Hello all! I recently went in for my 30 week check up and I must vent a little. My doctor told me to completely cut sugar out of my diet..I was blown away. I know I should be totally honest with my doctor, but I didn't tell her that I'm on the raw till four lifestyle. I have a hard enough time defending my way of eating to my significant other and friends and family. I have told her though that I eat fruit almost all day long and in the beginning she was a little concerned, but is now majorly concerned. Which I just don't understand because her excuse before was that she was worried I would fail my gestational diabetes test, but I passed with flying colors! Now she says that I should try and not gain anymore weight. Her reasoning is that she's worried I'll develop preclampsia from the added weight. I was 165 lbs when I got pregnant and had been struggling to get the 15 lbs I gained off from discontinuing my birth control. Once I found out I was pregnant I knew that it obviously wasn't coming off at all until after the pregnancy so it actually was a little relieving because I tend to be very hard on myself when I gain weight. I've gained a healthy 25 lbs so far but because my weight is at 190 lbs I think she feels I'm getting too heavy. She told me it would just be easier to go completely low carb to maintain my weight and even suggested I lose 5 lbs! I have no plans to switch doctors since I only have 10 weeks or less left, but am very frustrated. I plan to incorporate more green veggies into my meals, but I just can't picture myself cutting out fruit I honesty crave throughout the day. Thoughts??
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I've been studying midwifery and have a one year old after having an unassisted home water and lotus birth. On a high carb fruit and veg diet you cannot get pre eclampsia, when you eat ENOUGH. it is also associated with malnutrition and fast and junk food diets. find a birth center or a doctor that believes in natural home birth, you will feel more confident with a care provider that supports your choices with science and stats to back it up. you don't want to feel discouraged and misunderstood in the weeks preparing for birth. find someone that believes in you and gives you confidence because they are knowledgeable and experienced.
i would up the vegetable intake if you are getting enough calories from fruit - that was the biggest challenge in raw til 4 for me, i need more fruit, more cooked and raw vegetables and less starch. with starch would and still do gain weight faster and i felt and still feel so tired... so i cook me up some low starch veggies instead.. delicious.
I also switched midwives with my first child a couple weeks before birth...I would have been on the road in labor if I had gone with the first! You need to consider putting your life and your baby's life in someone's hands that might understand this lifestyle and support you! If you are doing sooo well, then there is no need to freak out about gaining a bit more weight! I lost the weight with my last two children in 2 weeks and the other in 9 days and I was on a type of raw til 4...actually just raw and cooked throughout the day.
My biggest suggestion would be to take out ALL your sodium and salt intake! You'll lose water weight right away and feel better about the weight you do gain! I did this and I only gained around 25 lbs even with eating all the cooked rice and veggies - huge difference from the 60 lbs I gained with my third pregnancy that I ate low carb!
One other component that you need is magnesium - leafy greens help, but you could supplement with Natural Calm. I only take it when I would get cramps since I can't load up on alot of spinach because of the oxalic acid.
Make sure you are eating about 1/4 cup per day of diverse nuts to get those other nutrients that we need more of when we are growing a baby.
Hope this helps you and you make the decisions that put you at ease! Best wishes!
Hi Morgan! Lolita is completely right! My midwife told me to cut sugar, but when I asked about fruit she said that fruit is perfectly fine and that most people need to eat more of it. Honestly, I might consider looking into another doctor/midwife if there are more options available where you live. My cousin who is a natural childbirth instructor in Alaska switched doctors over 5 times her last pregnancy, and the last time she switched only a few weeks away from her due date. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable. Go with your God-given mama's instinct. :)