Fasting During Pregnancy: How to Cope With It

A double line on your pregnancy test kit can take you to cloud nine. Right from that day, you start caring for yourself in every sense. The typical nine months of pregnancy are very long and one need to follow all tips and precautions. However, what if; you come across festivals or customs when you need to keep fast? People follow different customs and beliefs according to their deities and religions.

There can be different occasions for fasting such as Navratri, Karwa Chauth, Ganesh Chaturthi, Ramdan and so on. For any of these occasions, only one question pops up in the mind of every pregnant woman and that is, is it really safe to keep fast during pregnancy? When doctors suggest you to eat something before you get up in the morning, the idea of fasting looks impossible.

We could not hurt anyone’s sentiments by saying that you should refrain from fasting during pregnancy. One day or a week fast can be handled in some manner. Keeping a fast is completely your choice; however, we would here help you with some tips to ensure that you stay healthy during fasting.

Visit your doctor: Nothing can be more important than you and your baby’s life. So, first visit your obstetrician to know your health status. Get yourself examined by the doctor. If you are healthy and strong enough to go for the fast, you can surely keep it. However, some women go through excessive morning sickness or dizziness during pregnancy and some women are at risk of miscarriage. Such women must definitely avoid fast if possible.

Slow down: On the day of fast, you must refrain from physical activities that eat away your energy. You have to conserve your energy as much as you can. Skip your walking or swimming, postpone your shopping and reserve the day for bed rest. Keeping less active will also make your uterus less active, which means you, will not need to eat so frequently.

Look for warning signs: If it is a one day fast like Karwa Chauth, you can somehow manage. However, longer ritual fasting can put you at risk. Therefore, you should always keep an eye on warning signs and must immediately call your doctor. Some of these signs can be

·         Decreased or no weight gain during fasting

·         Less and dark colored urine with foul smell

·         Headache and dizziness

·         Nausea and vomiting

·         Blurred vision

·         Light bleeding

 Uterine contractions 

Stay positive: Staying positive is the most useful mantra during fast. If you start your day with fear, anxiety and negative emotions, you will be disturbed emotionally and physically for the whole day. Instead, pray god to give you enough strength, stamina and patience to complete the fast in a healthy manner.

Follow a healthy routine on fasting day: Most of the families exempt the pregnant women to keep fast that stops them from eating altogether. Instead, they are allowed to eat non-cereal foods such as fruits, milk, fruit juices and so on. These foods will maintain your energy for the whole day. Apart from that, you must keep yourself hydrated. Keep on drinking many fluids including fruit and vegetable juices.

How to break your fast?

Keeping a long day fast will slow down your digestive system. Therefore, whenever you are breaking your fast, you must start slow. Start with a glass of juice or coconut water, take light meals and then your regular diet.

Fasting during Pregnancy:

In Indian culture, Karwa Chauth is considered the most pious and important fast for women to ensure the well-being and long life of their husbands. Unlike normal fasts, in this fast, you are not allowed to sip water for the whole day. On top of that, you cannot break the cycle once you have started this fast. So, how can a pregnant woman keep this fast?

·    Firstly, make sure that you eat rich foods in sargi which gives you energy for the whole day such as bananas, a big glass of milk, dried nuts and so on.

·        Try to take exemption this year and eat fruits and drink juices during the day.

·    Keep yourself distracted in your hobbies. However, they must not include any strenuous exercises.

Post fasting care:

After completing your fast, if you are feeling weak or feeling any other body changes, you must visit your doctor and get yourself checked. Your doctor may recommend you blood tests or ultrasound to ensure that everything is going well.

Apart from the normal blood tests, your doctor may also suggest a genetic prenatal screening test if he/she considers you are at risk of any chromosomal abnormality. Recently, a new non-invasive test NACE (Non-invasive Analysis for Chromosomal Examination) has been launched in India. This is a simple blood test which examines the mother’s blood for any cell free fetal-DNA by utilizing advanced technology and bioinformatics analysis. You can go for this test without any hesitation as it is completely safe and risk-free. Results are out within 7-10 days.

Now, once you have passed your fasting period with success, you must immediately start with healthy lifestyle. Eat healthy, live healthy and think healthy.

Happy pregnancy to you!