Nutritional Care Plan - Essay Example

Nutritional Care Plan Pregnancy is a stage in a woman’s life that is associated with a lot of health complications including nutritional health complication (Koduah, 2009). Some specific nutrition issues associated with pregnancy include the under listed factors.1. Eating small frequent meals.2. Intake of sufficient folate so as to avoid the development of neural tube defects in the fetus, such as spina bifida .3. Increase the intake of macronutrient food4. Avoiding alcohol consumption.5. Reducing the consumption of caffeine.6. Having an increased intake of mineral water and ordinary water.7. Taking in a lot of fruit and vegetable drinks (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics in Trewen, 2000)Even though the need for a pregnant woman to generally increase her rate of nutrition as compared to regular moments in her life, a lot of pregnant women tend to abuse this and in turn develop eating habits that lead to medical conditions that eventually affect them.

According to the Test Lab Online (2011), one of the commonest nutrition disorder associated with pregnancy is overnutrition. Harvey (2011) explains that “overnutrition is an unfavorable health condition in which at least one nutrient is supplied in an amount that exceeds the bodys requirements for normal metabolism, growth and development.” The Test Lab Online (2011) adds that overnutrition is a serious medical problem in pregnancy because “chronic overnutrition can lead to obesity and to metabolic syndrome, a set of risk factors characterized by abdominal obesity, a decreased ability to process glucose (insulin resistance), dyslipidemia, and hypertension.

” This essay shall focus on abdominal obesity in pregnancy. A recent case of obesity in pregnancy I encountered had to do with a patient whose initial specification were as follows on the first day she reported for antenatal:Height – 63.5 inches (161.29 centimeters)Weight – 60kg (132.277357 pounds)BMI – 23.06According to the American Pregnancy Association (2011), woman who had BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 before pregnancy is required to gain weight of 1 – 4.5 pounds during the first trimester.

However, after just two weeks, the woman came back to the hospital with a weight gain of 7.7 pounds. This was still at the early stages of the pregnancy and therefore constituted an excessive weight of 3.2 pounds. Further biochemical test showed that the albumin level of the woman was 5.8 g/dl, which was almost above normal. The interpretation is that the woman was suffering from overnutrition. Clinical assessment however revealed that the integrity of the woman’s skin was intact. When dietary assessment of the patient’s daily intake of food was done, it was realized that the woman had been misinformed to start taking in more protein and fat and extra mineral with the intention of helping her fetus grow better.

Medications were suggested for the patient based on her cultural and socioeconomic background. It must be reiterated that medications or drugs come into the treatment of over nutrition as a last resort and especially when the patient’s case has resulted in obesity. Some commonly acceptable medications in medical circles include Orlistat, Sibutramine, Rimonabant, Metformin, Exenatide, Pramlintide (eMedicine Health, 2011). Basically, all these medications work by suppressing the wish for appetite.

This means that the patient on these medications will have less appetite for food and would therefore eat less. Some of the medications especially Orlistat produces adverse reactions in pregnant women. For this reason, it is advised that patients take the medications only under strict expert watch.My checks showed that the patient was a self employed who was operating a cafeteria in a university campus. Because she had people working for her, she barely worked of late and did any exercise. She also increased the total intake of food because she could easily afford them.

The patient was therefore put on nutritional medication. As part of ways of ensuring that she maintained the right weight, she was required to follow the following:1. Undertake regular intake of folic acid.2. Avoid soft cheese and rather eat hard cheeses.3. Be cautious when eating hot dogs, luncheon meats, or deli meats unless they are properly reheated to steaming (or 160 degrees F.)4. Avoid eating refrigerated pates or meat spreads5. Avoid eating refrigerated smoked seafood unless it is contained in a cooked dish, such as a casserole6.

Maintain proper temperatures for cooking foods7. Exercise on a regular basis (Source: American Pregnancy Association, 2011).REFERENCE LISTAmerican Pregnancy Association (2011). Weight Gain during Pregnancy. Retrieved September 5, 2011 from http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/eatingfortwo.htmlHarvey V (2011). What is over nutrition? Retrieved September 8, 2011 from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-overnutrition.htmKoduah Y. (2009). Nutrition in Pregnancy: Knowing the Basics. Calvary Publications: TorontoThe American Pregnancy Association (2011) Listeria and Pregnancy.

Retrieved September 5, 2011 from http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/listeria.htmlTrewen D (2000). Births. Australian Bureau of Statistics: Sydney eMedicine Health (2011). Medications Used in the Treatment of Obesity. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/medication_in_the_treatment_of_obesity/page6_em.htm#Medications Used in the Treatment of Obesity