quick clicks

recipes today articles

recipes today q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Grazing Questions

Is It OK to Eat All Day While Pregnant?

By Melinda Copp

"If I don't eat in between meals, I tend to overeat at lunch, then I feel bloated and uncomfortable," Esposito says. "Also, I have suffered from heartburn during both pregnancies and have found that when I graze, I don't suffer nearly as much."

And some women may eat to calm their queasy stomachs during morning (or all the time) sickness.

"I always needed something in my stomach," says Jen Matlack, a mom from Bethel, Conn. "Early on, during months 2 and 3, I had all day 'morning' sickness, never threw up but always felt queasy. The feeling got worse whenever I let myself get hungry, or whenever my stomach was empty."

How many times have you heard someone say, "It's OK, you're eating for two"? This myth may lead pregnant women to think they can indulge without consequences. But in reality, calories do count.

"Calorie needs don't go up at all in the first trimester," says Elizabeth Somer, a registered dietician and author of the book Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy (Owl Books, 2002). "And you only need 300 more calories a day in the second and third trimesters."

Taking in too many calories during pregnancy can result in excessive weight gain, even when you're pregnant. And carrying excess weight can be risky for your and your baby's health. Therefore, you need to aim for quality of foods if you want the quantity of calories. Otherwise, you can gain too much weight.

Enter another myth – losing pregnancy weight is easy. Sorry, that's not true either. Although some women don't have any problem, the majority of women do struggle to drop pregnancy pounds. Pregnancy is not a nine-month off-the-diet party, Johnson says.

Want to see more?

• Check out our Article Library.
• Two of Everything, Please: Debunking the Myth
  of Eating for Two
• Snacks Done Right: Satisfying Cravings
  in a Healthy Way
• Pregnancy Nutrition from A to Z: A Comprehensive List of Nutrition Issues for Moms-to-be
• Talk about it!

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.