WHY WATER IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS DURING PREGNANCY

It makes sense after all, since when you’re pregnant you are now providing the nutrients needed for two lives. All of the common sense advice related to good nutrition now goes beyond self care and now extends to you and your rapidly growing baby! When it comes to hydration, that fact becomes even more important, particularly given that so much of the human body is composed of and functions thanks to water.

To keep it simple, practical and front of mind, here are 5 KEY REASONS why adequate water consumption (and specifically even alkaline water) is so important during pregnancy.

MORNING SICKNESS
One of the best warning signs of dehydration is morning sickness. Keep in mind as well, this is an indicator of dehydration in both mom and the fetus. As your baby grows, over one trillion (yes TRILLION!) cell divisions take place and each new cell must be filled with water. That seems like a pretty good reason for your body’s increased water requirements. So make sure to get enough and you can help curb that terrible morning feeling as well. 

FATIGUE
No one likes to feel fatigued and supporting the growth of a baby is a pretty certain way to expose yourself to an increased amount of it. Guess what one of the single biggest factors in symptoms of fatigue are? You guessed it: Dehydration. The recommended amount of daily water consumption for a female is 2L. During pregnancy it increases slightly by an additional 300mL. It may seem insignificant, but hitting that target can meaningfully decrease those feelings of fatigue. 

WASTE REMOVAL
Remember, your body is now engaged in the process of removing waste and toxins from the bloodstream for two. This is also where alkaline water comes in. During pregnancy, many of the alkaline minerals inside of mom are diverted to the growing fetus. The fetus is constantly producing acidic waste that needs to be discharged to the placenta and mom’s own blood vessels can’t do that job. That is why many of mom’s alkaline minerals are lost to the placenta, which results in the risk that mom’s blood becomes more acidic. Acidity is what leads to increased risk of most sickness and disease, as well as pregnancy related issues like morning sickness. So help your kidneys and cell alkalinity out with the right amount of water!

CELL HEALTH
Speaking of healthy cells, water is the element that delivers all of the essential minerals, vitamins and hormones that your growing baby needs to the blood cells. The placenta and the fetus want to receive the cells with the most nutrients so your best ones are being delivered to the baby. Adequate hydration ensures the cells left over for you are healthy and alkaline as well! Isn’t that also the first lesson in parenting: All the resources go straight to the kids first and we get the leftovers!

ACIDITY
Our bodies function optimally when they are in an alkaline state. When many of the alkaline cells are provided to the fetus, acidity in mom’s cells can lead to all kinds of unwelcome issues: osteoporosis, kidney stones and thickened blood which can slow down circulation. That’s often the reason why so many pregnant women get cold in various body parts! So maintaining a high level of alkalinity in cells is key. 

The good news is that one simple solution exists that can help solve all of the potential issues mentioned above: ALKALINE HYDRATION! When you build the daily habit of consuming the suggested amount of water each day, you are taking a proactive approach to your own health and the health of your growing baby! As you often hear, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, and that couldn’t be more true in this case.