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Eating Right When You're Expecting Multiples
By Rochelle Caviness
Everyone realizes that proper nutrition is vital in any pregnancy. However when multiples are concerned, its importance is greatly increased. Proper nutrition will help your babies develop properly and will help insure that you remain healthy and have the energy and stamina to function normally throughout your pregnancy.
Governmental programs, such as WIC, are in place to ensure that low-income women receive the proper foods and nutritional supplements needed to ensure a healthy pregnancy.
Developing a Nutrition Guide
As soon as you know you are pregnant, you should speak with your doctor or a nutritionist and seek their advice on what you should and should not eat during your pregnancy. Depending upon your own physical condition, there may be special recommendations concerning your diet.
Folic Acid
Although not a magic bullet, folic acid has been shown to drastically reduce the risk of certain birth defects and it may decrease the risk of preterm labor. Hopefully, you would have been taking folic acid long before you became pregnant, but it is never too late to start.
The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recommends that a woman needs to ingest 400 micrograms a day of folic acid before pregnancy and 800 micrograms a day during pregnancy.
Calories
Pregnancy puts a lot of stress on the body. When you are carrying multiples these stresses are exponentially multiplied. Therefore, you need to have a higher caloric intake than a woman carrying a single fetus. While the majority of your calories should be from 'good' foods such as fruits, veggies and proteins, don't be surprised if you doctor or nutritionist gives you the green light to indulge in ice cream or to add fats to your diet. While these items should not be the mainstay of your caloric intake, they can help you keep your caloric intake up.
When having multiples, a woman should expect to gain more weight than someone having only one baby. This is especially important because multiples tend to be born prematurely and the more weight you gain during pregnancy the more the babies will weigh at birth. Based upon your health and your size before you became pregnant, your doctor will make recommendations of how quickly you need to put on weight, and how much you need to gain.
Calcium
Fetuses need calcium for the development of their bones and teeth. If your nutrition intake is adequate, the fetuses will use this source in their development. If you do not take in enough calcium, the fetuses will rob your bones of calcium. This can make you at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis.
Good sources of calcium include:
Water
During your pregnancy you should drink a minimum of 8-10 glasses of water or other liquid a day. This is necessary to keep you from becoming dehydrated.
Vitamins and Minerals
In an ideal world, you would be able to have all your nutritional needs met by what you eat. However, this is not always possible, especially when you are carrying multiples. Therefore, you may need to take a dietary supplement to help you meet your required intake of vitamins and minerals. Your doctor can recommend a prenatal vitamin supplement for you. Be sure to let your doctor know if you are already taking any nutritional supplements. Don't take more than is prescribed. It is possible to overdose on vitamins and too much of some vitamins will harm the fetuses.
Eating a Healthy and Well Balance Diet
In addition to your dietary supplements, you also need to eat a healthy and well balanced diet. The old saying, "You are what you eat" can easily be expanded to "Your babies will be what you eat!"
Fruits, vegetables, high protein, and fiber rich foods are all-important elements of your diet.
What to avoid
Always consult your doctor for medical advice.
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