There is reason to believe that the fetus competes with her
mother for available nutrients. If they are not available in
sufficient quantity, the baby may have long-term consequences.
Pregnant women who have deficient diets may cause miscarriage,
stillbirth, low birth weight, brain damage, psychological
problems or weak immune systems in their babies. Good nutrition
can diminish these problems. Laboratory animals who were fed a
diet lacking in magnesium, B6, choline and protein developed a
toxemia-like condition. In toxemia, the mother experiences
excessive swelling, headaches, high blood pressure and
proteinuria and they baby may be of low birth weight or even
die.

For some women, miscarriage may be prevented through good diet.
Miscarriage can result from deficiencies or eating too little or
too few protein foods. For those at risk, supplementing with
Vitamin C with bioflavioids may help maintain the pregnancy
(beginning with 500 mg. and increasing to 4 grams then
increasing to 15 grams daily as the pregnancy goes to term).
Additionally, up to 200 IU of Vitamin E and folic acid may
prevent miscarriage.

Birth defects have been linked with a deficiency of folic acid.
Good sources of folic acid are eggs, liver, milk and raw, green
leafy vegetables.

Hemorrhage may be prevented by ensuring sufficient Vitamin C
and flavinoids are in the diet as well as Vitamin K.

To prevent anemia, miscarriage and birth defects, the pregnant
woman should eat iron-rich foods such as liver, oysters, heart,
lean meat, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, dried fruits,
beans and molasses.

Some pregnant women seem to ride an emotional roller-coaster
and this can be somewhat alleviated by eating adequate protein,
B complex vitamins and calcium.

Morning sickness or nausea afflicts many women during
pregnancy. Some women may find relief from eating 25 mg Viamin
B6 with each meal.

Labor pain may be reduced by getting enough Vitamin D and
taking additional supplementation during labor. One recipe
suggest taking 2000 mg at the beginning of labor and at the
start of active labor for less pain. Vitamin E may relieve some
pain also and make birth occur easier and quicker.

About The Author: Yvonne Lapp Cryns is the owner of Midwives
.net - http://www.midwives.net Yvonne is the co-founder of
Nursing Programs Online at http://www.nursingprogramsonline.com
and a contributor to The Compleat Mother Magazine at
http://www.compleatmother.com . Yvonne is also a law school
graduate, a registered nurse and a Certified Professional
Midwife.