pregnant teenagers, diet plan for pregnant teenager, teenage pregnancy

Healthy Diet Tips for Pregnant Teenagers

Posted on November 3, 2008 in Pregnancy Diet

It is said that being pregnant is the most wonderful and magical moment one can ever experience. But what if the pregnant woman is still in her teens? According to the latest statistics report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 1/3rd of girls in United States of America conceive during their teens. Another statistical report shows that teenage pregnancy involves lots of complications.

The main reason for complications during teenage pregnancy is that the body is still under growing phase. Apart from malnutrition, inappropriate weight gain and improper prenatal care are other factors which are responsible for teenage pregnancy complications. To avoid pregnancy related complications pregnant teenager must take special care of their diet.

Listed below are few dietary suggestions for a pregnant teenager:

First and foremost teenagers need to change their dietary habits. It is observed that teenager’s diet mostly includes fast foods, soft drinks and other nutritionally unbalanced foods.

Changing to a balanced and nutritious diet plan is essential for a pregnant teenager. Healthy pregnancy diet plan ensures healthy baby and healthy after delivery life.

A healthy teenage pregnancy diet plan should include lots of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and water.

Make sure that your teenage pregnancy diet plan includes all the essential nutrients like proteins, minerals like calcium, iron, folic acid etc.

For protein make sure that you include poultry, egg whites, tofu, beans, lean meat, fish, peanut butter and other protein rich foods.

Milk, cheese, yogurt, soy milk, fresh orange juice, etc are best dietary source for calcium during pregnancy.

Foods like green leafy vegetables, lean red meat, iron fortified cereals, and whole grains are excellent source of iron.

Vitamins and minerals are other essential components you need to take care of. Try to include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouts and dairy products in your diet.

It is observed that teenagers during pregnancy go for weight loss programs or crash diet which unhealthy for both mother and child. It is advisable to avoid such practice.

During pregnancy you need to drink plenty of water. Make sure that you drink minimum 8 glasses of water in a day.

Being pregnant in your teens is crucial hence you need to take extra care of yourself as well as the developing fetus. It is advisable to go for regular check-ups and before making any dietary changes it is important that you consult your gynecologist and dietician.

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2 Responses to “Healthy Diet Tips for Pregnant Teenagers”

Tangerine Austin Munro on June 2nd, 2009 11:50 am

thank you for putting up this page. i am 15 and pregnant and this will really kinda help.
Samantha on June 28th, 2009 3:09 pm

ya’ know, i’m so sick of people treating teenage pregnancy like it’s AIDS. i’m 17 and pregnant with my first child, and even though i’m young, it is still the most wonderful and magical moment of my life! yes i understand how getting pregnant at 13 and 14 years old could pose a problem on the mother and child’s health, but in some cases, especially the older teens, it’s not as huge as a problem as everyone would like to think. just because it’s not your lifestyle doesn’t mean you should knock a woman OF ANY AGE down about being pregnant. all that does is cause more stress and pressure on the mother, which in turn, could cause even more problems than if everyone would just be supporting, encouraging, and caring. quit being so rude to expectant mother, regardless of their age! i’m a proud teenage mom-to-be… age does NOT define how good of a parent someone is or will be!

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Healthy Diet Tips for Pregnant Teenagers

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