Food and Pregnancy

Taking care of the new life in your womb

It's true that during this time, you need just 300 calories extra daily. However, they should not be empty calories.
Photo by MontanaRaven. Courtesy of Flickr.com

Food and pregnancy is an important topic for the mothers taking care of the new life in their womb. It's true that during this time, you need just 300 calories extra daily. However, they should not be empty calories. Nutrition is the word here.

Food and pregnancy are often a concern for vegetarian moms. It's not difficult at all to follow a well balanced vegetarian nutrition diet during pregnancy.

Drink Gallons of Water

Frequent intake of water during pregnancy can help deal with a whole lot of issues during pregnancy. A number of problems ranging from early pregnancy symptoms to infections can all be dealt with, by taking in good quantities of water during the 40 weeks of pregnancy.

Calcium

According to doctors your calcium intake at this time should range from 1200-1500 mg daily. Calcium is vital for the healthy growth and development of your baby's bones, muscles, heart, and teeth. If you do not take adequate calcium, your baby will use your calcium reserves. This increases the risk of osteoporosis in you. Calcium helps strong bone formation. Calcium further assists in normal functioning of the nervous, circulatory and muscular systems.

Your pregnancy nutrition chart should contain milk and its products. For lactose intolerant women, there are lactose-free milk products, buttermilk, soy milk, or cultured yoghurt. If this doesn't work, ask your doctor for calcium supplements.

Protein

Considering food and pregnancy, you need about 60 grams of protein daily for the healthy growth of your baby. Besides, it keeps your placenta, uterus, and breasts in a healthy state; it increases the volume of blood, and produces adequate amniotic fluid. Protein is a repairing agent and is crucial during the mid and later stages of pregnancy. Right consumption of protein throughout helps create a reserve which can then be utilized by the body and fetus.

Iron

According to the pregnancy nutrition guidelines, iron is important for production of hemoglobin in the mom-to-be and her fetus. Besides this, in the last trimester, your baby takes iron reserves from your body to keep anemia at bay in the first six months of it's life. Also, you lose a certain amount of blood during delivery. For all these reasons, it's crucial to increase the intake of iron. Right quantities of iron can help avoid underweight deliveries and infections. Extremely essential for body’s development, iron by making hemoglobin, assist the child with blood supply.

Your body needs only 27 mg of iron daily yet you need to take 60 mg because not all ingested iron is absorbed in the body. If you are found to be anemic, it's good to take pregnancy nutrition supplements of iron.

One of the tricks to absorb iron better is to take it with vitamin C enriched foods. Tomato juice, orange, or grapefruit are good options. Avoid taking them with milk, cheese, or other calcium enriched foods, as calcium hampers the absorption of iron.

Vitamins

Pregnancy nutrition guidelines recommend a 25-50 % increase in the intake of vitamins. The requirement of folic acid doubles to 400 micrograms daily at this time. Eating a variety of foods in your pregnancy diet leads to the fulfillment of vitamin requirement.

Vitamin A – Essential at all stages of life, vitamin A becomes even more important during and post pregnancy period when the pregnant woman’s body is sensitive and needs re-nourishing from all sources.

Vitamin B - Vitamin B and especially folic acid must be included in the pregnancy nutrition diet, as it helps deal with various abnormalities and neural tube defects.

Even if you think that you are taking a nutritious diet during pregnancy, it's important to have a look at pregnancy nutrition guidelines and read pertinent articles and books.

If you are breastfeeding, take special care to nurture yourself and the baby accordingly.

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