The Importance of Good Nutrition for Pregnancy

Good, healthy, solid nutrition is especially important while planning to get pregnant for both partners, especially when you’re having trouble getting pregnant. A healthy diet and consistent, effective exercise has shown to improve fertility in both women and men. When embarking on pregnancy, a woman with a well-nourished body that is stocked with necessary nutrients is also getting her child-to-be off to a good start.

A healthy lifestyle is necessary for normal organ development; normal reproduction, growth, and maintenance; for optimum activity level and working efficiency; for resistance to infection and disease; and for the ability to repair bodily damage or injury. A truly healthful diet will pull its nutrients from a wide range of food groups, ensuring that all nutritional requirements are met and done so in proper amounts.

Maintain healthy protein and caloric intake

In general, pregnant women need more protein and calories than non-pregnant women. The World Health Organization recommends that a pregnant woman eat at least 75 grams of protein per day from a variety of sources. Enough salt and water are also markers of a strong nutritional foundation. Women who maintain vegetarian diets can still do so during pregnancy, but they may find it difficult to accrue all of the required amounts of calories and protein.

Pregnancy Recommended Daily Diet

The following should be included in a pregnant woman’s daily consumption:

• 2-3 servings of meat, fish, nuts or legumes, and tofu
• 2-3 servings of dairy (milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese)
• 2 servings of green vegetables; 1 serving of a yellow vegetable
• 3 servings of fruit
• 3 servings of whole-grain breads, cereals, or other high-complex carbohydrates
• Salt to taste
• 6-8 glasses of clean, filtered water

The diet above should provide all of the nutrients necessary to assist in the growth of a healthy baby in the womb and maintenance of a healthy mother-to-be. Zinc, calcium, iron, magnesium; and vitamins A, B, and C must be woven through the fabric of a pregnant woman’s daily diet. The list above covers all of these requirements.

Exercise is healthy for you and baby

Eating right is of utmost importance to a pregnant woman or a woman planning to get pregnant, but exercising regularly also aides in the development of a healthy fetus throughout each trimester. The best way to stick with exercise? Form an exercise group with other pregnant women or pair up with an exercise buddy who is also pregnant. Or get your spouse to work out with you, making the pregnancy journey that much more of a team effort. When you are able to speak to others who are going through the same process it helps keep up the motivation to continue moving. Having others around also makes fitness routines more fun. The more fun you have the more likely you are to stick with a regiment throughout your pregnancy and afterwards. It will also be that much easier to raise a healthy child and ingrain nutritious habits and regular exercise into the child’s life.

To learn more about nutrition during pregnancy, view the following articles:

http://seattletimes.com/html/health/2024256618_onhealthfertilityxml.html

http://www.nutritionbycarrie.com/2014/08/food-for-fertility-peer-emotional-support.html

http://www.nutritionbycarrie.com/2014/08/food-fertility-nutritional-foundation.html