Healthy diet for pregnancy

Your diet is always an important factor for healthy living, but during your pregnancy, it is even more important. This is because you are taking care of both - yourself and your baby, so you should not forget that you are eating for two now. Each woman should know that she is the only source of nutrition for her unborn baby. Her eating habits will affect baby’s health and well-being. In order to cope with the increased demands, your body needs a sufficient amount of nutrition as you might guess. Poor eating habits can adversely affect your pregnancy and result in conditions like anemia, pre-eclampsia, mood swings, fatigue, or leg cramps. It had been learnt that deficiency of some minerals like zinc is sometimes responsible for initiating premature labor in some cases.

As long as there is no family history of medical diseases, eating the right kinds of foods will ensure you to have a healthy baby and pregnancy. A study conducted how baby’s health at birth is directly related to the mother’s diet during her pregnancy. 95% of the women, which are on an excellent diet, have healthy babies. Whereas, of the women thriving on junk food only 8% of them had healthy babies, while 65% had premature, malnourished, or functionally immature babies. The fact is every bite counts, so whatever an expectant mother eats or does not eat, affects her child. Lack of folic acid in the first trimester increases the risk of spinal tube defects and lip and palate deformities of babies. Lack of protein and calories in the last trimester could affect the development of the baby’s brain. If you want that your baby grows really well, you have to take care to have well-balanced diet. That kind of diet includes vitamins, minerals, proteins and substantial calories for its all-round development.

In the early months of pregnancy, pregnant woman does not need to change her diet. However, as the pregnancy advances, she might need to increase calorific intake to 500 additional calories a day. This normally happens in the second and third trimesters, but if you eat more than this amount, you will gain the unnecessary weight. You should avoid junk foods like burgers, fries, cookies, as these constitute empty calories. What you need is a sufficient amount of proteins, carbohydrates and foods that contain minerals and vitamins, and valuable nutritients. However, your pregnancy does not entitle you to eat for two. In fact, if you do eat for two, you will gain too much weight. In this case, you will not only be inviting unnecessary complications, but you might also have difficulty in shedding your excess weight after pregnancy. A recent study has shown that in addition to normal diet of 1500-200 calories, a pregnant woman needs to take only 300 additional calories per day. That is as many calories as one additional bottle or can of coke. Each woman should know that the one that you are trying to feed is only a tiny fetus whose entire weight gain in 9 months is 6-8 pounds.

Due to morning sickness and food aversions, it is not possible to maintain completely your nutritious diet. Although vitamins can not take the place of a good antenatal diet, they are more like insurance for you and your baby. Some researches shown that women who take vitamins before pregnancy and during the first month greatly reduce the risk of neural tube defects in their babies.

Studies have shown that lack of folic acid in the first trimester can increase the risk of some defects in the baby. Vitamins, iron and calcium are essential in diet of pregnant woman. In fact, most doctors also recommend daily supplements of folic acid and vitamin B12 starting from the first month of pregnancy. Iron and calcium should be included into diet after the first trimester. Especially iron-fortified multivitamin supplements formulated for pregnancy and lactation are also available. Although most supplements are over-the counter medicines, you should make sure that you discuss them with your doctor first. Whether woman is pregnant is not, a healthy diet includes proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and plenty of water. Doctors were published dietary guidelines that can help you determine how many servings of each kind of food to eat every day. Eating a variety of foods in the proportions indicated is a good step toward staying healthy both you and your baby.

 

Here are some of the most common nutrients and the foods that contain them.

Calcium is another important nutrient for pregnant women, because your growing baby's calcium demands are high. It highly recommended the increasing of your calcium consumption to prevent a loss of calcium from your own bones. The best food sources of calcium are milk and other dairy products, but if you dislike milk and milk products, you might ask your doctor about other calcium supplements. There are also other calcium-rich foods, which include sardines or salmon with bones, tofu, broccoli, spinach, and calcium-fortified juices and foods. Evidence of low calcium is muscular cramping especially in the lower legs and most commonly experienced in the last trimester. During this time the baby’s bones are becoming rapidly denser, so symptoms most commonly occur in this time.

It is true that doctors do not usually recommend starting a strict vegan diet when you become pregnant? However, if you already follow a vegetarian diet, you may continue with it during your pregnancy too, but you need to be very careful. You have to be sure your doctor knows about your diet because it is challenging to get the nutrition you need if you do not eat fish and chicken, or milk, cheese, or eggs. You will probably need supplemental protein and may also need to take vitamin B12 and D supplements. To ensure that you and your baby receive adequate nutrition, consult a registered dietitian for help with planning meals and avoid unwanted consequences.

Generally, you should avoid alcohol, because no level of alcohol consumption is considered safe during pregnancy. You should also check with your doctor before you take any vitamins or herbal products, because some of these can be harmful to the developing fetus. Many doctors feel that one or two 6- to 8-ounce cups per day of coffee, tea, or soda with caffeine will not harm your baby. Also it is wise to avoid during your pregnancy. High caffeine consumption has been linked to an increased risk of miscarriage, so definitely you should limit your intake or switch to decaffeinated products. Important is to know when you are pregnant, you should avoid food-borne illnesses, such as listeriosis and toxoplasmosis. Those diseases can be life-threatening to an unborn baby and may cause birth defects or miscarriage. Foods you should steer clear of include soft, unpasteurized cheeses, such as feta, goat, Brie, Camembert, and blue cheese. You should also steer clear of unpasteurized milk, juices, apple cider, raw eggs or foods containing raw eggs, including mousse and tiramisu. In this group of food are also raw or undercooked meats, fish, or shellfish, and processed meats such as hot dogs and deli meats. If you have eaten these foods at some point during your pregnancy, try not to worry too much about it now; just avoid them in the future. You will also want to avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish, as well as limit the amount of other kinds of fish that you eat usually. Although fish and shellfish can be an extremely healthy part of your pregnancy diet, these types of fish may contain high levels of mercury, which can cause damage to the developing brain of a fetus.

Because the iron in prenatal vitamins and other factors may cause constipation during pregnancy, it is definitely a good idea to consume more fiber than you did before. You could try to eat about 20 to 30 grams of fiber every day. The best sources of fibers are fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as whole-grain breads, cereals, or muffins.

 

If constipation is a problem for you, ask your doctor to prescribe you a stool softener. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids, especially water, when increasing fiber intake. If you forget it, you can make your constipation worse. One of the best ways to avoid constipation is to get more exercise and to drink plenty of water between meals.

Some pregnant women find that broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, and fried foods give them heartburn or gas so you might want to avoid these foods.

If you're frequently nauseated, eat small amounts of bland foods, like toast or crackers.

 

The main goal is to eat foods from the different food groups in approximately the recommended proportions. If nausea or lack of appetite causes you to eat less at times, do not worry. This is unlikely to cause fetal harm because your baby gets first crack at the nutrients you consume. It is generally recommended that a woman of normal weight gain approximately 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Although most women gain 4 to 6 pounds during the first trimester and 1 pound a week during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, so do not fixate on the scale. Instead, focus on eating a good variety and balance of nutritious foods to keep both you and your baby healthy, which is the only important thing.