Why is A Healthy Diet Important during Pregnancy?

“During pregnancy, your baby depends on you as his main source of nutrition. Maintaining a healthy diet during pregnancy will help meet the developmental needs of your baby, maintain your health as well as prepare you for breastfeeding,” says Ms Kellie Kong, Dietitian, Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), a member of the SingHealth group.

It can even be said that your nutritional status at the time of conception, in addition to your diet during pregnancy, will affect the health of your grandchildren and future generations.

Recent studies show that chronic conditions such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and obesity, and perhaps osteoporosis, and breast and ovarian cancers, have their origins in the womb. This makes it all the more important for you to eat healthily before, as well as, during pregnancy.

Dietitians share how pregnant women can make sure they eat the best diet during pregnancy. 

How to Have a Balanced Diet During Pregnancy

As a guide, the average energy requirement of a non-pregnant Singapore woman is 1,700 kcal per day. During pregnancy, your energy requirement increases by 370 kcal per day in the 2nd trimester and 480 kcal per day in the 3rd trimester.

However, maintaining a balanced diet during pregnancy shouldn’t be reduced to counting calories.

Check out this useful tabular guide on achieving a balanced diet during pregnancy. All you need to do is to ensure that all the food groups are included in your diet, based on the recommended servings.

Here are other articles by HealthXchange.sg that you might be interested in: 
Are You and Baby Getting Enough Nutrients?
Acceptable Weight Gain During Pregnancy

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Disclaimer:
All HealthXchange articles are intended for general information only and provided on the understanding that no surgical and medical advice or recommendation is being rendered. Please do not disregard the professional advice of your physician.