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If you have a pregnancy for the first time in your life, you may have a lot of questions! Nutrition is one of the most frequently asked questions. But in general, you don’t need to pack in excessively extra calories in the first trimester of your early pregnancy. In other words, you may need additional calories but how much you should go? Then what are best foods you should eat? And what are foods you should avoid?
The first trimester is a crucial time of incredible growths for your new baby, but she /he is still very small. That’s why once again you don’t need to drastically increase the calories of food that you eat, because she or he still doesn’t need a lot of extra oomph. But it’s important to stay close on a balanced-diet with high quality of healthy foods.
Major checklists for your first trimester
In the first 1-2 months of your early pregnancy, there is still no significant sign of the shape of your body (particularly abdomen) that indicates you are being pregnant. In other words, your baby bump won’t develop until later on – but there are some changes to allow your new baby get enough food (nutrient) and O2 (oxygen).
The creation of placenta is another crucial point in the first trimester. Placenta is responsible for all O2 and nutrition going to fetus /baby. It also has crucial function to handle wasted products coming out. To support all of these mechanisms, you need adequate iron and other essential minerals. Furthermore, your blood volume also will increase in order to help distribute /transport everything.
The growth of your baby comes from being a single cell to a very small (tiny) human complete with some crucial organs (such as feet, hands, lungs, brain, and a pumping heart). In essence, the baby requires plenty of minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and other essential nutrients to complete all that amazing growth.
Nutrition for the first trimester of your early pregnancy
Did you know that the cellular structure of brain, blood, body, bones, or other organs of your baby are being formed in the 12 weeks after you conceive? And these processes will go continuously throughout pregnancy, which means once again the baby needs a continual flow of a wide variety of good nutrition in order to make each system & organ grow strong.
The following are some crucial properties you should concern for your pregnancy:
- Iron! It is an essential mineral to build hemoglobin (a kind of molecule that can be found in the cells of blood – it has crucial function to carry O2).
- Folic acid! It is important for the development of spinal cord and brain of baby. It also can eliminate the risk of neutral tube defects. Since this property is very crucial, doctors often prescribe folic acid supplement and prenatal vitamin for pregnant women in order to make sure they will get plenty of folic acid and other essential vitamins.
- Vitamins! A pregnant woman should get plenty of vitamins (such as vitamin A, C, D, B-complex, etc). These vitamins can help provide a lot of health advantages. For instances, vitamin C is useful to create collagen and prevent infection. Vitamin D is useful to promote a strong bone, and B-complex is used to protect a pregnant woman against birth defects.
- DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid)! As well we know that DHA is so crucial for eye and brain development. Fish is good source of omega-3 fatty acid – but not all kinds of fish are good for pregnancy. Some types of fish are high in mercury which can be harmful for you and your baby. Fortified eggs and salmon are more recommended for your safer DHA. Your doctor may also recommend a DHA supplement if necessary.
- Calcium (Ca)! It plays a key role for the development of baby’s bones. If you don’t get plenty of calcium from your diet, your body can take Ca from your bones to provide plenty of calcium for your pregnancy but this can put you at higher risk of osteoporosis.
- Protein! You should completely understand that the protein is the basic structural of every cell for your baby’s growth. In other words, lack of protein in your pregnancy can restrict the fetal growth. A research in the New England Journal of Medicine found that insufficient protein during pregnancy can increase the newborn’s risk of having high blood pressure (hypertension) later in life.
- Etc – consult more with a doctor or dietitian for in-depth information.
Make sure to get plenty of fluid every day!
In general, 10 cups of fluid /day are the common requirement for pregnant women. The water is the most of your liquid, but don’t forget also to consider other healthy fluid sources such as from juice and milk.
To get the better result, choose fat-free milk instead of fat milk. Moreover, there are also a lot of products of milk that specially produced for pregnant women.
And for juice, don’t forget to consume it in moderation. Juices also contain calories, which means they can increase your chance of unwanted excessively weight gain if you consume them too much.
Weight gain of pregnancy -- how much it should be!?
It’s normal to experience weight gain when you are being pregnant, but the big question is how far it should go?
Women who start their pregnancy at an underweight may need to gain more than other women with normal weight. For those with normal weight, they can expect 25 – 35 pounds of weight gain – according to an article published on WebMD. And for twins-pregnancy, the weight gain can be more (about 34 – 45 pounds).
For women who start their pregnancy at overweight, they are usually recommended to go for fewer pounds of weight gain. Furthermore, overweight moms are more likely to have heavier newborns that are usually more difficult to deliver.
However, overweight women should not do weight loss diet during pregnancy because it may cause lack of nutrient for them and their baby. For more detailed information about an appropriately pregnancy eating plan for overweight moms, consult more with a doctor and dietitian!
How much calories you should go during pregnancy?
You may experience a significantly weight gain in the first few months of your pregnancy. However, the most important thing you need to remember is ‘pregnancy should not be your reason to overeat’! You should be more focus to the extra calories with high in nutrition.
In general, most of pregnant women usually require an additional 300 calories /day. This may sound like a lot, but it is actually equivalent to the calories of about 2-3 large apples.
Moreover, there are also some pregnant women who experience weight loss in their first trimester. This may occur due to lack of appetite, nausea, and vomiting.
However it’s important to make sure that you have plenty of nutrients throughout your pregnancy. If you experience weight loss or if you cannot control your morning sickness, tell your doctor! Uncontrollable morning sickness can put you at high risk of dehydration. Morning sickness may last for the entire pregnancy, but it usually will stop after 13 weeks of pregnancy.
What are foods you should avoid during pregnancy?
Keep far away from these following foods:
Alcohol
If you love drinking alcohol, you may have opinion that one drink is not a big problem! But you should clearly understand that there is still no level of alcohol that have been confirmed will be safe during pregnancy.
Some studies found that miscarriage and stillbirth are more likely to occur in pregnant women who drink alcohol. Furthermore mental retardation, heart problems, facial deformities, and low birth weight are other problems that also more likely to occur for this case.
So, don’t take the risk if you seriously want to get a healthy pregnancy! Stay away from spirits, wine, and beer because they contain alcohol that can work against your healthy baby!
Caffeine
There is opinion that caffeine can flow through placenta which then will affect the heart rate of baby. Though it is still debatable, but some studies have confirmed that there is a link between excessively consumption of caffeine and increased risk of miscarriage.
Your doctor may still allow the consumption of caffeine, but you are usually also asked to not go more than 200 mg of caffeine /day. But to keep safe and for better result, it is much better to avoid caffeine during pregnancy. Read also the previous post about caffeine in green tea!
Unwashed vegetables & fruits – undercooked foods!
Fresh fruits and vegetables are high in a lot of nutrients and vitamins. However, you should not each unwashed fruits /vegetables – this is intended to prevent any unfriendly & harmful bacteria! Always remember that you now (when being pregnant) are at increased risk of bacterial food poisoning!
If you want to consume sprouts, make sure you cook them thoroughly! But for raw sprouts (such as mung bean, clover, alfalfa, and radish), they should be avoided during pregnancy!
Undercooked foods also must be avoided! So if you want to have eggs, poultry or even meat on your plate – make sure they have been cooked thoroughly!
Herbal tea
Most people have opinion that herbal tea is good for the health. This is true – but make sure to consult first with your healthcare provider if you want to consider any herbs (including herbal tea) for your pregnancy! In fact, there is still no research that confirms the effect of herbal tea on developing babies.
Too much vitamin A
Vitamin A is also essential property for pregnancy, but don’t consume it too much! You should know that excessively consumption of vitamin A may increase your risk of birth defects. If you in doubt with this issue, consult more with your doctor!
Unpasteurized foods
Unpasteurized foods (such as products of blue cheese, feta, camembert, brie, and Mexican-style cheeses that have no ‘pasteurized label’) must be avoided. Even unpasteurized juice also should be avoided. These foods can increase your risk of foodborne illness.
Harmful viruses /bacteria in seafood
Seafood is one of popular foods, and you may also like it! But before having it on your plate, make sure that it is free from harmful bacteria. The following are some helpful tips:
- To avoid clams or oysters, don’t eat raw fish & shellfish!
- Lox or refrigerated smoked seafood also should be avoided! Your doctor may still allow you to eat smoked seafood, but make sure it is an ingredient in cooked dish!
- If you want to eat local fish, get to know the local fish advisories! If there is water pollution in your local area, limit the amount of local fish or avoid them if necessary to keep safe!
- And don’t forget to cook any seafood thoroughly!
Avoid any seafood that contains mercury!
The high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and protein in seafood are top reasons of why we love eating seafood. But for a pregnant woman, mercury in seafood also can be very harmful.
The older and bigger fish are more likely to have more mercury. Therefore tilefish, shark, king mackerel and swordfish are forbidden foods for pregnant women – according to EPA (the the Environmental Protection Agency) and FDA (the Food and Drug Administration).
But there are also some fish and seafood that have lower mercury. These include tilapia, catfish, salmon, crab, cod, Pollock, and shrimp. Though these types of seafood contain less mercury, but you still need to limit your consumption of them during pregnancy.
According to EPA and FDA, eating about less than 340 grams (12 ounces) of safely seafood /week is allowed for pregnant women. However, this calculation is still debatable – there are also some experts who don’t agree with this suggestion. If you in doubt with this issue, ask your doctor for more advice!
