prenatal care

There is no unified standard plan suitable for everyone. The core is to provide "personalized care adapted to body and mind" based on one's own physical foundation and pregnancy risk level. Any copied template care may lead to pitfalls.

Last week, I accompanied a friend to get the prenatal check-up report. She is a fitness instructor who has practiced CrossFit for 5 years. She was 12 weeks pregnant. Her mother-in-law chased after her and told her not to touch the dumbbells and lie flat to support the baby. The doctor who received the examination laughed directly: "As long as there is no abdominal pain, bleeding, or low-lying placenta, your previous exercise intensity can be halved. Don't stop suddenly, which will cause muscle relaxation and is not conducive to a normal delivery." ”I turned around and told a pregnant mother next to me who had had two late-term miscarriages to repeatedly tell her to stay in bed as much as possible except for eating and going to the toilet, and to avoid bending down to pick up things. You see, in the same early pregnancy, the nursing requirements are very different. How can there be any "correct standard" that is universally applicable?

Regarding dietary supplements that everyone is most concerned about, there are currently two different nursing ideas in the industry: one is the "quantitative nutritional supplement" of evidence-based Western medicine, which requires the daily intake of calcium, iron, and DHA to be calculated based on the gestational age. If the intake is insufficient, supplements can be directly used to avoid affecting fetal development.； The other school of thought is the "food supplement first" approach of traditional Chinese medicine, which believes that as long as the diet is balanced, all nutrients can be obtained from food. There is no need to take a bunch of extra multivitamins, which may increase the metabolic burden. There is no absolute right or wrong between these two ideas. For example, if your morning sickness is so severe that you vomit whatever you eat, and even drinking water makes you feel nauseous, don't insist on taking "food supplements". Only taking supplements as prescribed by your doctor is responsible for yourself and your children. ； If you have a good appetite and can eat enough eggs, milk, dark green vegetables, and red meat every day, then there is no need to spend thousands on imported health care products for pregnant women. Not to mention it is a waste of money and you may overdose. A while ago, an obstetrician friend complained about a pregnant mother who drank two large bowls of bone soup every day in order to supplement calcium. She was eventually diagnosed with calcium deficiency and high blood lipids. "The calcium in the bone soup is not as much as half a cup of milk, and all the fat is absorbed into her body."

Many people subconsciously equate prenatal care with "physical care". In fact, the adjustment of psychological state is not low at all. I once met a pregnant mother who was 30 weeks pregnant. She browsed maternal and child forums every day to read posts. When she read about fetal malformations and premature birth, she put it on herself. She counted fetal movements until early in the morning every day. If the baby moved slightly, she took a taxi to the emergency room. She ran 4 times in half a month. Every time she checked, there was no problem, but she still couldn't control her anxiety. Later, the doctor directly issued an "internet restriction order" for her, requiring her to browse maternal and child-related content for no more than half an hour a day, to go for walks in the park near her home, and to chat with the mothers in the community who were raising babies. She recovered within half a month. It’s not alarmist. Long-term anxiety during pregnancy will increase the risk of premature birth and preeclampsia. This part of care is often much more effective than eating two more mouthfuls of bird’s nest.

There are also many "nursing taboos" that have been passed down for a long time, but in fact they are not universal at all. For example, "skin care products cannot be used during pregnancy." As long as you avoid functional products containing vitamin A and salicylic acid, ordinary moisturizing creams and sunscreens can be used normally. Can't you say that it is good for your child to have a face full of spots and skin allergies from the sun? There is also "You can't eat cold food during pregnancy". As long as you don't have diarrhea after eating it, it's absolutely fine to eat ice cream or drink a cup of iced milk tea occasionally. My friend, a fitness instructor, ate ice cream once a week when she was 8 months pregnant. The baby she gave birth to was white and fat, and there was no problem at all.

In fact, after working in maternal and infant-related work for so long, my biggest feeling is that the most important thing to pay attention to in prenatal care is never the "100 things you must do during pregnancy" listed on the Internet, but your own physical feelings. Don’t walk so hard that you’ll get backache and abdominal pain just to get the so-called “10,000 steps a day”, and don’t force yourself to eat things you don’t like in order to “supplement nutrients”. Regular prenatal check-ups and asking your treating doctor as soon as possible if you have any questions are more reliable than reading ten guides. After all, you are the one carrying the child, and you know best whether it is comfortable or not.