Pregnancy is an extremely critical phase in a woman's life. The mother-to-be needs to take care of her nutrition as well as ensure optimum health of the fetus. Maintaining an ideal weight has always been a bus that most pregnant seemed to have missed. While many people are fed double of what they should actually be consuming during pregnancy, most others don't take care of their diet due to their fear of gaining weight. A recent Australian study notes that most pregnant women are not at their ideal weight during pregnancy. They are either obese or underweight.
A whopping 1.3 million pregnant women were examined from all across the world to conclude that more than half of them gained too much weight during pregnancy while a quarter did not gain enough weight. Experts enumerate the dangers and delivery complications tied to both underweight and overweight pregnant women. Obese pregnant women were at a greater risk of caesarean delivery while women with inadequate weight were susceptible to premature delivery. Women who started at a higher weight were more likely to gain weight quicker as the pregnancy progressed.
Obese pregnant women were at a greater risk of caesarean delivery "You should not put on any weight in the first trimester, a little in the second trimester and just a little more in the third. You should only increase your calorie intake by a small amount. You are not eating for two," Helena Teede, lead researchers, Monash University was quoted by IANS.
After analysing more than 5,300 international studies on pregnant women it was found that at the beginning of pregnancy 38 percent of women were overweight or obese, 55 percent had normal weight and 7 percent were underweight.
The ultimate pregnancy diet is nothing but a timely and well-balanced supply of all nutrients Undeniably, diet is of the utmost importance during pregnancy. One can't let slip-ups happen. Most women think that since they are carrying, they need to be eating for two - which is just a grave misconception. The ultimate pregnancy diet is nothing but a timely and well-balanced supply of all nutrients. This would ideally include protein - 0.5g/day of additional protein in the first trimester. Iron and calcium are the other two extremely vital nutrients during pregnancy.
"During the entire pregnancy period, an additional 760 mg of iron is needed. The recommended intake of calcium during pregnancy is 200 mg/day," noted Dr. Tamanna Narang, Nutritionist at Alternacare.
Consult your medical expert for a tailor-made diet plan to best suit your needs.
Inputs from IANS
Obese pregnant women were at a greater risk of caesarean delivery
The ultimate pregnancy diet is nothing but a timely and well-balanced supply of all nutrients