The A to Z of eating for two

Pregnancy increases your body’s need for most nutrients. Although your body adapts by better absorbing and using certain nutrients, such as calcium, you should be getting more of the following nutrients…

VITAMIN A

Vitamin A is necessary for the process in which stem cells develop into specific cells, such as heart and liver cells. But too much vitamin A is extremely harmful to your baby and can cause serious deformities. It’s best to take vitamin

A in its water-soluble form, beta carotene. There’s plenty of it in yellow fruit and veg like carrots, pumpkin, papaya, mango, melon, sweet potato, and leafy greens like spinach. Make sure supplements don’t contain more than 1 500 µg of vitamin A, and avoid organ meat.

CALCIUM

Calcium is necessary for baby’s bones to form. You need 1 000mg per day – the usual amount. It’s easy to consume enough of it; just have three cups of milk or yoghurt per day. Other sources include nuts, broccoli, tinned sardines or salmon with bones.

VITAMIN D

Too little vitamin D can cause a calcium shortage in the foetus, and in serious cases could affect bone formation. Ensure you get enough exposure to the sun (15-30 minutes at least twice a week), and otherwise also include fortified foods in your diet such as margarine or supplements.

ENERGY

No extra energy is needed in the first trimester. In the second and third trimester, you need 1 420kJ and 1 889kJ more per day respectively. If you’re expecting more than one baby, you need even more extra energy. Get what you need from an extra glass of milk, fruit, slice or two of bread and two tablespoons of meat. Your weight gain will show if you’re taking in too little, too much or just the right amount of energy.

FOLIC ACID

Folic acid lowers your baby’s risk of neural-tube defects such as spina bifida, as long as you consume enough of it before pregnancy and during the first trimester. Every woman who’s trying to fall pregnant should take 400 µg folic acid by taking supplements or eating folic-acid enriched foods. When you’re pregnant, the requirement increases to 600 µg. Folic acid can be found in spinach, asparagus, broccoli, orange juice, whole grains, dried beans, eggs and yeast.

IRON

Iron is needed for blood to form, yours and your baby’s. Your body needs 27mg of iron per day, about double your normal requirement. Include food high in heme iron – such as meat, chicken and fish – in your daily diet. Non-heme iron such as that found in dried beans, spinach, egg yolk and whole grains is better absorbed with vitamin C, so take care to take the two together. But it’s unlikely that this large iron requirement can be met entirely from what you eat, so you can happily also take an iron supplement (with your doctor’s approval).

OMEGA 3

The omega-3 fatty acid DHA is important for the development of the central nervous system as well as for visual and cognitive development. You need 200mg DHA per day, which you can get from eating saltwater fish such as snoek, butterfish, mackerel, anchovies, sardines or herring once or twice a week. You can also have fish paste or take a supplement.

PROTEIN

Protein is required to build your and your baby’s body cells. You need 25g more per day; so, go for a slightly larger portion of meat, chicken or fish. Other sources of protein are eggs, cheese, beans, lentils and nuts.

SUPPLEMENTS

It’s a good plan to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement if you have an iron deficiency, aren’t following a balanced diet or are a vegetarian. If you’re expecting multiples or are HIVpositive, a supplement is also important.

ZINC

Zinc is important for your baby’s growth and development. It occurs especially in protein sources such as meat, fish and chicken, dried beans, lentils, eggs and whole grains.

WHAT THE SCALE SHOULD SAY

Hop on the scale and determine your body-mass index (BMI) according to this formula: weight ÷ height squared. If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, your weight is ideal. If it’s between 25 and 29.9, you’re overweight, and if above 30, you’re considered obese.

If you are obese, baby’s chances of contracting a neural-tube defect, dying before birth or being born early increase. There’s also an increased risk for your baby to be overweight as a child and to suffer from chronic problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart vessel illnesses as an adult. So, try and be at your ideal weight before becoming pregnant, and gain weight in a healthy way while you’re pregnant.

If you gain more weight than recommended, it increases your chances of having complications during pregnancy and birth. It will also take you longer after the birth to reach your ideal weight again. If you gain too little weight, there’s a greater chance of having a baby with a low birth weight. If she then gains weight quickly after birth, her risk of developing chronic illnesses increases.

Pregnancy is not the time for trying out new fad diets. Unbalanced diets are associated with babies with a low birth weight and other long-term problems such as high blood pressure.