Tips for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers

Pregnancy is a 9-month journey of growth and development for mother and baby. While this beautiful process unfolds, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of. Here are some useful nutritional tips for mums and mums-to-be. 

For instance, your choice of food becomes much more important as it translates into the nutrients that the baby receives, and some nutrients are more important than others. Not to mention, the changes that will happen post-pregnancy as you enter the breastfeeding stage. We know this sounds overwhelming, which is why we have curated some tips that will help you, including the foods to eat to acquire said nutrients, and more, for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers alike!

Important nutrients during pregnancy - folic acid, calcium and iron

Starting with nutrition needs during pregnancy, folic acid, calcium, and iron are definitely the three key ones, and for good reasons.

• Folic acid is specifically responsible for neural tube development, which eventually develops into the central nervous system that consists of the embryonic brain and spinal cord. In simpler terms, consuming enough folic acid may lower the risk of potential birth defects.
  
  
• Calcium, on the other hand, is responsible for the baby’s bone development. To ensure proper and consistent growth, calcium is required from the second trimester onwards. Having sufficient calcium also helps prevent women from experiencing lower leg cramps in the middle of the night.

• Iron ensures that the mother has sufficient red blood cells while also reducing the risk of iron-deficiency anaemia. During your routine visits to your obstetrician or gynaecologist, you may notice that they often conduct full blood count (FBC) tests. One of the prevailing reasons is to check if your haemoglobin (Hb) levels is within the normal range. Should it drop below the average, your doctor may advise you to increase your iron intake.

Most importantly, ample nutrition is needed throughout pregnancy, which is why health supplements are very much necessary as a single tablet usually contains the recommended amount of nutrients.

Of course, you should also continue incorporating the right food groups in your daily diet to continue getting enough protein, omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, and more! Some of the foods to eat during pregnancy are sweet potatoes for vitamin A; salmon for omega-3; berries for vitamin C and antioxidants.

If you are a parent who places a lot of emphasis on thorough protection from the get-go, you can consider having a maternity insurance plan that protects both mother and child against unexpected events during pregnancy, delivery and post-delivery. GREAT Maternity Care 2 protects mothers against 18 pregnancy and childbirth complications¹, while also protecting your child against 26 congenital conditions² from birth until the end of the third policy year. You can consider this plan from as early as 13 weeks into your pregnancy, shortly after you have completed the first trimester. This way, you and your baby can get the financial support you need if any medical care is needed.

Important nutrients and lifestyle modifications for breastfeeding mothers

While most of the recommended food groups remain the same, there are slight differences if you are lactating because it can influence the quality of the breast milk. First and foremost, the need for hydration is more important than ever as breast milk is made up of 90% water. This means you must strictly follow the cardinal rule of 8 glasses a day. Meanwhile, protein-rich foods such as lean meat, eggs, beans and lentils are especially beneficial foods for breastfeeding mothers.

Here’s another important tip for lactating mothers: reduce the consumption of caffeine and sugary drinks! Why? The former might affect the taste of your breast milk, while the latter might contribute to weight gain, which are two big nos’. Most importantly, you should continue staying active so you won’t fall sick easily.

There may be times when medical care is required due to unforeseen ailments and illnesses, which is why having an Integrated Shield plan is always wise as it defrays out-of-pocket expenses for inpatient treatments from pregnancy and childbirth complications.

What’s more as parents, you may want to consider getting your newborn covered under an Integrated Shield plan, to give yourselves a peace of mind knowing that hospitalisation expenses can be covered and receive as-charged coverage for congenital abnormalities diagnosed after policy inceptions.

Conclusion

Becoming a parent is a life changing event and you need all the help you can get to navigate this exciting journey. Besides watching your diet, let Great Eastern protect, preserve and grow what matters to you.

Footnotes:

¹ The Pregnancy and Childbirth Complications Benefit is only payable once, regardless of the number of foetuses.

² If the mother is carrying twins, the Congenital Illnesses Benefit is payable once for each child respectively.

~ Terms and conditions for GREAT Bundle of Joy and other promotions/campaigns for selected insurance plans can be referred to on Great Eastern's website.

^# For simplified application of hospitalisation plan for GREAT Maternity Care campaign, terms and conditions of the campaign will apply. Applicable to child born on/after 37 gestational weeks, who is at least 15 days old and discharged from hospital but not more than 90 days old at the point of application. Any Pre-existing Condition from which the Life Assured is suffering prior to the effective date of the eligible plans will not be covered. Please refer to the precise terms and conditions of the eligible plans specified in their respective policy contracts.

Disclaimers:

This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The information presented is for general information only and does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person.

As this product has no savings or investment feature, there is no cash value if the policy ends or is terminated prematurely.

Protected up to specified limits by SDIC.

Information correct as at 10 May 2024.