Eating for two
When pregnant, you need to eat for yourself and your baby. Good nutrition is vital for both normal pregnancies and those considered high risk, such as in a woman carrying twins or who has gestational diabetes.
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Pregnant women require more calories and nutrients than other women to provide for their growing baby (see Increased needs during pregnancy). To achieve this, a pregnant woman should consume an extra 200 calories per day during the second and third trimesters of her pregnancy. This is about a ten per cent increase in calorie intake. Healthy pregnant women need few or no additional calories during the first trimester.
Increased demands put pregnant women and their unborn babies at risk of nutritional deficiencies if these demands are not met by the diet (see Increased needs during pregnancy) or by ante-natal supplements.
Key nutrients for two
Taking a supplement of folic acid (commonly known as folate) one to three months before conception and for the first three months of pregnancy will reduce the risks of neural tube defects by 20 per cent. Folate also works with vitamin B12 to form healthy red blood cells. Other key nutrients needed during pregnancy are iron, which is used to make red blood cells for both the growing baby and mother, whose blood volume increases by 50 per cent during pregnancy, and calcium for the baby's skeleton.
Health problems for two
Changes in your body during pregnancy may result in temporary health problems. These include gestational diabetes, constipation, heartburn and indigestion, and nausea and vomiting. In gestational diabetes, body cells have difficulty absorbing glucose from the blood during pregnancy due to resistance to the hormone insulin.
The intestinal muscles are more relaxed during pregnancy. This can cause constipation because of the slower movement of food through the body and the increased amount of water absorbed from the food by the intestine.
Heartburn and indigestion occur when the stomach contents flow up into the oesophagus, causing discomfort in the chest. During pregnancy, it is usually due to the shift of organs in the abdomen to accommodate the growing baby.
Nausea and vomiting (morning sickness) are due to increased levels of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin, levels of which peak at about 12 weeks into a pregnancy. Tips to manage these disorders through dietary means are discussed on Dealing with gestational diabetes.
Weight gain for two
- If your weight is in the normal or healthy range before you become pregnant, you should ideally gain about 11-16kg (24-35lb) during your pregnancy.
- If you are underweight at the start of pregnancy, you'll gain a little more - 12.5-18kg (28-40lb).
- If you are overweight at the start of pregnancy, your ideal weight gain is 7-11.5kg (15-25lb).
Jargon buster
Neural tube defects: Abnormalities in a foetus's brain and spinal cord and their protective coverings. Neural tube defects can be mild (meningoceles - opening of the spinal cord that can be surgically repaired) or severe (anencephaly - lack of brain). The best known neural tube defect is spina bifida.
Lisa Hark, PhD RD & Dr Darwin Deen
Posted 14.02.2011
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