Diet for Pregnant Women

In order to maintain health of yourself and your baby during pregnancy, it is imperative that you maintain a healthy diet. If you monitor your health in your pregnancy week by week, it would help you tide over the 9 months without any major complications.

You need to have foods rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and calcium when pregnant. Only then would you be able to ensure that your pregnancy diet is a healthy one. You should increase your intake of calories but that needs to be based on what constitutes a healthy diet for pregnancy. By this it is meant that you need to keep in mind the various components of the food that you need to include in your diet so that your intake during pregnancy is healthy.

A healthy pregnancy diet should include:

1. Proteins – Take 60 grams of protein on a daily basis. This would ensure that the health of the expecting mother and growing baby is maintained. Mother needs protein for development of placenta and amniotic fluid while baby’s cell growth is also dependent on it. Protein rich foods and those that give health are low fat cheese, milk, nuts, lentils, brown rice, flaxseeds, oatmeal and wheat bread made from whole wheat.

2. Calcium – The richest source of calcium should not be a surprise for you. It is milk and dairy products. Calcium is depleted during pregnancy in women and they need to get it back through food. They also need to ensure that their baby’s bones develop well.

3. Foliate – Spinach, turnip, collard green and kale are some vegetables that are rich in foliate. It is very important nutrient for pregnant women as it helps in blood and protein development and also helps to bring down the chances of neural tube defects.

4. Iron – Women commonly suffer from anaemia during pregnancy. That is why they need to take foods rich in this nutrient. They need iron not only for themselves but also for proper development of the growing baby. Broccoli, nuts, asparagus, fruits such as apple, guava and pomegranate are some foods rich in iron and should form a part of the daily diet of  women.

5. Anti-Oxidants – You should have a lot of anti oxidants to prevent against diseases by boosting your immunity. Four to six servings of vegetables every day would serve to meet your demands of the need for anti oxidants.