Eating For Two During Pregnancy

So many mum's to be subscribe to the idea of "eating for two" - 'Yes, another slice of cake is okay and make it a hot chocolate with cream and chocolate sprinkles, if you please!'   However, research has shown that mums who eat too much during pregnancy can increase the risk of their babies being born with low IQ, eating disorders and psychosis. Sounds dreadful!

The researchers state that the average IQ of children of obese mothers was five points lower than the babies who had mothers of a healthy weight. The research (carried out at McMaster University, in Ontario Canada) was published in the international journal entitled Obesity Reviews and it looked at the impact of weight gain during pregnancy on child development.

The findings suggested there were country differentials:

Sweden - The children born of overweight mothers in Sweden were more likely to suffer from attention deficit problems

Japan - Japanese children born to overweight mothers increased the baby's chance of developing schizophrenia in adulthood by 24 per cent.

Australia - The chances of teenagers have an eating disorder increased by 11 per cent for those who has overweight mothers during pregnancy.

Why?

It might be linked to changes in the hormonal, cardiovascular and immune systems during pregnancy as a result of excess weight.

Obesity in pregnancy can impact on the mother's health too.

It can increase the risk of:-

• diabetes
• high blood pressure
• blood clots
• miscarriages
• still-births and foetal death

So, dispense with the old wives tales of eating for two, shape up before planning a family and eat sensibly!