Eating for Two During Pregnancy isn't Necessary

Women who are expecting believe in the common myth they should be eating for two. However, if this dictum is taken seriously, it can cause trouble for both the mother and the baby. It is not healthy for any expecting mother to eat double the amount of food she requires. The bodily processes change rapidly during the 9 months but this doesn’t mean your calorie requirements increase as well. A higher caloric intake is good for your health but double the amount of food is definitely not encouraged by health experts due to various reasons.

It should be also noted that there is no scientific logic behind the ‘eating for two’ dictum. It is only a myth based on the assumption that as the woman is in the process of developing a baby, her requirements increase. What this common assumption doesn’t count is the fact that the requirements of the developing fetus aren’t equal to another person. The baby gets nutrients from the mother but doesn’t require extra nourishment from additional sources.

During pregnancy, you shouldn’t continue to eat the same as you used to before you go pregnant. This doesn’t mean you should only increase the quantity but medical experts also emphasize on the quality of the food. Anything you eat should be planned in the right manner to assist the baby’s growth. The mother’s diet is important and crucial for her own health as well that of the baby’s. If she continues to eat large quantities of junk food, she is doing more harm than good to her baby.

The caloric requirement for a healthy women is somewhere near 1500 to 2000 calories a day, depending on factors like age, weight, and height. When a woman is expecting a baby, instead of eating for two she should only increase the calorie count by 300. An increase of 300 calories is enough to fulfill all the requirements of the woman and her baby. There is no need for anything extra or eating twice the amount of food during pregnancy. After the second trimester, the doctors recommend a further increase of 50 calories but nothing more than that.

Eating for two is in no way a necessity. In fact, it can make things worse for both the mother and the baby. Therefore, it should be completely avoided, as prevention is better than cure. Managing your diet cautiously is an important part of pregnancy and should be tackled meticulously.