Pregnancy Diet

28 Jul

Posted by Admin as Female health

Probably the thing that will worry you most during your pregnancy is whether you are eating right, maintaining the correct pregnancy diet. After all, whatever you eat is also going to help your baby develop healthily. That’s why a lot of thought must go into nutrition during pregnancy to maintain the correct pregnancy weight at each pregnancy stage. Mainly, you have to follow much the same healthy diet you normally would - lots of fruits, vegetables and grains, proteins - except that you have to pay special attention to certain nutrients.

Folate

Folate, or folic acid, is needed to support the increasing maternal blood volume and to decrease the risk of baby Neural Tube Defects (NTD). Diet alone is not likely to provide enough folate. Therefore, it is recommended that women should start taking a daily folate supplement of 400ug (0.4mg) 3 months prior to conception and should continue through the first 3 months of the pregnancy.

Growing a baby requires a lot more energy especially in the earlier months when cell division is most intense. Vegetarians can source these from pulses and legumes (peas, lentils, beans, nuts, soy products) eaten in combination with whole grains such as rice, wheat ,oats, barley, rye, corn, buckwheat etc.

Try to eat high protein foods for lunch when you will be able to process them more efficiently than at night.

In the last months, calcium is released from the maternal bones to provide for the baby, so increased dairy, soy, greens and seaweed are useful. Raspberry leaf tea is especially useful in the last months as it softens up the cervix in preparation for birth as well as stimulates milk production.

It is a healthy way of eating for everyone

Overall, this is a healthy and sensible way of eating. Eat a nutritious diet that is moderate in fat content. Eat nutrient-dense food from a variety of sources in sensible quantity. Include lots of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, moderate amounts of lean protein, avoid junk food, and get exercise. While this is designed specifically for pregnant women, you can see that this plan would generally work for anyone who wanted to be healthier or drop some weight. It’s a healthy alternative that avoids harmful additives and promotes well-being.

Protein provides materials for the growing tissues (including the placenta, the mother’s blood and the baby). This diet includes at least three servings of protein a day, in a variety of foods like tofu, beans, chicken, fish and meat.

Calcium is needed (especially in the last three months of pregnancy) for proper bone formation in the baby, as well as to help preserve strength in the mother’s bones. This meal plan includes at least four servings of dairy products a day, mainly through milk, cheese and yogurt.

Some foods are no-nos

During pregnancy you should try to avoid:

raw seafood, such as oysters or sushi that has not been frozen before making.

cheeses with a white, “mouldy” rind, such as Brie and Camembert, and blue-veined cheeses like Stilton. All these cheeses could contain listeria, a bacteria that could harm your baby.

pate, raw or undercooked meat, poultry, and eggs (cook all meat until there are no pink bits left and eggs till they are hard). All are possible sources of bacteria that can harm your unborn child.