Nutrition Advice Before and During Pregnancy Building a Healthy Baby HF#6972

 

Eating high quality food when pregnant will be good for both you and your baby.  Being pregnant is a time of change, during which you may choose to adjust your diet to improve your health and your baby’s well being.  Eating organic food may decrease the amount of herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones that you and your baby may be exposed to.  If you can’t eat organic food, wash all vegetables and fruits with soap before eating them.  The guidelines below can be used to help you make healthy food choices:

 

 

• Calcium: Helps build strong bones and teeth.  If your intake is too little, your growing baby will use your calcium stores and deplete your levels.  We advise 1,200 mg per day. 

 

• Protein:  Is vital for all body systems to work.  Eating a protein food every 2 hours will prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).  We suggest 60 to 80 gm per day. 

 

• Magnesium: Pregnant women need magnesium to support the muscles, nerves, and to create protein.  Low levels cause high blood pressure, muscle irritability and anxiety.  Pregnant women need 600 mg per day. 

 

•  Iron: You need 30 mg per day while pregnant due ot the baby's oxygen needs.  Be sure to eat plenty of iron rich foods. 

 

• Safe Fish: Methyl mercury is present in certain fish.  This metal can be harmful to an unborn baby’s nervous system.

 

• Simple Carbohydrates: Limit refined pasta, refined breads, desserts and potatoes. These foods add calories but not good nutrition to your diet.  Eat vegetables, fruits, and whole grain carbohydrate choices as much as possible.

 

• Daily Multivitamin:   We advise a daily food-based multivitamin with 600 mcg of folic acid.  Food-based vitamins are better absorbed than synthetic vitamins.

 

• Omega-3 fatty acids:   These are needed for the growth of the brain, eyes and heart of the growing baby.  We advise three 1,000 mg capsules per day of purified fish oil.  If you do not wish to take a supplement derived from fish, you can take Neuromins DHA Softgels (made by Solgar and Solaray), which is derived from micro-algae. Another good source of Omega 3 is chia seeds (1T/ day). Maternal benefits from Omega 3 supplementation include cardiovascular benefits, constipation relief and it is good for joints and helps to enhance mood. We recommend that you stop taking your Omega 3 supplements at 37 weeks gestation due to blood thinning properties and then restart them immediately postpartum.

 

• Water: We advise 8 glasses of water a day.

 

Calcium

 

Calcium builds strong bones and teeth, supports the circulatory system that transports your blood, and supports muscle action.  The current government guidelines recommend 1000 mg as a minimum, and the Upper Level of Intake that is safe is 2500 mg per day.  We advise 1200 mg a day.

 

Dairy sources

 

Milk (cow’s, or soy)  1 cup	250 mg
Yogurt 1 container	190 mg
Orange juice with Calcium 1 cup	250 mg
Cheese  1 oz.	200 mg

 

Non-dairy sources

 

Broccoli	Tahini
Almonds	Sesame seeds
Kale	Calcium processed tofu

 

If you can’t eat enough foods that contain calcium, a calcium supplement may be added to your daily diet.  Calcium phosphate or citrate is easier to digest than other forms.  Vitamin D must be present for calcium to be absorbed; many calcium supplements now contain vitamin D for this reason.

 

Vitamin D3

 

Vitamin D3 helps build strong bones, as noted above, and it helps maintain muscle strength.  Also, recent research has suggested that vitamin D may also help protect against some forms of cancer, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other auto-immune conditions.  The current government guidelines recommend 600 IU as a minimum; we advise 2000 – 5000 IU per day.

  

 

Protein

 

Both babies and mothers need protein which is the basis for building a new body.  We advise 60 to 80 grams a day. 

 

 

Good sources of protein

 

Meat, fish, poultry – 3 oz. (the size of a deck of cards)	20 gm	½ cup nuts (cashews, walnuts, almonds)	10 gm
Three eggs	20 gm	3 TBS of peanut butter	10 gm
¾ cup of cottage cheese	20 gm	Chick peas – 1 cup cooked	16 gm
Three logs of string cheese	20 gm	Lentils -1/3 cup	17 gm
One cup of milk	8 gm	Black-eyed peas – 4 oz. dry	25 gm
One cup of yogurt	8 gm	Tofu – 4 oz	9 gm
One cup of Greek yogurt	16 gm	Protein Bars	10-20 gm

 

Magnesium

 

Pregnant women need magnesium to support the muscles and nerves, and to produce protein.  Low levels cause high blood pressure, muscle irritability and anxiety.  Pregnant women need a minimum of 600 mg/day.

 

Common causes of low magnesium:

• Poor soil leads to less magnesium in fresh produce, whole grains, nuts and legumes
• drinking fluoride-treated water
• taking certain drugs that block absorption
• Eating processed foods that lack magnesium.

 

Foods high in magnesium include:

 

• Spinach, kelp, and other greens
• Nuts: almonds, cashews, peanuts, and walnuts, 
• Whole grains , brown rice, and tofu
• Kidney beans and other beans

 

Another way to get magnesium is through your skin, via Epsom Salt Soaks:  Pour 5 cups of Epsom salt into a warm or hot tub of water and soak for ½-1 hour each day.   This is very inexpensive and can be found at Walgreen’s. 

 

 

We advise Magnesium 200 mg capsules.  Start with one in the morning and one in the evening.  Every 3-4 days add another capsule until you are having 2-3 soft stools per day.  The best products are Magnesium Glycinate, Magnesium Taurate, Magnesium Malate and Magnesium Orotate.

 

Iron

 

Pregnant women need 30 mg of iron each day.  Iron is needed to form hemoglobin.  Hemoglobin carries oxygen to the baby and the mother’s organs.  There are two types of iron, heme and non-heme.  Large amounts of heme iron can be found in meat sources and is absorbed better than non-heme iron which is found in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.

 

The hemoglobin content of your blood will be checked at the start and in the middle of your pregnancy.  Your midwife may advise that you increase your iron intake through food or supplements.

 

High food sources of Heme Iron: animal protein, such as beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, seafood, and eggs.

 

Sources of Non-Heme iron: 

1. Fruits: apricots, prunes, prune juice, dates, dried peaches, dried pears, avocado, raisins, blackstrap molasses: (3 TBSP/day), and strawberries.
2. Dried beans: black-eyed peas, black beans, green peas, lentils, and split peas
3. Grains: Whole wheat, wheat germ, and bulgur
4. Seeds: Sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds
5. Vegetables: beet greens, broccoli, carrot juice, peas, spinach, tomatoes, turnip greens, and tofu

NOTE: Vitamin C foods like orange juice help increase the absorption of non-heme iron.

 

Herbal or homeopathic sources of iron are listed below.  These sources will produce fewer side effects than conventional iron supplements.

 

1. Floradix® liquid or tablets. This is absorbed well, does not cause constipation and provides 10 mg of iron per ml.
2. Nature Works Herbal Iron®
3. Solgar Gentle Iron® 25mg twice a day
4. Yellow Dock tincture: 3 droppers full three times a day
5. Wheatgrass 1 oz every day, fresh juice or the equivalent
6. Ferrum phosphate homeopathic remedy: 30 c potency three times a day
7. Blood builders available at Community pharmacy

 

Iron supplements: Avoid taking iron supplements at the same time as calcium supplements for best iron absorption.

1. Ferrous Sulfate 300 – 325 mg
2. Ferrous Gluconate 300 – 325 mg
3. Ferrous Fumarate – 200 mg

 

  

 

Safe Fish

 

Fish is good for you as it is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids and protein.  There is concern about mercury levels in some fish; you should avoid shark, swordfish, King mackerel, and tilefish.  But you can safely eat fish that are listed as safe.

Recommendations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004:

 

Very Low Levels of Mercury less than 0.1 ppm are safe to eat two meals a week.

 

Catfish	Clams
King Crab	Oysters
Salmon, farmed	Salmon, canned or wild Alaskan
Sardines	Scallops
Shrimp	Sole
Tilapia	Pollock

 

Low Levels of Mercury less than 0.2 ppm are safe to eat one meal a week.

 

Cod	Crab, Dungeness and Blue
Haddock	Herring
Mahi mahi	Ocean perch
Whitefish	Tuna, canned, light

 

If you are a patient of UW Health and have more questions, please discuss with your midwife.

 

 

 

 

  

 

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The information provided should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

Last Updated: 12/09/2011

Copyright © 12/09/2011 University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority. All rights reserved. Produced by the Department of Nursing. HF#6972

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