Ayurvedic approach towards motherhood, that is pregnancy and childbirth, is indeed a holistic one. Ayurvedic recommendations touch upon the diet, behavior, and activities of not only the mother but also the entire family into which the child will be born. Pregnancy is a time when everything the pregnant mother tastes, sees, touches, hears, and smells should be nourishing to the mother and child.

Advice on diet during pregnancy –

• Cooked vegetables should be included in the diet whereas raw vegetables/salads should be consumed in fewer quantities preceding lunch.

• Pulses like yellow and split green gram, pigeon pea, and red lentils are easy to digest, balancing, and nourishing to the body. Chickpeas, black-eyed, and kidney beans should only be taken very occasionally and must be thoroughly soaked and well cooked.

• Grains including rice, oat, rye, maize, millet, amaranth, quinoa, and flours made from the above grains and buckwheat can also be used. It is better to avoid bread.

• Seeds and nuts such as sunflower seeds, pine nuts, almonds (without skin), walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios should be eaten in very small amounts as they are heavy to digest and Vata increasing. They are best soaked and made into paste or milk.

• All sweet fruits such as apples, pears, apricots, grapes, cherries, plums, sweet berries, fresh figs, dates, and pomegranate are good. Dried fruits are okay, but they are best soaked.

• Of all dairy products ghee (clarified butter) is the best – it can be cooked with and added to practically everything. Milk should be taken warm preferably, spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, or turmeric.

• Fresh cheeses are easier to digest than hard, old ones. They are best enjoyed with some black pepper to stimulate digestive fire.

• One should avoid red meat. White meat is okay for consumption i.e. chicken and turkey. Fish is very hot in potency; so one can choose to eat freshwater fish rather than sea fish.

• Refined sugar should be replaced by jaggery (solidified sugar cane juice), cane sugar, or honey. Honey is not heated stable and becomes poisonous for the body when heated, cooked, or baked.

• Black tea and coffee can be drunk, but herbal teas and decaffeinated coffee are better. Ginger tea made from fresh roots is warming, agni (digestive fire) increasing; removes mucus and toxins, but ginger tea should not be drunk regularly.

• Most essential is the use of spices. Cumin, coriander, fennel, and saffron are the best for balancing all doshas, increasing Agni (digestive fire), and should be used liberally. Black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mustard seeds, nutmeg, all fresh herbs (particularly fresh coriander), and onions can be used. Garlic and ginger should also be used in moderate quantities. Asafoetida (Hingu) pacifies Vata and should be added when cooking pulses, cabbage, and beans to reduce their gas-producing properties.

Charaka Samhita states that if a pregnant woman is taken care of as advised, she will give birth to a child who does not have any diseases – a healthy, physically strong, radiant, and well-nourished baby.

Kottakkal Ayurveda is a center for Ayurvedic massage, treatment, healing, herbal medicine, and lifestyle practices. Our team of dedicated Ayurveda practitioners, trained in the art of Ayurveda are here to support your transformation and wellbeing. Kottakkal Ayurvedic Treatment Centre is the premier provider of Ayurvedic services in Dubai (Deira, Satwa), Ajman and we’re excited to share these restorative techniques with you.