Posts Tagged ‘pregnancy diet plan’
As natural a pair of conditions as the world has ever known, pregnancy and breast-feeding nevertheless are still the subjects of heated and contradictory nutritional advice. The reason is obvious: the out- come matters so much that the merest hint of a ”new” development leads to dogmatic pronouncements and worried acquiescence on the part of mothers determined to do everything just right. A case in point is the matter of weight gain. How much is normal and desirable during pregnancy?
When childbirth was still very risky for mother and child, and a small infant was easier to deliver, women were urged to restrict weight gain to between 10 and 15 pounds. But studies completed within the last 10 to 15 years have shown that gains by the mother of 20 pounds or more actually increase the infant’s chance of survival under modern delivery conditions. Now most obstetricians urge a gain of from 24 to 30 pounds; nearly half of that will be the fetus, placenta, and amniotic fluid which are expelled at delivery; the rest is mainly the calorie bank that the mother will draw lactation and increased on for postpartum activity.
Because women who are significantly ender- or overweight at the start of pregnancy stand a greater chance of developing complications, modest compensatory adjustments in weight gain arc generally recommended, with underweight women encouraged to gain up to 30 pounds, and overweight women urged to hold weight gain to the average. More than others, pregnant teenagers must eat for two-to accommodate their own growth needs as well as that of the fetus. Under no circumstances should pregnancy be viewed as an opportunity to lose weight.
The pregnant woman has three basic and complementary dietary obligations. The first is to consume approximately 80,000 additional food calories during the nine-month period over and above what she needs to sustain her own weight and normal activity. This works out, over nine months, to about 300 extra calories per day, but no more than 150 extra calories a day should be consumed during the first trimester of pregnancy, increasing to 300 per day in the second trimester, and 400 to 450 during the third trimester. The second obligation is to obtain sufficient amounts of selected nutrients needed for fetal development. The third obligation, to meet your body’s increased need for iron, may have to be met by an iron supplement.