Articles | Diet & pregnancy
© 2007 Dr. Len Kliman 
It is important to eat a nutritious and varied diet
during pregnancy. There is a need for certain nutrients such as iron, folate
and calcium to be increased during this time but only a slight increase in
kilojoules is required. The saying "eating for two" as such is a myth. A
healthy weight gain during pregnancy will vary between individuals, but is
thought to be between 10-15kg.
Pregnancy is not a suitable time to be dieting or trying to lose weight.
It is more beneficial to focus on good, nutritious food rather than quantity
to meet the nutritional needs of pregnancy.
Recommended servings per day of the 5 main food groups:
Cereals - bread, rice, pasta,
noodles: 4-6 serves / day
Vegetables / legumes - 5-6
serves / day
Fruit - 4 servings / day
Dairy products - milk, cheese,
yoghurt - 2 servings / day
Protein - poultry, fish, meat,
eggs - 1 ½ servings / day
Foods to be avoided in pregnancy:
Precooked or prepared cold
foods that cannot be preheated eg. salads, delicatessen meats such as
ham or salami.
Semi soft and surface ripened
cheese, unpasteurised dairy products, soft serve ice cream, pate
Smorgasbord / salad bars.
Chilled, smoked or uncooked
fish or seafood products.
The organism that causes
listeria is destroyed during the cooking process so cooked, hot food does
not
cause risk.
Limit foods that are high in
sugar, fats and salt to being occasional treats.
Limit your alcohol intake if
you choose to drink. Research has shown that there is no know "safe" amount
to drink during pregnancy. It
is therefore best to avoid drinking alcohol during pregnancy as much as
possible.
Mercury in fish
It is advisable to eat 1-2
meals per week containing fish. There are however, a few types of fish that
need
to be limited due to
their high mercury content which can be harmful to the developing fetus. It is
only a
potential problem when this
type of fish is eaten regularly. These are: billfish (swordfish, broadbill,
marlin), shark (flake), orange
roughy (seaperch), gemfish, catfish. Limit other fish such as tuna steaks to
one portion per week or two
140gm cans of tuna per week. There is no restriction needed on the amount
of salmon consumed.
