Whatever you eat impacts your foetus' health at the time of pregnancy. It is important to choose everything that you put inside your mouth whether it is at home or outdoors at a restaurant.
During pregnancy, women’s nutritional requirement is more than usual. This, however, doesn’t mean that she needs to increase the caloric intake significantly to fulfil the nutritional requirement.
Some expectant mothers also confuse pregnancy with ‘eating for two’. To look after the baby’s needs during pregnancy, pregnancy nutrition is important. There are some foods that may influence the baby’s development within the womb. It is owing to this reason that health experts make a special mention of what not to eat during pregnancy.
An expectant mother’s body becomes efficient at extracting energy and nutrients from her diet, which is why the mother craves for food more often during the term and tends to eat without realising the consequences. It should be understood that a woman requires only 200 extra calories per day during the pregnancy term.
Here is a list of foods that you must avoid during pregnancy to lessen your chances of pregnancy complications.
- Unpasteurised milk (buffalo or cow's milk) contains listeria, which is unhealthy for the unborn baby. The FDA says that listeria can cause listeriosis, which is the most common cause of miscarriage because of the infection of the foetus. It also says that women must be especially conscious of what they eat in the third trimester of pregnancy because most of the infections due to listeria pathogen happens during the third trimester.
- Undercooked meat, poultry and eggs are not good during pregnancy owing to the manifestation of harmful bacteria. Therefore, ensure that meat is appropriately cooked before consumption. These foods should also be avoided in the raw state. Raw seafood such as oysters or uncooked sushi should be avoided.
- Abstain from predator fish species such as shark or swordfish during pregnancy term as they may contain unsafe levels of mercury. The fish species absorb mercury from contaminated water and get along with proteins in the fish muscle.
- Limit the consumption of processed or canned fish as it is preserved in saline water.
- Consuming alcohol can also raise health concerns during pregnancy. Physical birth defects, learning disabilities and emotional problems in children are associated with alcohol consumption of the mother during pregnancy.
- Caffeine intake should be reduced as well as it increases the risk of miscarriage and low birth weight.
Pregnancy Diet Instructions
- When suffering from nausea or sickness, expecting mothers don’t feel like eating proper meals during early pregnancy. Meals should not be skipped by any means during pregnancy. Try to eat small proportions of meals frequently to counter the concern.
- Craving for food becomes more after the first few months of pregnancy term. You may be hungry and feel like eating more than usual.
- The best way to adhere to pregnancy diet is to eat when you are hungry and ensure that you have healthy foods with excellent nutritive value.
These are some tips that help in structuring pregnancy diet plan to make sure that expecting mothers receive all the essential nutrients every day.
Read more articles on Pregnancy Diet.
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