Saturday, September 11, 2010

Diet for Pregnant women - Points to be taken care of before getting pregnant

It is a woman's prerogative to carry a baby for a full term of nine months and then give birth to a beautiful bundle of joy. For that a woman should prepare herself mentally and physically. She should start eating good nutrtious food, leave out smoking  or drinking too much coffee.
This holds true for the dads to be also as only the healthy set of parents can bring forward a healthy off spring.

She should see that she doesn't have anaemia and if she has it should be corrected.  Her weight should be in accordance with her height and body mass.
She should start taking folic acid  but only on the advice of the doctor. Once she gets the pregnancy confirmed she should take care of the dietary adjustments made  to nourish the growing foetus and also support the rapid changes that seem to occur in her body.
Usually the weight gain during pregnancy will be 10 - 12 kgs in a woman, and the baby will microscopic  at the start and go up till about 4 kgs at the most, the average for an Indian Baby is about 2.7 - 3.2 kgs.

She should go in for healthy eating , that means  eating a balanced diet and avoiding foods high in fat and sugar, such as cakes and biscuits. Fruit and vegetables can be fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or a glass of juice. Aim for at least five portions a day but always remember feesh ones count the most

Iron rich foods, like pulses red meat, fortified breakfast cereals with or without dried fruit, bread, green vegetables  build up your resources of iron  and get your body ready for pregnancy.

It would be better for you to take citrus fruits which help your body to absorb iron if you have some food, like an orange or lemons and / or vegetables as salads, or a glass of fruit juice with any iron-rich meals.

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