During your pregnancy -- and even before you conceive -- a healthy diet helps to set the stage for a healthy nine months of carrying your baby. You need more calories, and especially more vitamins and minerals, during your pregnancy as compared to other times of life. It's best to start a healthy diet from week 1 of pregnancy -- or even before.
Pregnancy Time Line
In actuality, during week 1 of pregnancy, you're not yet pregnant. This is counterintuitive, but it stems from the fact that your pregnancy is measured from the first day of your last menstrual period, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What To Expect When You're Expecting." You conceive at the beginning of week 3 of pregnancy. As such, it's a great idea to eat a healthy diet starting from pregnancy week 1, since that means you're actually starting to eat healthy before you even conceive.
Energy Needs
Prior to conception -- and during weeks 1 and 2 of pregnancy, which technically also occur prior to conception -- your energy needs are identical to your pre-pregnancy energy needs. You do not need to increase your caloric consumption. Later in pregnancy, your baby will start to require calories, and your body will change in several ways. Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, in their book "You: Having A Baby," recommend that you slowly increase your caloric intake with guidance from your doctor, but it's not necessary to start this during week 1.
Nutrient Needs
Your vitamin and mineral consumption should be higher even before you actually conceive, note Drs. Roizen and Oz. This is because you can start to build up a healthy supply of vitamins and minerals that you and your baby will draw from during your pregnancy. You should discuss your diet with an obstetrician, as she may want you to go ahead and start a prenatal vitamin in anticipation of becoming pregnant.
Healthy Foods
In addition to vitamins and minerals, you need to eat lots of healthy foods that contain large quantities of nutrients but are low in added sugars and fats. In her book "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth," Dr. Miriam Stoppard recommends fruits and vegetables, low-fat protein, plant-based oils and whole grains. A diet of mostly whole foods will help you optimize your body weight and will also provide for your nutritional needs, in terms of both energy and vitamins.
When To Start
If you're trying to become pregnant, any week that starts with your period could end up being week 1 of your pregnancy; you will only know that it was week 1 in retrospect, once you actually become pregnant. As such, if you're actively trying to conceive, it's best to start following a week-1 pregnancy diet plan right away. This will ensure that whenever you do hit your week 1 mark, you're eating a healthy diet.
References
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
- "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth"; Miriam Stoppard, M.D.; 2008
