How much to drink in pregnancy
La pregnancy it is a moment of change: the woman's body adapts to allow the baby to grow and one of the changes concerns the increase in the volume of maternal blood flowing into the placenta: this process requires aadequate hydration.
Drinking lots of water is good for you always to the body, but it is important to emphasize that during the pregnancy there is about 20% more blood in the woman and that, at the moment of birth, the body of the newborn is made up of 80% of water. For these reasons, getting the correct amount of fluids is just as important as eating a balanced diet.
Doctors recommend that a pregnant woman should drink at least 2 liters of watera throughout the day, the dose should be increased in the summer. In the last trimester of pregnancy, especially if this occurs in the summer, it is necessary to increase up to 2,5 liters of water.
Proper hydration of the mother has numerous benefits to the baby's health, first of all that of ensuring the production and maintenance of amniotic fluid. Water is a fundamental component of this fluid, which represents the habitat of the fetus for nine months and which at the end of pregnancy it reaches 1 liter of volume. It should be known that the amniotic fluid is renewed by the body every three hours and that, in this procedure, a lot of water is consumed.
The expert continues
Although there is no direct link between the amount of fluid the expectant mother drinks and the amount of amniotic fluid, the expectant woman must drink more water to meet the needs of her changed metabolism. In fact, although the fluid does not depend on the maternal state as it is produced through the elimination of the baby's urine, a prolonged period of severe dehydration of the pregnant woman would have a negative impact on fetal health, causing a decrease in amniotic fluid. A lower than normal amount of fluid can be a sign of chronic fetal distress
Mothers-to-be should remember thatwater also offers others benefits. A proper hydration it does not burden the kidneys, reduces any urinary tract infections, eliminating and preventing the proliferation of germs that settle in the bladder. Furthermore, drinking lots of water helps women to promote intestinal regularity and fight water retention.
Read also: Do not drink alcohol when pregnantIn conclusion it is certainly true that women in pregnancy must hydrate for themselves and the fetus, Dr. Zanasi recommends awater with medium mineralization, to be alternated with waters low sodium trace elements to combat problems related to water retention or to swelling. It is important to favor a sufficient supply of calcium to the two organisms, and for this reason it may be useful to choose a bicarbonate-calcium water, natural or sparkling, it makes no difference.
