Water While Pregnant: Why Does Your Body Need It?

With a baby in the womb and swollen legs, no expecting mother won`t receive a recommendation to drink 2l – 3l of water per day with too much enthusiasm.

But you should know that while expecting a child is very important to keep yourself well hydrated. A special care should be paid to the water`s quality, not only to its quantity. How much water should you exactly drink during the whole 9 months, which are its benefits, but also the risks that involve dehydration and what kind of water it`s recommended to drink, you`ll find out immediately.

First of all, you should consider something very important – during pregnancy, your child needs water to function normally. While expecting a baby, your body needs a lot of water to cope with the body`s new necessities and the growing baby in the womb. Water is essential for healthy blood cells and hydrated organism.

Mira Aubuchon, a professor from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Cincinnati says: “Your body is composed of around 5l of water. During pregnancy, the amount reaches at least 6l. Most of this increase is due to the blood volume. Blood is composed mostly from water.” That`s why, doctors recommend for pregnant women to drink at least 3l of water per day. – Learn more!

Benefits of Drinking Water While Pregnant

Water plays a vital role for both the mother and fetus. If we consider that at birth the baby is made up of 75% water, it might be obvious why your organism needs more water to function normally. Your baby receives all the necessary vitamins and minerals to develop healthy through water, which helps the organism absorb all the nutrients and transport them, through blood, to the fetus.

Also, the mother needs a lot of water. Water helps her to remain healthy, to eliminate toxins from her body, favors digestion and even relives morning sickness. Water keeps you active and prevents dehydration. Also, by consuming enough water you`ll manage to prevent swollen legs (due to water retention), urinary infections and hemorrhoids.

It should be outlined the role that water has in restoring the amniotic fluid. The “liquid of life,” which protects and feeds the fetus, is formed during the early stage of pregnancy from the water received from the mother and, along the way, from the fetal urine, nutrients, hormones and antibodies.

Ok, but you may think that the more water you`ll drink, the more water your body will retain. Experts ensure us that this is far from the truth. Water retention is the result of an imbalance between the amount of absorbed liquids and the one eliminated and reappears based on the consumption of salt. Doctors consider that a proper hydration helps the organism eliminate water retained by tissues. Paradoxically or not, the more water you drink, the less water your body`s retains. – Visit this link!

Risks of Dehydration

Just as water is beneficial for both, the mother and baby, its deficiency may cause imbalanced for both of them. Dehydrations can cause the mother all sorts of complications such as

• Headache.
• Nausea.
• Cramps.
• Water retention.
• Hypertension.

But most important, an insufficient hydration doesn`t allow the baby to develop in the amniotic sac and this may lead to various complications like:

• Premature birth.
• Compression of organs
• Lung defects.
• Hypertension.

The urine`s color is the most important sign of dehydration. If it`s lighter, it probably are well hydrated. However, if the urine has an intense, dark color, you should drink more water.

What Kind of Water Is Recommended?

Don`t take any chances! Doctors recommend drinking filtered, bottled or boiled water. Unfiltered water may be contaminated and cause serious health problems. Still, you should pay attention what kind of bottled water you drink. Read the labels carefully and don`t buy water with vitamins that your body doesn`t need. Minerals and vitamins in excess may lead to more harm than good. – More info!

Choose the water that is right for you and avoid flavored waters or teas on the market, high in calories. Take into consideration the storage conditions as well. Water that was kept in warm locations loses its properties and accumulates toxins.

Better consume tap water, if you are convinced is healthy. Thus, you won`t put your health in danger or your baby`s health.

Why Does your Body Need So Much Water?

A normal person loses between 2l – 3l of water per day through breathing, urination and sweat, without calculating the additional requirements of your body if you are pregnant, it`s hot or you are an active person. Being pregnant, you have to restore a glass of amniotic liquid – every hour. As already mentioned, this means that you should drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. – Read this!

• Water acts as a transport system that leads nutrients to your baby through blood.
• The water is eliminated from your body – by increasing the water intake, the urine will dilute and this will prevent infection in your urinary tract, which are common during pregnancy – leading to discomfort. You have plenty to endure in other conditions, as morning sickness, gaining weight, hormones, weird cravings; you don`t need infections in your urinary tract too.
• The amount of amniotic liquid needs to be recovered every hour. Some studies recommend drinking different amounts of water to fuel the amniotic fluid. For instance, if you have twins, you should drink around 0.35l of water every hour. From here it follows that you need to drink 8.5l of water every day. This amount can be achieved if you drink 0.5l of water every half an hour during the day. – Check this!
• Your body works overtime to provide all that is necessary for you and your baby. The volume and blood flow is increased and there are several toxins that need to be removed from your body. You probably have heard that the human body is 75% water – if you don`t drink enough water, your body won`t be able to function normally.

How to Convince yourself to Drink Enough Water?

For future mothers who think it`s almost impossible to drink 3l of water a day, we have a few tricks that may help them reach the optimal amount of water:

• You need to gradually increase the amount of water so that your organism can adjust.
• Add natural flavors, such as lemon, oranges or some mint.
• Keep a glass or bottle of water near you at all times – this way, you`ll make a new routine involving the water.
• Write down in a notebook how much water you drink on a daily basis – it will help you be aware if you consumed enough water in that day.
• Eat fruits and vegetables rich in water; they`ll help you maintain the optimal level of fluids your organism needs.
• Avoid coffee, juices or bottled teas.