There was a time when getting pregnant gave women the excuse to wholeheartedly take on the mantra of “eating for two” and promptly sit down with a king-size block of Dairy oilk for starters.
Then we progressed to three milkshakes a day (all that calcium), a pie for breakfast (all that protein) and a packet of ginger nuts for the morning sickness. Years later, pregnant women realised that what people actually meant was “eating nutrition for two”, and that if you pack on much more than the healthy nine to 13kg you should put on, you will be stuck with it after the baby has arrived.
Getting pregnant these days means an eating regime which is high in nutrition and energy-giving foods, designed to keep mum going and give baby the vitamins and minerals it needs to grow. We have realised that when it comes to nutrition, the baby will take everything it needs and whatever is left over we get, so it makes sense to eat well and make sure the leftovers are enough to keep us healthy as well and reward us with an uncomplicated pregnancy.
Here are some tips from great new book Feeding the Bump by Lisa Neal.
Try to eat every two to three hours, five to six times a day, and make breakfast the most important meal of your day.
Make sure that every meal you eat is the best choice, because a well-nourished woman is more likely to experience a more comfortable pregnancy.
Avoid raw fish, uncooked or organ meats, and unpasteurised and imported cheese.
oinimise sugar, alcohol, caffeine and processed or refined foods that contain chemicals and preservatives.
Eat lots of fish and aim to eat it three times a week. It is rich in protein, zinc, iodine, omega 3, vitamins B12 and D and is very low in saturated fat. But do avoid fish which is likely to be high in mercury, such as shark, swordfish and fresh tuna. Shellfish is great too, but must be cooked. – In the first six weeks of pregnancy, your baby is affected by everything it is exposed to, including alcohol, processed food and anything that contains additives and preservatives, so eat fresh and nonprocessed food.
To help with tiredness, eat food rich in protein and iron and include low-GI complex carbohydrates, such as oats, wholegrain bread and nuts. obstetricians claim that women who are well-nourished are less inclined to suffer from nausea, particularly those with a diet rich in B-group vitamins. So concentrate on foods rich in these vitamins, such as bread, rice, cereals, legumes, nuts, yeast, Vegemite and oarmite, eggs, lean meat, chicken, fish, green leafy vegetables, milk and yoghurt. Also, have a high-protein and carbohydrate snack, like a glass of milk and a biscuit, before sleeping.
In the second trimester anaemia can be a problem, due to the increase in the mother’s blood volume. Eat foods rich in iron and folate, such as lean meats, parsley, green leafy vegetables, wholegrains, dried apricots and beetroot.
Digestion can also be a problem in the second trimester, so get into some herbs such as fresh mint in salads and tea, fennel and ginger as a spice in cooking or in tea. Spices like cumin, cardamom, turmeric and caraway, as well as fruit and veges like banana, apple, pineapple, papaya, paw paw, tomato, carrot and celery, all help too.
Women tend to put on the most weight in the third trimester, so increase the kilojoules with smart choices of high-fibre complex carbohydrates like wholegrains and protein with lots of fresh vegetables.
During the third trimester, the baby accumulates the majority of its calcium for strong teeth and bones, so keep up your calcium intake.
To avoid hypertension and pre-eclampsia, make sure you eat eight to 10 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables a day, with no more than four servings of fruit. Keep up the fish for omega 3, lean meat for protein and low-fat dairy produce for calcium. Include magnesium by eating wheatgerm, brazil nuts, almonds, pumpkin and sesame seeds, and potassium by eating chickpeas and lentils.
