While you do need to eat additional calories when you're pregnant, forget about eating for two. That just leads to excess weight gain that's difficult to shed after the baby is born. A few changes to your already healthful diet are all you need to provide adequate nutrition for you and your unborn child.
All you need is to eat an extra 300 calories daily, derived from healthful sources. Exactly how much is 300 calories? A medium baked potato without any toppings has 120 calories. A glass of orange juice has 110 calories. It's not difficult to get those extra 300 calories.
What to Eat
First a few words about what not to eat: Avoid junk food, alcohol, and caffeine. Instead, increase your usual servings of a variety of foods from the four basic food groups. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends:
- Four or more servings of fruits and vegetables for vitamins and minerals
- Four or more servings of whole-grain or enriched bread and cereal for energy
- Four of more servings of milk and milk products for calcium
- Three or more servings of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, dried beans, and peas for protein
Essentials
You need more nutrients to help your baby grow and be healthy. Your developing baby will take what it needs. If you don't have enough of some nutrients, you and your developing baby could have various health problems. Here are the essential minerals:
Folic acid (folate) prevents neural tube defects such as spina bifida and plays an important role in the formation of red blood cells. It's found in many foods, including kidney beans, leafy green vegetables, peas, and liver. It's also added to prepared bread and cereals.
Calcium builds strong bones. It's found in milk products and many grains and legumes.
Iron is essential for healthy blood. Spinach is high in iron, as are meats, beans, and other foods.
Sodium helps regulate the water in your body. But you don't need to go overboard in your intake. All you need while pregnant is 2,000 to 8,000 milligrams a day. One teaspoon of salt contains 2,325 milligrams of sodium. And many foods already have salt added.
Fluids – especially water – are essential. Your blood volume increases dramatically during pregnancy. A minimum of eight glasses a day can prevent dehydration and constipation.
Most healthcare professionals agree that you can get all the nutrients you need by eating a well-balanced diet. Depending on your individual needs, your doctor might suggest that you take a prenatal mineral and vitamin supplement, which could include iron, folic acid, and calcium.
Weight Gain
Some women are tempted to go on a diet during pregnancy – or to eat a low-calorie diet. It's important that you don't restrict your food intake. But it's also important you don't fill up on ice cream and chips. You need the right amounts of protein, vitamins, and minerals to properly nourish you and your baby.
Eating a low-calorie diet can cause your stored fat to break down. And while that might sound like a good idea, it could have dramatic and very serious results, including causing your child to be born mentally retarded. That's because when fat breaks down, ketones are releases into your blood and urine. A constant production of ketones can negatively affect the developing baby.
You should gradually gain weight during your pregnancy, with most of it being gained in the last trimester. The average weight gain for lean women is 28 to 40 pounds. Women with a higher Body Mass Index should gain 15 to 25 pounds.
While that amount of weight might seem like a lot, remember that 6 to 8 pounds is baby weight. Higher fluid volume, larger breasts, larger uterus, amniotic fluid, and the placenta cause the rest. Ask your doctor what is a healthy weight gain for you.
Click here to take a Healthy Pregnancy Quiz, from the National Women’s Health Information Center, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. |
