Nutrition in Pregnancy
Your nutrition in Pregnancy is crucial in ensuring your
infant's good health. Questions about "what I should and should
not eat," are among the most frequent questions asked. your
proper nutrition ensures a healthy placenta. This acts as
the baby's lungs, stomach, kidneys, and liver until the baby is
born. When you don't eat well, the baby competes with your body
for is nutrition. It is your baby who loses.
You don't need to double the amount of food you eat, but you do
need to make smart decisions in what you eat. If you ate a
health diet before pregnancy, there is very little you need to
change. If you were a poor eater, or a junk food addict before
pregnancy, now is the time to make changes that will become
lifelong habits. You need to ensure your babies health, and if
you take these lessons to heart, losing excess weight after the
pregnancy will be easy and you will be able to keep that weight
off. Just remember if you have a bad day, or eat too much at one
meal, just start over. Hear is a simplified version of
what you should be eating.
6-11 servings bread,
pasta, whole
grain products
3-5 servings
vegetables for
vitamins and minerals
2-4 servings fruit
3 servings high
protein
foods, such as meat, beans, tofu, nuts
3-4 servings dairy
products for
calcium
sparingly fats,
oils &
sweets
6-8 8ounces glasses of water daily
2500 calories per day and 60 grams of protein
Here is a daily serving chart to help you keep a nutrition diet
during pregnancy.
| SERVINGS PER DAY | SUGGESTED SERVING SIZE | NEEDED FOR |
| Dairy products | 1 cup milk | Building bones and teeth |
| 4 or more servings | 1 cup yogurt | Source of calcium |
| 1 cup pudding | ||
| 2 oz cheese | ||
| 1/4 cup grated cheese | ||
| Protein | 2 eggs | Building new cells for mom and baby, |
| 3-4 servings | 1/4 cup peanut butter | especially your baby's brain |
| 1 cup beans | ||
| 2-3 oz beef, fish, or chicken | ||
| 1/2 cup nuts or seeds | ||
| Iron | Red meat, beans, peas, lentils, | Forming new red blood cells |
| As much as possible | enriched breads, cereals, and | |
| dried fruit | ||
| Citrus fruits and Vitamin C | 1 orange or kiwi | Holding new cells together |
| 2 servings | 1/2 grapefruit | |
| 1/2 cup strawberries | ||
| 1 tomato | ||
| 6 oz juice | ||
| Cark green and yellow vegetables | 1/2 cup spinach, broccoli | Preventing low iron and |
| 1-2 or more servings | squash, or peppers | maintaining health |
| 1/2 cup raw carrots | Source of folic acid, | |
| 1/3 cup cooked carrots | vitamins and minerals | |
| Fruits and Vegetables | 1/2 cup cooked or | Roughage and energy |
| (the citrus fruits above, plus | 1 cup raw vegetables | Source of fiber, starch, |
| three or more servings of:) | 1 medium piece of fruit or | vitamins, and minerals |
| 1/2 cup chopped fruit | ||
| Breads | 1 slice bread | Strengthens nervous system |
| 6-11 servings | 1 tortilla | causes weight gain, builds energy |
| Rice, pasta, cereal, | 1/2 bagel, bun, or English muffin | Vitamin B, and fiber |
| products | 1 pancake or cookie | |
| 1 oz cereal | ||
| Water and fluids | Carries nutrients to cells | |
| 6-8 glasses of water in | Carries waste products away | |
| addition to other fluids | Provides fluid for increased | |
| body volume and body | ||
| fluids | ||
| Fats, oils & sweets | ||
| Use sparingly |
Many food cause discomfort during pregnancy, here are some
guidelines to
help you:
Morning sickness: Feelings of nausea may be relieved by
eating low-fat,
high carbohydrate snacks, like dry toast, pain crackers, or dry
cereal.
High protein foods also help. Some women find relief from
drinking ginger
ale, ginger tea or by eating ginger snap cookies. Eating small,
frequent
meal is often your bet remedy. Keep snacks with you during the
day and next
to your bed at night, so that you can keep a small amount of
food in your
system to help ward of nausea. drink fluids between meals
instead of with
meals.
Indigestion: To help prevent or relieve indigestion, try
eating 5 or 6
meals throughout the day instead of 2 or 3 larger ones. Avoid
drinking
large amounts of fluids with your meals, avoid gas-producing
foods such as
beans or broccoli, and avoid spicy or greasy food. make your
evening meal a
small one. Make your lunch meal your largest meal of the day.
Heartburn: Avoid spicy or fried foods. Sit upright for 30
minutes after
eating. Use Tums, Rolaids or Mylanta. If the heartburn is
excessive please
contact our office.
Constipation: This common problem, frequently, can be
avoided by eating a
diet rich in fiber and by drinking lots of water. Eat a lot of
fresh fruits
and vegetable, as well as whole grain breads and cereals to
increase the
amount of fiber in your diet. Keep a water bottle with you
throughout the
day to help you drink the recommended eight -8 ounces glasses of
water every
day. Remember, the prenatal vitamin you are taking may contain
a large dose
of iron, this is important for the creation of your baby's red
blood cells .
Also, it contains the correct amount of folic acid to help
prevent birth
defects, such as spinal bifida. This is why it is important to
take your
prenatal vitamin daily. If constipation becomes a problem,
consult your
physician or nurse-midwife about supplementing your diet with
extra fiber.