When you are pregnant, you must do your best to make sure that you will have a good delivery. You will also have to make sure that your baby is healthy. Those have a lot to do with the diet you have. Your baby also eats the same things as you do.
The first thing that you have to do is to eat more than what you did before you got pregnant. It is estimated that a lady who is pregnant should consume about 300 more calories per day. This is important for your baby to grow.
You may have nausea and vomiting during the first few months. That may make your eating difficult. But the symptoms will go away. Just make sure that you have a well balanced diet. Also, you need to take prenatal vitamins. Your doctor should be able to give you the idea of what vitamins you need to take.
You should have wide variety of foods so that you have all the nutrients that you need. Try to avoid fat and sweets. They are not so good for your health. Take some fibers. You should have whole-grain breads instead of white breads. Take enough cereals, fruits and vegetables.
There are many prenatal vitamin supplements. You can easily buy the products over the counter. Vitamins and minerals are very important for pregnant people. You will need them more than you used to do. If you are not sure what to take, you can consult your doctor or read some guide books for healthy pregnancy.
Add calcium to your diet. You can choose to have the foods which have high calcium content. This will ensure that you get at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily during this period.
You should have at least three serving of iron rich foods. You will need 27 milligrams of iron every day during the time.
Vitamin C is also very important. Go for fruits and vegetables like oranges, grapefruits, strawberries, honeydew, papaya, broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts, green peppers, and tomatoes. You need 70 milligrams of vitamin C per day.
Folic acid has to be added onto your menu. If you don’t like pills, go for dark green leafy vegetables, veal and legumes. Every pregnant lady needs 0.4 milligram of folic acid. This helps prevent neutral tube defects such as spina bifida.
The last thing that you need to do is to take vitamin A. Choose at least one source of vitamin A every other day. Sources of vitamin A include carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, spinach, water squash, turnip greens, beet greens, apricots, and cantaloupe
By: Tamara Mandasco
