Nutritional Needs during Pregnancy

During pregnancy your body has special nutritional needs that must be met. Because you are doing all the fetus,s digestion and breathing. You will need more energy and thus must consume more calories. Your body also needs to produce more blood to be able to circulate some through the placenta. This means you will need more iron, protein, and folic acid. Growing fetal bones require additional minerals, such as calcium and phosphorus. If you already have a balanced diet, then it is a simple matter to add the extra nutrients that are needed for the fetus.

Calories and Weight Gain

Both your weight before you get pregnant and the amount of weight you gain during pregnancy determine the baby’s birth weight. A woman of normal weight before pregnancy should gain about 30 pounds during pregnancy. Women who are underweight should gain more, about 34 pounds, and women who are obese can gain about 20. Women carrying twins should gain as much as 40 pounds. Recommended weight gains are based on your overall body mass, which is a calculation of weight for height.

Women who are underweight during pregnancy are more likely to have small babies. Babies who have a low weight at birth (less than 5.5 pounds) have a more difficult time adjusting to life outside of the uterus. Proper nutrition and weight gain will help reduce the possibility of having and underweight baby. (Labor is not made easier because your baby is small or underweight. It is not appropriate to purposely gain less weight than is expected and required in order to have a smaller baby)

If you gain weight as you should while you’re pregnant, chances are that your baby will gain weight properly, too. You are not really “eating for two” Though. The average woman will need to add only about 300 calories to her daily diet when she becomes pregnant. This is only an average, however, and your doctor will tell you whether you should eat more or less than this amount. For example, a teenager (who needs to fuel her own baby’s growth as well as her fetus’s), an underweight woman, and a woman expecting twins should eat more than the average.

Women who are overweight can have problems during pregnancy, too. Still, it isn’t good idea to try to lose weight while you are pregnant, because you may deprive your baby of needed nutrients. It is best to try to lose weight before you are pregnant and then again after birth. Women who are overweight or who get very little exercise may be able to eat less than the average.

Eating snacks during the day is a good way to obtain needed nutrition and extra calories. It is best to pick snacks that have appropriate nutrients and are not high in concentrated sugars or tats. This usually means that candy, soda, and potato chips are of less value. Fruit, a slice of pizza, cereal, yogurt, and ice cream are healthier snacks.

You may feel more comfortable, especially during the later stages of pregnancy, eating small meals six times a day. To make these mini-meals, just divide the number of servings of the basic foods needed each day into smaller portions. Milk and a sandwich make with meat, Chicken, fish, peanut butter, or cheese with lettuce and tomato make an excellent mini-meal. Other ideas are milk and fresh fruits, fruit juices, cheese and crackers, raw vegetables, and soup.