Pregnancy

Things to Pay attention to before you are starting to plan on getting pregnant:

1. Do you have a lack of Folic acid in the diet(at least 3 months before you become pregnant)
2. Stop consuming Alcohol (to avoid fetal alcohol syndrom)
3. Use of certain medicines should be stopped or switched. Like aspirin or medications.
4. Use of Herbal therapies
5. Job-related hazards and stresses
6. Smoking- best if stopped completly but at lest reduce to almost nothing
7. Inadequate intake of vitamins such to little of Iron, Magnesium, zinc
8. Excess vitamin A intake or taking a megadose of other nutrient supplements
9. Heavy caffeine intakes
10. Lack of medical treatment with HIV-positive status or AIDS
11. Poor control of diabetes or hypertension
12. X-Ray exposure even dentist x-rays

These are all things that we can change before we start trying for a baby.

How much more do you truly need to eat while pregnant. Do you need to eat for two now that there is two of you? (no)

Lets take a healthy active 24 women. Generally should would consume 2200 calories a day. So when she gets pregnant she needs to increase her calorie intake to...in her:
First trimester: she just needs to eat that same amount 2200.
Second trimester: needs to increase about 350-450 more calories
Third trimester: 350-450 more calories
So depending on how you look at that that could be just 1 candy bar. Hopefully that's not how you spend that extra needed calories. Hopefully it is in nutrient dense foods. But that is all you are increasing your intake.

So let look at each group and what that could be in.

So before and in the first trimester she should consume(2200):

3 cups of calcium rich foods
6 ounce-equivalents from meats and beans
3 cups vegetables
2 cups fruit
7 ounces from the grains
6 teaspoons oil

In her second and third trimester she should consume: ( so now she is consuming a total of 2600 calories)

3 cups calcium rich foods
6 1/2 ounce-equivalents meat and beans
3 1/2 cups vegetables
2 Cups fruit
8 ounces from the grains
7 teaspoons of oil( hopefully most comes from fish oils)

Now if eating is going properly you should be gaining a pound a week. Healthy weight gain is very important.

If your preprgancy weight is Low and have a BMI that is less the 19.8 you need to gain 28-40 pounds during your pregnancy

If your weight is Normal and you have a BMI that is between 19.8-25.9 you need to gain 25-35 pounds.

If your weight is High and your BMI is between 26-29 you need to gain 15-25 pounds.

If you are classified as Obese so your BMI is greater than 29 you need to gain at elast 15 pounds maybe more.

To find out your BMI you take you weight and hieght.

The weight you are gaining is not all fat you now. It is divided between a couple of things, like:
the fetus, placenta,and the amniotic fluids 11 pounds (fetus itself 8)
Blood 4 pounds
Uterus and breast 6 pounds
Maternal fat stores 4-8 pounds
and thats were you get your 25-30 pounds