Fiona Wilcock M.S. R.P.H.Nutr. - Super Easy Drinks, Soups, and Smoothies for a Healthy Pregnancy: Quick and Delicious Meals-on-the-Go Packed with the Nutrition You and Your Baby Need

The topic of drinks in pregnancy is often focused on the negativewhat you shouldnt have, rather than what you can and should be drinking. So many women get stuck at the I must replace my high octane coffee with herb tea and Ill have an orange juice and drive home as Im not drinking, neither of which reflects the many positive reasons for thinking about the liquid part of our diets.

Whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding, your nutritional and hydration needs increase, and by choosing your drinks carefully you can meet both needs. This section provides you with a comprehensive background on how drinks can boost your pregnancy nutrition, and alleviate some common pregnancy complaints as well as keeping you hydrated. Prepare to focus on the positive!

Being adequately hydrated is necessary at every stage of life but during pregnancy and when you are breastfeeding, it becomes even more vital because of the many physiological changes that are taking place.

Before looking in more detail at the effect of pregnancy on the amount of fluid you need, it is important to understand the role of water in the body. The average woman is estimated to be composed of around 50% water; for a 130-pound (60 kg) woman, this means she contains about 8 gallons (33 liters) of water. Blood contains around 83% water by weight, muscle 76% and skin 72% and even bone contains 22% water by weight. Water is not only present in the body in fluids, but it also plays an essential role in carrying compounds, gases and nutrients around the body in blood, lymph and other fluids. It is also critical to many different metabolic reactions as well as helping to keep the body at the correct temperature.

Amazingly, our bodies are able to keep the large amount of water they contain in tight control. We produce a hormone (vasopressin), which regulates our water balance; it acts on the kidneys so they produce more or less urine as required. However, water is constantly being lostthrough respiration, perspiration, urination, defecation and other bodily processes. As the body relies on maintaining a pretty constant amount of water, it is vital for good health that we take in water from foods and drinks every day to be adequately hydrated. Water loss increases if you have a fever, are exercising or are in a hot place, so hydration at these times is even more important.

ARE YOU DRINKING ENOUGH?

An easy way of knowing whether you are taking in sufficient fluids is to look at your urine. If it is a dark color, you are not drinking enough; pale urine indicates that you are well hydrated.

Until recently there have been no internationally agreed recommendations for how much fluid is needed: the rule-of-thumb figure has generally been given as 68 glasses or 4864 ounces (1.52 liters) of water daily. In 2010, the European Food Standards Agency provided a Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for Water, which recommended that non-pregnant women need 64 ounces (2 liters) per day, while pregnant women require an additional 10 ounces (300 ml) and breastfeeding women an additional 2025 ounces (600700 ml). Around 7080% of water intake should be provided by drinks and the remaining 2030% by foods containing water (soups, fruit, vegetables, and so on).

Foods contain different amounts of water, all of which count toward your daily intake of 6490 ounces (22.7 liters) of fluids. The table (right) shows the water content of some common foods. The higher the water content in raw foods, the fewer the calories, so these foods also make ideal snacks as they wont add many calories.

It is estimated that two thirds of the weight gain of pregnancy can be attributed to water. This is accounted for by increases in blood volume; the growth of the uterus, placenta and breasts; and the development of amniotic and other fluids. On top of this is, of course, the developing baby who is composed of around 94% water by the end of the first trimester and 75% water at birth.