How Can Nutrition Help Keep My Pregnancy Healthy?
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Most every woman who becomes pregnant hopes for a healthy pregnancy. While there are many things that you can do to help to insure a healthy pregnancy, there is perhaps no area that is more important than in the area of nutrition and diet. Pregnancy is a critical time for both mother and baby; it is important for a woman who is pregnant to be able to focus on the foods that she is consuming.
One of the most important things to remember when you are pregnant is that you are eating for two. While this doesn’t mean that you need to take in twice your normal amount of calories or nutrients, your baby will require extra food beyond what you would normally eat. In terms of calories, your growing baby and you need about 300 extra calories each day to keep things moving along. In general, pregnancy is not the time to lose weight. If a woman does not gain enough weight during pregnancy, her baby will not gain enough weight. On average, a slender woman should gain around 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. A woman who is underweight should gain more like 30 or 40 pounds. For a woman that is overweight, it is still important to gain at least between 12 and 25 pounds during pregnancy.
A balanced diet is a nutritional diet. Because of this, you should make sure that you are getting a variety of specific types of foods to have a healthy pregnancy. ou should get between 3 and 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day. One of these should be of a dark orange vegetable, and two should be of leafy dark green vegetables. You should have two servings of extra-lean meats, chicken, fish, or cooked peas or dried beans. You should drink eight glasses of water. You should have six servings of grains, and three servings of nonfat or low fat milk products.
If you use caffeine, it is helpful to reduce or stop your caffeine intake even before conception. Some studies show that taking more than 300 mg of caffeine per day can negatively impact fertility. In addition, caffeine may hinder the ability of your body to absorb calcium and iron.
There are also certain foods can contain chemicals that may be harmful to your baby’s growth and development while you are pregnant. Some foods can create the risk of food-borne illness, which can be particularly harmful to your baby. In general, you should avoid:
- Certain types of fish, including shark, tile fish, king mackerel, and swordfish. These fish may all contain high levels of mercury. In general, it is recommended that you keep to 2 servings or less of fish in a week. Good fish can include shrimp, salmon, pollock, catfish, and canned light tuna. Game fish may be all right, but you should check with local health officials or your health care provider before eating these.
- Raw meat or seafood. Uncooked meats contain a greater risk for listeria and/or salmonella.
- Refrigerated smoked seafood. Refrigerated smoked seafood may also increase the risk of listeria. Canned versions of these may be all right to eat.
- Hot dogs and deli meats. These also are particularly susceptible to listeria. Deli meats may be all right if you cook them thoroughly.
- Raw eggs. Raw eggs and things made with them, such as mayonnaise, salad dressings, and a variety of other sauces may be made from raw eggs. Raw eggs may contain salmonella.
- Soft cheeses. You should avoid Brie, Camembert, Feta, blue-veined cheeses, Panela, queso fresco and queso blanco.
- Liver. Liver may contain high levels of Vitamin A, which may be harmful to your baby.
- Any unpasteurized milk or juice. Also, any foods made from unpasteurized milk or juice should be avoided as well.
By taking these nutritional steps before and during your pregnancy can help to insure that your pregnancy will be a healthy and successful one.
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