Eating Ethnic When You’re Expecting

For busy expectant mothers who juggle family, school and work, healthy eating is a constant struggle. And, sometimes the healthy options seem dull. The challenge increases when your body starts craving exotic and bizarre foods—especially those that are deep-fried or dipped in chocolate. With these obstacles, and no time to prepare even the simplest ‘30–minute meal,’ what’s a woman to do?

Order out and eat ethnic!

Ethnic restaurants can provide a wide variety of tasty meat and vegetables dishes rich in nutrients such as folic acid, calcium, potassium and iron essential to a healthy pregnancy.

Many of the worlds’ healthiest foods can be found in abundance in the staples of many ethnic cuisines, according to nutritionists at the George Mateljan Foundation, a non profit organization that offers scientific information about the benefits and nutritional value of food. The exotic dishes from other regions or parts of the world can even satisfy–in healthy ways—your sweet, sour, salty or spicy cravings.

The key to eating out at ethnic restaurants is to be informed and make healthy choices, says Whittney Hoyler, a reproductive educator with the American Pregnancy Association. She cautions pregnant women to avoid soft cheeses found in some ethnic dishes. For example, Hoyler says that brie, feta, gorgonzola and Mexican-style cheeses such as ceso blanco or ceso fresco may have been made from un-pasteurized milk and put woman at risk of contracting listeria, a kind of food poisoning that can be fatal to the fetus.

Eating ethnic foods can be a healthy culinary adventure. Choose foods with high nutritional value. Ask questions about food preparation and select low-fat variations. In general, nutritionists recommend that pregnant women avoid deep fried or over-cooked foods, raw meat, heavy creams and foods cooked with fatty meats or lard. With this information, explore ethnic restaurants and satisfy your cravings the right way.

Soul Food
Among the staples on a soul food menu are at least six of the foods that the Mateljan Foundation has identified as the world’s healthiest foods. These super foods are collard greens, sweet potatoes, Lima beans, green beans, mustard greens and watermelon.

These foods are packed with calcium, dietary fiber, iron and folate (folic acid), one of the most important nutrients for a pregnant woman and her baby, says Angelika Bekman, a nutritionist at Beth Israel Women’s Health Center in New York. According to Bekman, folic acid is crucial in the early stages of pregnancy to prevent neural-tube birth defects such as spina bifida.

Rickey Hill, a chef at Bob Law’s Seafood Café in Brooklyn, New York says that people should find soul food restaurants that do not cook vegetables with pork fat or lard. He adds that important vitamins are lost when the food is over cooked in the traditional southern manner. Ask health conscious friends to recommend their favorite restaurants.

Indian
The myriad spicy, sweet and aromatic menu choices are topped only by the nutritional value of the core ingredients. “The magic of Indian cuisine is that one dish can bring every food group together,” says Survir Saran, executive chef at Devi Restaurant in New York City.

Lentils, always present on restaurant menus, are also named on the Mateljan list. One cup of cooked lentils has about 90 percent of the daily recommended value of folate. They are also high in fiber, iron, potassium and protein.

Another nutrition-packed staple in Indian food is the chickpea. It’s used in curries, ground into flour and uses independently. Chickpeas contain high levels of folate, fiber, protein and iron.

Not only are the core ingredients chock-full of good things, but the herbs and spices used to flavor them are also healthy.

Avoid the fried breads and opt for naan instead. Also, be aware that most menu items will be cooked in ghee (clarified butter), unless you request otherwise.

Chinese
Chinese food is known for a variety of crisp stir-fried and steamed vegetable dishes that do not lose much of their vitamin content. With the addition of steamed rice, lo mein or rice noodles, these dishes can be good sources of iron, carbohydrates and other vitamins.

Avoid restaurants that use msg (monosodium glutamate) to flavor and preserve foods. Ask before you order. Also, stay clear of the deep-fried wontons, pot stickers and egg rolls.

Can A Doula Help You Through Your Pregnancy?

It’s 2 o’clock on a Friday morning and mom-to-be Kim Morris is in labor in her Menlo Park, California home.  As she leans on a kitchen counter for support, a calm woman in her mid-40s with straight blond hair, stands by rubbing the sides of Morris’s belly and giving her words of encouragement. The woman helping Morris though her contractions is Perryn Rowland who Morris hired to help her through the delivery of her child.  Rowland is a doula, a non-medical childbirth assistant. Unlike doctors, who often don’t arrive until the baby is about to be delivered, doulas stay with the mother during the entire labor.  Rowland accompanies Morris and her husband to the hospital. She coaches Morris as she stands under warm water through the rest of her contractions.  Rowland stays by Morris’ side during eleven hours of labor, until she gives birth to a healthy 7 lbs, 9 oz. baby girl.

Rowland says she provides a service that some doctors can’t offer.

“So many people are in big medical groups and they don’t necessarily have that relationship with their care provider that they want,” she says. “They just want somebody who’s not going to leave them.”

The largest doula association, DONA International has seen a growth in membership from 750 in 1994 to more than 6,000 in 2006.  Research from 17 published randomized trials including the Journal of American Medical Association has shown that women who have doulas with them during their entire delivery cope better during childbirth compared with women who don’t have assistance.  A recent Cochrane Review, Continuous Support for Women During Childbirth, found that “continuous labor support reduces a woman’s likelihood of having pain medication, increases her satisfaction and chances for ‘spontaneous’ birth, and has no known risks.”   The women have fewer incidents of C-sections, they may be able to avoid epidurals or other pain medicines, they spend less time in labor and they have lower rates of postpartum depression.  The differences did not hold for women who had doulas that left for an hour or more during the labor.

“She was able to do things for me that I would have forgotten to do if I was there alone,” says Morris on why she chose to hire Rowland for her second pregnancy.  “The doctor is in and out. And the nursing staff changes their shifts. [Rowland] was there from the beginning to the end.”

Childbirth can be a scary experience for new parents. Having a doula can provide physical and emotional support before, during and immediately after childbirth.

Dr. Marshall Klaus of the University of California San Francisco says a childbirth assistant– especially one who uses firm touch or massage– helps the laboring woman release oxytocin.  Oxytocin is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that reduces stress and pain, and acts like a calming drug for women in labor.

While the assistance of doula has benefits, it can have a steep price tag.  Standard doula services include meeting with the family before the birth and after, and being on call for the labor regardless of the hour.  Parents can attend a “meet the doula night” to interview and get to know a doula so that they can pick someone they feel comfortable with.  Doulas often are involved in coaching months before the delivery day, and postpartum doula services are also available.  In 1996, health advocates in Chicago began working to make doula services accessible to low-income mothers and teen moms, and they trained women from these groups to serve as doulas for one another.  The program provided thousands of people with extended doula services, and program organizers decided to replicate the project in other cities, including Atlanta, Albuquerque, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Denver, Indianapolis, Seattle and Bloomington.  More programs are also under development in New York, San Francisco, Berkeley, Fort Worth/Dallas, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Bethel, Alaska.  These programs offer free or reduced cost doula services, and often train women to serve as doulas in their own local communities.

Relevant web links

• New Cochrane Review on Effects of Continuous Labor Support – http://www.maternitywise.org/prof/laborsupport/index.html
• The First National U.S. Survey of Women’s Childbearing Experiences – http://www.maternitywise.org/listeningtomothers/index.html
• DONA INTERNATIONAL and DONA doula certification – http://dona.org/ (888)788-DONA
• Chicago Health Connection Doula Model (community-based doula model): http://www.chicagohealthconnection.org/our_work/doula/about.php http://www.chicagohealthconnection.org/doula/nati_repl.htm
• A Doula Story (the film):  http://www.activevoice.net/doula.html
• Alternative Doula Certification programs: International Childbirth Education Association – http://www.icea.org/doula2.htm

Relevant book:

The Doula Book: How a Trained Labor Companion Can Help you Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth. By Marshall H. Klaus, Phyllis H. Klaus and John H. Kennell.

Group B Streptococcus: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You… and Your Baby

Over 25 percent of pregnant, adult, and elderly women have a bacteria naturally growing in their bodies, a type of bacteria that is considered the leading cause of infection amongst newborns by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So why have many well-educated women never heard of Group B Streptococcus?

“I’m really surprised because I have never heard of this and I would consider myself to be a relatively educated woman.  I’m not sure why they (physicians and/or teachers) don’t tell women about it,” said Erin Brown, sales associate at Omnifics Furniture in Alexandria, Va. “If Strep B is this dangerous, it should be brought to our attention! This could be done in our health classes or sex education classes as early as high school.  Now, I’m really curious about being tested for the disease or how it can be prevented.” Read more

Can genetics counseling really offer answers?

The phone rang around seven o’clock on a Friday night; I thought it was one of our friends calling. The caller ID box said, “CARSON, MILINDA MD” and I knew something was wrong. Your obstetrician never calls on a Friday night with good news.

The tone in her voice confirmed what I suspected. I listened to her talk about test results and an abnormality. Then she said it – cystic fibrosis. Now I remembered. As I was walking out the door of her office several months before, she had called after me and asked if I wanted the test for cystic fibrosis added to the list of blood tests she was ordering. I said, “Sure, why not?” I had forgotten about it until that moment. Read more

Eating Well When You’re Pregnant

During her pregnancy last year, Crystal Bueno, a Wall Street executive from Brooklyn, N.Y., would start her day by preparing a healthy breakfast and lunch to bring to work. She would kick off her workday by eating her breakfast, she but by lunch, she would occasionally trash the turkey sandwich “I could not face it,” said Bueno who is now mom to a baby boy. The nausea caused by her pregnancy turned her stomach to certain foods. She would wander into a Chinese restaurant only to leave because of the smell. A trip into the deli often ended the same way. “I would be wracked with indecision on what to eat,” said Bueno. “Then I would go and grab pizza for lunch.” Read more

Remembering Mia

My husband and I were surprised but excited when we found ourselves unexpectedly pregnant for a third time. I scheduled an appointment with my obstetrician and arrived at her office six weeks and six days into my pregnancy.

My 4-year-old daughter Eve was at preschool and my 20-month-old son David was in the waiting room with my sister. I figured my husband Matt would have to take off days from work over the next nine months so I told him to skip what I expected be an uneventful first appointment.

That Monday, I happily chatted with my doctor. She buzzed one of the nurses during the exam to check if my insurance plan approved a six-week ultrasound. It was and she set up the machine. As the scan started, she stared at the monitor and suddenly the silence took over the room. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Call it mother’s intuition, but I knew I was pregnant four days before I missed my period. I also knew in my heart that I would never meet my baby face-to-face. Read more

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