7 tips for the expectant healthy mother

When you are pregnant, a lot is happening in your body. After all, a person is growing in your stomach that also requires good nutrients! It is therefore extra important to live a healthy life as an expectant mother. How do you do this? Read these seven useful tips from Patricia Ploeger: child nutrition expert, dietician and mother.

1. Vitamin D: strong bones for you and your child

Vitamin D is important for strong bones and teeth! For both mother and child. It ensures that dietary calcium is absorbed into the body. The body can also produce vitamin D itself through sunlight, but that is not enough. A woman needs 10 micrograms extra vitamin D throughout her pregnancy. This is important for a good bone structure of the child.

Another important vitamin for women, is folic acid (vitamin B11). You get folic acid from a healthy diet, but that is not enough during pregnancy. Extra folic acid helps to reduce the risk of birth defects such as a spina bifida or cleft lip. Start with this if you want to get pregnant and continue through the tenth week of pregnancy. During this period, women need an extra 400 micrograms in the form of a supplement.

Women between the ages of 18 and 50 need 16 mg of iron daily and a little more during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Women with a vegetarian but especially vegan diet run an extra risk of iron deficiency. The body absorbs iron better from animal products (such as meat) than from vegetable products. It is smart to combine your meal with a piece of fruit or raw vegetables. Iron from vegetable products is better absorbed in combination with vitamin C.

Fruit and vegetables are the basis for a healthy diet. A vitamin pill or serving of superfoods cannot replace this. We know this: two pieces of fruit and 250 grams of vegetables every day. But the practice is often different. You don't just save that amount with a hot meal. And more than 250 grams is even better! Eat vegetables several times a day. How about lunch vegetables, filet vegetables, meeting vegetables and bored vegetables? And if you have a piece of fruit with your breakfast, you immediately have a good start to the day.

By eating enough fruit and vegetables, you also get more fiber. That is another nutrient that (pregnant) women can use more of. They are important for healthy blood pressure and bowel movements and help you feel full for a long time. And that in turn helps to prevent snacking and not to gain extra weight.

During pregnancy, alcohol is of course completely inadvisable. If you are trying to get pregnant, it is also wise not to drink alcohol, especially if you are trying to get pregnant. Alcohol causes reduced fertility. Did you know this also applies to men?

Exercise keeps you fit, you stay flexible, retains more energy and is safe during the entire pregnancy. Women often find it exciting to exercise during pregnancy, this is not necessary for anything. Exercise under supervision, get good advice or go for a walk, cycling or (maternity) swimming. Spinning is also possible, you determine the intensity yourself!