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Dietary tips during pregnancy

Mutiat Lawore

Good nutrition during pregnancy, and enough of it, is very important for your baby to grow and develop well.

It  is recommended that you consume about 300 or more calories per day than you did before you became pregnant. Although nausea and vomiting during the first few months of pregnancy can make this difficult, try to eat a well balanced diet and take prenatal vitamins.

Here are some foods to keep you and your baby healthy:

Choose foods high in fiber. Such food  as whole-grain bread, cereals, pasta and rice, as well as fruits and vegetables.

Make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals in your daily diet.

You should take a prenatal vitamin supplement to make sure you are consistently getting enough vitamins and minerals every day. Your doctor can prescribe prenatal vitamins.

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Calcium is good for your bones, and women with a diet deficient in calcium may have more pregnancy complications, including high blood pressure and preeclampsia. You will get this from low-fat milk, hard cheese, yogurt, and calcium-fortified orange juice.

Eat at least three servings of iron-rich foods. This includes lean meats, spinach, beans and boiled plantains so that you can get enough iron in your daily diet.

Choose at least one good source of vitamin C every day

Examples are  oranges, grapefruits, strawberries, honeydew, papaya,  green peppers, tomatoes, and mustard greens. Pregnant women need 70mg of vitamin C a day.

Meanwhile there are some foods you should avoid during pregnancy too.

Caffeine

Taking in high doses of caffeine daily during pregnancy – whether from coffee, tea, cola, cocoa, or energy drinks  – has long been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage. It’s a good idea to drink decaffeinated beverages, especially during the first trimester when the risk of miscarriage is highest.

Meat

Buying cold cuts at frozen foods shops might give you contaminated products with bacteria if they’re not handled properly at the manufacturing plant or at the shops itself. As a precaution, boil these foods  until they’re steaming-hot to kill the bacteria. And when preparing pork, beef, or lamb at home, cook it to medium or medium-well. These meats may be infected with parasite that causes an infection that, although relatively rare, can cause stillbirth or serious health problems.

Alcohol

The advice on alcohol is that all pregnant women should avoid any alcohol consumption.  Alcohol crosses the placenta immediately – you drink, your baby drinks. Women who drink frequently or heavily put their unborn baby at risk for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which has effects, ranging from mild to severe learning disabilities, physical abnormalities, and disorders of the central nervous system.

Being extra careful during pregnancy is important and is a major effort that expectant mothers should make. This is because basically, the immune system of pregnant women are usually low at this period.

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