At no other time in life is nutrition as important as before, during, andfollowing pregnancy. On the other hand, women can still eat foods that come ina box or a bag, eat out several times a week, or order pizza to go as long asthey also follow a few simple eating-for-two dietary guidelines.

A Pregnant Woman Should Include in Her Daily Diet at Least:

• Five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (including atleast one serving of a dark orange vegetable, two servings of dark green leafyvegetables, and one serving of citrus fruit)
• Six servings of enriched, whole-grain breads and cereals.Three servings of nonfat or low-fat milk or milk products
• Two to three servings of extra-lean meats, chicken withoutthe skin, fish, or cooked dried beans and peas
• Eight glasses of water

The guidelines for eating well for a healthypregnancy are simple and easy to follow. When, where, and how much she eats isflexible, and often is governed by necessity. A pregnant woman in her firsttrimester might choose a snack for breakfast and a large evening meal if shesuffers from morning sickness, but select a larger breakfast and a lightevening meal in the last trimester when heartburn is more of a problem. Avoidor limit caffeine (such as coffee, tea, and colas) and avoid alcohol andtobacco. Since no safe limit has been established for alcohol, abstinence is awoman's best bet.

A Weighty Issue

If a woman does not gain enough weight, herbaby also won't gain enough weight, which places the newborn at high risk forhealth problems. Optimal weight gains of 25 to 35 pounds in a slender womanhelps ensure a healthy-sized baby. Underweight women should gain more weight,or approximately 28 to 40 pounds. Overweight women should not attempt to usepregnancy as a way to use up extra body fat, since stored body fat is not thestuff from which babies are made. A modest weight gain of between 12 to 25pounds is recommended for these women.

Further weight gain beyond recommendedamounts will not make bigger or healthier babies. It will make regaining adesirable figure more difficult after delivery. The secret is to pace the gain,with weight gain increasing from very little in the first trimester to as muchas a pound a week in the last two months of pregnancy.

Folic Acid: It's a Must

Nutrition experts agree that the best placefor the mother-to-be to get all the essential nutrients, including ampleamounts of vitamins and minerals, is from her diet. The trick is gettingenough. For example, the MRC Vitamin Study at the Medical College of St.Bartholomew's Hospital in London found that women taking folic acid supplementsaround conception had significantly lower risks for giving birth to babies withneural tube defects (NTD), a type of birth defect where the embryonic neuraltube that forms the future brain and spinal column fails to closeproperly.

Luckily, in 1996 the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) issued a regulation requiring that all enriched grainproducts, including breads and pasta, be supplemented with folic acid. Everywoman during the childbearing years should make sure she gets at least 400micrograms of folic acid from food or supplements.