Advice

Food

Concerning the topic of food, it’s important that you take a few things into account:

• Concerning the vitamin-A accumulation, it’s important that you reduce the number of times you eat (baked)liver, paté, liverwurst or any kind of organic meat to once every two weeks, preferably less.
• Don’t eat any raw meat (filet Americain, roast beef etc.). because of the toxoplasm parasite. Raw fish is allowed, but only when fresh.
• Be careful with cat feces: leave cleaning of the litterbox to someone else. Use gloves for work in the garden (also because of the toxoplasm parasite).
• Always wash vegetable carefully, including pre-packed, pre-sliced ones.
• Prefer whole wheat bread and pericarp rice above white bread and white rice. Eat vegetables and (dried)fruits every day, to stimulate your intestines to absorb as many minerals and vitamins as possible.
• Avoid eating soft cheeses made of raw (not-sterilized or pasteurized) milk, concerning the listeria bacteria. On the covers you will find ‘au lait cru’ or ‘raw-milk’s’ cheese. The listeria bacteria can also occur in pre-packed, smoked fish. the VWA (Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit) does not recommend use of pre-packed, smoked fish in cold dishes. However, it’s okay to use these products in dishes that you need to heat the fish for (minimum of 85 degrees), like oven dishes or warm sauces.
• For the rest: eat what you like, you don’t have to eat for two. We don’t recommend dieting during pregnancy .
• Make sure you drink 1.5 -2 liter per day, preferably water or herbal teas. Don’t drink a lot of soft drinks because they contain a lot of sugar. Don’t drink too much coffee or black tea.

Smoking and drug use

Smoking narrows the veins. This causes the baby to get less food and oxygene than needed. It could cut back in growth. Furthermore, the value of the veins in the placenta gets less, causing a greater risk of problems concerning the placenta. A baby with a smoking mother not only has lower birth weight, but also, among others, has an increased chance of premature rupture of the membranes, death in utero and an increased chance to die of cot death. Also, recent research shows us smoking can cause certain differences in the skeleton and at an older age a higher risk of high blood pressure. All midwives have had a training at Stivoro, and can provide you with information about stopping smoking.

Alcohol reaches your baby through the placenta. Research shows that this has some serious negative effects on the development of the child. We recommend total abstinence of alcohol during pregnancy.

Pregnant women using drugs will be guided by a gynecologist during pregnancy, concerning the increased risk of complications.

If not necessary, don’t use any medications. If necessary, inform your doctor of midwife. This should also be taken into account for vitamin preparations and homeopathic drugs that are not especially for pregnant women. Normal vitamin preparations contain lots of vitamin A. If you want to use vitamins, always use a preparation that’s exclusively developed for pregnancy.

Sports

During pregnancy you can continue most sports.

Sauna visit

Profitable for heart and veins and for preventing the keeping of excessive fluid. For the first 3 months: take it easy and don’t let yourself get too warm. We advise never to stay longer than 10-15 minutes in a sauna and never longer than the time you were used to before pregnancy.

Sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse during pregnancy does not damage the child, for the baby is well protected. However, experience of making love can change during pregnancy for the pregnant women and her partner. It is important to be open about this and to talk about it.

Only in very special cases we advise against making love, we will inform you about this. It is very normal to lose a few drops of blood during the intercourse. This has nothing to do with the child, but is merely a result of the fact that the cervix contains a lot of blood.

Pregnancy courses

We advise all women to attend a pregnancy course. You’ll get to know other pregnant women and you can exchange experiences. You learn a lot about pregnancy, giving birth and the time afterwards. Also, you practice breathing and pressing techniques. If you already have a baby, it grants you the opportunity to experience pregnancy consciously and to create a moment of rest for you and this pregnancy, despite the of your daily life and family.

There are several courses like yoga, haptonomy, mensendieck, gymnastics and courses for pregnant women and their partners. We have flyers and Phone numbers. Some yoga courses start early, but most courses start around 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Natural medicine

Many women suffer from several complaints during pregnancy, like tiredness, nausia, insomnia, backaches, constipation etc. For some of these complaints there is no treatment in regular medical science, for some there is one, but sometimes you are not allowed to use them during pregnancy. Sometimes natural medicine provides the solution. We are connected to a foot reflexuologist, acupuncturist and a homeopath, and we can refer you if you wish.