Nutrition for the future: Dietary recommendations for pregnancy

Infants born to malnourished mothers are more likely to become ill, have birth defects and suffer retarded mental or

physical development than infants who are born to healthy women.

Providing the best nutrition at the early stages is important for future growth and development. Ideally, a woman will

enter pregnancy at a healthy weight with firmly established habits of eating a balanced and varied diet.

To guide a woman through the nutrition needs of pregnancy, we will outline the recommendations of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration.

Calories

More than at any other time in a woman’s life, during pregnancy and lactation the nutrient needs are highest and they have

a greater need for certain nutrients. The recommended average caloric increase is only about 17% higher than

recommended maintenance calories – an additional 340 calories per day during the second trimester and an additional 450

calories per day during the third trimester. Most of us are under the false assumption we “are eating for two,” but that is

not the case.

Protein

The recommended protein intake is an additional 20grams per day. Many women already eat enough protein to cover the

increased demands of pregnancy.

Folate

Folate intake should be 50% greater than normal requirements, due to increase in blood volume and the rapid growth of

the fetus. Folate can be found in refined grain products that have been fortified. In this form, it is found to be absorbed

twice as well as the folate that is naturally occurring in green leafy vegetable, citrus fruits, whole grain breads or legumes.

Consuming a balanced, healthy diet with additional protein and supplementation of folic acid is the basis for good

nutrition during pregnancy. Be careful to stay within the recommended additional calorie amounts, but do not diet when

you’re pregnant!

Risky foods

In addition to knowing what you should consume and in what amounts, it is equally important to know foods that are

considered risky either because of additives or potential causes of illness.

• Avoid raw or undercooked food of animal origin

  • Hot dogs, luncheon meat and unpasteurized dairy foods

• Certain seafood and fish

  • Large fish—such as swordfish, shark, tilefish, and king mackerel—harbor higher concentrations of mercury, compared to other fish. Mercury is a byproduct of coal-burning plants that interferes with the normal development of a growing child’s brain and nervous system.

  • According to the FDA, pregnant and nursing women may eat up to 12 ounces weekly of seafood low in mercury, including salmon (farmed and wild), shrimp, canned light tuna, pollock, sardines, tilapia, and catfish.  Because albacore (white) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna, the FDA recommends that pregnant women limit albacore tuna to no more than 6 ounces a week, and include it in the 12-ounce limit.

  • Raw vegetable sprouts

    • The FDA advises everyone, regardless of pregnancy, not to eat raw sprouts—including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts.

    • The reason: Bacteria can get into sprout seeds and are “nearly impossible” to wash out, states the FDA’s website.  The FDA recommends that pregnant women request that raw sprouts not be added to your food.

And it is perfectly acceptable to indulge the occasional tootsie roll craving.

Be well.