Eating right before you get pregnant, and throughout your pregnancy, can help you grow a healthy and well-developed baby. You will need around 300 extra calories each day while you are pregnant, reports KidsHealth, and adding plenty of nutritious foods to your diet will have a positive effect on your unborn baby. A healthy and well-balanced diet will ensure that your baby gets all of the nutrients she needs to develop properly and will help you maintain your own good health as well.
Helps Your Baby Grow
Allan Walker, author of "The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating During Pregnancy," notes that a diet rich in important nutrients will help your baby's body develop properly. Folic acid is one important mineral because it helps prevent some birth defects, including neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Your prenatal vitamin will provide you with some folic acid, reports KidsHealth, but eating foods high in this mineral is important as well. Add plenty of dark green leafy greens and fruits to ensure that you get enough. Calcium helps your baby's bones and muscles develop so drink plenty of low-fat milk and add low-fat cheese and yogurt to your diet to make sure you get enough.
Helps You Sustain a Healthy Pregnancy
You will need plenty of energy to grow a baby and sustain a healthy pregnancy, reports Walker. The foods you choose can give you energy or can cause you to feel sluggish and tired. Foods high in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, will give you the energy you need to grow your baby as well as remain active for your own health. Foods high in protein, including lean meats, peanut butter and nuts, will have similar effects by giving you energy so you can encourage healthy muscle development for your unborn baby. Adequate consumption of zinc may help reduce your risk of preterm delivery, so make sure you eat beans and lean meats.
Helps Prevent Illness
Being sick during pregnancy is likely to be uncomfortable and miserable, but it can cause more serious harm to your developing baby. Eating plenty of nutrient-rich foods can help keep you healthy so you are able to keep your baby healthy. Foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, bell peppers, strawberries and kiwis, can help you resist infection and may boost your immune system as well. Walker adds that foods high in vitamin A may also help improve your immune system. Fruits and vegetables, including carrots and spinach, can help you get enough of this important vitamin.
References
- KidsHealth: Staying Healthy During Pregnancy
- "The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating During Pregnancy"; Allan Walker; 2005
