Make healthy choices for you and your baby

If you’re pregnant, you’re probably familiar with the expression “eating for two.” As fun as that sounds, it’s not quite true. A pregnant woman needs only about 300 extra calories per day. When you consider that a baked potato has 120 calories, and a low-fat yogurt has about 100 calories, it is clear that you don’t really need to double up on your diet. 

If you are pregnant, what you eat is just as important as how much you eat. A pregnant woman needs more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients than she did before. To get enough nutrients, pregnant
women should take a multivitamin or prenatal vitamin and eat healthy foods from the four basic food groups every day, including:

Fruits and vegetables – 7 or more servings of fruits and
vegetables, combined
Whole-grains or enriched breads and cereals – 6 to 9 servings of whole grain or enriched breads and cereals
Dairy products – 4 or more servings of low-fat or non-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, or other dairy products
Protein – 60 grams of meat, poultry, fish, or beans

In addition, women need a variety of nutrients in order to have a healthy pregnancy, including:

Folic acid: 400 mcg (micrograms) per day
Folic acid helps prevent serious birth defects, such as neural tube defects that affect a baby’s brain or spine, cleft lip or palate, and congenital heart disease. Getting enough folic acid is most important early in the pregnancy, usually before you even know you are pregnant. As soon as you decide you want a child, your first step should be to take a daily vitamin that contains 400 mcg of folic acid.

Iron: 30 mg (milligrams) per day 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that pregnant women start taking a low-dose iron supplement or a multivitamin with iron beginning with their first prenatal visit. Pregnant women need extra iron for the increased blood in their bodies. Plus, your baby needs to store iron in his or her body for the first few months of life.

Calcium: 1,000 mg per day
Pregnant women should get 1,000 mg of calcium daily. Low-fat or non-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products are great sources of calcium. Eating green leafy vegetables and calcium-fortified foods like orange juice and breakfast cereal can also provide calcium. See “Take Care of Your Bones Now” article for more information on how to get enough calcium in your diet.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Office on Women’s Health (www.womenshealth.gov)

The essentials — healthy weight gain

The amount of weight you should expect to gain during pregnancy depends on your weight before you became pregnant.

In general most women will gain 2 to 4 pounds in the first three months of pregnancy and then 3 to 4 pounds per month during the remainder of the pregnancy. Gaining the appropriate amount of weight is an essential part of a healthy pregnancy.