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Feature Articles: Eating Well Dietary Guidelines for Americans Nutrition for Women:Special considerations and recommendations By Greta Hopke, RD and Candance Gabel, MS,
RD, LD,
To have a healthy baby, your plan of action should include good nutrition before, during and after pregnancy. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans include recommendations that can help women consume adequate nutrients, limit possible toxins and be physically active. |
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Women of childbearing age who may become
pregnant
- For adequate iron intake, eat food high in heme-iron (such as
meats) and/or consume iron-rich plant foods (such as spinach) or
iron-fortified foods. To help increase the absorption of iron
from plant sources and iron-fortified foods, pair those foods
with ones high in vitamin C.
- To decrease the risk of birth defects, consume 400 μg
(micrograms) of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or
supplements daily in addition to eating foods that naturally
contain folate.
- Limit fish consumption to two servings per week to avoid high
levels of mercury. Include fish or shellfish that is low in
mercury, such as shrimp, light canned tuna, salmon, pollock and
catfish.
- Avoid consuming alcoholic beverages.
Pregnant women
- To decrease the risk of birth defects, consume 600 μg per day
of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or supplements in
addition to consuming foods that naturally contain folate.
- If no medical or obstetric complications are present,
participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity
physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week.
- Avoid physical activity that has a high risk of falling or
abdominal trauma.
- Limit fish consumption to two servings per week to avoid high
levels of mercury. Include fish or shellfish that is low in
mercury, such as shrimp, light canned tuna, salmon, pollock and
catfish.
- Avoid consuming alcoholic beverages.
- Avoid eating or drinking:
- unpasteurized milk or any products made from
- unpasteurized milk
- raw or partially cooked eggs, or foods that contain raw eggs
- raw or undercooked meat and poultry
- raw or undercooked fish or shellfish
- unpasteurized juices
- raw sprouts
- Eat certain deli meats and frankfurters only if they have
been reheated to steaming hot.
Breast-feeding women
- If you need to lose weight, moderate weight reduction is safe
and does not compromise weight gain for your nursing infant.
- Regular exercise does not negatively affect the mother's
ability to breast-feed successfully.
- Limit fish consumption to two servings per week to avoid high
levels of mercury. Include fish or shellfish that is low in
mercury, such as shrimp, light canned tuna, salmon, pollock and
catfish.
- Avoid consuming alcoholic beverages.
Adapted from Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture, January 2005.
Last update: Monday, August 07, 2006
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