For Mom

• Eating Right! Feeling Good!
• Preventing Birth Defects
• When You Are Gaining Weight Fast
• When You Have Morning Sickness
• Indigestion & Heartburn
• Constipation
• Helpful Hints For New Mothers

Eating Right and Feeling Good

Did you have breakfast this morning? If you did, your baby took the food you ate and made something with it. The baby will also use your lunch today, as well as your supper and snacks. The food you eat becomes part of your baby’s toes, fingers, brain and bones. Your baby is getting all it needs from you right now. That’s why what you eat is important.

What you can do NOW to have a healthy pregnancy

• Eat right.
• Gain the right amount of weight.
• Don’t drink alcohol.
• Don’t take any drugs without your doctor’s permission.
• Quit smoking.

What IS “eating right” during pregnancy?
Eat breakfast, lunch and supper. Don’t skip meals.

1. Choose a wide variety of foods that you enjoy and can afford. You should eat foods from each one of the food groups every day.
2. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Drink some juice every day. Eat salads. Eat a cooked vegetable with lunch and supper, if you can, or have two with supper. Snack on fruit.
3. Drink milk with your meals. If you really don’t like milk, add flavoring. Eat foods made with milk such as cheese, yogurt, ice cream and cottage cheese.
4. Eat snacks your baby can use to grow. Snack on foods such as fruit, cereal, sandwiches, air-popped popcorn or raw vegetables. Have junk foods only when you have given your baby all the healthy foods he or she needs that day.

Making Changes
You may have to change some things about how you eat. Try making just one change at a time. Start with getting off junk food. Then start drinking more milk, eating more vegetables or eating breakfast. Over a few weeks, your eating habits can change a lot.

The following is a recommended daily food guide listing the amounts and types of food pregnant women need to meet their daily nutrient requirements.

This page last updated on 6/21/07.