Pregnancy Nutrition
What should I eat or avoid eating if I'm pregnant?
You should have a well balanced diet of low fat, low cholestoral foods, when you're pregnant. Usually there are foods you should avoid and foods you should eat. You should avoid uncooked meat, unpasturized cheeses, big game fish like shark, mackeral, swordfish, and tile fish. You should avoid sushi. Cooked foods are fine, such as cooked meats. People ask about hot dogs and cold cuts and things like that. Everything in moderation when pregnant. The nitrites are concerning. In fish it's the mercury that you're concerned about. I tell patients it's ok to eat tuna, it's ok to eat salmon, but keep it to 2-3 servings a week. Don't go overboard because of the mercury concentrations. But in general, a well balanced diet consisting of some proteins some carbohydrates, some fats, all the different food groups. Then that's what you need to focus on eating when you are pregnant.
How much weight should I gain if I'm pregnant?
In pregnancy we typically encourage you to gain between twenty and thirty pounds. If you tend to be overweight, then gaining less weight would be better. We do not recommend dieting in pregnancy. You shouldn't lose weight intentionally. But, a thin woman or an average-sized woman should typically try to gain between twenty and thirty pounds. If you break the thirty pound mark it's no reason to become upset with yourself because sometimes your metabolism changes in pregnancy and it's such that you cannot help but gain a little bit more weight, but as long as you're exercising regularly, eating healthy, doing the things you should be doing, and you gain a little bit more weight, it's okay.
Is there a recommended amount of weight to gain every trimester?
You can break it down in trimesters – it's not important to do so. But we look for the overall weight gain. From the beginning, you may gain a little bit less because you're nauseated and not eating well. But you may gain a lot because you're not nauseated, and you're eating for two, and you have a voracious appetite. So I don't want to put a number on it for people to obsess about. I think it's safe for you to say, gain 20 to 30 pounds in the pregnancy and keep it at that.
Should I take vitamins while I'm pregnant?
It is recommended to take supplemental vitamins in pregnancy. A lot of companies, because we live in capitalistic America, have created prenatal vitamins, vitamins that they target you for, saying these are the best for the prenatal experience. I find that a multivitamin, simply a multivitamin, is really all you need. Eating healthily is the most important thing. If you do that, you don't even need any vitamins, but if you find that you're not eating healthily because your diet or your nausea doesn't allow you to do so, then supplementing with a multivitamin is very important when pregnant. You should have been taking folic acid before you were pregnant, but obviously once you get pregnant it's equally important to take it throughout the pregnancy, more so in the first trimester. So, if you take a multivitamin that has enough folic acid and supplements other vitamins like calcium, Vitamins A and C, then that's fantastic. But you do not need to take a prenatal vitamin per se.
