Eating habits during pregnancy

With most of the women today being concerned regarding their weight and shape during pregnancy, the importance of a healthy pregnancy diet has increased considerably. A proper diet is important at any point of life and pregnancy is no different time. Both you and the baby growing inside you need proper nutrients to sustain themselves at this period of your life. IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER Apart from following the nutrition chart provided by your doctor, there are some key points that need to be remembered while selecting a healthy pregnancy diet. • Importance of Folic acid: An appropriate intake of folic acid is important as it helps in decreasing the risk of baby being born with neural tube defects. It also increases the maternal blood volume experienced during pregnancy. Apart from the proper diet, folic acid intake could be bumped up by drinking orange juice and eating citrus fruits. • Importance of iron: Iron is helpful in maintaining blood supply to the baby and the placenta. Its intake could be increased by consuming different iron rich foods such as fish, poultry, whole grain bread, and others. However, during pregnancy, fish should not be eaten more than twice a week. • Importance of Calcium and vitamin D: It is important that an expecting mother gets at least 1000-1300 mg of calcium and 200IU of vitamin D per day. This is needed by the unborn child to develop healthy bones and teeth. This can be obtained through milk, cheese, yoghurt, dried beans, and other dairy products. DIET RECOMMENDATIONS At the time of pregnancy, food and drinks are the main source of nutrients for the unborn child. This increases the importance of your nutrition decisions. While deciding on the same, remember the following healthy pregnancy diet recommendations: • Eat 4-5 small meals throughout the day instead of eating heavy meals 3 times per day. This helps in preventing constipation, morning sickness, and heart burn. Smaller meals keep the digestive tract working apart from bringing more energy than the conventional large meals. • You should not overlook any type of vitamin as your child needs all nutrients from your foods. • There is a lot of importance placed on the intake of proteins as it is needed by the baby for appropriate cell growth and blood production. • Alcohol should be avoided at all costs along with caffeine as studies have shown that it increases the risk of miscarriage. • A pregnant woman should avoid eating anything raw as they may carry some food born bacteria that may harm your baby. • In case of fruits, it is better to follow the rule that lesser the food is processed, the more nutritious it will be. Thus, raw apple slices acts as more beneficial to the expecting mother than a glass of juice or canned fruit. • Although a pregnant woman should avoid fried foods and other fatty products, there are some healthy fats that can be consumed by her. These include olives, a pat of butter, olive oil, and avocado. Consuming these will help you in reducing the stretch marks and also improve the skin tone. • It is a much better option if the expecting mother consumes as much green leafy vegetables as she can. These include green beans, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, and various others. However, iceberg lettuce should be avoided at all costs as it may cause an adverse effect during pregnancy. Thus, it is important to give your baby a healthy start by consuming a healthy pregnancy diet. Take time to learn about the facts that can affect the nutrition of the baby as it can have a huge impact on you and your baby’s life. Summary An expecting mother has to follow a healthy pregnancy diet to ensure the heath of both her own body as well as her unborn child.