Chapter 374 - What To Eat, And What Not To Eat
"Apart from that, I noticed she put on some weight on her chest area. I didn\'t know she was pregnant, so I only teased her with it." Liu Longwei revealed to the doctor.
Chen Lihua felt like hiding under the table when he mentioned the size of her burst to an outsider.
She glanced at him and gave him a death glare.
Liu Longwei caught the glare but pretended to not have understood the meaning.
"What?." He feigned ignorance.
Chen Lihua looked away from him and smiled at the doctor.
"Doctor, I don\'t feel pregnant at all. Apart from the signs of pregnancy, do not in any way feel or look pregnant. My stomach is still flat and didn\'t add more flesh." Chen Lihua insisted.
"I\'m very sure you were thinking that all baby bumps appeared in the first trimester, but that\'s not true. As I said, all bodies and pregnancies are different. This is your first pregnancy, so you don\'t expect to see a baby bump already. The size of your baby as you saw on the monitor, is about ×2 of an orange seed, so tell me, how do you get a baby bump at this stage? Your weight, the truth is that you have put on some weight, but it will not sure now till the end of your first trimester." The doctor explained in detail.
"You said you are having trouble with eating, no appetite. That\'s part of the pregnancy signs. Your body is different, that\'s why you haven\'t started to experience morning sickness. Very soon, the morning sickness will start, and it will last for some weeks. You will have trouble perceiving scents of perfumes, and the aroma of food will start to irritate you, and that would make you nauseous, but that\'s perfectly normal. From time to time, you might have uncontrollable cravings. You should eat what you want at that moment, I bet you that you would not feel normal till you\'ve had what you wanted."
"Right doctor. Am I free to eat whatever I want?." Chen Lihua asked.
"Yes, but you must watch what you eat. People say since you are pregnant, you should eat for two, but that\'s not advisable. The quality of food you eat is more important than the quantity. If you eat whatever you feel like eating and at any time especially high-calorie content, you and your baby will put on excess weight." The doctor replied.
"But doctor, I don\'t want to be fat. And I know if my baby it\'s fast, it might cause me difficulty in labor, and I don\'t want that. Can you write me a healthy diet plan that can follow strictly?." Chen Lihua asked.
The last thing she wanted to happen in this pregnancy, was to look fat, and have difficulty in labor.
And besides, she felt that she would look ugly if she became fat, and Liu Longwei wouldn\'t like her anymore.
"Sure, I will create a special diet plan for you. But you have to strictly follow it. Mr. Liu, I\'m sure there is someone to watch her closely because it will not be easy to follow the diet plan all by herself." The doctor asked Liu Longwei.
"I will make sure of that. What of her cravings? You said that if she doesn\'t eat what she craves for, she wouldn\'t be content, what should we do about that?." He asked with much interest.
"The cravings don\'t come every time, so she is free to eat what she craves for when it comes, as far as it is edible." The doctor answered with a smile.
"There are some foods, drinks, and fruits that can lead to miscarriage, so you need to be careful to avoid them. I will write them down, so you don\'t go eating them." The doctor notified as she began to put some information down on a paper.
There is indeed food that causes miscarriage, and they are to be avoided till the pregnancy is over.
It\'s probably safe to say you know to avoid alcohol during pregnancy, but some off-limits foods may surprise you.
For instance, while it\'s important to bone up on calcium, be cautious that you\'re not eating products made with unpasteurized dairy products, which can contain pregnancy-unfriendly bacteria like Listeria.
That includes soft cheeses like feta, Brie, and goat cheese. The same goes for unpasteurized juices, so check the label before you chug OJ. More to avoid hot dogs and deli meat, which can also contain Listeria, as well as nitrates and nitrites (in processed meats like hot dogs).
Raw sprouts can also contain E. coli and Salmonella, so opt for spinach or arugula instead. Pass on almost anything with the word "raw" — raw eggs (including Caesar dressings and hollandaise sauce), undercooked meat, sashimi, and raw sushi.
Speaking of fish, be cautious of seafood with a high mercury content, like mackerel and tilefish.
"Doctor, can I have some wine during my pregnancy?." Chen Lihua asked with a smile.
She likes red wine a lot, and can not miss drinking it once a week.
"As long as the alcoholic content is very low. You can take it once a while if you crave it. But it\'s best to avoid drinks with alcohol in it." The doctor advised.
"I will send the diet plan to your Email address, and the foods to avoid, within 48 hours. For now, hold onto this little information." The doctor informed her as she passed the paper she has been writing on, to her.
"Thank you, doctor." Chen Lihua said as she glanced through the paper at lightning speed before passing it onto Liu Longwei, who collected it and glanced through it, before passing it back to her.
Chen Lihua then finally put the paper away in her handbag.
"These days, you have to be careful with your health and in everything you do. This is your first pregnancy and the first trimester, so you need to be careful. Don\'t lift any heavy things by yourself, and don\'t stress yourself out. If you have any questions or if there is an emergency, you and your husband can reach me through calls which will pick immediately if I am not in the labor room, and through Emails which I always reply in the evening." The doctor instructed.
"Thank you so much, doctor." Chen Lihua said gratefully.
"Thank you, doctor." Liu Longwei said as he shook hands with the doctor.
"No troubles at all, it\'s my job." The doctor replied with a smile.
You could tell she was a professional and good at her job.
She discussed and talked to them as if they were any other patients she had, totally leaving aside their social status.
"Mrs. Liu, our next appointment is at your eleven (11) weeks. But you can still drop by any time you want if you need me." The doctor reminded her.
"No problem doctor, thank you for today." Chen Lihua replied with a smile as she and Liu Longwei stood to their feet.
Since Chen Lihua worked in the same hospital as the obstetrician, she wouldn\'t have trouble coming to find her.
But since she wanted to keep her pregnancy a secret, she would have to be careful of that.
As the doctor saw them to the door of her office, she was about going back to her seat when Liu Longwei called out to her.
Chen Lihua watched from the side as Liu Longwei whispered something to the doctor, and the doctor smiled while replying.