The Ayush Ministry on Tuesday left many people, especially women ,concerned when it came up with the guidelines on what a pregnant woman should be doing and eating to deliver a healthy baby. The ministry has suggested that a pregnant woman should avoid having sex or feeling of lust, eating meat, anger, and hatred among many other things.
While a few suggestions by the government-funded Central Council were taken positively, others especially, abstinence from sex and eating meat were not convincing. In fact, it left many bewildered.
Newsd spoke to a few of the renowned gynaecologists around the city to know how accurate these guidelines are and to what extent it should be followed. Here’s what they have to say:
“Pregnancy is not a disease and there is no need of any such measure. The baby in the womb is protected by the amniotic fluids and strong muscles of uterus along with a thick cervical mucus plug against any infections,” says Dr Reenu Jain, MD, Obstetrics and Gynaecologist, Jaypee Hospital, Noida.
However, caution is advised during first trimester when placenta is low-lying, Jain added. “We can say that pregnancy is normal. No need to avoid having sex. However, a woman can choose different positions as per her comfort,” states Jain.
When asked whether a pregnant woman actually needs to avoid eating meat, Dr Jain calls it nothing, but ‘unscientific.’
“This advice to avoid eating meat during pregnancy is unscientific as meat is the great source of both proteins and iron. But we need to be careful to follow safe food handling guidelines, which means it is not safe to eat raw or under cooked meat, poltry or fish as they can harbor bacteria that can cause food poisoning.”
Besides, “when one reheats the meat to serve a pregnant lady, make sure that it is reheated till the level of steaming,” Dr Jain added.
Dr Vaishali Sharma, MD (AIIMS), Gynaecologist says, “As such there is no guideline. It entirely depends upon the associated complications during pregnancy of a particular person. In normal pregnancy, it is absolutely alright to have sex, but if there is any complication, one should be careful”.
On the suggestion to avoid meat during pregnancy, Sharma stressed, “It cannot be said blatantly and doesn’t apply to everyone. It absolutely depends on the particular person and her health condition.”
Dr Seema Seghal, another noted Obstetrics and Gynaecologist from Delhi did not even think twice before saying that, “There are no issues on having sex during pregnancy.”
“One can have sex during pregnancy without any stress. It is absolutely alright to have sex during pregnancy,” she concludes.
