Physician advises pregnant women to cultivate good eating habit

Tue, Nov 10, 2020
By editor
2 MIN READ

Health

A consultant physician, Dr. Philip Ogwu on Tuesday advised pregnant women to imbibe regular monitoring of their food intakes to avoid complications of gaining unnecessary weight during pregnancy.

Ogwu gave the advice during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

According to him, heavier mothers, especially those who are overweight when they conceive and gain more weight during pregnancy are at greater risk for gestational diabetes and hypertension.

“Their babies tend to be larger in the process and can cause serious difficulties during delivery or child-birth,” he said.

The medical expert disagreed with the old belief and tradition that eating plenty of food would produce healthier and stronger babies.

He also advised pregnant women to do regular exercises in order to keep fit and guard against overweight.

“You don’t need to gain a great deal of weight to have a healthier baby.

“A fetus generally requires only an extra 100 calories a day in the first trimester and 300 calories in the third trimester,” he said.

Ogwu also emphasized the need for pregnant women to prioritize dental examination to prevent mother-to-child transmission of bacteria and infections during pregnancy.

According to him, such a procedure is necessary, especially at the early stage of pregnancy to ensure a better health status for both mother and child.

“One possible reason is that oral bacteria harbours prostaglandin, a labour inducing hormone. The fluctuating hormone can cause swollen, bleeding gum.

“This, if left untreated can lead to periodontal diseases, which in turn can raise the risk for low birth weight and premature delivery.

“If you reduce the bacteria in the mouth, you reduce the low-level infections that can cause preterm labour.

“So, pregnant women are advised to undertake clinical examination and cleaning of their teeth at least once to have a clean bill of health,” he said. (NAN)

– Nov. 10, 2020 @ 17:35 GMT |

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