pregnancy diet

Try to eat as healthy as possible... that's my advice. In general, make sure you have 3 servings a fruit a day and try to go for 5 servings of veggies daily. Add some proteins to it (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) and you are on excellent diet. I am in my first pregnancy, and following healthy eating plan. I have bad days when I go for burger and fries, but trying to limit them as much as possible. I am staying off unpasterised cheeses, and sushi , but I still have occasional deli meat and my 1-2 coffees a day. I am not a big soda user, so I don't have any Coke or similar drinks. I also have a sip or two of wine on very rare occasions. I gained a lot of weight in the 1st trimester (4kg!!!!!!) as I was eating only crackers and biscuits - they helped me against nausea. Since nausea is gone, my healthy eating is back on track and weight gain is much, much slower.

lol ask ten different mums and you'll get 10 different answers, welcome to motherhood in general!. Mercury levels in fish are significantly affected by the waters the fish live in. In the states the levels can be very high and you will see warnings in US books and websites but in NZ we don't get the same warning as levels are much lower. the research I did showed low levels in fish from UAE/Doha waters even for predatory fish like Hamour so personalIy would feel safe having local fish more than once a week. Processed lunchmeats don't even count as meat, I'd class them as junkfood! and yes, no raw fish, soft boiled/poached eggs or soft cheese etc etc, not for health reasons as they are nutritious, but to avoid any risk of food poisoning. I would also dispute that vitamins are "a must" for most mums-to-be, apart from folic acid there isn't really evidence that there is any point in taking anything else if your diet is balanced. All my Drs both here and in NZ have said the same for both pregnancies, take folic acid before and during first trimester, keep an eye on your iron levels and supplement if they start to get low but anything else is really mostly marketing hype and you'll just wee most of it out, much better to eat well. Too much of certain vitamins can in fact cause defects so if you do take pills make sure they are specific for pregnancy and take only the recommended dosage.

Hopefully you have a good baby book and are referring to the "don'ts" list ... more than 1 serving of fish per week is actually bad depending on the fish (mercury levels)... absolutely no sushi, processed lunchmeats are not good, etc. And of course, prenatal vitamins are a must. They prevent a multitude of deformations. Everything in moderation - best of luck!

well obviously not junk food :) Whatever you eat goes into your blood and therefore whatever you eat you are feeding your baby. When you start solids at 6 months would you plan to give your baby chocolate, cola, tea, coffee, alcohol etc...?.(having said that I am currently 23 weeks pregnant and just ate a chocolate bar). I especially try to avoid anything with caffeine or artificial sweeteners, flavours and colours (so no diet coke) and to eat as big a range of fresh fruits and vegetables as I can manage. Ideally you want good iron/zinc/calcium levels, so eat plenty of lean meat, fish for healthy oils, green vegetables, yellow vegetables, red vegetable, fresh berries especially blueberries, plain unsweetened yoghurt, eggs..... Crunchy stirfried vegetables with your dinner (broccolii, capsicum, zuchinni are a good way to eat a mixture each day and if you are not a good fruit eater you might want to make a breakfast smoothie with plain unsweetened yoghurt, banana, papaya, apple, berries and a little cinnamon. Lentils are a good source of protein and iron....pretty much as much variety as you can manage. Gaining too much weight when pregnant can also lead to a bigger baby and increased risk of tougher delivery/c-section. I was always really thin before getting pregnant, gained a lot of weight in my first pregnancy and really struggled to lose it despite breastfeeding fo nearly 2 years. i am being much more careful this time around, hormones can do crazy things to your metabolism! Also make sure you get plenty of sunlight to boost you and your babies vit D levels. If your diet is really bad make sure to take a pre-natal vitamin although its much better to eat well instead of popping pills. If you are planning to breastfeed what you eat while you are pregnant is also reflected in your breastmilk after the birth as fat soluble vitamins are stored in the body for months and will be used for making breastmilk. Actually responding to this post is making me realize how much more careful I was to eat good food with my first pregnancy, I really need to go and eat a fruit salad now to make myself feel better! <em>edited by kiwispiers on 04/06/2012</em>