It is important for women to follow a balanced diet & right nutrition who are expecting pregnancy and also during pregnancy. Food intake with optimized levels of nutrition is essential to prevent adverse health effects. The uncontrolled food habits not only affect the woman but also on the expected baby. Hence nutritional food is needed.
For a woman, pregnancy is valuable and matters the most. While expecting a baby, lifestyle adjustment with methodical food intake can lead to the delivery of a healthy baby. There’s a need to follow adjusted food habits throughout the period of 9 months during pregnancy. And it is also important to follow the methodical approach before pregnancy. It is not possible to get all needed nutrition from one source. Hence balanced diet is required. For all pregnant women, proteins, certain vitamins & minerals are needed.
Since the foetus is under development with activity, pregnant women require a lot of energy. During the first trimester of maternity, women approximately require 10 calories more per day, than what is required during the usual days before the trimester. During the second trimester, 90 calories of more food intake per day is required. During the third trimester, 200 calories of more food intake per day is needed.
Healthy development of the foetus & increase in blood level, all require a high protein food. 15% more protein food is required during the initial stages of maternity. The white portion of egg and 1 cup of gram dal can get you this amount of nutrition and energy.
For pregnant women, Calcium is very essential. Milk, dairy products and green leafy vegetables and more such calcium food needs to be the part of your maternity diet.
Insufficient Iron can cause premature delivery. Iron insufficiency can also be the reason for baby taking birth with less height & weight. Lack of Iron may also affect the brain functioning of the baby. Hence, during maternity, women should add onto iron food consumption to increase iron levels by 8 to 10 milligrams per day. Dry Grapes, Watermelon, Some green leafy vegetables come with more iron quantity.
Iodine is also one of the important nutrition elements for pregnant women.
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) is needed for the digestion of iron-rich food. Milk, curd, cheese and other dairy products contain Vitamin B2. During pregnancy, 18 mg of vitamin B2 is recommended.
Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) is a very essential nutrient for a pregnant woman. It is needed even after the maternity tenure. Folic Acid can keep away the nervous deficiencies in the foetus such as Spina Bifida and broken lips. It is good to start consuming folic acid food before pregnancy. It also helps to hold the foetus in uterus till the end of pregnancy. Right levels of folic acid intake can help with baby attaining a healthy weight. Normal pregnancy requires 5mg of folic acid and high-risk pregnancy needs 20mg of Folic Acid. Green leafy vegetables, green vegetables contain folic acid.
It is highly recommended to consult a certified nutritionist & dietitian for diet plan & charts to maintain before, during and after the pregnancy.
Gunasheela Hospital provides pre-natal dietary counselling, pregnancy diet counselling to ensure safe & successful pregnancy & delivery.
Authored By:
Namrata Pramod
Dietitian & Nutritionist
Gunasheela Surgical & Maternity Hospital
