Choosing to eat a healthy diet is important throughout your life; however, when you are pregnant, eating a healthy diet gives your baby the best nutritional start. As an added bonus, when you eat a healthy diet throughout your pregnancy, you are likely to stay within the healthy weight gain guidelines, which makes losing the weight after you have the baby easier.
Calorie Needs
The old adage about being able to eat whatever you want since you are eating for two no longer applies to pregnant women. Instead of eating anything and everything you want, you have to keep your calorie count under control. Most pregnant women who were at a healthy weight only need to eat about 300 extra calories per day. Since most women who aren't pregnant need 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, a pregnant woman needs 1,900 to 2,700 calories per day. The more active you are, the closer to the higher calorie count you must consume. Women who start pregnancy off underweight may be instructed to eat more calories, while women who start pregnancy off overweight may be instructed to eat fewer calories. These determinations should be made by a health-care professional.
Food Groups
Every pregnant woman should eat a balanced diet that includes healthy choices from each of the major food groups. Most pregnant women should consume three servings of dairy products daily. One serving includes 2 oz. of processed cheese, one cup of milk or yogurt, or 1.5 oz. of natural cheese. A total of 5.5 to 6.5 oz. of protein is needed daily. This can come from lean meat, fish/seafood, tofu, beans, nuts or seeds. Two cups of fruit each day are needed. Fruits should be fresh, fresh frozen or canned without any added sugar. Each day, 2.5 to 3 cups of vegetables should be consumed. Canned, fresh or frozen vegetables without any added salt are ideal. A total of 6 oz. to 8 oz. of grains are needed daily. At least half of the grains you consume daily should come from whole grains, such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal or brown rice.
Considerations
Your health care professional will monitor your weight gain and health throughout your pregnancy. If you gain weight too quickly or don't gain enough weight, you may be instructed to alter your diet. Certain medical conditions, such as gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia may affect your dietary choices by limiting the amount of sugar or salt you are allowed to consume daily. Should you develop any pregnancy-related medical conditions, follow your altered diet exactly as instructed so that you and your unborn baby stay as healthy as possible.
Warnings
Because of the risk of foodborne illnesses, pregnant women must be cautious about certain food choices. For example, all milk and juice products should be pasteurized. All meats should be cooked thoroughly. Sushi and other raw seafood must be avoided. Additionally, you should limit the amount of seafoods you consume due to the risk of mercury poisioning. Shark, tilefish, king mackerel, swordfish are very high in mercury and should be avoided during pregnancy, as should refrigerated, smoked fishes like lox, notes MayoClinic.com. Caffeine should be avoided or severely restricted. Alcohol and herbal teas should also be avoided.
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