While pregnant, you really are eating for two, and everything you consume gets absorbed by your growing baby. Check out nutritional hints and guidelines provided by the FDA and the U.S. Surgeon General.

According to researched standards provided by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Surgeon General, women with child have special nutritional needs - both prohibitive and pro-active. Not only do these recommendations apply to pregnant women, but are extended to those trying to get pregnant, or planning for children in the near future.

Avoid:

Soft cheese and raw or undercooked meats
Soft cheese and undercooked meat may contain the parasite toxoplasma gondii, which causes toxoplasmosis infection. Although the disease is rare, contracting it would mean risk of illness or death to the baby. Kitty litter also contains the parasite, so authorities recommend that pregnant women avoid changing litter boxes during the course of pregnancy. Raw or undercooked meats (oysters, shellfish, sushi, and rare meats) contain bacteria that can cause meningities, pneumonia, or death to the unborn child. In addition, the vomiting and diarrhea this bacteria causes will weaken and dehydrate the mother.

Alcohol and tobacco
An obvious prohibition. Babies born to smokers have a much higher risk of being premature, maintaining a lower birth weight, and being stillborn than babies born to non-smokers. After birth, babies whose mothers smoke have higher rates of asthma, poor lung development, respiratory infections, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In the same light, drinking alcohol while pregnant poses a whole new set of risks, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which is responsible for babies born mentally retarded or with facial abnormalities. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, since no research has determined the amount of alcohol that is safe for pregnant women to consume, they recommend that alcohol be avoided altogether during the length of pregnancy.

Caffeine
Although the Food and Drug Administration cites that no evidence has been found that consuming caffeine causes harm in fetuses or produces adverse affects in the reproduction of humans, many doctors still recommend that women who are pregnant stay away. Excessive caffeine interrupts sleep patterns.

Add To, or Increase:

Weight
Over the nine-month period, an average sized woman should gain 25 to 40 pounds, the bulk of the gain occuring in the last 13 weeks, or the third trimester. The FDA recommends an extra 300 calories a day for expectant women to gain the proper amount of weight needed to produce a healthy baby.

Vitamins
During pregnancy, in increase in absorbable vitamins provide both mothers and babies with the proper nutrients to ensure proper tissue, bone, and organ development. Here's what they recommend:

• Vitamin A helps fetus bone and tooth structure and development.
• Vitamin D aids in absorbing the calcium for healthy bones and teeth for both mom and baby.
• Vitamin E aids in blood and blood vessel maintenance.
• Vitamin C maintains healthy tissues and blood vessels.

Folic Acid
Derived from the B Vitamin, Folate, or folic acid, can reduce the risk of birth defects of the brain and spinal cord (spinal bifida). Since most birth defects occur during the first 28 days of the pregnancy, the U.S. Public Health Service recommends all women of childbearing age get 400 micrograms of folic acid every day, the most effective way through a daily supplement. The FDA now requires all flour and bread products to include extra folic acid to help reach women's goal. Nature provides smaller amounts of folic acid in leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, and citrus fruits, and it's also added to many breakfast cereals.

Calcium
Expecting mothers are recommended to get about an extra 1,200 calories of calcium per day. High concentrations of calcium are found in milk, cheese, yogurt, or cottage cheese, and more difficult-to-abosorb leafy vegetables like broccoli and spinch. The extra calcium is needed for fetus bone growth, so mother does not deplete her own bone mass.

Iron
Iron aids the carriage of oxygen through the blood of both the mother and new baby. Since many women are already lacking in enough iron, many women supplement this mineral during pregnancy. Iron is also found in leafy green vegetables and meat.

Protien
Pregnant women need to double their recommended daily amount of non-pregnant women, which is 40 to 50 grams. Milk has lots of protien, as does meat, fish, poultry, grains, nuts, beans, rice, and pasta.

Most doctors recommend that women who are expecting take supplements of these vitamins and minerals to be on the safe side of receiving enough of the proper nutrients for a healthy pregnancy and baby.