Soundbites It takes more than 85,000 calories over the course of nine months to build a healthy baby. That's on top of your own calorie needs. It seems like a lot but regrettably it doesn't give us leeway "to eat for two", writes Paula Mee
Tucking into that super-sized Danish or sausage roll isn't the best strategy during pregnancy, especially if it's coupled with that innate instinct of "not over-doing it" vis-à-vis activity.
Indulging in extra calories that our bodies just don't need may seem justified at the time - hey I can't fit into anything anyway - but at the end of the day, many of us are left holding the baby and an extra five pounds or more following pregnancy, which we often never manage to lose.
Pregnancy can be tiring enough without having to focus on eating more nutrients in every mouthful of food we eat. Yet, we should be thinking about "quality" and not so much about "quantity".
Our calorie requirement doesn't really increase at all in the first three months of pregnancy.
An extra 200-300 kilocalories a day is then recommended, but may not be necessary if physical activity levels have fallen greatly.
Three hundred calories is equivalent to a very small bowl of cereal topped with low-fat milk and a banana or a small baked potato topped with broccoli and cauliflower and a match-boxed size of low-fat cheddar.
The most important nutrients Irish women need to focus on are iron, calcium and folic acid. The North South Irish Food Consumption Survey (NSIFCS) found 48 per cent of women had inadequate iron intakes.
This is worrying, considering that our iron needs are even greater during pregnancy when our blood volume increases by 50 per cent and accounts for three to four pounds of our total weight gain.
Iron is essential for the formation of red blood cells which carry oxygen to all parts of the body.
If we don't get enough iron, we have a greater risk of developing iron deficiency anaemia which is characterised by intense tiredness.
The most readily available iron is found in meat. The redder the meat, the higher the absorbable iron content. Fish or chicken are also good sources of iron. The haem iron from these sources is absorbed up to seven times more easily than the non-haem iron in green vegetables, cereals and fruits.
Vitamin C-rich foods such as citrus fruits and juices increase iron absorption, whereas the tannin in tea inhibits absorption.
The best way to ensure a sufficient intake is to eat red meat three to four times a week and supplement that with plenty of green vegetables, wholemeal bread and breakfast cereals, boiled or cooked eggs and pulses.
The amount of calcium we need in the second half of pregnancy is 1200mg per day, one-third more than that required by non-pregnant women. An adequate intake of bone-building calcium helps ensure that the mother's bone mass is preserved while the baby's skeleton is developing. Try to get your calcium from foods first.
During pregnancy eat five servings of dairy daily. A serving is a glass of milk, a pot of yogurt or a matchbox size of cheese. If you can't increase your dairy intake sufficiently, try sea minerals such as Aquamin or talk to your doctor about a supplement. Almost one in four Irish women have inadequate intakes of calcium, according to the NSIFCS, so many women will find higher calcium requirements very challenging in practice.
During pregnancy, folate helps develop the neural tube, which becomes your baby's spine. The neural tube starts to form soon after conception. Women who are trying to conceive are encouraged to take a 400mcg of folic acid to supplement their diet; in case they conceive but are unaware they are pregnant in the early weeks. The supplement should then be continued until the 12th week of pregnancy when the neural tube is fully formed.
Unfortunately, less than 5 per cent of Irish women achieve the recommended folate intake of 600mcg (200mcg from the diet and 400mcg from a supplement) and neural-tube birth defects such as spina bifida occur which could have been prevented.
Dark green leafy vegetables (like spinach or kale), citrus fruits, nuts, legumes, whole grains, and fortified breads and cereals are all folate-rich foods.
If you are pregnant and would like to read more about your nutritional needs, Bord Bia has an excellent nutrition information pack.
You can get a copy by ringing 01 6142257.
Paula Mee is an independent food and nutrition consultant and she is co-presenter of RTÉ Television's Health Squad programme.