Being pregnant is one of the best things in a woman’s life. If you’re becoming a mother or you know someone who is, it’s an understatement to say that the road to motherhood is challenging. There are a lot of things to do especially that you’re now living for two – you and your baby. There are certain do’s and don’ts that you have to follow since you’re looking after the well-being of your baby who’s living inside your womb. One of the things that you should prioritize throughout your pregnancy is your baby’s health. Whatever you eat during the pregnancy is basically what the baby eats for themselves. In short, you have to eat healthily, so the baby eats healthy as well.

During this time of your life, you’ll turn over a new leaf with your eating habits. It might be hard at the start, but you have to change so your baby can have the essential nutrients needed for optimal growth. If you don’t know how to do it, you can start by munching on these:

 

• Fortified Breakfast Cereal: You’ll need folate not only during your first weeks of conception but the entire months of your pregnancy. You’ll also be needing a whole lot of Vitamin B, and you’ll get all of these through a bowl of fortified breakfast cereal. Each bowl of this cereal contains 400 micrograms of Vitamin B and folate – enough for your daily nutritional requirement – yes, you can still get nutrients from a box of cereal. If you don’t have cereal, eating multigrain bread and toasting it with one of the best toasters around can do the same trick.
• Dried Beans and Lentils: A pregnant woman needs at least ten extra grams of protein every day, and dried beans and lentils are an excellent source since a cup of these contain 15 grams of protein. And if you’re experiencing constipating during your pregnancy, these will also help you as these are also high in fiber. You can add dried beans and lentils to your rice dishes and salads to give it more flavor.
• Broccoli: If you’ve dreaded eating your greens during your childhood, it’s time to change that mentality because Broccoli can do several things to you and your baby. Broccoli is rich in calcium, folate, fiber and disease-fighting antioxidants. All of these are very essential for you to have a healthy pregnancy. You can also get your daily intake of Vitamin C from Broccoli, which will enable you to absorb more iron when you eat wheat pasta or brown rice.
• Nonfat Milk: Your baby’s bones are developing while they’re still in your tummy that’s why you’ll need calcium during your pregnancy. If you’ve been drinking milk regularly in the past, you have to double your intake now since you’re now drinking for two. You can start by adding an 8-ounce glass of nonfat milk as this will supply about 30 percent of the recommended dietary allowance of 1000 milligrams.
• Bananas: Nausea and fatigue are usual during pregnancy. It may be tolerable for some women, but there are some that can’t even stand up because of these. You don’t have to fret because bananas will help you fight through nausea and fatigue. These fruits are an easy go-to snack during your pregnancy, and you can just add them to your smoothie, cereals or orange juice.
• Lean Meat: You’ll need plenty of iron-rich foods when you’re pregnant. If you don’t store iron in your body, you can easily get tired. And you know how important is brisk walking when you’re pregnant, right? You don’t want to stop doing that just because you’re always tired. Bring out the chicken and pork chops because these will deliver iron to your body.
• Eggs: If your taste buds don’t like the taste of meat during your pregnancy, eggs can be an excellent alternative source of iron since it contains a lot of amino acids. There are several recipes you can do with eggs such as omelets with chopped vegetables and a little bit of cheese. But if all these aromas make you feel sick, you can also go for hard-boiled eggs and store them in the fridge for a grab-and-go meal option, or you can add them to your green salads.
• Cheese: Nope, you can’t eat soft cheeses such as cottage cheese and quest Blanco. Instead, you can opt for cheddar and mozzarella because these can help in meeting your daily calcium needs. Each ounce of these cheeses contains around 150 to 200 milligrams of calcium. You’ll also get a lot of protein from cheddar and mozzarella.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, what you eat plays a very significant role in the development of your child. And being the careful mother-to-be that you are, you want to guarantee that you give your child just that. You’re willing to change your ways to make your child as healthy as possible (goodbye junk and fast foods). It will be difficult at first, but when you see how healthy your child has become over the years or after he’s born, all of these sacrifices will be worth it.

Cheryl Chandola
Director, Editing and Testing, ReadPlease.com
Cheryl conducts hands-on reviews and extensive testing of products as well as manages the editorial and testing teams at ReadPlease.com. In her spare time, she runs an ecommerce store and loves spending time with her daughter and dog, Blue.