Eating for two?

While it’s impossible to say exactly how much each pregnant woman should eat, there’s no doubt that you don’t need to eat for two. Different women have different nutritional needs and your needs will change as the months of pregnancy go by.

Some women start pregnancy overweight; others are underweight and need to catch up. You may be very active during pregnancy or you may find your instinct is to slow down and rest. Some women will be pregnant with twins - while others may still be breastfeeding an older baby. If you are a teenager you are still growing yourself, so you will need more energy than an older woman.

You do not have to know how much food to eat. Your appetite will guide you. Try to listen to what your body is telling you and eat to satisfy your appetite. Remember just two things:

• Eating too many sugary foods may confuse your appetite (as the level of sugar in your blood goes rapidly up and down)
• Eating fatty foods may mean you take in a lot of calories very quickly (the energy in fatty foods is very concentrated)

Eat plenty of filling starchy carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein, as little sugar and fat as possible and as much fruit and vegetables as you want!