Category: Trimester

Trimesterwise Pregnancy Meal Planning — Third Trimester

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The Third Trimester is the final stage of pregnancy during which your baby grows at a faster rate. All organs, brain, eyes, ears, lungs, bones etc. develop more rapidly and for this, the nutritional needs of your baby also increase. You have to concentrate on eating a healthy and balanced diet. A wholesome diet will help meet the extra nutritional needs of your baby.

In this last stage of pregnancy, heartburn and indigestion may occur but these issues don’t last long in most pregnant women. If you do happen to be affected, you can opt for small but frequent meals. Normally, during the last trimester, a woman needs around 350 calories more. So, now, you should include foods that contain the following:

Calcium: Is needed for bone development of the baby.

You can include the following foods in your diet.

  • Low fat Milk
  • Cheese
  • Low fat Yoghurt/ Curd
  • Green Leafy Vegetables
  • Ragi
  • Horsegram
  • Okra
  • Fortified Orange Juice
  • Fortified Soya Milk
  • Unsalted Almonds
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Tofu

Iron:

As the volume of blood increases during pregnancy, the demand of iron also increases. Moreover, the developing baby starts storing iron for further development. Some important iron-rich foods which you can include in your third trimester meal chart are:

  • Leafy Green Vegetables
  • Grains like pearl millet(bajra), finger millet(ragi) etc
  • Legumes like Bengal gram, moth beans, horse gram etc
  • Poultry and egg

Vitamin A:

Vitamin A is essential as the mother’s intake is a determinant of vitamin A status of the baby. Even after delivery, baby depends on breast milk for vitamin A so adequate intake is necessary.

  • Dairy Products
  • Eggs
  • Yellow to dark orange coloured vegetables and fruits

Selenium:

One of the minerals necessary during the third trimester, Selenium acts as an antioxidant to fight against free radicals. This mineral may be helpful in making the lungs of the baby healthy. Some of the healthy food sources of selenium are:

  • Seafood
  • Meat
  • Poultry and egg
  • Certain Cereals and millets

Some Important Things to Remember During the Third Trimester

  • Keep yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
  • Eat snacks that are healthy and try to avoid foods like cakes, biscuits and chocolates in which sugar content is higher.
  • Have lots of vegetables and fruits.
  • Choose dairy products that are low in fat.
  • Have different types of starchy foods like whole grain cereals, millets, potatoes, bread, rice, pasta etc.
  • Choose protein-rich foods such as beans, nuts, lentils, eggs, fish, soya, poultry etc.

Trimesterwise Pregnancy Meal Planning — 2nd Trimester

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A pregnant woman’s body goes through different phases. It is very necessary that she eats a healthy diet as the developing baby receives all the nutrients from her. A healthy diet during the gestation period refers to a perfect balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat to the body. A balanced diet should contain adequate calories and provide your baby with essential nutrients.

As the baby starts developing, the nutritional requirements also vary. So, it becomes necessary that the pregnant woman takes proper care of her diet and heeds the nutritional needs of the different phases of pregnancy. In order to keep your level of energy high and ensure your body gets the essential nutrients you can have three meals a day along with snacks. Moreover, a pregnant woman should drink lots of water throughout the day.

During the second trimester, the external body structures and all the major organs of the baby start forming. During this phase, you should ensure your diet includes foods that contain vitamins, minerals, proteins, calcium, magnesium and Omega 3 fatty acid.

Breakfast: Eating a healthy breakfast provides you enough energy to remain active throughout the day. And it becomes more necessary to have a healthy breakfast when you are pregnant. During the second trimester, you should have a balanced meal which may include:

  • Eggs
  • Whole grains like whole wheat toast, whole wheat flakes, daliya, oats
  • Fruits
  • Skimmed milk

Lunch: During pregnancy, having a proper lunch is also very important. You can include the following:

  • Whole grains and millets like brown rice, whole wheat breads, quinoa, fox tail millet, bajra, jowar
  • Fortified cereals
  • Lean meats like chicken and fish
  • Yoghurt/ curd/ paneer
  • All Vegetables
  • Beans/ Legumes like Chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, black eyed beans, peas, soya bean etc
  • Lentils/ Pulses/Dals

Dinner: Having a healthy dinner is also necessary to keep yourself and your baby healthy. Include food such as:

  • Brown rice
  • Vegetables
  • Grilled chicken or fish
  • Grains
  • Beans
  • Lentils
  • Fortified breads
  • Whole wheat Pasta, rotis

Snacks: You can have one or two snacks between meals. You can include the following as healthy snacks:

  • Fruits
  • Low fat milk and dairy products
  • Ready to eat cereals
  • Porridges from Grains like ragi malt, oats
  • Soya milk
  • Soups
  • Vegetable juices
  • Fruits salad
  • Nuts, Seeds and dried fruits

Trimesterwise Pregnancy Meal Planning — 1st Trimester

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When a woman becomes pregnant, a little bit of extra care is needed as the body undergoes several transformations. The foetus needs different nutrients to develop into a healthy baby. And all these requirements are fulfilled by the mother through a healthy diet and vitamin/mineral supplements. Eating well becomes very important as unhealthy foods may harm your baby.  The weight gain in pregnancy is based on the pre pregnancy body mass index (BMI). If you’re starting pregnancy at a healthy weight, a weight gain of 0.5 – 2 .0 kgs is recommended in the first trimester. The focus is on having a balanced and nutrient rich diet.

The first trimester or the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is very crucial as during this stage the foetus starts growing. The brain, spinal cord, heart, arm and leg buds of the baby starts forming. So you should make sure to have healthy foods. It is even better to focus on your diet before planning your pregnancy.

You may not feel like eating due to nausea and morning sickness during the first trimester, but you should try to eat, and that too, healthy. A properly nourished mother can even lower the risk of any postpartum complications.

A healthy balanced diet during pregnancy should be rich in good quality proteins, essential fatty acids, iron, calcium, B complex vitamins and vitamin C with optimum calories. Folic acid is especially important during the first trimester.

So, plan your meal with nutrient-rich foods. You can include the following foods in your diet during the first trimester:

 Cereals: 9 servings of cereals should be consumed per day of which at least 3 to 4 servings should be whole grains. Whole grains have more vitamins and minerals than processed grains, as well as fibre. Fibre helps in maintaining proper bowel function and lowers the risk of developing constipation. You can have:

  • Brown rice
  • Whole wheat, broken wheat
  • Millets (ragi, jowar, bajra, foxtail millet, quinoa)
  • Oats
  • Whole grain bread

Protein-rich Foods:  Focus on having good quality proteins and have at least 3 to 4 servings daily. Your diet can include:

  • Lean meat like chicken and fish
  • Whole Egg
  • Beans/Legumes like kidney beans, black beans, black eyed beans, peas etc
  • Lentils/Pulses/Dals
  • Nuts
  • Paneer
  • Soya and soy products

Dairy Products: As dairy products contain calcium and protein, 2 to 3 servings (approximately 500 ml) per day are necessary during the first trimester. Calcium is needed for development of bones and teeth of the baby. You can have low fat or non-fat dairy products like:

  • Cheese
  • Yoghurt/Curd
  • Milk
  • Paneer

Vegetables: You should have around 3 to 5 servings of vegetables daily. Vegetables contain essential vitamins like folate, minerals like calcium and iron, fibre and are low in fat, as well. You can include vegetables like:

  • Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, amaranth, gogu, fenugreek
  • Tomatoes
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Carrots
  • Pumpkin
  • Gourd and squash vegetables
  • Cauliflower
  • Capsicum/ Bell peppers
  • Green beans
  • Broccoli
  • Corn
  • Peas

Fruits: 2 to 4 servings of fruits daily are necessary during the first trimester. You can choose fresh, dried or frozen fruits. Whole fruits are preferable to juices as they contain fibre. As citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C, you should include at least one type of citrus fruits on your daily meal chart. In addition to vitamin C and fibre, fruits provide folate, vitamin A and potassium. You can include fruits like:

  • Apple
  • Banana
  • Orange
  • Sweet lime
  • Grapefruit
  • Melons
  • Berries
  • Ripe papaya
  • Pomegranate
  • Watermelon
  • Guava