has become one of the most popular diets within the past handful of years. This is because people do not have to cut out entire food groups such as restricting carbohydrates or eat nothing but fruits and vegetables to lose weight. They can enjoy sensible meals during their window to eat and their only restriction is that the other hours of the day eating is forbidden to As such, it becomes a no-brainer way to cut calories and allow the body to process food to lose or maintain weight. However, many who participate in the may wonder what the safety of is during pregnancy.

The reason that intermittent fasting was developed originally was to help those living with health problems associated with inflammation of the body, , according to the . As such, people who had multiple sclerosis suffered a stroke, had Alzheimer's, arthritis, and more were prescribed this way of eating to have food help heal the body in conjunction with medications. But like all diets that are developed, when there is reported weight loss associated with a lifestyle change, it becomes mainstream and touted as a fix to losing stubborn weight. And that is what intermittent fasting has become today.

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Here is information about the safety of intermittent fasting during pregnancy.

What Intermittent Fasting Is

]Intermittent fasting is the process of letting the insulin levels go down to have fat cells release their stored sugar to be used as energy, according to . When this happens, the body begins to lose weight because it is not constantly being fueled by food throughout the day.

The most popular ways of intermittent fasting, according to the Mayo Clinic include:

5:2 fasting method: When intermittent fasting this way, five days per week, meals are eaten at normal mealtimes. For the other two days per week, fasting is observed, eating somewhere between 500 to 600 calories per day.

Daily fasting method: Daily fasting means that for eight hours per day, calories are allowed to be consumed. Once those eight hours are up, no meals or snacks are to be had for 16 hours, allowing the body to fast.

Alternate day fasting method: When using this method, normal meals are eaten one day and the following day a complete fast is done. If not able to completely abstain from eating, 500 calories can be consumed if necessary.

Safety Of Intermittent Fasting While Pregnant

Because intermittent fasting is relatively new on the diet front, there is not a lot of information available as to the benefits or side effects there are of this way of eating throughout pregnancy. As a result, according to the , it is not recommended for pregnant women to participate in intermittent fasting.

According to , the studies that most doctors will cite will come from observing the effects of fasting on pregnant women during the holiday, Ramadan. This is because fasting takes place during the holiday for 13 to 15 hours per day, which is similar to what is experienced when intermittent fasting.

In a 2014 , it was found that when fasting took place during the first trimester, the birth weight of babies was lower than those whose mothers did not fast. However, if fasting took place during the third trimester, there was no difference in birth weight between fasting and non-fasting babies.

A 2018 found that while no birth weight changes were noted, the placental weight was lighter in those babies whose mothers fasted during Ramadan.

Further still, according to , a 1996 found that "glucose, insulin, and triglyceride levels" experienced swings that were not seen in women who did not fast. And while there was no information as to how this impacted babies as they aged, because not enough was known about what the implications might be, fasting was not recommended.

The problem with intermittent fasting and fasting in general during pregnancy is that not enough is known. And when not able to conclude with certainty that something is safe to participate in during pregnancy, it is not going to be recommended out of an abundance of caution by healthcare professionals.

Risks Of Intermittent Fasting While Pregnant

Again, while not a lot about intermittent fasting is known during pregnancy, there are a few risks that have raised concern for health professionals when they learn patients are intermittent fasting during pregnancy.

Not enough calories consumed during allotted time to eat: According to , it may be difficult to ensure that all of the calories needed to support a pregnancy can be consumed in the short window allowed to eat. Because of this, there may be deficiencies in essential vitamins and nutrients that help to make up a healthy pregnancy.

Risk of preterm birth: According to a 2018 study published in the , women who participated in fasting had a greater risk of preterm labor versus those who did not participate in fasting.

Again, this was linked to Ramadan. But given that Ramadan occurs for a very brief period during pregnancy and intermittent fasting would occur for the entire nine months of pregnancy, healthcare professionals worry that the risk would be even larger with fasting occurring for long stretches during pregnancy.

There is not enough information to conclusively state that it would be safe for pregnant women to intermittently fast. As such, those who are interested in intermittent fasting while expecting should contact their doctors to have any risks explained to determine if it is the right diet to follow or should be avoided until after delivery.

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