It is very important to eat a healthy diet during pregnancy, regardless of a woman’s starting weight. Some overweight women consider dieting while pregnant but it is generally not a good idea since both the expectant mother and developing fetus need an abundance of nutritional food. Most medical professionals advise against dieting during this time.
Most of the time, doctors encourage overweight women to gain less during their pregnancies than women who are of normal weight. This is because part of the weight gain during a pregnancy is to create extra fat stores for the health of the mother; starting with additional fat on the body renders this unnecessary. However, limiting weight gain in this instance does not usually require dieting. Some women of normal weight diet during pregnancy simply because they fear the weight gain and are concerned they will not be able to lose it easily later. These women pose extra danger by dieting since they do not have any additional fat stores from which to draw.
Dieting during pregnancy can cause the developing baby to be malnourished or underweight. Even very minor malnourishment can lead to brain damage in the quickly developing fetus, creating lifelong negative effects. Neural tube defects, in which the spinal cord or brain do not develop properly, have been directly linked to women who fast or diet while they are expecting.
In addition, if the mother is not sufficiently nourished, it can also lead to premature delivery or other pregnancy complications. A severely malnourished baby may even die due to the damage done by a dieting mother.
Diet drugs are extremely dangerous during pregnancy. They can have adverse effects on the developing baby and diuretics have been linked to neural tube disorders as well.
The most critical thing for a pregnant woman is to eat a healthy diet, regardless of her starting size and weight. A healthy diet including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and lean meats will help both the mother and baby develop well. Healthy fats, such as those from nuts and vegetable sources should also be a represented in a limited segment of the mother’s diet. A well balanced diet offers the full range of nutrients the mother and baby both need to thrive during the pregnancy.
Beyond the first trimester, many pregnant women need an additional 300-500 calories per day to maintain normal weight gain and development. Overweight women generally do not need this many additional calories during their pregnancies.
While women should not diet during pregnancy, simply replacing high fat foods and junk food with healthy whole grains, lean proteins and an abundance of vegetables and fruit will improve the diet and daily caloric intake of many women. This is not a diet, but a commitment to healthy eating that may result in less weight gain during pregnancy for women, especially those who started out overweight. As long as ample calories are consumed – usually a suggested minimum of 2300 calories – from these healthy and highly nutritious foods, the well-being of the baby will be preserved.
