Food and nutrition.pdf

Chapter 9Nutrition for Pregnant WomenA pregnant woman needs extra care and good nutrition for bothherself and the foetus developing in her womb. As far as the nutrition forpregnant women is concerned, the would-be mother should develophealthy nutritional habits. Proper intake of nutrients is necessary for healthpregnancy.Pregnancy and NutritionThe nutritional needs of a pregnant is always higher than that of anon-pregnant woman. As far as nutrition for healthy pregnancy isconcerned, a women needs to include a variety of nutritional items in herdiet. This is needed for getting the amount of calories, vitamins,carbohydrates and proteins recommended by the physician.ProteinBoth the mother and the baby in the womb requires good amount ofprotein. The doctors often advise the expectant mother to have 60 gramsof protein per day. 10 grams of protein are approximately equivalent to11/z ounces of meat.IronThe doctors generally doubles iron contents from 15 milligram perday to 30 milligram per day at the time of pregnancy. Other than this,food rich in iron are also recommended by the doctors.CaloriesAn expectant mother requires more or less 300 calories per day. Thisis needed for the rapid growth of her baby.Folic AcidFolic acid plays a significant part in the development of cells. It alsohelps in developing the fetal structures. Thus, a pregnant woman musttake food rich in folic acid. According to latest research, consumption of