The first trimester is extremely important for both mother and the baby. For many women it’s quite common to discover their pregnancy after they have missed their menstrual period. Not all women note their menstrual period and dates of sexual intercourse, because of this it may cause a little confusion on the actual date of conception. This is the reason why majority of the women learn they are pregnant only after one month of pregnancy.
It’s basically good practice to be aware of the actual dates you’ve had sexual intercourse on. This can help your doctor in figuring out an accurate date of conception and date of delivery. Furthermore, this will help you create a balanced and a healthy diet plan for both you and the baby.
As stated earlier the first trimester is the most critical and important one in each pregnancy. A baby’s vital organs like heart, lungs and brain develops in this trimester. Attention and care taken in this trimester really pays off throughout entire pregnancy and even after delivery. You’ll be able to have a healthy baby as well as maintain yourself in good physical shape, throughout the whole pregnancy and post-pregnancy period.
First Trimester Foods To Eat
Through the first trimester you’ll put on a few pounds, but you don’t actually need a lot of extra calories. Simply add to the daily intake by 200-300 calories. Try to eat foods rich in folates. Folate-rich foods consist of folic acid, which helps baby’s growth. Apart from eating folate-rich foods, it’s also recommended to to take daily folic acid supplements of 400 mcg(micrograms). As mentioned earlier folic acid assists in the baby’s physical development. Here are some folate-rich foods: broccoli, oranges, asparagus, lettuce, eggs, black eyed pea etc. Click the images below for more information.
Another vitamin which is crucial throughout the first trimester is Vitamin A. Vitamin A helps with the growth and development of the baby’s organs, such as nervous and circulatory systems and respiratory system. Vitamin A has to be taken through the entire pregnancy.
Though, the first trimester is important for the baby’s development, sometimes the mother feels too nauseous to eat anything. To combat this issue, snacking could be a good option. Foods rich in vitamin B6 can be useful in this situation to relieve the morning sickness. Here are some foods rich in vitamin B6. Wholegrain toast, bananas, black eyed beans, salmon etc.
First Trimester Meal Plan
The following are 3 meal plans, excellent for each month of the 1st trimester.
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