Pregnancy Diet Week by Week

Pregnancy diet is extremely important. Being pregnant is certainly is blissful. For your baby’s good health and growth, you must follow a healthy diet. You may have a lot of questions regarding your pregnancy diet. This article certainly answers your queries.

Why a proper diet is important during pregnancy?

Eating right is a must during your pregnancy. A healthy diet during pregnancy can reduce the risk of the following in your baby:

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Heart Diseases
• Asthma
• Eczema
• Hay fever

What are the essential nutrients you should include in your pregnancy diet?

Fruits, vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and whole grains are important part of your pregnancy diet. A few nutrients require special mention. Let’s look at some of these important nutrients:

• Folate and Folic acid: Help in preventing spinal cord and brain problem during birth. 400 mcg a day before conception and 600-1,000 mcg each day is necessary during the course of your pregnancy.
• Calcium: It will help in strengthening yours and your baby’s teeth and bones. Also helps in better functioning of the muscular, circulatory and nervous systems. 1,000 mg each day is sufficient during pregnancy.
• Vitamin D: It works alongside with calcium in stretching the bones and teeth. Around 600 IU (International Unit) a day.  
• Protein: An important nutrient for your baby’s growth. You should have 71 grams (g) everyday in your pregnancy.
• Iron: It helps in making haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is present in our red blood cells that carries oxygen to your body’s tissue. In pregnancy, you need to take double amount of iron than the normal amount. Everyday till the end of your pregnancy, you need to take 27 milligrams of iron.

Pregnancy Diet Week by Week

Your entire gestation period of 40 weeks is divided in three trimesters. These trimesters are different stages of fetal development. You have to be very particular of their diet.

Let’s look at what diet is important during the three trimesters.

1^st Trimester (0-13 weeks)

• Spinach: Rich source of folic acid. You can boil it, and eat it like a soup or a dal.
• Fruits: Bananas, watermelon, mangoes, oranges and lemon are important fruits in your 1sr trimester.
• Whole Grains: Corn, millets, rice are rich in vitamin B.
• Eggs: Rich in protein, calcium and vitamin D. Avoid adding too much salt or oil.
• Dairy Products: Milk, curd and yogurt are a rich source for mothers to get the right amount of fats and calcium. Homemade curd and yogurt are much better than canned as they are free from preservatives.
• Fresh, boiled, and dark-coloured vegetables: Broccoli, beetroot, okra and beans are essential micro vitamins present in the diet. They should be consumed boiled, sauteed or slightly grilled.

2^nd Trimester (14^th to 27^th week)

• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds: High in magnesium, iron and omega-3. You can eat it as a snack, or try adding it to salads or yogurt.
• Dried Fruit: Apricots, dates and figs are rich in Iron and calcium. They are a good and easy go-to snack.
• Dark Chocolate: It is rich in magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium.
• Brown rice vegetable risotto: Contains magnesium, fibre, vitamin D, and calcium.
• Hummus: Rich in calcium, magnesium and iron.
• Cheese on seeded bread: Low-fat cream cheese on seeded bread is high in calcium and magnesium.

3^rd Trimester (28^th to 40^th week)

• Vitamin A: Fish, carrots, cantaloupe, spinach, sweet potatoes and fortified cereals.
• Vitamin C: Citrus fruits, kiwi, tomatoes, red and green peppers, broccoli.
• Vitamin B6: Bananas, poultry, beef, fish, starchy vegetables and whole grain cereals.
• Vitamin B12: Beef liver, fish, poultry, eggs, other dairy products.
• Calcium: kale, broccoli, dairy products, canned anchovies or sardines.
• Iron: Lean meat, seafood, nuts, spinach, white beans, lentils, prune juice, peas.
• Iodine: Seafood, dairy, grain products, iodized salt.
• Omega-3: Canned light tuna, salmon, herring, cod, flaxseed, walnuts, chia seeds

What foods you should avoid during pregnancy.

Being pregnant surely do have its leisure. There are some certain foods that mothers should minimize the consumption or avoid completely during pregnancy.

Let’s look at some of these foods:

• Raw or undercooked fish.
• High mercury fish
• Processes, raw or undercooked meat
• Raw eggs
• Organ meat
• Caffeine
• Raw sprouts
• Unwashed produce
• Unpasteurized milk, cheese and fruit juice
• Alcohol
• Processed junk foods
• High Sugar foods

However, not all pregnancies are the same. You might require customized diet plan depending on your situation. At OvenYr we help you to have a healthy Oven Year. You can also book tele-appointment with our doctor to know more about your pregnancy diet.