What is the relationship between nutrition during pregnancy and fetal development?

Pregnancy is the most important time for us to protect our bodies, because pregnancy is a sign of the birth of a new life. When we are pregnant, our mothers must strengthen nutrition, because the baby relies on absorbing nutrients from our body to maintain vitality, so let us understand the relationship between nutrition during pregnancy and fetal development.

The growth of fetal bones requires a lot of calcium. If there is a calcium deficiency during pregnancy, pregnant women may experience calcium deficiency symptoms, such as leg cramps; newborns may have symptoms of congenital dysplasia. Therefore, the daily calcium supply in mid-pregnancy is 1000 mg, and in late pregnancy it is 1500 mg, which is 200 to 700 mg more than the 800 mg required per day by non-pregnant women. Although you can drink milk or soy milk every day, the amount cannot be met through dietary supplements, and you need to supplement calcium every day.

Iron deficiency anemia is prone to occur during pregnancy, and more iron is needed. The daily iron requirement in the second trimester is 3.0 mg, and in the third trimester is 4.0 mg. This can be achieved by eating foods with high bioavailability of iron such as liver, animal blood, meat, poultry, fish, and fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that all pregnant women should take 300 mg of ferrous sulfate orally every day starting from the second month of pregnancy to prevent iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women.

The most important physiological function of zinc is to promote the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins in the human body. Zinc deficiency during pregnancy may affect the development of the fetal brain and body. The requirement during the entire pregnancy is 100 mg, and the daily zinc intake needs to be 5 mg more than usual. Foods high in zinc include lean meat, fish, animal liver and eggs.

In short, in addition to paying attention to the intake of protein, minerals and vitamins, pregnant women should also pay attention to appropriate intake of carbohydrates, not too much fat, and eat vegetables and fresh fruits every day. The combination of nutrients should be reasonable, and you should not be partial or picky about food. You should also add some whole grains as the staple food (such as corn, millet, etc.) to make the nutrition more comprehensive. But at the same time, we must also be careful not to consume too much nutrients, otherwise it will cause the newborn to be born with a weight greater than 4000 grams, causing risks such as dystocia. In addition, it can also cause postpartum obesity in women. It is not advisable to consume too much salt during the second trimester to prevent hypertension and edema in pregnant women.

The relationship between nutrition during pregnancy and fetal development is directly proportional. So if we want to give birth to a healthy and smart baby, we must strengthen nutrition, eat more foods with high nutritional value, eat more fruits and vegetables, and balance nutrition. In this way, we can let our baby grow well in the belly. We must strengthen nutrition.