Eat well when pregnant

Ok so why eat well when you are pregnant - and even before you are pregnant? As I mentioned in the last entry - poor fetal nourishment creates all sorts of problems..

Babies get off to a better start when they are full-term and of "normal" weight.... Babies under 5 lbs are considered at risk as are many babies born before term - which is around 40 weeks. Yes there are many babies who "make it" who are early and under weight.. and modern medicine will increase most babies chances of surviving... and many will be fine in the long run.. but my usual question is "how much different would their lives be if they were of weight and full term?" Of course we'll never know - but please think about it..A lot of how your baby starts life is in your choices when you are pregnant...Anything that leads to a premature birth and/or low weight birth has the potential to be harmful to the baby for no other reason that the baby is early and/or underweight.

So now you have a newborn.. Congratulations and now what do you feed the baby? That's not a trick question. You feed a baby breast milk - your breast milk is the ideal food for your baby.. Forget what the TV and stores tell you about the wonderful stuff in powder and liquid forms - "just like mother's milk" - right - and as we used to say when I was a kid "There's a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in." Nothing is like mother's milk - mother's milk is filled with all sorts of wonderful food substances that are great for growing bodies...especially new bodies : ) I know some women say they can't breast feed- but unless you have some physical ailment that keeps you from breast feeding - do it!

Actually I am not sure why all women do not breast feed- It's the easiest way to feed a baby. No bottles to wash, no formulas to "get ready," and absolutely nothing to prepare. As a tired parent - breast feeding can be relaxing, and is less stressful and time consuming than all the other options.

What's in breast milk that makes it so good? that's the next topic....