[A._Stewart_Truswell]_ABC_of_Nutrition

Pregnancy is a time when appetite is altered and nutritional needs change. What the expectant mother eats or drinks can affect her baby’s health and her own comfort. In pregnancy women develop a new interest in the consequences for health of what they eat. They are entitled to advice from their doctors. The first advice should ideally be communicated before pregnancy, when a woman decides to try to have a baby. Pregnancies in women who a

re overweight, have anorexia nervosa, or whose growth is not completed are more difficult, and these women need extra nutritional care. A good intake of folate is important in preventing neural tube defects and some other malformations in the fetus of a minority of women. The stage when this vitamin is most needed is the first 28 days after conception so supplementation or high folate diet has to be periconceptional. The supplement dose is 400 or 500 g/day. Likewise, it is the early weeks when excess alcohol intake may lead to malformations. During pregnancy extra nutrients are required, especially from 20 weeks, for the growing fetus and for the placenta. Tissue is also laid down in the uterus and breasts, blood volume is increased, and, in healthy women with adequate food, adipose tissue increases by around 2.7 kg. This fat is deposited more on the hips and thighs.

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