No to alcohol and smoking during pregnancy

At hospitals and clinics pregnant women are encouraged to eat more of spinach, macimbi / madora, mfushwa/ mufushwa so as to increase iron in their bodies. Everyone needs iron in their bodies. Iron is essential for making haemoglobin, the protein in the red blood cells that carries oxygen to other cells.  It also helps maintain a healthy immune system. Pregnant women need more Iron to make more haemoglobin. It’s also needed for growing baby and placenta.

 Pregnant women should take balanced diet meals so that the baby feeds well. One should also eat what she likes most so as to avoid moods and morning sicknesses. As a pregnant woman one has to avoid alcohol and smoking as these can affect the health of the unborn baby. The above substances can cause complications during pregnancy. They have damaging effects to the foetuses and they may contribute to other medical problems as the child grows.

When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, it travels through her bloodstream and into the foetus. This therefore means if the mother has a bottle of beer the child also drinks the beer too.

Drinking alcohol can make one to eat less and this will mean low nutrients.  According to the University of MaryLand Medical System; alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS include mental and physical birth defects and growth problems associated with the mother’s high levels of alcohol use during pregnancy. According to Charlene Moyo a mother of twins,’ I drink ciders and during the early stages of my pregnancy I used to drink, but when I heard of the side effects of alcohol on my unborn children I stopped drinking.’ She went on to say that pregnant women should not take alcohol or smoke as it is dangerous to the health of the innocent unborn children. There is no amount of beer that can be said to be safe for pregnant women.