be will prepare some high-energy foods such as Red Bull and chocolate for his wife to eat a few mouthfuls during the intervals of labor.
Is it really beneficial for production to eat these things? What should pregnant women eat before childbirth? What foods are harmful to childbirth? Both fathers and mothers need to accurately master this information so that childbirth can proceed smoothly and safely bring their baby into the world! What to eat before childbirth, as the labor approaches, is a source of fear. The contractions and pain continue to invade, some expectant mothers cannot maintain calmness, and appetite is affected.
I don't want to eat or even drink water.
These factors are actually quite unfavorable for childbirth.
In fact, labor is equivalent to heavy physical labor. The mother must have enough energy supply to have good uterine contractility to open the cervical opening and have the physical strength to expel the baby from the uterus.
If you don't eat and drink well, it will cause dehydration, cause insufficient blood circulation throughout the body, reduce the amount of blood supplied to the placenta, and cause hypoxia in the fetus in the womb.
Due to bursts of uterine contraction pain, it often affects the appetite of the mother.
Pregnant women should learn the "flexible tactics" of eating between contractions.
Diet should be rich in sugars, proteins, vitamins and soluble.
According to the mother's own hobbies, you can choose some snacks and staples that are easy to buy and make.
Eat 4-5 times a day and eat less and more meals.
The body needs water can be replenished by juice, fruits, sugar water and plain water.
Be careful not to be too hungry or overeat.
Some expectant mothers don't understand nutrition and listen to the elderly saying,"Eat more eggs and grow stronger, and the child will be healthy." They aim to swallow ten eggs in one go before childbirth. Be careful to do this backfire! Not to mention the high cholesterol content of eggs, normal people should not eat more than 2 eggs a day. The body's absorption of nutrients is not unlimited. When too much is ingested, the "excess" part is excreted through the intestines and urinary tract.
Eating too much is a small matter. Because it increases the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, it can also cause food deprivation, indigestion, abdominal distension, vomiting, and even more serious consequences.
Pregnant women eat 1-2 eggs per meal, which is enough and can be supplemented with other nutrients.
When preparing your diet before childbirth, remember to focus on four key points: 1. Foods that are high in nutritional value and calorie content.
Common ones are: eggs, milk, lean meat, fish, shrimp and soybean products.
For the needs of the mothers to energy, it is very beneficial for the mothers to eat some chocolate before childbirth, but the amount of chocolate should not be too much.
Chocolate is rich in fats and sugar, high in calories, especially suitable for those who can not eat food.
2. During childbirth, women will sweat a lot and consume more water.
Therefore, before labor, you should eat semi-liquid soft foods with more water content, such as noodles, rice porridge, etc.
Drink the soup in moderation, because although the soup is nutritious and has low energy, pregnant women with poor appetite may not have the appetite to eat food that can fill their stomachs after drinking the soup.
3. When pregnant women enter labor, they should adopt a method of benefiting the orifices and slipping the fetus in diet regulation, which has a positive effect on promoting childbirth, shortening the labor process, and reducing labor pain.
Especially for those with primipara, large carcass or sluggish birth orifice, it is even more important.
Foods related to this include winter daisy leaves, amaranth, purslane, cow's milk, honey, Chinese fungus, rabbit brain, etc.
Eating these foods can greatly benefit childbirth.
4. Folk custom is to let pregnant women eat white sugar or brown sugar eggs or eat bowls of shredded pork noodles, egg custard, etc. before labor. These are more suitable diets before labor.
However, eating too much eggs will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, and can also cause "stopping eating", indigestion, abdominal distension, vomiting, and even more serious consequences. The statement that "eating more eggs is conducive to giving birth to children" is not scientific.
Pregnant women eat 1-2 eggs per meal, which is enough nutrition.
What to eat before labor helps childbirth Different foods have different effects. Some foods are helpful for opening the uterus and childbirth, and some foods have high nutritional value and sufficient energy, making them suitable for pregnant women with poor appetites.
Eating these foods before labor can help childbirth: 1. Oranges. Oranges have the effect of strengthening the elasticity and resilience of blood vessels. Eating more oranges before delivery can avoid major bleeding during the production process, and can also prevent continued major bleeding after delivery.
After giving birth to a child, a pregnant woman has a large wound on the endometrium and a lot of bleeding, but it can be well prevented by eating oranges.
In addition, oranges also have the effect of clearing breast. Eating a moderate amount of oranges can also solve the problem of too little milk and prevent acute mastitis when the mammary duct is not unobstructed.
2. Blood loss is easy to occur during banana production, so a large amount of blood is needed after childbirth, but it is impossible to replenish sufficient blood in a short time.
Most pregnant women like to rest in bed during pregnancy, which leads to poor gastrointestinal peristalsis and induces constipation.
Experts suggest that expectant mothers should eat more bananas before giving birth. This is because bananas contain a lot of dietary fiber and iron, which can help with constipation and blood circulation.
In prenatal, through the eating of bananas, it can prevent the postpartum extreme anemia.
3. The consumption of longans during pregnancy is not beneficial, and it may exacerbate internal heat.
However, consuming lychees before childbirth is very beneficial.
Pregnant women need to expend a lot of physical strength during childbirth.
Pregnant women with weak constitution often experience weakness in hands and feet, dizziness, and sweating during labor.
Drinking longan soup at this time has certain benefits for increasing physical strength, stabilizing emotions, and helping childbirth.
When a pregnant woman develops symptoms such as dizziness, sweating, thin pulses and pale tongue, taking a bowl of longan soup at this time can play a good role in replenishing qi and nourishing blood.
If the mother has slight edema, drinking this soup often has a positive therapeutic effect.
4. Supplementing with Vitamin C in prenatal preparations can be beneficial for childbirth.
The jujube contains the most vitamin C, and also has a lot of glucose and protein.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that red dates are the best tonic among fruits. They have the effects of replenishing the spleen and activating the stomach, replenishing qi and promoting fluid production, regulating blood vessels, and resolving all poisons. They are especially suitable for people with weak spleen and stomach and insufficient qi and blood after childbirth.
It tastes sweet and has a variety of ways to eat it. It is delicious and eaten raw, or it can be boiled porridge and steamed rice.
5. Hawthorn can promote uterine contractions and is not suitable for eating during pregnancy, but eating before childbirth can help childbirth.
At the same time, hawthorn contains a large amount of hawthorn acid and citric acid, which can promote saliva production and quench thirst, as well as dissipate blood stasis. Consumption of hawthorn in moderation by postpartum women also has certain therapeutic effects.
Consumption of appropriate amounts of hawthorn during pregnancy and postpartum can achieve the effect of dispersing blood stasis and promoting blood circulation, as well as assisting in the expulsion of uterine blood stasis.
What to Avoid Before Childbirth: It's important to plan your diet in advance for the time before childbirth.
From the eighth month of pregnancy, the fetus grows rapidly. The fetus's weight is generally increased at this stage.
The main features are that the brain, bones, blood vessels, muscles and other organs are fully formed at this time, and various organs develop maturely. The skin gradually becomes tough, and subcutaneous fat increases.
If the nutrition intake of pregnant women is not reasonable, or too much, it will make the fetus grow too big and cause difficult labor when the baby is born.
Thus, it is imperative to rationally arrange the diet of this period's pregnant women.
At this time, pregnant women should prepare for childbirth by adjusting their diet.
Dietary habits during this period should be characterized by a moderate quantity, richness, and variety. A common approach is to eat smaller meals frequently, with appropriate control over the quantity of food consumed, especially high-protein and high-fat foods.
Dietary seasoning should be light, less salty food is to eat, the daily salt intake in the diet should control under 7 grams, not to drink a large amount of water.
At the same time, pregnant women should choose small-sized and high-nutrition foods, such as animal products, and avoid large-sized and low-nutrition foods, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes to alleviate feeling of fullness in the stomach.
Special care should be taken to ensure that sufficient calcium is consumed, and while pregnant women should include foods rich in calcium in their diet, it is also important to consume vitamins.
Pregnant women should choose foods with small volume and high nutritional value, ensuring that they receive sufficient nutrition while maintaining a balanced intake of nutrients.
Pregnant women should consume sufficient quality protein and essential fatty acids, and eat more plant-based oils.
Regular dietary habits should include moderation in salt intake, and it is advisable to consume fewer high-calorie foods, sweets, rice, and bread. Instead, focus on consuming a variety of high-quality proteins such as eggs, milk, meat, and soy products. It is also important to consider the consumption of other nutritionally beneficial foods.
Upon entering a hospital for childbirth, some women may choose to eat foods high in fiber, such as sweet potatoes and beans, out of revenge. However, it's important to note that too much fiber from vegetables or fruits is not advisable.
Crude fiber will produce more feces. When you officially start to hold your breath hard, you may also screen the feces out, which will make you quite embarrassed.
By the same token, it is best to eat less spicy or heavy smelling garlic, leeks, etc., otherwise it will make doctors and nurses miserable and embarrass yourself.
Principle of Feeding Before Labor: 1. Eat Small Meals Frequently The most sagacious expectant mothers experience reduced digestive enzyme secretion in their gastrointestinal tract, resulting in an increased time from the stomach to the small intestine, which is approximately six hours. This can lead to food accumulation, so it is recommended to eat smaller meals frequently as per personal habits.
If contractions are frequent, you can take a short break during the intervals to eat a small amount of food.
2. Nutritional supplementation should not be excessive for pregnant women as overly rich diets can burden the digestive system and may even lead to more severe consequences such as "gastroparesis."
To ensure nutritional balance and diversity, some low-calorie foods should be avoided.
3. Vitamin C can reduce the risk of childbirth, and vitamin C is very beneficial for childbirth.
Pregnant women who are deficient in Vitamin C are prone to premature rupture of membranes, and the risk of childbirth is significantly increased.
Experiments have shown that Vitamin C is helpful in maintaining nutrition in white blood cells and preventing premature rupture of membranes.
Recipes that can help with labor are recommended. Natural childbirth will consume most of a mother's energy and strength. If the appetite is poor during labor, and there is insufficient energy storage, it will cause trouble for natural childbirth.
Before the onset of labor, mothers should eat foods rich in nutrients and low in fat and caloric content. This not only benefits their bodies but also stores energy for the impending delivery.
It is best to avoid consuming soups and other liquids during meals, as they do not provide satiety.
Eating cereals as staple foods is better for childbirth, and also provides the source of nutrients for the baby.
Tofu skin porridge: 50 grams of tofu skin, 100 grams of japonica rice, and appropriate amount of rock sugar.
Rinse the tofu skin in clear water and cut it into shreds.
Wash the japonica rice, add it to the pot and add appropriate amount of water. First, boil it over strong heat, then use slow fire to boil until the porridge is ready. Add tofu skin and rock sugar, and cook until the porridge is ready.
It has the effects of replenishing qi and relaxing the bowels, protecting abortion and promoting abortion.
Eating before labor can make the fetus slippery and easy labor and shorten the labor process. It is a good health care product during labor.
Purslane porridge: 150 grams of fresh purslane, 100 grams of japonica rice, a little refined salt and monosodium glutamate, and a proper amount of water.
Wash purslane, blanch it in boiling water, remove it, rinse off the mucus, and cut it into shredded pieces.
Wash the japonica rice thoroughly.
Put the pan on fire and add water and japonica rice. When cooked until half-cooked, add purslane, continue to cook until the porridge is complete, season with refined salt and monosodium glutamate, and serve.
Matricaria is effective in discharging heat, reducing swelling, benefiting the intestines, and facilitating fetal descent. It also has detoxifying and promoting urinary passage properties. Japonica rice is beneficial for stomach nourishment.
It has the effects of strengthening the spleen and stomach, clearing heat, cooling blood, promoting diuresis, and aiding childbirth. It is beneficial for consumption before labor to facilitate easy delivery and reduce miscarriage.
Winter Colocasia Vegetable Soup: 250g of purple colocasia, 100g of Japonica rice, refined salt, monosodium glutamate.
Winter sorrel, clean and cut into fine pieces.
Rinse the japonica rice.
Put the pan on fire and add water and japonica rice, cook until the porridge is ready, add winter amaranth, refined salt, and lard, and cook briefly.
The porridge is fragrant, sweet and refreshing.
It has the effects of clearing heat, smoothing orifices, and delivering smoothly.
It is suitable for patients with pain due to hot rain and short urine.
If eaten before labor, it can slip the fetus to midwifery.
Before labor, mothers should eat foods with high nutritional content and low fat and heat content, which not only supplements the body, stores energy for the upcoming delivery, but also provides a source of nutritional reserves for the fetus in the abdomen.
The medical part covered in this article is for reading and reference only.
If you feel unwell, it is recommended to seek medical attention immediately, and the medical diagnosis and treatment will be subject to offline diagnosis.