What are the foods that help with childbirth? What should pregnant women eat when giving birth?

Pregnant women consume a lot of physical energy when giving birth. If they do not consume a certain amount of food before giving birth, they will be exhausted during the delivery process. So what are the foods that help with childbirth? What should pregnant women eat when giving birth? Let's take a look~

Main points for maternal eating

Pregnant women are in no mood to eat complicated foods when they have severe uterine contractions. So, they should prepare some "good helpers" before going to the hospital, and that is chocolate. Chocolate contains a lot of carbohydrates, which can be digested and used by the human body in a very short time. Pregnant women will generate a lot of heat energy after eating it. Chocolate is generally small in size, melts in the mouth, and is very convenient to eat. Eating one or two pieces of chocolate before giving birth will provide a lot of calories to the pregnant woman's body and help her give birth smoothly. In addition, cakes, candies and other foods that contain more sugar are also high-quality foods that provide calories.

Key points for feeding during the first stage of labor

The first stage of labor is a protracted battle for pregnant women, which takes nearly 11 hours. But this stage is also the best time to replenish labor power. Because it takes a long time, the mother's sleep, rest, and diet will be affected by labor pains. In order to ensure that she has enough energy to complete the delivery, the mother should eat as much as possible.

The diet during the first stage of labor should be balanced. Rich in sugar, protein and vitamins can effectively build a solid body energy mechanism for pregnant women and help them meet their babies as soon as possible.

The editor reminds: In the first stage of labor, it is best for family members to provide the mother with semi-liquid or soft and easily digestible food. Hot soup noodles, preserved egg and lean meat porridge, small wontons, and bread are all good choices. The expectant mother should not stop eating because of unbearable pain. Eating at this time can help the body store strength, and only with enough energy and physical strength can the delivery be smooth.

Key points for eating during the second stage of labor

When entering the second stage of labor, the contraction of the uterus becomes more regular, and the pain comes faster and more frequently. Severe pain increases the body's consumption of pregnant women. At this time, if pregnant women do not have the energy to chew, they can drink some liquid food, such as fruit juice, lotus root powder, brown sugar water, etc., which can replenish physical strength, improve the production of pregnant women, and help the fetus to be delivered as soon as possible.

The editor reminds you: During this stage, do not give expectant mothers greasy, cold and other irritating foods, foods with too much protein, and foods that take a long time to digest. This will not help with delivery at all, but will take up some of the body's energy to digest the food in the stomach.

Dietary requirements during production

Giving birth is a physically demanding job, and both the mother's body and mind are experiencing a huge energy consumption. Diet before giving birth is very important. Proper diet arrangement can not only supplement the body's needs, but also increase labor power, promote the development of the labor process, and help the mother give birth smoothly.

① First of all, the food must have high nutritional value and high calories. There are many such foods, the most common ones are: eggs, milk, lean meat, fish, shrimp and soy products.

② A lot of water is consumed during the delivery process. Therefore, before delivery, you should eat semi-liquid soft food with high water content, such as noodles, rice porridge, etc.

③ In order to meet the mother's need for calories, it is very helpful to eat some chocolate (not too much) before giving birth. Because chocolate is rich in fat and sugar, it produces high calories, especially for those pregnant women who can't eat food.

④ When pregnant women enter the labor stage, they should take the method of promoting labor and facilitating labor in terms of diet adjustment, which has a positive effect on promoting labor, shortening the labor process, and reducing labor pain. This is especially important for primiparas, those with large fetuses, or those with sluggish labor. Foods in this regard include: winter mallow leaves, amaranth, purslane, milk, honey, arrowhead mushrooms, rabbit brains, etc.

⑤ It is a folk custom to let the mother eat boiled eggs with white sugar (or brown sugar) or a bowl of shredded pork noodles, egg custard, etc. before giving birth. These are more suitable foods before giving birth. However, eating too many eggs will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, and may also cause "stop eating", indigestion, abdominal distension, vomiting, and even more serious consequences. Therefore, it is enough for the mother to eat 1-2 eggs per meal.

What are the foods that help with childbirth?

1. Chocolate

Chocolate is a concentrated energy substance with high fat and protein content. During the delivery process, the food that expectant mothers can eat is very limited. As an energy supplement, chocolate is undoubtedly a good choice. Chocolate can also increase pleasure and relieve tension, and is considered an essential food for delivery.

It is recommended that expectant mothers prepare milk chocolate and dark chocolate as they are not particularly sweet. During the process of waiting for labor and delivery, due to tension and physical discomfort, expectant mothers will have a relatively poor appetite and even feel nauseous. It may be relatively difficult for expectant mothers to accept overly sweet white chocolate.

The best time to eat chocolate is when your cervix is ​​fully dilated and you are ready to go into the delivery room. Eating chocolate at this time gives your body some time to absorb energy, and when you are on the delivery bed and really start to push for delivery, the high energy of chocolate will be absorbed by your body and begin to work.

2. Red Bull

Red Bull contains taurine, which can participate in the metabolism of sugar in the body, improve the heart's contraction ability, and increase blood output. The lysine contained in it also has the effect of strengthening the body and reducing fatigue. Vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 can promote energy metabolism and also have a certain effect of assisting childbirth. Therefore, expectant mothers can take a moderate amount of Red Bull when they feel tired during the delivery process, but they must not drink a lot.

Red Bull also contains a certain amount of caffeine, which can relieve fatigue and excite nerves, and help expectant mothers stay awake throughout the delivery process, increase oxygen supply and blood flow, but it may cause the expectant mother's heart rate to increase and fatigue to increase after delivery. Therefore, for expectant mothers with weak heart tolerance, fast basic heart rate, or gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, etc., it is not suitable to drink Red Bull.

3. Sports drinks

Pregnant women sweat a lot during labor and delivery, and even sweat as much as long-distance runners. Minerals such as potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and many vitamins are lost in large quantities through sweat. When the human body is in a state of low water content and electrolyte imbalance, the body's metabolic burden will increase. Therefore, it is necessary to supplement with electrolyte-rich sports drinks in small amounts and multiple times during labor and delivery.

4. Milk

Milk is rich in electrolytes, and is rich in potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium. Compared with sports drinks, milk contains more lactose, protein, and fat, and has a better energy supply. However, many Chinese people have lactose intolerance. Within half an hour to three hours after drinking milk, they will experience a series of digestive discomforts such as flatulence, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc., which may be severe or mild. If the expectant mother has milk protein allergy or lactose intolerance, she must not drink milk during the delivery process. If you don't have the habit of drinking milk, it's best not to try it at this critical moment.

5. Brown sugar water

Pregnant mothers who enter the labor process often eat less, sleep poorly, and are in a state of hunger or semi-hunger, which causes changes in the body's metabolism. When they enter the second stage of labor, pregnant mothers hold their breath and exert force, resulting in intense energy consumption. The main ingredient of brown sugar is sucrose, which can quickly produce energy when entering the body, and brown sugar water can also replenish body fluids.

6. Lotus root starch

Lotus root powder contains a large amount of starch. After the starch enters the body, it will be converted into sugar and produce energy. It is especially suitable for pregnant mothers whose delivery process is relatively long.

7. Honey water

Honey is also one of the best foods for late pregnancy and delivery. Honey water can not only help shorten the labor process, reduce pain, and lubricate the birth canal, but also nourish and enhance the physical strength of expectant mothers.

8. Eggs

It is a folk custom to let mothers eat boiled eggs with white sugar (or brown sugar) or a bowl of shredded pork noodles or egg custard before giving birth. These are all suitable foods before giving birth. However, eating too many eggs will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract and cause "stop eating", indigestion, abdominal distension, vomiting, and even more serious consequences. Therefore, it is enough for mothers to eat 1-2 eggs per meal.

9. Foods that promote abortion

When pregnant women enter the labor stage, they should take the method of promoting labor and facilitating labor in terms of diet adjustment, which has a positive effect on promoting labor, shortening the labor process, and reducing labor pain. This is especially important for primiparas, those with large fetuses, or those with sluggish labor. Foods in this regard include: winter mallow leaves, amaranth, water spinach, purslane, milk, arrowhead mushrooms, rabbit brains, etc.