Critique on Nutrition and Pregnancy

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Critique on Nutrition and Pregnancy
During pregnancy, the quality of a mother’s diet involves an insightful influence on positive maternal and fetal outcomes. The quality of the food specifically during the first trimester exerts a substantial impact on the placental and fetal development as well as on the subsequent maternal well-being and fetal growth. Additionally, most mothers seem to develop changes with regards to their diet during pregnancy. However, according to the research conducted by Bookari et al., such mothers have reported a lack of knowledge concerning nutritional diet information (2). This paper will critique the NHS website on pregnant mothers and compare it to good dietary practices in addition to evaluating recommendations concerning how best information should be presented.
The NHS website, particularly on the issue of consuming fish omits the following vital points; raw fish should be avoided in pregnancy since it could be a microbiological hazard as it contains high levels of dioxins and or polychlorinated biphenyls. However, shellfish may be eaten freely. Another point that is omitted is that canned tuna is not among the class of oily fish and so it should not be included in a serving of the two recommended oily portions of fish. Another point is that due to the high content of mercury in tuna, the advice is to avoid picking the fresh tuna as part of the total oily fish consumption.
Information given on websites such as the NHS should portray observed benefits for a nutritional diet on the mother.

Nevertheless, the NHS fails to provide relevant information regarding maternal weight gain or weight loss. Instead, it focuses on the kind of foods that pregnant ladies should or should not consume. The effect of too much gestational weight gain or maternal obesity on pregnancy may result in a threat to the health of the baby and the mother and as such the outcomes have become a significant focus in the research of maternity care across the globe.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Due to the lack of adequately presented educational materials concerning nutrition in maternal care, the government should prompt the ease of access to educational materials particularly government websites that provide accurate information with regards to maternal health care. Furthermore, perinatal educators, as well as other relevant health care providers, need to familiarize themselves with emerging dietary recommendations for maternal women to ensure mothers consume foods that prevent obstetrical complications, contribute to adequate birth weight, and promote the mother’s postnatal health.

Works Cited
Bookari, Khlood, Heather Yeatman, and Moira Williamson. “Informing Nutrition Care in the Antenatal Period: Pregnant Women’s Experiences and Need for Support.” BioMed Research International, 2017, pp. 1-16.