I have read quite a few threads on this forum regarding people who are doing Low Carb pregnancies. My conscience is bothering me about this so I am going to be a busybody and post this regarding my Dr's serious concern about Low Carb dieting while I was pregnant. I was told absolutley not to do it and that going into ketosis while pregnant was dangerous to the fetus. It was suggested to me to cut out as much sugar as possible but that was about the extent of where I could cut carbs.

I did eat lots of protein and had 2 macrosomic babies (not sure if that is due to diet or genetics.) Anyway, obviously, it is one's own personal choice to make but I feel better having shared this.

I don't think there's a problem with following a reasonably low-carb (around maintenance levels) diet during pregnancy. What's the benefit in feeding a fetus sugar, flour and other junk? I would think eating primarily meat and veggies would be FAR healthier.

The way that it was described to me (I had made the same arguement) was that if I were to go into ketosis while pregnant, that would mean that "I" was receiving nutrients from my fat stores but that my fetus would be getting next to nothing as far as nutrients because all of its nutrients come from my intake of food. Also ketosis in an infant, means that it is starving. Apparently, they test you every time you go into the office for ketones to make sure this is not happening.

So... i suppose as long as you don't go into ketosis, it is OK, but I would take care to get plenty of complex carbs.

BTW... This info came straight from the mouth of my OBGyn. Its not coming from me and what I think is the case.

I was not l/c while i was pregnant as i had not even heard of it, yet constantly at my check up's i was told i needed to be eating more cos i was in ketosis, i didn't even know what ketosis was but they scared me enough so that i did eat more :| i wish i had known then what i know now, i was eating plenty and had always had a big appetite, btw i had pretty big babies but they run in the family

daisy xx

I always wonder when I hear a doctor say something like that. I mean, people have been having babies for thousands (if not millions) of years before flour was invented. Were their babies unhealthy? If they were, considering the harsh environment they were exposed to, I'm rather surprised the human race survived.

Dr. Atkins said that only maintenance level foods was okay for pregnant women. That allows fruits, beans and whole grains. I don't see how that could hurt the fetus. You don't need to eat sugar and potato chips to have a healthy baby. You could just add sweet potatoes, beans and more fruit and be perfectly healthy. It's got to be more healthy for the mom and baby than all the junk usually craved during pregnancy.

Sunny!

Sunny is right!
Dr Atkins advised that pregnant and nursing women should eat maintenance variety of foods - which would include whole grains, fruits, legumes, vegetables of all kinds. So no white flour/rice/sugar or processed foods containing them or transfats.

I notice you said your doctor was concerned about you 'lowcarb DIETING' by which I assume he meant 'lowcarb weight loss regime' which would include the first 3 phases of Atkins - and was not referring to 'diet' in the other sense of the word (meaning merely a way of eating - not a weightloss regime)

My aunt actually did the suzanne somers diet while she was pregnant. i'm not sure if you know of this diet but you the basis is that you don't mix carbs with protein or fat. Obviously everything whole grain. She would usually have fruit for breakfast, twenty minutes later she would have cereal with non fat milk or something to that extent and the rest of the day she ate protein with plenty of vegetables and fruit in between. She gained 25 pounds lost every ounce of that weight in no time by being a bit more strict with the carbs after she had the baby-and the baby weight 6 pounds 10 ounces-in perfect health.

I think you should do exactly what your doctor says if what she says makes sense to you. Ketosis isn't starvation, so that's strike one. There's never been any good reason (from Dr. Atkins or anyone else) why a ketogenic diet is even potentially harmful for a mother and her baby. Uliana's got it right. But I'd even go farther than Uliana. Because every single mother has been in ketosis during their pregnancy for millions of years, that you can only say that babies EXPECT ketosis in the womb, and we (and every other mammal) evolved giving our babies ketones. If you can find someone who can counter that without making up stories out of thin air about prehistoric humans, then you should listen to them, and I would greatly appreciate their phone number.

That said, LOSING WEIGHT while pregnant is a mistake. Ketosis and maintenance levels of carbohydrate are not mutually exclusive.

I asked a friend of mine who is an ob/gyn and also a low carber about it a while ago and he said that it was completely fine to stay in ketosis while low carbing.

I don't know what 'nutrients' we get from ketones. My nutrients come from foods. Leafy greens, meat, dairy, eggs etc. There are no nutrients that exist solely in grains.

Our bodies use ketones for energy instead of burning carbs for energy but that has nothing to do with the fetus not getting essential nutrients. Our body is also more than capable of generating glucose from protein sources through gluconeogenesis if necessary.

Our ancestors didnt have diets particularly rich in carbs, neither do the Inuits and I dont believe they had reproductive issues.


I think it may be unpleasant to low carb while pregnant and getting wild cravings and maintenance level carbs sound very healthy to me but I also dont see that much harm if one wanted to stay in ketosis under the supervision of a physician. I mean I cant see it as being worse than eating chips, ice cream and soda. Yeah... those are really packing a nutrient punch.

"During pregnancy, ketosis can cause brain damage and irreversible mental retardation in the infant."

http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=217

The Atkins diet is a healthy way to lose weight but not while you are pregnant. Its only 9 months of being overweight for you and you can always lose the weight afterward. Lets keep it in perspective... this stuff gets pretty scary when we will put babies at risk to avoid a few lbs of weight gain.

Maintenance phase is most likely very healthy while pregnant but you just have to be careful that you are getting your complex carbs.

OK... I have said all that I am gonna say here. The info is there for those who choose to accept it.

If I were to ever become pregnant again, I would low carb without hesitation. Low carb is not dieting and ketosis is a normal body function. As a pregnant woman who ate a high amount of carbs, I constantly had to fight odd cravings called pica. I craved dirt throughout my pregnancies and afterward. As-a-matter-of-fact, it was just since I have been eating a ketogenic diet that pica symptoms have vanished. All of my babies were born with jaundice. It was hard to produce enough milk as i nursed all of my children.I can't speak for all pregnant women but I know that I can have a low carb lifestyle during pregnancy and have it be a healthy pregnancy. I eat much healthier as a low carber.

This assertion would be pretty scary if it were supported or even suggested by evidence, here or anywhere. Fortunately, it is not. It's too bad we have to question everything this woman might say for the slip of this one extreme statement to snaz up an otherwise tepid article. I know that BabyFit is a great place for baby names, but they need more editorial oversight.

And again, if ketosis could cause brain damage and irreversible mental retardation in infants, Homo would have died out long ago. The evolutionary environment didn't allow for human mothers to avoid ketosis.

If anyone finds any evolutionary arguments when doing research on ketosis and pregnancy, I'd love to see them. Flippant commentary by dietitians and nutritionists don't count.

The article you reference has no supporting information on how the dietician came up with that statement. As most of the other information that is posted on that page in incorrect, I see no reason to believe her on anything.