KATHMANDU: Pregnancy is the period from the beginning of a baby’s life to before birth. Doctors prescribe iron-folic acid pills and anthelmintic pills during pregnancy.

Therefore, it is important to know how to take care of a woman during pregnancy, especially when it comes to food. Khabarhub’s Bina Neupane talked to gynecologist Dr. Sampada Mishra on the issue. Excerpts:

What kind of problems generally appeared during normal pregnancy?

Vomiting, lower abdominal pain, and urinary infection are common during pregnancy besides musculoskeletal and skin disorders such as pains in the joints, and leg cramps.

Some women also experience some rather unpleasant conditions such as constipation.

How do we treat such problems?

If a pregnant woman has nausea and vomiting, she should not drink water, milk, or tea in the morning as, during this time, the gastric motility decreases and the patient can have continuous problems.

Therefore, we advise patients to wake up in the morning and consume dry food, bread and biscuits on an empty stomach before drinking water or tea. We also suggest them eat small amounts from time to time.

Folic acid should be taken for three months. Iron tablets and calcium are equally important. We also carry out an anomaly scan between 18 and 22 weeks.

That is, we see whether the child’s hands, feet, nose, eyes, and mouth are well developed. We also suggested blood tests to know whether the child is healthy or not.

If it is the first child, two tetanus injections should be given. If the second child is under 5 years of age, one tetanus injection will suffice.

How do we know whether the child in the womb is okay or not?

If it is a second baby, he/she starts moving in 18 to 19 weeks. If there is a first child, he/she starts moving in 21 to 22 weeks. A child should move three times in an hour.

Is vomiting caused because of a lack of proper diet in a normal pregnancy?

In fact, it’s not only because of food. We call it Hyperemesis gravidarum. If it is positive by looking at urine acetone, then you should be admitted to the hospital. It should be treated with medicine and injection. After seeing the report, we will discharge after recovery.

Is this a problem that every pregnant woman comes across?

Every woman is different. Therefore, some women do not have such symptoms or no regular vomiting.

What should be done in a normal pregnancy?

Folic acid is very important during pregnancy. Nowadays, people get married when they are mature enough. Therefore, it can be planned after starting to take folic acid. Once pregnant, blood pressure, thyroid, urine test, and blood group should be checked.

What are the risks of staying at home during pregnancy?

If there is a lot of vomiting, the patient may go into dehydration. The woman can even collapse due to weakness and it may also affect pregnancy.

What foods do you suggest during pregnancy?

Doctors suggest eating healthy food and fruits, and not eating outside or consuming too much oily food. Normal daily exercise should also be done. A pregnant woman should not take too much bed rest. There is no problem with doing normal daily chores.