What to Eat When Expecting

What to Eat When Expecting

When you are expecting a little bundle of joy, you begin to worry about every little thing. Questions such as, is your home big enough, what schools should you sends them to, finances, and so much more are constantly on your mind. What you should be focusing on, however, is what you can do as a mother to promote the best and healthiest growing environment for your baby. The best thing you can do in order to prepare for your baby’s arrival is to make sure you are eating and sleeping properly. The whole “eating for two” argument is no longer applicable because overeating and too much weight gain during pregnancy can actually be quite detrimental to the health of the mom and her baby. You really only need to add about 300 more calories to your daily intake. The recommended amount of weight gain during pregnancy should be no more than 35 pounds. The rule of thumb when you are expecting is that you should be eating the things that are good for everyone, but below is a list of some things that you need to specially implement into your diet.

1) Folic Acid

Folic acid or vitamin B9 is an extremely important vitamin that you should be taking before and during pregnancy. Birth defects most often occur within the first 3-4 weeks of pregnancy, so be sure to be implementing folic acid into your daily diet to offset this effect. Folic acid is necessary for creating new red blood cells, which regulate the production of DNA. This vitamin will help the developing the placenta and brain as well as lowering the chances of problems like cleft lips, cleft palate and mental disorders.

2) Protein

Protein is important for every person but it is especially crucial that expectant mothers have enough in their diets. Protein helps to build amino acids, which will stabilize your blood sugar and help those unavoidable cravings. Be sure you are eating lots of lean meats, fish, beans and eggs so that you can get as much protein as possible. In addition, having a diet high in protein will help you get back to shape after delivery.

3) Flaxseed

Flaxseed is probably not a part of your current diet but if you are expecting, add it immediately. Flaxseed contains important omega-3 fatty acids and DHA. These components are called essential fats because they help to build and support the body’s functions. DHA is the best thing that you can add to your diet because it is critical to the development of your baby’s brain and eyes.

4) Calcium

When you are having a child, your body is changing and that includes your bones. Because your baby requires so much of your nutrition, women can lose out on much-needed calcium during this time. Try drinking as much milk as you can or even try almond milk with almost 50% more calcium than regular milk. If you are lactose intolerant or maybe your baby isn’t making you very fond of milk at the moment, try steaming spinach or kale to get all the calcium you can get.

5) Vegetables

Be sure that you are getting all your green veggies in your diet because expectant mothers need the beta-carotene. Beta-carotene makes vitamin E, which is incredibly important for the development of your baby’s brain, organs, skins, eyes and brain. But be very careful if you are trying to supplement vitamin A in your diet to avoid “preformed A,” also called retinol, as too much in the diet has been shown to increase the chances of birth defects.

This article was written by M.G. Bachemin in association with Doctors Imaging, the best place forMRI New Orleans and other medical imaging procedures. For more information, go tohttp://www.doctorsimaging.com/.