A Healthy Guide to Eating Well for A Pregnancy
What is a Healthy Diet?
A healthy diet is the essential to living a healthy lifestyle. A pregnant woman should be aware of what to eat during pregnancy in order to promote her health and that of her unborn child.
There are many ways to promote a healthy diet for pregnant women. Knowing what to eat during pregnancy can help you make the right choices at every meal. Your diet should include fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products.
Photo by Amina Filkins from Pexels
Important Nutrients for Pregnant Women?
Nutrients are needed for pregnant women during different stages of pregnancy. Some nutrients are more important than others. These nutrients are responsible for many things in the body, including growth and development.
There is a variety of things that can happen if pregnant women don't get the right nutrients or enough of them. Some problems that can arise include pregnancy complications, birth defects, and developmental delays in children. This is why it's so important to learn about what these nutrients are and when they should be taken throughout pregnancy.
Get enough vitamin D in your diet and consider a vitamin D supplement. If you are from Asian regions and have brown skin, you may be low in vitamin D. Extreme cases of low vitamin D can cause rickets in babies and small children.
If you are eating a balanced diet and taking a pregnancy vitamin, you will be getting all the nutrients you need.
Tips for Building a Balanced Diet
The best way to build a healthy diet is to include a variety of different foods in your meal plan. This includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources and dairy products. Eating well-balanced meals will make it easier for you to get all the essential nutrients you need at every stage of pregnancy. Think about having a colourful plate of food if you can.
What can pregnant women eat safely?
It is important for pregnant women to select a balanced diet that includes a variety of different foods from all food groups. You should not eliminate any food group from your diet except for potentially high-mercury fish such as swordfish, shark and marlin. With your doctor's approval, you can also drink 1 cup of unpasteurized milk per day during the second and third trimester.
Healthy Eating and Cravings
When all you can think about is a cheeseburger and ice cream, or once when I was pregnant, lettuce and feta cheese, healthy eating can go out the window. I think if on balance you are eating a general healthy diet you will be OK. Try to think of your diet as over a few days or even week by week and don’t beat yourself up if you have some junk food and chocolate here and there.
Healthy Eating and Sickness
It can be difficult to eat healthily when you are throwing everything back up! If all you can eat is dry toast, try to take a pregnancy multivitamin and if possible, a glass of milk or a milkshake. Those meal replacement shakes are good if you can keep them down because they have everything you need in them.
Photo by SHVETS production from Pexels
Conclusion and Resources
This article has given you a few of the most important and holistic tips and tricks on how to eat well during pregnancy. Eating healthy will help you carry your baby to full term and make sure that your child is born with the best potential health. Here are some resources for further reading:
Have a healthy diet in pregnancy from NHS
The Whole 9 Months: A Week-By-Week Pregnancy Nutritional Guide
Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition
More tips you could prepare better to welcome the newborn: 5 Tips To Help Your Baby Sleep Better At Night
About the contributor:
Jenny, a Mum of 3 school aged children and a Nurse in a GP practice. When she has any free time which is not very often, she enjoys amateur dramatics, crafting and curling up on her sofa with a blanket and her cocker spaniel Archie.
