Food During Pregnancy

When you're pregnant. you certainly don't want to bother with measuring portions and figuring out how many calories there are in what you're eating. And there's no need to do this as long as you follow some basic guidelines about healthy eating. One golden rule is that the closer food is to its natural state, the better it is for you. So fresh is best, frozen is next-best, and you should make canned foods your last choice. It's common sense.

Eating For Two?

You'll probably feel hungrier than usual when you're expecting a baby-it's nature's way of making certain you eat enough for both of you. But you certainly don't need to "eat for two" as people used to believe. Most women only need to eat an extra 200-300 calories a day, far less than if you ate twice your normal amount of food. Much more important than the quantity of what you eat is the quality. Everything you eat should be good for you and your baby. Some mothers-to-be, such as those who previously ate an inadequate or unbalanced diet, may be nutritionally at risk and have special dietary needs.

More problems develop if you eat too little rather than too much. Pregnancy is not the time for dieting. Research has shown that when mothers-to-be eat poor diets, there's a higher incidence of spontaneous abortions, neonatal death, and low­birthweight babies than normal.

You owe it to yourself, as well as to your growing baby, to eat the diet that's best for both of you. Try to stick to the healthy eating guidelines on pages 134 and 135, but remember that you can balance your food intake over a 24- to 48-hour period rather than at each meal if you prefer. Just make sure you don't miss any meals-your baby grows all day, every day, and will suffer if you don't eat properly.

Junk foods such as chocolate bars and hamburgers and fries contain little more than fat and sugar. They don't do your baby any good, and your body converts these empty calories into fat, so don't eat them.

You'll put on some fat when you're pregnant, and your body needs this to convert to milk when you're breastfeeding. Although breastfeeding will help you lose the weight you put on during pregnancy, it's best to avoid really excessive weight gain; fat that's deposited at the tops of your arms and thighs is very difficult to get rid of after pregnancy.

Your Baby's Needs

While your baby is growing inside your womb, you are her only source of nourishment. Every calorie, vitamin, or gram of protein she needs must come from you. You're in sole charge of your unborn child's nutrition; you, and only you, can make sure the best-quality food reaches her.

You'll be doing your best for your baby if you eat lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, beans, peas, whole-grain cereals, fish, fowl, and low-fat dairy products. A Danish study showed that eating oily fish-such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and sardines-may help lessen the risk of premature birth. Make your diet as varied as possible, choosing from a wide range of foods.

Don't Forget Mom

The other person to do your best for is yourself. Eating plenty of healthy foods throughout your pregnancy will mean that you have better reserves for coping with, and recovering from, the physical strains of pregnancy and the hard work of labor. Anemia and preeclampsia are much more common in mothers who have a poor diet, and some problems, including morning sickness and leg cramps, may be made worse by what you do or don't eat. Make sure you're eating plenty of fresh vegetables, grains, and fruits during pregnancy. They'll give you energy and may help prevent constipation.

A healthy diet will help to reduce excessive mood swings, fatigue, and many other common complaints of pregnancy. And if you cut out or restrict the amount of empty calories you eat, you'll have less excess fat to lose after your baby has been born.

The Best Food To Eat

Fresh food that's as close to its original state as possible is best for you and your baby. Eating good-quality food should be your goal throughout, as well as after, your pregnancy.

When you're out shopping, choose fresh produce; seasonal fruit and vegetables are always fresher and sometimes cheaper than imported, out-of-season items. Pick out firm fruit and vegetables and reject any that look tired or are going bad. Buy your meat and fish from stores you can trust-don't run the risk of getting a food-related illness. If you can afford it, go for free-range or organic foods grown without pesticides and hormones (used particularly in beef and intensively farmed poultry); many organic foods carry a USDA organic label. Check the labeling of processed foods to see whether they include any genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Until the scientific research into the safety of these foods has been completed and fully debated, it's sensible to avoid GM foods during pregnancy.

Always keep some packs of frozen vegetables-they're good standbys when you can't get to the store. Avoid cans, except for whole tomatoes and fish such as sardines. Read the labels on any other packaged foods you buy, and remember that the closer an ingredient is to the top of the list, the more there is of that one ingredient. Sugar has many different names and can appear on a list more than once.

Foods that have been overrefined, such as white flour and white sugar, have had all of the natural goodness stripped out of them and fill you and your baby with nothing but excess calories. Choose whole-wheat bread and flour rather than "enriched" refined products; it's highly unlikely that the enrichment puts back in all that's been taken out. The two "waste" products of flour refining are bran (the fiber) and wheat germ (the heart of the wheat) and these contain most of the goodness. Bran is probably an unnecessary addition for the average pregnant woman (although it will help prevent constipation), but wheat germ contains lots of vitamins and minerals that are good for everyone. Wheat germ is crunchy and nutty and can be added to salads and sandwiches, as well as to cooked and baked dishes. You can buy wheat germ from health food stores and good supermarkets.

Good Eating Habits

You'll probably need more than willpower if you're going to stick to your healthy regimen. The first step is to avoid eating food you know you shouldn't have because there's nothing else available. Keep some sugar-free fruit and nut bars and decaffeinated tea bags with you so you don't give in to temptations like cookies and coffee in the afternoon. If possible, prepare a batch of meals over the weekend that you can store and eat during the week. That will keep you from calling for a pizza delivery when you're too tired to cook. Banish junk food from your kitchen.

Think before you eat-a high-protein chicken and lettuce sandwich on whole-wheat bread that's rich in fiber and folic acid is much better for you than fat-rich bacon and mayonnaise on fiberless white! Invest in a healthy-eating cookbook and try out some dishes that are lower in fat and sugar but still taste delicious. Get in the habit of snacking on nutritious foods and eat little and often. Toward the end of your pregnancy, you'll probably find that eating larger amounts is difficult anyway.

Vegetarian Mothers

Many people prefer not to eat meat; many more limit their intake of meat, particularly red meat. This is fine, but when you're pregnant, you'll need to make sure you eat enough protein, vitamins, and iron to meet your own and your baby s needs. Plants contain proteins, too, but you need to eat them in the right combinations to provide you with most of the necessary amino acids that are found complete in animal forms of protein (see below).

You'll also need to make sure you're getting enough iron, since there's relatively little in plant foods, and certain substances interfere with how well iron is absorbed by your body. If you eat no animal products at all, you'll have to work harder to make sure that you're not lacking in any nutrients-particularly calcium and vitamins B6, B12, and D, all of which are provided by dairy products. Although you don't need much B12, lack of it will eventually lead to pernicious anemia, so if your diet contains no animal products, it's best to take vitamin B12 supplements.