Is the Careful Diet Still Necessary?
37 weeks is an important milestone: from then on, baby can be born at any time without being considered premature. You’re very close to it now, and reaching it will be a relief to everyone waiting on baby’s arrival.
However, as expectant mothers approach this happy milestone, they might think their diet no longer matters, since baby is fully formed and almost ready for birth. This is not true: baby’s lungs and brain are still maturing in these last weeks. While straying from a healthy diet of whole foods will not necessarily detrimentally affect the pregnancy, it can affect postpartum recovery. Gaining substantial weight in the last four weeks — especially because of eating unhealthy foods — is also strongly correlated with childhood obesity [1].
Studies conducted in different countries show that when the prenatal diet goes off-plan, it goes in one of two directions:
Junk foods and desserts are consumed regularly or in excess.
Fewer fruits and vegetables are eaten than earlier in pregnancy [2].
The result of this is that even as mama gains weight, baby receives poorer nutrition. At this point, he is getting fewer of his needed vitamins and minerals.
Another, more hidden pitfall is if the expectant mother begins to eat more fruit but fewer vegetables these last weeks of pregnancy. While this may not be an issue for most, foods with a higher glycemic index increase health risks if you have experienced gestational diabetes [3].
Therefore, doctors recommend keeping to a healthy diet not only through birth, but through the entire period of breastfeeding [1].
