This past Thursday, in my midwifery 101 course with Gloria Lemay, we discussed the ever-important topic of high blood pressure in pregnancy. Now, I've never experienced this...nor have I actually KNOWN anyone who has struggled with this problem, but I've heard the horror stories. The high BP that very rapidly becomes pre-eclampsia followed by prolonged hospital stays, failed inductions, and eventually the dreaded (and probably unnecessary given what I have to say further on) C-section. I certainly wouldn't wish this problem on anyone, but being a firm believer in preventative care and the power of proper nutrition, I just have to add my two cents.
High BP may very well come about in a pregnancy no matter what the woman does to prevent it, but while the prevailing theory of thought among the medical community is that such a thing cannot be treated outside of removal of the placenta (and therefore the baby), I (and many others more informed than myself) believe that the same measures that may help to prevent pre-E and high BP may also help to "cure" it or at least keep it at bay long enough to allow further fetal development and or the natural initiation of labor.
There was a man, named Dr. Brewer, who spent over 50 years of his life devoted to the study of maternal nutrition and the resulting outcome of pregnancies. In layman's terms, Dr. Brewer was one of the first to realize that high BP tended not to result in women of wealthy income, while it was a common complaint amongst the underprivileged. Further pinpointing the cause of this difference, Dr. Brewer realized the importance of certain components of a prenatal diet such as high intake of protein, butters and other natural fats, and salt. He determined that nutritional was of significance for every pregnant woman and felt that it was a birth worker's responsibility to educate their clients in the importance of proper nutrition. He also found that his diet worked both to "cure" high BP and the problems caused by it in pregnancy, AND to prevent the same problems. He is directly responsible for determining that "inadequate prenatal nutrition has predictable obstetrical and neonatal consequences that matter for mother and baby." (1)
One of the reasons why I love the Bradley Childbirth Education classes is because the Brewer prenatal diet plays a large part in each class. You are given a worksheet to fill in each week that makes it easy to keep track of grams of protein, the amount of orange veggies, and butter servings, ect... Each week, the facilitator of the class will help you to examine your nutritional intake and suggest areas you might try to improve as well as provide examples of complimentary foods of which you may not be aware. It's great! and one of the easiest ways to protect yourself from a wide variety of prenatal complaint not the least of which is high BP.
To quote Dr. Brewer,
"Research done over the past fifty years [as of 1983], including some of my own, has made it increasingly clear that if the mother's diet is inadequate in any of several different ways, these difficulties may result:
To simplify the diet extremely for the shortening of this post, Dr. Brewer suggests a diet high in protein. The idea being that the amino acids necessary for putting together a baby all must come from the body's breakdown of protein. Protein being a nutritional need found only in food. The suggested intake is 80-100 g, which many women will find is significantly higher than their ordinary consumption and does take some dietary adjustments.
The diet also encourages a "Liberal" usage of salt. Note: that's NOT to taste...salt, particularly quality Celtic Salt rich in trace minerals is GOOD for the pregnant body as it facilitates the increase of blood volume necessary in a healthy pregnancy. It can also keep down edema (swelling) and if one is suffering from problems of this sort an increase in salt intake can significantly help.
Another significant factor in the Brewer diet is the increase in overall calories to 2500-3000/ day. Along with a focus on healthy fats/oils .
There is worlds to say about this diet and the transformative effect it can have on any pregnancy but I'll save that for other posts and leave you with some wonderful links that probably do a better job explaining than I ever could. Please do peruse them and let me know what you think!
Nutritional Checklists (often printable):
http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/brewer-diet-checklists/brewer-diet-basic-plan-checklist/
http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id89.html
Facts of the Diet:
http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id96.html
http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/healthy-pregnancy/brewer-diet-for-healthy-pregnancy/
http://livingawholelife.blogspot.com/2009/08/brewer-pregnancy-diet.html
http://www.bradleybirth.com/Diet.aspx
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