You’ve seen it before. You may have even experienced it yourself. An already pleasantly plump pregnant woman defending her mountainous portions of food with the old ‘eating for two’ adage. But the truth is, while being pregnant can cause a woman to have strange cravings, and even experience random outbursts of ‘snackiness’, a consistently increased appetite is not a general symptom of pregnancy. In reality, the phrase ‘eating for two’ refers to the nutrients that the mother takes in through her daily diet. As the mother, you are choosing what your child processes as nourishment, and, therefore, eating for two people. The important difference to note is that it is not how much you eat, but what you eat that is vital to your child’s health and development.
**this is not to say that a malnourished body cannot harm your child. being underweight is just as dangerous as being overweight. take care to maintain the proper physic for your height, age level, and condition while being monitored by your doctor.**
Read on to find out which foods offer the best nutrients for both you and your unborn child, and which foods you should avoid.
To start, you should be sure that you are eating a balanced diet that represents every part of the food pyramid. This includes fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, fat and carbohydrates.
If your diet is based on calorie counting, then this is how your basic plan should look:
10% protein – meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans.
35% fat – butter/margarine, oils, dairy, and nuts.
55% carbohydrates – bread, pasta, rice, corn, potato
Certain vitamins and minerals are particularly beneficial to pregnant women. (i.e. folic acid and b9)
**these two are particularly beneficial when taken prior to the pregnancy in preparation.**
How do they help?
B9 assists in the creation of a healthy nervous system for your baby.
Folic acid helps to prevent neural tube defects (spina bifida), and other complications such as cleft lip or palate.
Fortunately for mother and baby, both folic acid and b9 are easy to incorporate into the average meal.
Folic acid can be found in barley beans, fruit, green vegetables, orange juice, lentils, peas and rice. And b9can be found in your local health food/vitamin store.
Other supplements that could ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy are:
Iron
Zinc/Calcium
What foods/supplements should I avoid?
The biggest thing to avoid is vitamin A. You can do this by not eating foods rich in vitamin A such as liver. Also, unpasteurised cheeses and pâté should be removed from your diet due to the risk of transmission of infectious diseases such as Listeria.
**this is not a fully comprehensive list of harmful foods for pregnant women, so be sure to consult with your doctor when planning your diet**
Other foods/vitamins may not be particularly toxic, but may cause unwanted effects during digestion. Constipation is one of the most common of these effects. However, this too can be easily avoided simply by not eating, or eating less of certain foods/vitamins.
One way, is to take in less iron. Overdoing it with this supplement can not only cause uncomfortable constipation, but may have other more serious consequences.
Be sure to eat many fiber-rich foods such as whole meal bread and cereal, fruit, vegetables, and prunes and their juice.
Also, plenty of water and a light exercise regimen (i.e. brisk walking, light swimming, pregnant yoga or pilates) will help keep your stools soft and your intestines moving.
So how much should you weigh throughout your pregnancy?
Here is a guide chart to help you track how much you should be gaining for every stage of pregnancy you enter.
- 0-12 weeks/2 to 4 lbs
- 12-28 weeks/10 to 14 ounces per week
- 28-40 weeks/2 to 6 lbs per month
Overall, a pregnant woman should gain anywhere from 22 to 26 lbs evenly spread throughout her term.
Whether you think you are eating too much or too little, you should always consult your doctor before making a change in your diet during pregnancy. Remember, eating smart and staying fit should be for health reasons only. Pregnant women should never be concerned with losing or gaining weight for cosmetic reasons. Your health and that of your unborn child should always be top priority.
This blog post was provided by Stephanie Parker - our blog writer extraordinaire!
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