I continue to emphasize it in new articles and here in the blog because so many women don’t realize just how important it is.  Of course there are articles all over telling you to eat your veggies and get plenty of whole grains.  But those very same articles give some very bad nutrition information for your pregnancy.

One of the fundamental ways these articles mislead you is by telling you that you really don’t need very much extra food during pregnancy.   You’re not “eating for two” the articles say.  In fact, they claim that at the end of pregnancy you need a mere 300 calories more than when non-pregnant.  And you supposedly don’t even need that at the beginning of your pregnancy!

I’m going to let you know now that this information is wrong - don’t believe it!

I had a horrible day recently.  Let me tell you why.  I normally eat three meals and three snacks every day.  Two of my snacks are made of 2 cups of milk (each snack) and another protein/fat source (like cheese or nuts).   Well we ran out of milk and I wasn’t able to go out and get any.  I missed having just the milk from my snack for a day, and then the next morning.

By lunchtime on the second day I felt horrible.  I felt exhausted, and a little nauseous.  A friend called me shortly after lunch and immediately asked if I felt OK.  I told her no.

As soon as naptime was over that day I took the kids to the store and we got milk.  Since then I’ve made sure milk is available for my snacks – or that I add extra to my snack to make up for the milk I missed.

I felt this bad from missing the protein/fat/minerals/vitamins from just a few snacks.  I was still eating full, big meals – meals packed with nutrition.

But my body and my baby knew they needed more than that.

In pregnancy you are building a human being from scratch! Your body has to continue to support itself and build an incredibly complex life form at the same time.

It’s a modern lie that your body “only” needs 300 extra calories, and that you should use “lowfat” products.  During pregnancy you need to eat.  You need extra protein, fat, vitamins, minerals – everything.  Do eat plenty of veggies and whole grains.  But you should also be sure you’re getting good healthy fats and proteins in your diet.

Be sure you’re eating enough to stay on top of your baby’s rapid growth – and the increased needs of your own body!  Your blood volume expands, your babe is growing, and you need to store some extra “padding” for breastfeeding your baby.

I also personally feel that you should eat meats, eggs, and dairy products during your pregnancy to give your baby the most nutrient dense foods as possible – and to build your own body up for pregnancy and for your birth and postpartum period.

For more information on solid pregnancy nutrition start with my article on pregnancy diet – and do your baby and yourself a favor…ignore the magazines and eat a bountiful, nutrient dense diet.

I have an excellent book in ebook format. It’s not available any longer but I am going to try and see if I can get permission to share the book with you. Until I find out if I can, the book is based on the work of the late Dr. Tom Brewer – who did tremendous work in the field of prenatal nutrition.

Another source of information on Dr. Brewer’s work is the Bradley Method of Childbirth. If you want to take childbirth classes rather than do a home study I recommend Bradley classes. But even if you don’t take them, their prenatal nutrition resources are excellent. You can read it here.

If you look at the top of the Bradley page you’ll see a link to download a spreadsheet. This will help you keep track of your prenatal nutrition and it’s based on research that has shown results. I downloaded it and I’ve been impressed with the spreadsheet. It takes the work out of keeping track of my prenatal nutrition. It calculates protein and keeps track of all my veggie servings and other things I need on a daily basis. It has made it easier for me to be sure I’m eating well.

I didn’t worry so much about my nutrition early on, I just tried to make sure I was getting three healthy meals a day and some protein servings. But now that I’m reaching the end of the first trimester I know that my baby is going to be building up quickly and I want to know that my diet is complete to support my baby. The Bradley spreadsheet is so helpful. I give my many thanks to whomever took the time to create it, and thanks to the Bradley Method for making it available to mothers-to-be free of charge.

It’s also easy to print, so if you doctor or midwife asks about your diet at each appointment you can just print out your sheets and take them in. I hope this resource is helpful to you!