How much water should you drink when pregnant + breastfeeding?
Your body is about 50–80% water depending on your age + body weight, water is involved in many processes in our body including - digestion, absorption, transportation, dissolving nutrients, temperature regulation + getting rid of waste products. The average person can survive for about 40 days without food but most people will die if they go for more than 5 days without water!
It is recommended that pregnant + lactating women drink between 8-12 cups [2-3L] of water daily + even more if you are exercising. Are you drinking enough? I know I'm probably not!
When you don't have enough fluid you get dehydrated, symptoms occur when you have lost between 1-5& of your body water. You many experience - thirst, a dry sticky mouth and tongue, feeling lightheaded or dizzy, a headache, feeling very tired loss of appetite, flushed skin, increased pulse rate + nausea.
Here's some tips to getting in you 2+ litres a day;
- Add a squeeze or slice of lemon or lime, some strawberries or mint leaves
- Keep a bottle or glass of water handy on your desk, in your bag or bedside table
- Drink water with each meal + snack
- Drink a large glass of water at every breast feed
- Add ice cubes made from fresh fruit
- Set a reminder on your phone every couple of hours when awake
Personally I find the following things helpful;
- Having a large glass of water first think in the morning
- Drinking from a straw
- Drinking ice-cold water
- My favourite drink bottles are the Bink Mama Bottles because they have a straw and a helpful intuitive time guide, Frank Green Bottles because they have a straw lid and keep drinks cold for HOURS but they do scratch and the 1L bottle doesn't fit in my car cupholder but the 595ml does or Stanley Cups these are pricey but they have both a straw and a narrower base meaning it does fit in the car cup holder and as an added bonus it has a handle