Prenatal Nutrition

A balanced diet is essential to maintaining a healthy pregnancy and preventing excessive weight gain, gestational diabetes and high blood pressure from developing. All expectant mothers can benefit from following dietary guidelines that provide sufficient nutrients; however, these guidelines can be slightly different for each person. Prenatal nutritional counseling strives to provide a healthy standard of eating to maximize the advantages to both the mother and growing baby while still allowing for a wide dietary variety.

The foods you eat during pregnancy will have an impact on your developing baby since you are the baby’s only source of nutrition. Therefore, when you eat healthfully, the baby receives many important nutrients to help it grow. There are also foods that you should avoid during pregnancy because they may pose a risk to the fetus. These include certain types of seafood that have high levels of mercury and soft, unpasteurized cheeses. In addition, it is best to limit your caffeine intake and to refrain from consuming alcoholic beverages. Bacteria from unwashed produce and undercooked meats can also be more dangerous during pregnancy and special care should be taken when preparing these foods.

Our prenatal nutritional counseling services involve a customized diet plan that takes into account each patient’s nutritional goals, preferences, overall health, exercise level and medical history. Every woman can benefit from nutritional counseling during pregnancy, especially patients with food allergies, special diets, eating disorders and certain medical conditions. Ongoing treatment allows for evolving nutrition guidelines that can offer the most effective results.