Long before onesies and toys come into the picture, you can give your baby the essential building blocks of good nutrition. The gift of good eating starts even before conception and is critical throughout your pregnancy and when you are nursing.
However, pregnancy doesn’t always lend itself to eating an ideal diet. You might struggle with morning sickness and not want to eat anything, or you might get hit with nightly junk food cravings. You might even develop an aversion to certain foods and limit your culinary desires to a few bland favorites.
So during pregnancy, how do you eat everything necessary? The information on what to eat before, during and after pregnancy is overwhelming, so we sifted through the science to make it easier for you. Here are 10 key nutritional building blocks for you and your little one.
| Calories | Folate |
| Carbohydrates | Calcium |
| Protein | Fluids |
| Fat | Vitamins |
| Iron | Foods to Avoid |
In relation to diet, a calorie is a unit of energy produced by food. Your body needs energy (calories) to exist. You burn, or metabolize, different types of calories (carbohydrates, protein and fat) to produce energy and complete your daily tasks, including nursing, exercise or even just to sitting at a computer.
Your energy needs increase when you bring pregnancy onto the plate, but not at the scale of an all-you-can-eat buffet. Your calorie needs increase only 10 to 15 percent, or about 300 calories — that’s equal to about one Bellybar (170-180 calories) and a large apple. When you are nursing, your dietary needs increase by about 500 calories — that’s equal to about one Bellybar, a banana, one ounce of cheddar cheese and a few crackers in addition to your regular diet.
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 published by the USDA, women of childbearing age need 2,000 to 2,400 calories a day (depending on how active you are). A pregnant woman needs about 2,300-2,700 calories a day. And a nursing mom typically needs an extra 500 calories a day, above your pregnancy calorie requirement. You might need even more calories if you have a very large baby who consumes more milk or if you’re feeding multiple babies.
During pregnancy, the extra calories go straight to your belly, where your body is building a new human life and an entirely new organ to support it, the placenta. To sustain such growth, your blood volume increases up to 30 percent more than normal. Your body mass increases almost 20 percent during pregnancy, the equivalent of 25 to 35lbs for a normal woman, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences. What you eat not only helps the growth and development of your unborn baby, but also helps you deal with the stresses of pregnancy — both physical and emotional.
But beware, more food to eat doesn’t mean a free license to eat everything you want at any quantity. You really aren’t eating for two; it’s more like eating for one and a third. The best way to ensure a healthy calorie intake is to eat a variety of foods and follow the Food Guide Pyramid designed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005
Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences
Although carbohydrates are often labeled a villain these days, carbohydrates are actually critical to your diet. Carbohydrates provide the foundation of a healthy diet and include sugars, starches and fiber. When you eat a carbohydrate, your body breaks it down into blood sugar (glucose), which is used for energy, especially for your brain and nervous system. If you don’t use the energy, your body converts it to fat stores.
The IOM recommends approximately 45 percent to 65 percent of your total daily calories should come from carbohydrates. There are two types of carbohydrates: complex and simple. Your body absorbs complex carbohydrates more slowly than simple sugars, which fuels you with more energy for a longer period of time.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for carbohydrates during pregnancy is 175 grams per day. Getting this amount of carbohydrates is important to help prevent hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, during pregnancy. If you become hypoglycemic, your body will dip into its own fat stores and convert it back to glucose for energy use. This result may be fine when you are trying to lose weight, but pregnancy is not the time to do so.
Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Sciences, Dietary Reference Intakes
Complex carbohydrates provide calories, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, whereas simple carbohydrates do not. Complex carbohydrates require your body to break them down into simple sugars before your body can utilize them, providing a longer duration of energy. They can be found in foods like whole grains, whole grain cereals, potatoes and beans, fruits and vegetables—including legumes, lentils and peas.
Simple carbohydrates are sugars that provide instant energy and come in the form of foods like honey, fruits and some vegetables and milk products. Although these sources of simple carbohydrates also provide some nutrition, processed foods and refined sugars are simple carbohydrates that are high in calories, but that’s about it. They have what’s called, “empty calories.” Your best bet is to eat carbohydrates from a natural source, such as fruit instead of food sweetened with white refined table sugar.
To fill the gap, you can also eat a fortified snack such as Bellybar, which is made from natural, unprocessed ingredients and provides a nutritious source of complex carbohydrates with good sugars, calories, vitamins, minerals and fiber that help feed your growing baby.
Protein is a cornerstone for your baby’s growth. It is essential to any diet, whether or not you are pregnant. Protein is necessary for the creation, function, regulation and growth or strengthening of your body's cells, tissues, and organs.
Protein is found in many foods, both plant and animal. Legumes (pod foods like peas and beans), poultry, seafood, meat, dairy products, nuts and seeds are the best sources of protein. But choose your protein wisely — high-protein foods are often also high in fat and cholesterol.
The amount of protein your body needs varies depending on your weight. Nevertheless, it should comprise 10 percent to 35 percent of your total daily calories — about 46 grams a day for an average woman. When you’re pregnant, increase your protein intake by about 15 grams to 60 grams a day. You’ll have the added bonus of other extra vitamins and minerals because protein rich foods are also often loaded with iron, vitamin B6, and zinc. Bellybar contains 8g of protein – a great way to supplement your protein intake every day.
Like carbohydrates, fat is a popular dietary villain. However, there are different kinds of fat found in food, some are better than others. The secret to dietary fat is balance — no more than 30 percent of your daily calories should come from fat, or four daily servings (the equivalent of about two teaspoons of fat a day when you are pregnant).
Good fat is important for absorbing fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). Good fat also helps your growing baby develop supple skin, aids in vision development and new studies indicate it may help in brain development and your child’s intelligence. There are four types of fat:
“Good” fat:
Monounsaturated fat helps lower cholesterol and is found in olive, canola, and peanut oils, as well as in nuts and nut butters.
Polyunsaturated fat is also called fatty acid, or essential fatty acids. There are two types: Omega-3 fatty acids (found in some fish and vegetarian sources, such as flaxseed) and Omega-6 fatty acids (found in canola and corn oils and also in flaxseed). Bellybar contains 60mg of Omega-3s and 300mg of Omega-6s. One bar will get you on your way to good health.
“Bad” fat (also known as trans-fats):
Saturated fat raises your cholesterol level. Saturated fats are found in high-fat meats (such as liver), whole milk, and tropical oils (like palm oil). Although it won't have a negative effect on your baby, a diet high in saturated fat can raise your cholesterol and may put you at future risk for heart disease and cancer.
Hydrogenated fat (also called partially hydrogenated) is a manufactured product where hydrogen atoms are added to the fat to create a more solid texture (think margarine) and a longer shelf life. Products like margarine, and most store variety crackers, cookies, and chips have trans fats so they last longer.
So why are fatty acids so good? They are essential for cell function and cell life. Fatty acids help keep your cell membranes healthy and strong, so that minerals and molecules are allowed in and out of cells, but harmful chemicals or unwanted organisms (things like bacteria, viruses, molds and parasites) are kept out.
The Omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is of particular importance because studies indicate it may help lower your risk for depression, assist in your baby’s brain and vision acuity and even stabilize your newborn’s sleep cycles. Likewise, DHA is a key ingredient in breast milk and is now being added to some infant formulas.
Because of elevated levels of mercury and other toxins in fish, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency both recommend that you limit eating certain types of fish when you might become pregnant, during pregnancy and lactation.
Avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish (they contain high levels of toxins).
Limit eating fish that contain low levels of mercury to 12 ounces a week, such as shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish. Limit canned albacore "white" tuna to six ounces a week because it has higher levels of mercury than canned light tuna.
Because of these restrictions surrounding the consumption of fish during pregnancy, you can also get DHA by consuming Omega 3s from vegetarian sources like flaxseed (an ingredient in Bellybar), walnuts and tofu; the Omega 3s are converted to DHA in the body, and such conversion increases during pregnancy.
The Facts About Fats, by John Finnegan, published by Celestial Arts, 1993.
Maternal Supplementation With Very-Long-Chain n-3 Fatty Acids During Pregnancy and Lactation Augments Children’s IQ at 4 Years of Age; PEDIATRICS Vol. 111 No. 1 January 2003, pp. e39-e44
"Deficiency of essential fatty acids and membrane fluidity during pregnancy and lactation", Biochemistry, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, vol. 88, June 1991.
Iron is crucial for you, Mom-to-be. Iron is a key element in red blood cells and muscle. During pregnancy, your blood supply increases to support your growing baby. You need enough iron in your blood for your baby and to support blood loss during delivery. Without enough iron, you might develop anemia. Signs of iron shortage include fatigue, shortness of breath, dizzy spells, headache, irritability or weight loss. Severe symptoms include odd cravings for paper, clay, dirt or ice. Iron is best absorbed with or in food, for example eating meat or consuming foods rich in Vitamin C with meals leads to better iron absorption.
The National Institutes of Health recommends that women age 19 to 50 include 18mg of iron in their daily diet. It jumps to 27mg of iron a day when you are pregnant, and then drops to 9mg a day of iron during lactation. Some good whole food sources of iron include: Lean red meat (especially beef), liver, dried beans, whole grains, iron fortified whole grain cereals and eggs (including egg yolks).
Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Iron (Office of Dietary Supplements National Institutes of Health)
A Look at the Diet of Pregnant Women, A Publication of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion April 2000
Most women get 8 to 15mg of iron regularly through their normal diet. Bellybar is therefore supplemented with 18mg of iron to help women achieve the 27mg recommended during pregnancy. Women at risk of anemia however may require higher levels of supplemental iron; consult your physician to assess your personal iron needs.
Folate is probably the best known and most high profile pregnancy nutrient. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate. It’s found in supplements and added to fortified foods. Folate and folic acid have the same nutritional value; they are a B vitamin that assists with creation of basic genetic material called DNA. Folate also helps produce red blood cells and is essential for both maternal and fetal tissue growth. Most important, folate reduces your baby’s risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, which occurs during the first trimester of pregnancy when the spinal column doesn’t close completely.
The IOM, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The March of Dimes all recommend that you take a daily folic acid supplement of 400 micrograms (mcg) before you’re even pregnant, so that from conception forward, your baby has enough folate. Furthermore, the IOM advises pregnant women to increase their intake to 500 mcg a day, and breast-feeding women should increase their daily folic acid intake to 600 mcg. You need the extra folic acid during pregnancy (even after the neural tube closes) and for nursing.
As with everything in your diet, it’s best to eat a wide variety of foods. Folate can be found in fortified cereal, eggs, green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits like oranges, beans and peas (legumes) and wheat germ.
Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Folate
(Office of Dietary Supplements, Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center & National Institutes of Health)
Bellybar offers 800 mcg of folic acid to specifically support these unique needs of pre-conception, pregnant and nursing women.
Calcium is literally the framework of life. It is the most plentiful mineral in your body, found mostly in your teeth and bones. The National Institutes of Health recommends that pregnant women younger than 19 years old eat 1,300 mg of calcium daily (about four servings, equal to four cups of milk). Pregnant women age 19 to 50 years old need 1,000 mg of calcium a day (about three servings, equal to one cup of yogurt and three ounces of cheese).
Calcium is crucial because it keeps your bones strong during pregnancy and provides for the skeletal development of your baby, as well as facilitates nerve impulses and the functioning of your baby’s heart and muscles. If you don’t get enough calcium in your diet during pregnancy, your baby won’t notice, but you will. Your baby will draw calcium straight from your bones, which ultimately puts you at risk for developing osteoporosis.
Calcium-rich foods include milk and dairy products — if you don’t eat dairy products, you can take a daily calcium supplement. Some nondairy sources of calcium include spinach, broccoli, chickpeas, lentils, sweet potatoes and tofu. You can also find foods fortified with calcium, such as some brands of orange juice, cereals and even bread.
Bellybar offers 250mg of calcium – grab a Bellybar and a glass a milk to get started on your calcium intake for the day!
Keep hydrated. Remember, your blood volume is on the rise when you are pregnant, so drinking water will help prevent dehydration and constipation (both are common complaints), and it will also help keep your energy up.
It’s best to drink water, but you can also include juice and decaffeinated tea in the mix. The acid in tea and coffee may affect iron absorption, so limit drinking tea and coffee with meals.
Because you need additional water to stay hydrated when you are pregnant and breastfeeding, The National Women’s Health Information Center recommends that you drink at least six eight-ounce glasses of water per day and another glass for each hour of activity during pregnancy. Your fluid intake might double to meet the demands of breastfeeding, after your baby arrives.
Overwhelmed? Don’t be. A lot of your fluids come from the foods you eat, as well as from everything you drink. Common sense says just to drink when you are thirsty, but shoot for eight glasses of water a day just to be sure.
Vitamins & Minerals
It’s hard to always eat a proper diet, especially during pregnancy when your nutritional needs change. A 1990 study by the IOM indicates that most pregnant women could obtain sufficient nutrients (except iron) through diet, but few Americans have nutritionally adequate diets. That’s why prenatal supplements are often recommended. However, prenatal supplements are not all the same. Bellybar may contain all of the supplemental nutrients needed during normal pregnancies and lactation – consult your physician to choose what’s right for your pregnancy.
Foods to Avoid
There are a few things you should avoid eating during pregnancy, but consult with your healthcare provider in case you have any special dietary restrictions or needs. Here’s a simple rundown on what not to eat:
No raw meat or fish. This means steer clear of sushi and raw shellfish, and rare or undercooked beef and poultry. There’s risk of coli form bacteria, toxoplasmosis, and salmonella.
No raw eggs or foods containing raw egg. Raw eggs may harbor salmonella.
No soft cheese. Soft cheeses may have harmful bacteria.
No large fish. Fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish may have elevated levels of mercury, which affect your unborn baby by potentially causing brain damage and developmental problems in the future. However, you can eat up to 12 ounces of shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish or up to six ounces of canned white or albacore tuna each week.
No fish containing high levels polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The types of fish you shouldn’t eat vary by region. Check with your local Health Department to find out which fish you should avoid. Usually it includes bluefish, striped bass, and freshwater fish such as salmon, pike, trout, and walleye from contaminated lakes and rivers. According to the March of Dimes, consumption of large amounts of PCBs may be associated with decreased attention, memory and IQ in babies.
Limited caffeine. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that small amounts of caffeine during pregnancy are not harmful.
No alcohol. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, drinking alcoholic beverages put you at greater risk of miscarriage and your baby at greater risk of having fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which comprises mental and physical birth defects and growth problems. Complete abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy will prevent FAS.
No smoking. Smoking contributes to an increased risk of miscarriage and vaginal bleeding, as well as putting your baby at risk of a low birth weight. Smoking during pregnancy has also been linked to developmental issues in children, such as mental and behavioral problems
Although technically not nutrition, exercise and rest during your pregnancy are also important parts of a healthy pregnant lifestyle. Healthy pregnant women can and should try to do low impact moderate exercise (walking, swimming, yoga) for at least 30 minutes almost everyday. Adding exercise to your pregnant lifestyle can help prevent gestational diabetes and constipation, plus it can help relieve stress and build your strength and resilience for labor and delivery. A fit mom might better fend off the “baby blues” after birth, as well as recover from the big event and lose baby weight faster than if you didn’t exercise during pregnancy. Low impact exercise is best, such as swimming, walking and yoga.
That said, it’s also important to rest — and yes, that means taking a nap when possible, sitting down and putting your feet up, or simply going to bed early. Fatigue is not unusual and you’ll feel tired from daily tasks more quickly than usual. You’ll need a lot of rest after the baby arrives as well, so adding a daytime nap or quiet time into your routine are good preparation for the weeks and months to come. Kick back and grab yourself a Bellybar.
For more information:
FAQ on Pregnancy and A Healthy Diet from the National Women’s Health Information Center
The Food and Nutrition Information Center at the National Agricultural Library
Healthier US
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
The Institute of Medicine
American Dietetic Association
National Maternal and Child Health Clearinghouse
The Centers for Disease Control and PreventionHealth on the Net Foundation: Mother & Child Glossary
MayoClinic.com
Women’s Health Channel
Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby: U. S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA Consumer; March - April 1999