Why people don’t argue with pregnant women and other questions about pregnancy

About the spiritual component of fasting

There are 4 fasts a year that Orthodox Christians must observe. Spiritual fathers emphasize that the main thing in such periods is moral purification and improvement of the soul. This is also necessary for the expectant mother. After all, she carries within herself the pure soul of the unborn child. That’s why it’s so important to work on yourself during pregnancy and fasting.

Spiritual cleansing is the feasible sacrifice that each of us can make to God. Its essence is not only food restrictions. Although they are the ones who cleanse the body, and it is the temple of our soul. Spiritual cleansing is the careful observance of prayer rules. We admit that we do not always go to bed with prayer, and we wake up in a hurry, without turning to God for mercy on the coming day. Envy, condemnation, foul language, deception, rudeness, unwillingness to understand parents and colleagues - these are only part of the daily sins that are inherent in pregnant women. Therefore, on fasting days you should try to avoid this. Everyone knows their shortcomings and bad habits, which cause a lot of trouble and grief to their neighbors. Even pregnant women sometimes realize that their capriciousness, grievances against their husband, mother-in-law, and girlfriends are unfounded. Therefore, during Lent you need to be stricter with yourself and your actions. Silence is gold. And this axiom should become the rule of spiritual purification.

Priests repeat more than once that on fasting days the main thing is not to eat your loved ones. This means that you need to be kinder, more merciful, softer. This also applies to expectant mothers, to whom God has granted the happiness of carrying a child under their hearts.

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Is it possible to fast during pregnancy?

In Orthodoxy, Lent is considered one of the most important, since during it not only the body, but also the human soul is cleansed. Therefore, if a future mother has a question (quite logical!), is it possible to fast without fear while pregnant, then yes, it is not prohibited.

But what about restrictions on certain foods, because during Lent, meat, fish, and dairy products should be excluded from the menu? After all, they are what the baby needs most.

You should not worry, since fasting during pregnancy can be relaxed, and in Orthodoxy this is not considered a violation.

However, you can’t indulge in gluttony either! Everything should be in moderation - meat, fish, dairy products. This is the only way to fast during pregnancy without harm to the fetus and without violating the laws of Orthodoxy during Lent.

Food restrictions as part of fasting

So, gynecologists always recommend that women consume dairy and calcium-containing products in sufficient quantities so that the physical development of the baby in the womb is healthy. But what about during strict fasts, when the consumption of dairy and meat foods is prohibited?

Let us remember that rich sources of protein are peas, soybeans, beans, that is, legumes. Low hemoglobin, a known problem in pregnant women, can be solved by regularly consuming buckwheat and millet. Porridges made from them in vegetable oil are no less tasty than meat. They give satiety, energy, and improve the functioning of the digestive system. It’s no secret that when carrying a child, women often suffer from constipation. Drinking beetroot and carrot juice daily will help eliminate iron deficiency in the body. As for pomegranates, exotic fruits can cause allergic reactions. Therefore, expectant mothers need to be careful with them. Folic acid helps the body in the formation of hemoglobin and the prevention of fetal malformations. It is prescribed to pregnant women in tablets.

If a woman is worried about her baby and often feels dizzy, then she can relax her fast—pregnant women are allowed to do this. You can eat fish, boiled and baked meat, cottage cheese. But culinary excesses - preparing gourmet dishes from the above products - are not needed. Food should be simple, not multi-ingredient. Let food for a pregnant woman be medicine, not pleasure. After all, the latter is nothing more than gluttony. And this is another significant point in the nutrition of the expectant mother. Many people tell her to eat for two. But why do this if in the early stages, for example, the child weighs several hundred grams. Why should a baby eat as much as an adult woman? Increased feeding should be avoided. After all, this is also gluttony. A child developing in the womb accumulates excess nutrients with catastrophic speed. There he already gets used to excessive food consumption, which for his mother results in edema, excess weight, and digestive problems. But this could have been avoided by simply observing fasting.

Reasonable compromises can always be present in the diet of a pregnant woman. For example, fasting can be strict on Wednesday and Friday. On other days it is allowed to be relaxed.

Don’t forget about the enormous power of Communion during pregnancy. The grace that comes to the fruit is priceless.

What can you eat?

If you plan to fast even during pregnancy, you need to know what foods and dishes are allowed to be consumed.

As you know, a pregnant woman needs to get a fairly large amount of protein. For this purpose, it is not at all necessary to eat meat, because legumes also contain this substance. Therefore, when planning to fast during pregnancy, a woman should definitely eat beans, peas or soybeans.

If there are doubts that pregnancy during Lent may be in jeopardy due to the refusal of meat as a source of iron, then these worries are absolutely in vain. Fasting for a pregnant woman is not contraindicated, because meat products can be successfully replaced with buckwheat.

It is also useful to drink carrot and beet juice during fasting. The product contains a large amount of iron, so the patient does not face low hemoglobin during pregnancy!

Refusal of fermented milk products during fasting during pregnancy should also not be a cause for concern. In this case, millet porridge will come to the rescue, as it is a source of calcium, which is necessary for the formation of fetal bones.

Don't argue with pregnant women

– What features distinguish the psychological state of a pregnant woman? Should her mood swings, for example, always be taken seriously?

– The mood of a pregnant woman is just as critically important as nutrition, because we do not have a separate nervous system in our body. We have a neuro-immune-endocrine system. It's one whole. For example, in a nervous, frightened state, cortisol is produced, which has a depressing effect on both the mother’s immunity and the child’s development.

Anyone who communicates with a pregnant woman should try with all his might not to offend her, not to scare her, or to spoil her mood. This is known in the East, there is a proverb: “Don’t argue with a pregnant woman, and if you do argue, let her have the last word.” There is a custom there: if a pregnant woman comes to the market, they give her something and treat her. It is believed that this will bring good luck.

A pregnant mouse digs a hole. And among people this is expressed in the fact that it is a rare family that does not meet the birth in renovation

Due to hormonal storms, pregnant women often experience mood swings. They often cry - and without knowing why. Actually, more often than not there is no reason. It would be good for those around you to react to this calmly, positively, without rushing to console and without multiplying words. Be patient and let her cry. Maybe you need to feed her, or just hug her, or listen sympathetically, or go to an exhibition or take a walk together. Or maybe take the older children and let them sleep?

This is especially true for dads, because men usually react very painfully to tears and often don’t know what to do about it.

A man needs to remember: this is not a complaint against him. These are hormonal storms with rain and thunderstorms.

If a woman asks: “Do you love me?”, say again: “Yes, I love you very much.” Men don’t like to talk about it too much; they are people of action. But a woman needs to be told and shown about love: hugged, kissed, given something. That is, attention from the husband is absolutely necessary. Remember: improving a pregnant woman’s mood means making a long-term investment in the baby’s health.

A pregnant woman may cry without knowing why. Keep calm, maybe she just needs some feeding or a hug

For a pregnant woman, it is important to walk at least half an hour a day. It’s good to go to the pool and do special exercises. In reality, not everyone can afford it - then at least walk for half an hour a day, be in the sun. When a child grows inside, it takes a lot of calcium from the mother's body. Calcium is absorbed together with vitamin D, and it is provided primarily by the sun. In winter, you need either special UVB lamps, or vitamin D supplements, or fish oil.

Recommendation 3: Avoid long flights

Perhaps in the 1st trimester of pregnancy you will want to go on vacation to distant countries. For example, to Cuba, Sri Lanka, Tanzania. Vacations in exotic countries are of course good, but your health and the safety of your unborn baby should come first!

During a flight, there is a very large pressure drop, and how your body will bear this load is anyone’s guess. It is likely that everything will go fine, but some problems are possible:

• exacerbation of toxicosis;
• frequent urge to urinate;
• increased fatigue;
• problems with the digestive system;
• dizziness.

In addition, during a long flight you will be constantly sitting. And prolonged sitting can lead to lymphostasis - swelling of the soft tissues. In this regard, it is quite reasonable to replace long flights with shorter travel routes.

Before your flight, be sure to go to an appointment with an obstetrician-gynecologist, who will assess your condition and accurately answer the question: can you fly or not. If you have certain health problems, flying is contraindicated for pregnant women. For example, air travel is prohibited if you have severe anemia.

When going on holiday abroad, do not forget that in many countries in Europe and Asia there is a risk of contracting measles and rubella. And if you did not have measles or rubella as a child or did not complete the full course of vaccination against them, then if you become infected, you will face serious troubles. For example, infection with rubella in the first trimester increases the risk of miscarriage by 4 times.

How and when to read the prayer?

The general order of reading prayers for Muslim believers is described in the table below.

Are missed days reimbursed?

If the above instructions, which must be fulfilled during the holy month of Ramadan, are violated, the woman must atone for the crime.

Compensation can be of two types:

• Qaza is the holding of another fast at any other time of the year, after Ramadan ends. In women, this may be due to monthly bleeding in a given month, during which she is exempt from observing Uraza. It is best to reimburse them immediately after Ramadan.
• Kaffara - in case of intentional breaking of fast. It involves abstaining from food and drink for 60 days. If during this period the fasting woman violates the instructions of the Koran, then the atonement is “cancelled” and the days must be counted all over again. This type of compensation applies in cases where the fast was broken intentionally. If a person is unable to fast for 60 days for the reasons described above, then he must feed 60 poor people.

As for pregnant and nursing mothers, the burden of kaffar and kaza is removed from them. For every day they miss, they can feed 1 poor person. Such compensation can also be made by elderly people who are physically unable to fast for a long time.

Pregnant nesting is driven by hormones!

– They say that pregnant women at some point begin “nesting.” What it is?

– Nesting is an interesting phenomenon. It usually appears in the second half of pregnancy. It is caused physiologically – by an increase in the level of the hormone norepinephrine. It is also found in animals, such as mice. This means: you need to build a nest in order to raise offspring in it.

A pregnant mouse digs a hole. And among people, this is classically expressed in the fact that it is a rare family that does not meet the birth in repairs. It almost always starts during pregnancy. If you go to stores like Leroy Merlin, Ikea, you will always meet several pregnant women there, enthusiastically choosing something. There are even separate cash desks for pregnant women!

A minimalist husband, who perhaps counts every penny, should keep in mind that here, too, it is impossible to contradict his wife. If she needs to buy new curtains, let her buy them. Because this craving is irresistible, and a woman’s impulse needs to be supported. After all, we know how important it is for mom to be in a good mood.

Washing the apartment, reorganizing the closets - all this is also very important and also part of nesting.