The III International and V National Hydration Congress has just been held, where numerous experts gathered have once again emphasized the importance of increase fluid intake during pregnancy and lactation.
The reasons for this increase are different at each stage, but it is essential to cover the body's requirements to avoid dehydration and maintain a healthy physical state. Therefore, if it is advisable to drink two liters of water a day, Do you know how much you should increase the amount if you are pregnant or breastfeeding? We tell you!
Hydration during pregnancy
We already told you a few days ago that according to a survey conducted among more than 2,000 mothers, 70 percent of pregnant women do not follow healthy living and eating habits, a figure certainly worrying, as it could affect the health of the mother and the baby.
Among the aspects to improve is to maintain proper hydration during pregnancy, and it is that only three out of ten pregnant women know that during pregnancy the fluid needs increase.
In this way, pregnant women should drink 300 ml more water daily, on the recommended two liters; which would translate into 10 glasses of water a day, approximately.Pregnant women need water "to form the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby, support the increase in blood plasma volume and produce breast milk", explained in the International Hydration Congress, Adriana Ortiz, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
And is that water represents two thirds of the increase in maternal weight, and at the end of the first trimester it represents 94 percent of the baby's weight.
The importance of drinking water
The European Food Safety Agency advises that between 70 and 80 percent of the daily hydration comes preferably from water, and the remaining 20 and 30 percent is completed with the intake of foods with a high percentage of water, such as fruits and vegetables .
Water is a natural and very healthy drink, that having no calories does not influence the gain of fat mass and gives the body (including the skin) all the hydration it needs.
But the benefits of drinking the amounts of water recommended during pregnancy do not just stay here, because in addition:
It helps fight constipation, so common in pregnancy.
It helps to purify the body of toxins, reducing the incidence of kidney stones and urinary tract infections.
Prevents heartburn and nausea.
If the pregnant woman has vomiting, drinking water helps to replace the loss of fluids and prevent dehydration.
In times of special heat, adequate hydration will improve blood circulation, help us maintain body temperature and better tolerate heat.
Hydration during breastfeeding
It is frequent that During breastfeeding, women experience more thirst than usual. This is due to the amount of water that is lost through the production of breast milk. Not surprisingly, 88 percent of breast milk is water.
The woman produces approximately 700 to 900 ml of milk daily during the first six months postpartum, so the amount of fluid intake to increase would be around 700 ml per day.So, the nursing mother should Drink approximately two and a half liters and three liters of water daily, something that will surely be very simple because, as we have said, the organism itself will ask for it through the sensation of thirst.
In short, good hydration is necessary at the time of pregnancy and lactation. And, as we have seen, the best option to hydrate is undoubtedly water. A natural drink that, in general, will help the body to transport nutrients, eliminate waste and promote digestion.
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