TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF DURING PREGNANCY: DIET

Taking care of yourself during pregnancy is just like living sensibly at other times, with one obvious exception: You are now providing for two individuals. Your habits—smoking, drinking, taking drugs or medications—now affect a second life. Most things that you have done before becoming pregnant can continue without interruption. We will spend some time now discussing exceptions to this rule and some current misconceptions.

A well-balanced diet is always advisable. Your nutritional status at the beginning of pregnancy is probably as important as what you eat during pregnancy. The exact amount that you need to eat during this time varies according to your individual requirements, but common sense tells us that extremes are harmful. Your total pre-natal weight gain should be between 24 and 35 pounds. As our understanding of maternal nutrition has improved, the practice of restricting weight gain to less than 20 pounds has ended. However, gaining more than 35 pounds makes it harder to get back in shape after delivery. During pregnancy, you will need about 15 percent more calories, and an additional 20 to 30 grams of protein, on the average, each day.

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