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Correct nutrition is vital when you are pregnant.
Your hormones will be different while you are pregnant which can easily cause mood swings if you fail to have healthy foods at the correct time.
A women who is not pregnant needs approximately 2,000 calories day
A pregnant women needs approximately 2,500 calories
A breastfeeding woman needs approximately 3,000 calories a day.
You do not need to go on a strict diet just eat healthy and have variety each and every day.
Some useful foods when pregnant
Breakfast
Low fat fruit yoghurt or fromage frais or
Unsweetened cereals or porridge.
Wholemeal toast or bread with – Honey Jam –Marmalade -Marmite- Peanut butter lemon curd -
Lunch
Home made sandwich with a different filling each day (cheese, cottage cheese, lean ham, salmon, sardines, tinned crab, tuna,
Low fat fruit yoghurt or fromage frais.
Home made mixed nuts and dried fruit – Apricots, sunflower seeds, figs or prunes.
Half a handful of the above not figs and prunes at the same time.
Snacks
Pitta bread with Hummus celery or cucumber
Freshly cleaned and prepared vegetables – celery carrots tomatoes apples or other fruits.
Fresh or tinned soup and fresh wholemeal bread.
Fresh fruit.
Home made salad
Malt loaf 2-4 slices with or without butter.
Dinner
Baked potato with filling – Tina -Baked beans grated cheese, soured cream
Pasta with – Chicken or Salmon
Also include salad or cupful of frozen vegetables
Hydration
Milk drink or fruit juice or water with food
Folic acid is vital to healthy baby and can prevent your baby from having spina bifida
Folic acid deficiency symptoms include no appetite fatigue and tiredness, a tongue that is red and painful. Bowel experiences diarrhoea or constipation.
Meat – Egg yolks kidney chicken giblets
Lentils soya products almonds nuts and dried beans.
Starches –Wholegrain bread potato
Fruits – Banana – asparagus beetroot broccoli cabbage oranges peaches Spinach &.
Reminder
Calcium from diary
Protein – Meat cheese and nuts
Fluids – drinks include fruit juices, smoothies and fruit and foods that are boiled (rice and pasta etc)
Carbohydrates – Pasta bread noodles rice.
Foods & drinks to avoid
Artificially sweetened drinks – a study has shown premature births can result in drinking his type of drinks.
Alcohol – limit this to less than two units a week.
Caffeine – have less than 200mg of caffeine a day so revert to decaf drinks instead.
Cheese with a white mouldy rind –Camembert and blue vein cheese (stilton)
Pate –may contain bacteria (Listeria)
Liver or liver sausage large amounts of vitamin A can be harmful for the baby.
Seafood that is raw –Oysters or Sushi
Tuna can contain high amounts of mercury so limit your weekly amount to two portions a week.