• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Pregnancy Nutrition Tips

May 26, 2010 by ModernMom Staff Leave a Comment

A healthy pregnancy requires getting the correct amount of nutrients to support your baby for about nine months. The best time to focus on your dietary health is before you become pregnant. Even women who take good care of their health and consume a balanced diet prior to pregnancy may need to make some changes in eating habits to provide adequate nutrients to their babies. According to the Mayo Clinic, good nutrition can promote your baby’s development and encourage growth.

Avoid Birth Defects

Eat foods high in folate to get plenty of this valuable nutrient. This B vitamin helps prevent neural tube defects and developmental abnormalities in your baby’s brain and spinal cord. A deficiency of folate while pregnant can also increase your risks of delivering a preterm baby. Eat plenty of fortified cereals, citrus fruits, beans, peas and leafy green vegetables to reduce your chances of developing a folate deficiency. Talk to you doctor about taking a supplement that contains folate to make sure you are getting enough of this important vitamin.

Give Yourself a Milk Mustache

Your body requires calcium to keep your bones strong and encourage healthy bone development in your baby. Your circulatory, nervous and muscular systems also depend on adequate amounts of calcium to function. Make sure you get at least 1,000mg of calcium each day. Dairy products, such as yogurt, cheese and milk, are great sources of calcium. Nondairy sources include cereal, salmon and spinach. Look for fortified juices that contain added calcium.

Satisfy Your Carnivorous Appetite

Your baby requires protein for healthy growth. This is especially true during your second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Meat contains high levels of protein. Carefully select your cuts of meat to avoid those high in fats and additives. Chicken breasts, fish and eggs all provide protein. If you are a vegetarian, increase your intake of beans, tofu, peas, peanut butter and dairy products while you are pregnant.

Take Popeye’s Advice

Spinach contains plenty of iron, a necessary nutrient during pregnancy. Too little iron can make you feel weak and may contribute to early labor and delivery. Eat plenty of lean red meat, fish, poultry, cereals and dried fruits. Drink juices with vitamin C, such as orange juice and tomato juice, with these foods to help your body absorb the iron.

Don’t Go Hog Wild

Many women make the mistake of thinking they can eat as much as they want during pregnancy. Unfortunately, this can lead to excessive weight gain and months of post-pregnancy dieting. According to Women’s Health, a source of information provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, pregnant women only require about 300 extra calories a day during pregnancy. If you maintained a normal weight before conception, expect to gain between 25 and 30 lbs. during your pregnancy. Read the labels on your food items, and invest in a nutrition book that lists the calorie, fat and nutrient levels of your favorite foods.

Photo Credit

  • pregnant image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Pregnancy

About ModernMom Staff

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Search

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

Featured

10 Life Lessons I Want To Pass On To My Daughter

I look at my little girl, who is now three years old, and I … [Read More...] about 10 Life Lessons I Want To Pass On To My Daughter

Must Have

STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

April has arrived which means it’s time to pull out the food … [Read More...] about STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

Did you know?

How to Take Wrinkles Out of Polyester With Steam

Male Fertility Tips

abdominal pain on the left side in pregnancy

Abdominal Pain on the Left Side in Pregnancy

How Soon After a C-Section Can I Get Pregnant Again?

How to Ask a Guy You Are Seeing Where You Stand

How to Ask a Guy You Are Seeing Where You Stand

Cook London Broil in an Electric Pressure Cooker

How to Cook London Broil in an Electric Pressure Cooker

Use Frozen Bananas for Baking

How to Use Frozen Bananas for Baking

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2023 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.