Birutė, creator of the Slogūnas blog, shares her personal experience.
As soon as you start planning a pregnancy or find out that you are expecting, you will inevitably need to make some changes to your eating habits. And not simply because you feel you should switch to healthier foods. Pregnancy brings many new challenges, including nausea, constipation, slower digestion, bloating, and more.
Your doctor or personal nutrition consultant can advise you on any specific changes you may need to make, but I can share a few tips that were useful to me.
Pay attention to folic acid
For at least one month before conception and throughout pregnancy, it is recommended to consume at least 400 micrograms (0.4 milligrams) of folic acid each day. This vitamin-related compound is involved in cell division and growth, which is why it is particularly important during pregnancy. Folic acid supplements are an option, but it is also worth getting as much nutrition as possible from food.
Folic acid can be found in millet groats, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, hazelnuts, and chicken or veal liver. It may surprise you, but pregnancy was actually the first time in my life that I started preparing meals with millet groats.
Eat more fibre
I had always worried that my diet contained slightly too little fibre, so during pregnancy I decided to make an effort to change that. Fibre can help prevent constipation, regulate blood sugar levels, and lower cholesterol. Fibre also helps support a healthy body weight, which may make it easier to manage concerns about unusual weight changes during pregnancy.
It is important to aim for at least 25–30 grams of fibre each day. During my first trimester, when I was feeling nauseous and generally did not want to eat, increasing my fibre intake was difficult. During the second trimester, however, I added more blackberries, raspberries, pears, apples (and do not peel the skin!), peas, broccoli, barley, and lentils to my diet.
Don't forget vitamin C
Perhaps because many viruses were circulating at the time and my pregnancy happened to fall during the colder months, my doctor immediately asked whether I was getting enough vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, supports normal immune function, and plays an important role in the baby's development.
Two of my favourite foods that I try to eat more often are cranberries and broccoli. The last thing you want during pregnancy is a urinary tract infection, and cranberries are often considered a useful food to include in the diet. Cranberries can be eaten throughout all three trimesters. As for broccoli, it is something of a superstar vegetable because it contains vitamin C and is also easy to digest.
Easy-to-digest foods can be a real lifesaver
I have already mentioned the benefits of easy-to-digest broccoli, but during pregnancy it can be especially helpful to choose foods that do not put too much strain on digestion. Porridge can be particularly useful here. Processing oats breaks down some of their starch structure, which can make oatmeal easier for the stomach to digest than less processed foods. Oats can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and can be incorporated into both sweet and savoury dishes. During pregnancy, there are times when you simply do not have the energy or time to prepare complicated meals, while natural instant porridges can be prepared very quickly. Oatmeal was a real lifesaver for me when I was experiencing nausea because oats do not have an intense smell, so I could still bring myself to eat them even when I had no appetite.
Other foods that can be relatively easy to digest include toast, white rice, bananas, and eggs.
I also found that pregnancy was a good time to try superfoods in powdered form because there may be days when you simply cannot manage to eat as much nutritious food as you would like, while still wanting to maintain your energy and nutrient intake.
I hope my personal experience is useful to you, and I wish you a calm and peaceful pregnancy.
