Vegetarian And Pregnant

During pregnancy many issues arise that have an impact on the mom or her unborn baby. One issue that pops up frequently is how mom's diet affects her unborn baby. Nutritionists agree that pregnant women who are also practicing vegetarians can indeed meet the body's needs and her growing baby's needs while sticking to the guidelines of the vegetarian diet.

One issue that may plague vegetarians who become pregnant is that of gaining adequate amounts of weight during the pregnancy. It is important to eat 5 to 6 small meals each day. These meals should include all of the food groups that provide for the body's increased needs during pregnancy. Women who start out in underweight prior to the start of their pregnancy should gain between 28 and 40 lbs. during the pregnancy. Those women who are of average weight before becoming pregnant should gain between 25 and 35 lbs. Those women who are considered to be overweight before becoming pregnant should gain no more than 15 to 25 lbs. A woman's physician is her best guide to appropriate weight gain based on her height, weight and body build prior to pregnancy.

Another need of pregnant women is for them to consume approximately 71 grams of protein each day. They can accomplish this by eating one cup of tofu, four cups of brown rice, a cup of yogurt and three cups of soymilk throughout the day.

It is especially important for vegetarians to take prenatal vitamins in order to be assured of having enough B12, zinc and iron that their body's need. General guidelines for pregnant vegetarians are to eat between six and 11 servings of foods that contain whole grains such as brown rice, oatmeal and also processed whole-wheat bread. Eating legumes such as beans and peas is also beneficial. They should also have four servings of beans and peas everyday. Having enough calcium is also a concern. They can get the needed four daily servings of protein by drinking soy milk, or calcium fortified orange juice.

Many women experience mood changes during the 3 stages of their pregnancy. Understanding these changes and the influence they have on food selection can help other to understand or relate to the vegetarian's wishes regarding diet. The first stage of pregnancy between 0 and 3 months of pregnancy increase the caloric needs by only 100 calories more than when they were not pregnant. During months 3 through 6 their caloric needs increases to between 300 and 400 calories. By the time a woman reaches months 6 through 9, her body is doing a lot of work to accommodate her growing baby. As the baby increases in size, the woman may find her stomach seems to be shrinking. She may find it difficult to consume a normal size meal. Smaller meals will be easier for her to handle.

Pregnant women are often prescribed a multi-vitamin to help supplement their vegetarian diet. An iron supplement is often times prescribed as well.