Pregnancy and Diet

It is important to eat a variety of healthy foods while you are pregnant.  The Food Guide Pyramid is a helpful resource to use for choosing foods from all five categories.  About 300 extra calories should be added to most pregnant women’s usual diet.  This will ensure that you are getting enough calories to help your unborn baby grow.  High quality foods have lots of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals - necessary building blocks to help your baby develop and grow.  Food portions should be about the size of a deck of cards.

You should try to limit fatty foods and sweets (the top of the pyramid - often thought of as the sixth category).  Cut down on foods such as doughnuts, potato chips, sodas, cookies and candy. These foods do not give your baby enough of what it needs to grow and often curb your appetite for “healthier” choices.

The best advice is to eat a well-balanced diet, including all food groups and to avoid supplements that contain greater than 100% RDA of any vitamin or mineral.

Required Multivitamin Components necessary for pregnant women:

Most prenatal vitamins contain adequate amounts of folic acid.  Check the label to be sure.

Folic Acid:  Folic acid is an important vitamin. It helps with cell division and therefore is very important in growth and development.  Several studies show that this vitamin may help prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida.  It is recommended that a supplement containing 0.4 mg folic acid be taken during the early weeks of pregnancy.  This amount can be found in most multiple vitamins.  Good food sources of folic acid are spinach, broccoli, oranges, liver, asparagus, lima beans, lemons, bananas, strawberries, peanuts, and enriched breads and cereals.

Calcium:  The greatest need for calcium is in the last trimester when calcium is deposited in the baby’s bone.  You need 1000 milligrams (1300 mg if you are under the age of 19) daily of calcium during your pregnancy.  Good sources of calcium include yogurt that has 300 mg or more of calcium per cup, milk or flavored milks, low fat cheese such as mozzarella, or calcium fortified orange juice.  Green leafy vegetables such as broccoli also have calcium.

Aspartame:  Aspartame (Nutrasweet or Splenda) is safe if used in moderation (3 to 5 servings daily).  It is used in your body much like protein.  Drinking large amounts of diet pop, however, often leads to decreased intake of more nutritious fluids such as skim milk or fruit juice.

Alcohol:  Alcohol causes damage to the baby’s nervous system.  Since we are unsure of the quantity of alcohol that causes Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the best advice is to discontinue alcohol use altogether before you become pregnant.  Excessive amounts of alcohol can deplete your body of vitamins, particularly thiamin and folic acid.

Peer Review Status: Internally
Peer Review Date: 2004