[Image: Baby]Introduction
Pregnancy and motherhood are such exciting times in a woman's life! Most women want to do everything they possibly can for their new baby to ensure that he or she is happy and healthy. Some aspects of a baby's health can be determined just by the mother's diet. It is so important for a pregnant woman to maintain her health and to eat a nutritious diet for herself and her baby.
What You Will Learn
- The importance of early and continuous prenatal care.
- How much weight you should gain during pregnancy.
- How to decrease the chance of having a low-birth-weight baby.
- A healthy pregnancy diet.
- The danger of smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs to an unborn baby.
- The advantages of breastfeeding.
All of these factors work together to help ensure that a baby will be born healthy, and they guard against many physical, mental, psychological and emotional problems.
Food Guide Review
The Food Guide is a tool that helps us select what food to eat and how much to eat each day to be healthy. We need to eat a variety of food from each of the food groups. We need to eat in moderation by eating the recommended serving sizes. The Food Guide is a practical guide to choosing healthy, low-fat foods each day
Go for a Healthy Pregnancy!
It is a mother's job to do everything she can to make sure her infant has a healthy start in life. The mother is one of the most important factors in determining the outcome of her pregnancy. As soon as a woman thinks she may be pregnant, it is important that she see a doctor. Beginning a regular medical care program as early as possible in a pregnancy is the best way to ensure a healthy baby.
The first few weeks of the pregnancy are especially important. All of the baby's organs are formed by day 58 (week nine). Several parts of the baby are formed before a woman even knows she is pregnant! Therefore, it is even important for women who are of childbearing age who aren't pregnant to maintain good health and see a doctor for regular checkups.
Proper weight gain is vital to a baby's growth and development. Organs such as the brain, heart and lungs can all be affected by maternal weight gain. If a woman is at a healthy weight before pregnancy, she should gain 25 to 35 pounds. An underweight woman should gain at least 28 to 40 pounds. Even an overweight woman should gain at least 15 to 25 pounds. During the first three months of pregnancy, a woman should gain two to five pounds. After that, she should gain about one pound per week throughout her pregnancy.
Eating the right types of foods is necessary so that mother and baby receive the nutrients they need. The USDA Food Guide provides a list of the recommended food groups and serving sizes to meet nutrient needs. The food groups include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Grains
- Lean meat and beans
- Milk
- Oils
The USDA Food Guide provides the recommended nutrients established by the Institute of Medicine’s Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs). The Dietary Reference Intakes are the nutrients recommended for humans, such as vitamin C, protein, calcium, etc., and the amounts they should consume at different ages and life stages, such as pregnancy and lactation. The DRIs include the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) and the Adequate Intakes (AI). For additional information about the DRIs for pregnancy and lactation, contact an Extension nutrition specialist, Extension agent specializing in nutrition or registered dietitian. Though it’s possible to meet the requirements for most nutrients through a balanced diet, most experts recommend pregnant women take a daily vitamin/mineral supplement as a safeguard.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans contain key recommendations for specific population groups, such as pregnancy and breastfeeding. They include:
- Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant. Eat foods high in heme-iron and /or consume iron-rich plant foods or iron-fortified foods with an enhancer of iron absorption, such as vitamin C-rich foods.
- Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant and those in the first trimester of pregnancy. Consume adequate synthetic folic acid daily (from fortified foods or supplements) in addition to food forms of folate from a varied diet.
- Pregnant women. Ensure appropriate weight gain as specified by health care provider.
- Breastfeeding women. Moderate weight reduction is safe and does not compromise weight gain of nursing infant.
- Pregnant women: In the absence of medical or obstetric complications, incorporate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. Avoid activities with a high risk of falling or abdominal trauma.
- Breastfeeding women: Be aware that neither acute nor regular exercise adversely affects the mother’s ability to successfully breastfeed.
- Alcoholic beverages should not be consumed by some individuals, including those who cannot restrict their alcohol intake, women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, pregnant and lactating women, children[Image: Baby girl] and adolescents, individuals taking medications that can interact with alcohol and those with specific medical conditions.
- Infants and young children pregnant women, older adults and those who are immunocompromised: Do not eat or drink raw (unpasteurized milk, raw or partially cooked eggs or foods containing raw eggs, raw or undercooked meat and poultry, raw or undercooked fish or shellfish, unpasteurized juices and raw sprouts.
- Pregnant women, older adults and those who are immunocompromised: Eat only certain deli meats and frankfurters that have been reheated to steaming hot.
These individuals are at higher risk of developing listeriosis, a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Some deli meats and frankfurters that have not been reheated to steaming hot and some ready-to-eat foods are associated with listeriosis and pose a high-risk to certain individuals. All these foods should be heated to a safe internal temperature.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency are advising women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children to avoid some types of fish and shellfish and eat fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury. For more information, call the FDA food information toll-free line, 1-888-SAFEFOOD.