A Vilnius woman lying in a maternity home presents a three-day menu: should pregnant women and mothers eat this way? | Lifetime

Without extra food he would have starved

“It has already happened that I was placed in the Vilnius maternity hospital for a few days. I am glad I got into the hands of such good doctors and nurses. They are all kind, friendly, provide professional help and care.

However, the hospital food was unpleasantly surprising and very disappointing.

First of all I would like to point out that fruit was never produced in the three days. Instead they gave two ordinary sweet cookies every night, really unhealthy, and for two days I received sweet yogurt and sweetened porridge.

It is very strange that it does not bear any fruit in the maternity home, because it is especially important that pregnant women who have just given birth eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible, that they do not become constipated, that they get as many vitamins and other substances helpful as possible, and cookies.

To prevent the pregnant woman from developing gestational diabetes, it is recommended to give up or avoid easily absorbed carbohydrates (for example, cookies, sugar), and sweetened products are given here every day ”, said the young woman.

Dinner is served around 5 pm and breakfast is around 8 am. 45 min. This equates to intermittent fasting!

Another thing that surprised her was the time between dinner and breakfast. Dinner is served around 5 pm and breakfast is around 8 am. 45 min. Consequently, the interval between meals is almost 16 hours.

“It is equivalent to intermittent fasting, and intermittent fasting is definitely not recommended during pregnancy and breastfeeding. During pregnancy, it is necessary to eat regularly, in small quantities, to eat healthy and balanced meals without such long breaks “, commented the interlocutor.

The amount of calories received per day also raised doubts among Vilnius residents. It is true that he did not weigh the dishes and did not count the calories, but he thought that they were very few after all. She believes that pregnant and postpartum women should have more.

“Actually, I don’t know what I would have done if the man hadn’t brought extra food. It would have been very, very difficult to cope with the hunger … And I’m not one to eat a lot. Other women also had food that they brought or ordered, the men took it. The food was not really limited to me. I am no longer talking about the aesthetics and taste of the food, which was almost non-existent.

Why isn’t sugar free, plain sweetened yogurt offered?

Furthermore, the impression was given that an attempt was made to feed the patient as cheaply as possible, combining as many calories as possible with the lowest possible price. And it doesn’t matter what kind of food is healthy or useless. Why isn’t sugar free, plain sweetened yogurt offered? Why not give an apple instead of cookies? Why is it still offered wet sausage (I got it once too) or an anchovy with a strange taste and consistency when there is a much healthier selection of products on the market?

I don’t really expect hospital food to be like a restaurant, but I hope it is at least healthy and in sufficient quantity. This is especially important for a pregnant woman and her developing baby, as well as for new mothers, ”said the woman.

Three-day menu

To make it easier to imagine, it offers a three-day menu. It shows that he received food only four times and only three times a day, although the body claims to eat five times a day.

First day

8:00 curd with sour cream, half a slice of bread, tea

11:00 yogurt sweetened with peaches

13:30 fish meal with boiled potatoes and frozen vegetables, rice soup

5:30 pm anchovies (strange flavor and consistency), grated beets, two biscuits, tea

Second day

09:00 egg, sweet rice oatmeal with raisins, half a slice of bread, butter, a slice of wet sausage, tea

13:30 meat grinder (probably chicken), groats, pickles, vegetable soup with mushrooms

17:05 oatmeal porridge, two cookies, tea

Third day

08:45 buckwheat porridge with carrots, half a slice of bread, butter, fermented cheese

11:25 yogurt sweetened with peaches

13:00 minced (probably pork) with mashed potatoes and half a tomato, pearl barley soup

17:00 baked cottage cheese with rice, tea, two cookies

We have a lot of control over the food we supply and we have designed the competition in such a way that it is more expensive than in other hospitals.

Body: food is well balanced

Director of the Vilnius Maternity Hospital Kornelija Mačiulienė He stated that patients get many complaints about food, but most of them are unfounded. According to her, the body makes many efforts to maintain healthy food. For example, it is best for a pregnant woman to eat seasonal vegetables, as well as cereal porridge, which provide long-acting carbohydrates, and exotic fruits should be avoided as the body may not respond to them properly.

“We have a lot of control over the company that supplies us with food and we have made the bidding conditions so expensive that it is more expensive than in other hospitals. However, we have many women with gestational diabetes, they are fed a special diet that restricts carbohydrates.

People with high blood pressure get foods that are completely salt-free. And in general, by following the requirements, we make sure that there is the least amount of sugar in the food, and we do not sweeten the teas. If a woman is used to eating full, here she will definitely not eat like that. However, in terms of calories, the food is compliant – we run a special audit to make sure we invite both food suppliers and inspectors.

The food may not be delicious for everyone, but it is balanced to get all the ingredients you need. And that women want their usual food, it is natural. For example, those who come from the districts want both lard and lard. Others want something more. P

like men who sleep with women we can order food, and sometimes I am very surprised to see a woman lying down with gestational diabetes crossing a pizza she ordered with her husband, who is a real carb bomb, and needs to follow a strict diet. So we have to learn to react correctly to food: it is not rotten or bad. Our doctors eat the same food, but they don’t complain, “said the interlocutor.

K.Mačiulienė agreed that sometimes patients are given unnatural yogurt, but they can always ask for diabetic yogurt, which is sugar-free. Cookies are usually oatmeal, and even more often breadcrumbs are given. Not all meals are repeated during the seven days. The meal is divided into five meals, but yogurt, cookies, or an apple are given for lunch or dinner.

Nutritionist evaluation

This menu agreed to comment the dietitian Daiva Pipiraitė-Lazarevičienė. According to the specialist, as of 2019. November 1 Patient catering in Lithuania is regulated by the Description of the procedure for arranging patient meals. This description should be followed both by treatment facilities that prepare food for the patients themselves and by catering service providers. After the entry into force of this description, medical institutions changed their menus, raw materials, cooking methods, presentation of food.

“Perhaps not all food producers have adapted well to the new rules, I cannot comment on this. However, there are many requirements in the description: it is recommended to give priority to organic raw materials, food products that meet the criteria of the “keyhole”. Describes sustainable cooking methods that can be used, lists prohibited products and raw materials for patient nutrition, and prohibited cooking methods such as cooking for frying, broiling, basting and many other requirements.

The description will include the maximum sugar, salt and fiber content of the food. For example, the maximum sugar content that can be found in yogurt and curd products does not exceed 5 g / 100 g of product.

Dishes must be presented in an aesthetic way, if there are no sections on the plate, no porridge or sandwich should be served, – called D.Pipiraitė-Lazarevičienė.

There is also a requirement for the number of vegetables: the vegetable garnish should represent at least 1/3 of the weight of the plate, the main dishes should not be repeated, the vegetables and fruits should be served daily. Therefore, not only pregnant and lactating women, but all hospital patients should receive the fruit. Dishes must be presented in an aesthetic way, if there are no sections on the plate, there should be no porridge or sandwich, ”said D. Pipiraitė-Lazarevičienė.

According to her, the diet of pregnant and lactating women actually has certain peculiarities. There are compositional requirements that the protein should be 125 g per day, kilocalories – 2500. This is 400 kcal more than usual. The diet should be at least 4 times a day. Patients should be given bedtime to avoid too long a fasting period between dinner and other breakfasts.

“I agree with the patient’s observations that fruit should be served every day, that there should be as little sugar as possible in the dishes, no sugar in the porridge, plain yogurt would be more suitable and fruit should be given instead of cookies Dessert items should not be supplied daily.

Sausages and anchovies are also not suitable and healthy foods. Meatballs, mixed porridges, baked cottage cheese: the right food, if the quality requirements of the raw materials are met ”, said the dietician.