Pregnancy is a very important, exciting, responsible and at the same time a wonderful period of a woman's life. Becoming a mom, a woman forever “enters the pregnant club” and will repeatedly remember how it was with her. Pregnancy, regardless of how it counts, is always the frontier. Life "before" the appearance of the baby and with it. Mom should take care of the baby at the first signs of pregnancy. And while they are one with the child, all her decisions and actions should be aimed at the benefit of both. Walk more in the fresh air, relax, think about pleasant things, avoid stressful situations and, of course, eat right. The development of the fetus, the course of childbirth and the further health of the baby depend on the nutrition of the future mother.
A few words about the most important
Hearing the cherished words “you will have a baby”, a woman begins to replenish her luggage of knowledge in the field of pregnancy and childbirth. Fortunately, there is plenty of information now and the main points are known to every girl.
If you do not take into account individual characteristics, then the duration of pregnancy is 9 months. Doctors divide this term into three trimesters.
Of course, to say that one of the trimesters is more important than the rest is stupid. For the full development of the fetus, for the normal birth and condition of the baby and mother, every moment of pregnancy is of tremendous importance.
So, in the first trimester, the fetus is formed and by the end of the term already begins to move (although the woman does not yet feel this clearly). In the second trimester, the child actively develops all internal organs. The child is already moving well, hears the heart of his mother and the voices of his parents. In the last trimester, the baby is fully formed, all organs, including the brain, eyes and even marigolds. The baby develops the longest lungs. In the third trimester, the baby turns head down.
During pregnancy, and preferably in advance, a woman needs to give up bad habits: smoking, alcohol and poor nutrition. Proper nutrition of a pregnant woman is a very important factor in the development of the baby.
The effect of nutrition on pregnancy
There are legends about the vagaries and oddities of pregnant women. Indeed, the gastronomic preferences of a woman during pregnancy are changing. Sometimes the taste preferences of future mothers are shocked, moreover, they are so inconsistent that future fathers have to be patient. This is due to hormonal failure, a special "protective mechanism" of mother nature and "fad" in the head of a pregnant woman.
The fetus receives its food through the blood of the mother, so it is very important to monitor how it eats. You should not adhere to a certain diet without the appointment of a specialist. Each doctor paints the pregnant women’s food for weeks and gives individual recommendations to the expectant mother, guided by her analyzes.
General nutritional rules for expectant mothers
A diet for pregnant women in trimesters has long been developed with its own dishes and cooking technologies.
But there are a number of principles that all pregnant women are recommended to adhere to:
- The most important is the exclusion of alcohol.
- It is better to eat food in small portions several times a day (at least 5). It is advisable to eat slowly, chewing thoroughly, enjoying food.
- Before going to bed, do not get enough, it is best if the dinner (whatever it was on the account) was a few hours before bedtime.
- Food should not be greasy, fried or raw. Preferences should be given to cooked dishes or steamed.
- The diet should contain all the necessary trace elements that can be gleaned in meat, fish, cereals, dairy products, vegetables and fruits.
- Do not abuse sugar and caffeine.
Oxyphenylketonuria, listeriosis, and many other diseases can be avoided by following a proper diet. Many diseases are detected by the results of tests, and they can be cured or prevented with the help of vitamins (both natural and pharmacy), but you need to be careful with them. In such an important period of a woman’s life as pregnancy, absolutely everything matters!
What should be the diet for pregnant women. 3 trimester
Pregnant menus should be balanced, useful, exclude allergenic products, and at the same time not be “overloaded”. In the last stages, many women are advised to eat less or arrange fasting days, since the weight of the mother, baby and the physical condition of the mother can complicate the birth.
Pregnant women are shown green salads with vegetable oil (or without dressing). Vegetables and fruits are also very healthy, especially if seasonal. Young potatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, eggplant, peppers are what mom and her baby need. Tomatoes should be eaten with caution, they are allergens.
Dairy products should be selected without additives and with a short shelf life. Dairy and dairy products have a beneficial effect on the digestive system and provide the calcium necessary for the fetus. The doctor may ask you to limit yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, cheese and milk in the prenatal period, since these are enough high-calorie foods.
Cereals are very important in the diet, it is advisable to cook whole grains, and not in cereals. Before cooking, it is recommended to soak the cereal. By the way, there are restrictions on croup; pregnant women are not recommended to eat semolina and white rice.
Mushrooms should not be consumed by pregnant women, especially in the last stages.
You need to drink whenever you want. If a woman does not have severe problems with puffiness, it is not worth limiting herself to fluid. You can drink water, tea, fresh juices, milk. Alcohol and carbonated drinks are not allowed. Doctors perceive coffee unambiguously, therefore it is recommended, if not excluded, then limit it.
Popular wisdom regarding the nutrition of a pregnant woman says: "You can eat everything, but a little bit." In the third trimester, this “slightly” is very much reduced. Also, depending on the term, the nutrition of pregnant women will vary by week.
Pregnant nutrition for weeks 3 trimesters
It is important for a pregnant woman to consider several subtleties regarding her nutrition. The fact is that during this wonderful time a woman needs to get as many useful trace elements and vitamins as possible, while not all of them have the same benefit during different periods of pregnancy. Therefore, doctors have long drawn up a diet for pregnant women 3 trimester. The menu of the future mother depends on the week of pregnancy and her individual indications.
Calcium is very important for the formation of various tissues of the unborn baby, therefore, in the third trimester it is recommended to consume products containing calcium daily. But an excess of calcium can adversely affect the birth process. Starting from 34 weeks, a future woman in labor needs to limit products containing calcium and iodine.
Vitamin D is designed to absorb calcium and prevent childhood rickets. A pregnant woman needs to remember that it is not enough just to eat foods containing this vitamin, for its assimilation it is necessary to walk in the fresh air under the "gentle" sun.
Adequate intake of foods with iron eliminates possible hypoxia of the fetus, and also contributes to the speedy recovery of women in labor. Starting from the first weeks, the pregnant menu should include various iron-containing products, including meat. Starting from 34 weeks, it is preferable for a pregnant woman to eat young beef or chicken from meat products.
For normal blood coagulation, as well as to improve kidney function, expectant mother needs to use foods containing vitamin K.
Vitamin C helps to improve the mental state and immunity of a pregnant woman. For the baby, products with its content are important as a strengthening of blood vessels. But by the middle of the third trimester you need to be extremely careful with this vitamin, since it contributes to the development of gestosis.
Vitamin E will help a woman's body better prepare for childbirth. Starting from week 30, foods containing this vitamin should supplement the diet for pregnant women. A woman’s menu must include carrots, radishes, cucumbers and other foods rich in vitamin E.
Each woman individually, but from about 32 weeks, should limit fluid intake, or replace the water with a decoction or green tea. This will save the pregnant woman from puffiness. For the same reason, in the 3rd trimester, starting from week 35, it is worth restricting or completely abandoning salt intake.
Juices
Nutritionists around the world argue about the benefits and harms of juices, the scales are constantly changing their position. But in one thing, both nutritionists and doctors agree - juices must be present in reasonable amounts in the diet of a pregnant woman.
Important note: juices should be freshly squeezed. Not packaged, but fresh vegetable or fruit juices, drunk within half an hour after preparation, will be useful to mother and baby.
The most famous fruit juices: pomegranate, apricot, peach, apple, cranberry.
The most affordable vegetable juices: carrot, beetroot, tomato.
Juices are recommended to drink without adding sugar, so they are not only healthy, but also very tasty.
Not the most common, but one of the most useful is birch sap. A glass of fresh birch sap is a storehouse of vitamins. If a woman is not allergic to pollen, then birch sap during pregnancy will be her best cure for many ailments.
Drinking a few glasses of fresh birch sap per day, the expectant mother will forget about toxicosis, pressure surges and swelling. Returning to the topic "Diet for pregnant women 3 trimester", a woman’s menu should be enriched with birch sap, as it will contribute to further lactation and weight loss of a young mother. For women, thoughts of being overweight often become obsessive. After giving birth, mom will need time and energy to restore her health and shape. Any woman wants to look beautiful, especially in a new status. Birch sap is an excellent helper for women in solving these problems.
It is important to remember that birch sap during pregnancy should be consumed in reasonable quantities. The harvest time of this natural gift is early spring.
Fruits in the diet of the expectant mother
The beneficial properties of fruits have long been known, each of them contains various vitamins. Interestingly, for a person, those fruits and vegetables that grow in the region where he lives are most useful.
Fruits, berries and vegetables must include a diet for pregnant women “3 trimester”. However, the menu of the future mother should not be overloaded even with these useful products, since in large quantities they can cause allergies. When the first signs of an allergy appear, the intake of fruits should be stopped, since not only the mother suffers, but also the fetus. In the third trimester, doctors recommend completely abandoning exotic fruits. Domestic, and even better homemade apples, pears, plums, apricots, peaches, grapes, persimmons, pomegranates, grapefruit must be present in the diet of a pregnant woman.
The most useful fruits during pregnancy are those with a harvest season. If the main period of pregnancy occurred in winter and spring, it is better to use dried fruits or frozen fruits, vegetables and berries than fresh ones bought.
Meat on the pregnant menu
Eating meat during pregnancy is not just important, but vital. Since only meat contains protein of animal origin, which is involved in the formation of the baby’s skeletal system and muscle tissue. In addition, the meat contains enough iron to maintain normal hemoglobin. Replace meat with other products during the entire pregnancy will fail.
But it should be remembered that it is necessary to give preference to lean meats: beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit or duck. The meat should be cooked, stewed or baked for a long time.
Lack of meat in the diet causes fatigue of women. But in the last stages of pregnancy, it is recommended to reduce the amount of meat consumed.
Dishes for pregnant women in the 3rd trimester
The list of healthy foods and the number of calories concern any expectant mother, even one who has not previously restricted herself to food. Interestingly, this diet during pregnancy is only the beginning. If, after childbirth, mommy prefers breastfeeding, she will have a strict diet. But this is later, and before childbirth, the main question that a woman should be interested in is the 3-trimester diet for pregnant women.
Pregnant menu for every day of the week:
Day weeks | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | High tea | Dinner | Second dinner |
Mon | Porridge | Banana or dried fruit | Light soup, meat and mashed potatoes, vegetable salad and compote | Yogurt or fermented baked milk | Braised meat with mashed potatoes, bean salad and green tea | Biscuits |
Tue | Muesli with dairy products | Cheese and Cucumber Sandwich | Soup, vegetable stew, fruit drink | Cheesecakes and green tea | Steamed fish and vegetables, vinaigrette, juice or tea | Crackers |
Wed | Curd, apple or carrot | Green tea, a glass of juice or yogurt, fermented baked milk | Soup, fish with vegetables and juice | Jelly or Cocoa Sandwich | Boiled or baked meat, rice, salad with greens, cottage cheese, kefir | Cheese or fruit |
Th | Boiled egg, bread with butter or jam and green tea | Yogurt or fruit | Vegetable Soup, Sandwich and Juice | Cottage cheese | Diet pilaf, vegetable salad, green tea | Ryazhenka |
Fri | Milk porridge | Fruit salad | Beef Roast, Vegetable Stew, Jelly | Vegetables | Lazy cabbage rolls, vegetable salad and tea | Kefir or yogurt |
Sat | Cottage cheese with berries or jam | Nuts, Raisins or Dried Fruits | Borsch, baked vegetables, cocoa or tea | Fruit | Sandwich with salmon | Tea or fruit |
Sun | Cheesecakes with tea | Seaweed Salad | Ear or fishcake with rice, vegetable salad, tea | Cottage cheese | Pumpkin puree soup, chicken baked with vegetables | Raisins or Dried Fruits |
Let the food bring pleasure and benefit to the woman and the baby.