Now that you’re a mum-to-be, you need to eat well. If your diet is poor to begin with, it is even more important to make sure you have a healthy diet now. You need more vitamins and minerals, especially folic acid and iron. You need a few more calories during your pregnancy as well. Getting your diet right for pregnancy is more about what you eat than about how much. Limit junk food, as it has lots of calories with few or no nutrients.
Even though everyone will advise you to eat for two, the average woman does not need any extra calories during the first six months of pregnancy. Your body actually becomes more efficient at extracting the required energy and nutrients from your diet when you’re expecting a baby. Even in the last few months, you only need about 200 extra calories per day. You can add these additional calories to your daily diet with:
Your own appetite is the best indication of how much food you need to eat and you may find it fluctuating during the course of your pregnancy:
Morning sickness or food aversions may make it hard to eat well during pregnancy. A vitamin and mineral supplement may be a good idea to help you get all the vitamins and minerals you need. Folic acid is particularly important. The Ministry of Health recommends that women should take 0.4 mg (400 micrograms) of folic acid in a supplement until at least the 12th week of pregnancy. A lack of this B vitamin has been linked with neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida. You may also need to take iron supplements. Your doctor will check your iron levels regularly and advise you on how much to take.
In these cases you may need extra vitamins and minerals or you might have to eat a special diet. Remember, though that more is not always better. Very high doses of vitamins and minerals could be harmful to your baby. Always check with your doctor before taking any medicines or tablets even if they are herbal.
We don’t know for sure how much alcohol is safe for you to have while you’re pregnant. That’s why many experts advise you to cut out alcohol throughout pregnancy. Also the actual amount of alcohol you can have during pregnancy is probably different for every woman. This is because everyone metabolises alcohol differently. The effects of alcohol are greater in women who smoke, drink large amounts of drinks containing caffeine, and have a poor diet. Heavy or binge drinking is dangerous for your baby.
Not necessarily. You can still enjoy your favourite caffeinated drinks as long as you don’t overdo it. Experts recommend that women should have no more than 200mg of caffeine a day while pregnant. This is equal to about 2 cups of instant coffee or 4 cups of tea or five cans of cola per day. Although moderate amounts of caffeine are unlikely to harm you or your unborn baby, some women choose to cut out caffeine completely.
No one really knows for sure, but research suggests that consistently having more than 200mg of caffeine per day could be related to a higher risk of low birth weight, miscarriage and birth defects, such as cleft palate.
If you need to cut down on coffee, switch from filter coffee to instant coffee, as it contains slightly less caffeine. You could also reduce your intake by using only half a teaspoon of coffee. Decaffeinated coffee is also a good option.
Yes, it is safe to eat papaya during pregnancy, as long as it is ripe. A well-ripened papaya is full of vitamins and nutrients. Papaya helps to prevent and control constipation and heartburn. For these reasons, many experts recommend that pregnant women eat moderate amounts of ripe papaya. Some women make a tonic by blending portions of ripe papaya with milk and honey. This mixture is considered a rich source of nutrients for pregnant and nursing mums. However if the papaya is unripe, then no, it isn’t safe. An unripe or semi-ripe papaya is rich in a substance called latex. Research shows that this concentrated form of latex may trigger uterine contractions. Also, papaya skin and seeds shouldn’t be eaten.
