| Starting off your with a healthy well balanced diet is | | | | Calcium is something that's missing from many diets. |
| the best thing you do for yourself and your baby. | | | | Along with milk, other great sources for calcium |
| This way, you'll only need to make a few | | | | include dairy products, calcium fortified juices, and |
| adjustments during your pregnancy. | | | | even calcium tablets. |
| Your first trimester | | | | Fiber |
| If you find it tough to maintain a balanced diet during | | | | Fiber can help to prevent constipation, which is a |
| your first trimester, you can rest assured that your | | | | common pregnancy problem. You can find fiber in |
| not alone. Due to queasiness, some women will eat all | | | | whole grains, fruits, and even vegetables. Fiber |
| of the time and gain a lot of weight in the process. | | | | supplements such as Metamucil and Citrucel are safe |
| Other women have trouble getting food down and | | | | to take during pregnancy. |
| subsequently lose weight. | | | | Protein |
| Preventing malnutrition and dehydration are your | | | | Unless you happen to be a strict vegetarian, your |
| most important factors during first trimester. | | | | protein intake is not normally a problem for women |
| Calories | | | | who eat a healthy diet. |
| When you are pregnant, you need to consume | | | | Iron |
| around 300 calories more than usual every day. The | | | | A lot of women will start their pregnancy off with a |
| best way to go about doing this is listening to your | | | | bit of iron deficiency. Good sources of iron include |
| body when you are hungry. You should try to eat as | | | | dark leafy green vegetables and meats. Iron |
| many foods as possible from the bottom of the | | | | supplements should be avoided, as they can cause |
| food pyramid. | | | | internal symptoms such as cramping, constipation, or |
| If you gain weight too slow, try eating small meals | | | | diarrhea. |
| and slightly increase the fat in your diet. You should | | | | Vitamins |
| always eat when you are hungry, as you are now | | | | Seeing as how you get a majority of the vitamins |
| eating for 2 instead of one. | | | | you need in your diet, you may want to discuss |
| Calcium | | | | prenatal vitamins with your doctor. Folate is one of |
| By the second trimester, you'll need around 1,500 | | | | the most important, and if you are getting enough of |
| milligrams of calcium each day for your bones and | | | | it, you may be able to avoid vitamins all together - |
| your baby', which is more than a quart of milk. | | | | just ask your doctor to make sure. |