Pregnant women may not be drinking enough water, researchers report

Maternal under-hydration throughout being pregnant is related to a variety of destructive delivery outcomes, together with low ranges of sufficient amniotic fluid and plasma, disrupted fetal mind improvement and threat of low delivery weight, in line with tips from the American Being pregnant Affiliation and The American School of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

An interdisciplinary analysis workforce from the Penn State School of Well being and Human Growth not too long ago discovered that, regardless of the danger, many pregnant ladies in america have no idea how a lot water they need to devour and weren’t monitoring their water consumption.

The research additionally indicated, nonetheless, that ladies had been keen to comply with tips and use digital know-how that might assist them monitor their hydration standing and meet water consumption targets.

Pregnant ladies ought to be consuming between 1.9 and three liters of water day by day, in line with nationwide tips. The suggestions for particular person ladies fluctuate primarily based on the ladies’s weights, how far they’re into their pregnancies, their bodily exercise ranges and even the climates the place they reside.

Danielle Symons Downs, professor of kinesiology and of obstetrics and gynecology, and Abigail Pauley, a postdoctoral fellow in Downs’ analysis group, led a survey of 137 pregnant ladies in america.

Outcomes of their research—not too long ago published in PLOS Digital Well being—demonstrated that just about two-thirds of ladies weren’t assembly and/or unaware of hydration suggestions. Across the identical share of ladies mentioned they had been enthusiastic about utilizing digital instruments to extend their fluid consumption.

“Pregnant ladies don’t must panic about hydration, however it is very important devour sufficient fluids,” mentioned Downs, affiliate director of the Penn State Social Science Analysis Institute.

“Hydration is essential to the well being of each the mom and fetus—particularly because the being pregnant progresses into the second and third trimester when ladies want extra water to kind amniotic fluid, carry vitamins, and improve digestion. Our prior work has additionally proven that hydration ranges can influence fetal delivery weight.”

Examine individuals had been recruited on social media from round america. Taking part pregnant ladies accomplished a one-time, 45-minute survey about their water consumption and associated water-intake behaviors. Outcomes confirmed that 63% of the ladies weren’t conscious of hydration tips and 67% weren’t assembly the suggestions.

When requested about why they may not be consuming sufficient water, the most typical responses included lack of thirst, forgetting to drink water and never wanting to extend the frequency of urination.

“General, these outcomes level to a niche within the messaging we offer to pregnant ladies and within the consciousness of anticipating moms,” Pauley mentioned. “Thankfully, our different outcomes confirmed that there may be a low-cost and low-burden strategy to tackle the issue for a lot of ladies.”

Ladies within the research had been open to utilizing digital know-how to enhance their water consumption, in line with the researchers. Sixty-nine p.c mentioned they had been keen to strive utilizing a digital software, and 67% mentioned a sensible water bottle—a water bottle that measures the quantity of water consumed throughout a day and reviews that information to a smartphone app for monitoring—may assist them meet fluid consumption tips.