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County of Lambton |
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Home>Health Information>Pregnancy and Before>Teen Pregancy - A Special Nutrition Concern
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If you are a teen and pregnant, you have special strengths and needs. You
must remember, you are not alone and help is there for you.
Early education, a caring family, and social and medical services are
very important, but one of the most vital parts of pregnancy is proper
nutrition to make sure the mother and the baby are healthy.
Teen mothers as a rule have no difficulty giving birth. The body is
young, strong and recovers quickly. Your chances for a healthy pregnancy
are good if you take good care of yourself by eating well, visiting a
doctor or midwife early in pregnancy and stay away from drugs, alcohol and
tobacco.
Pregnancy is a period of rapid growth just like your teen years. A
teenage girl does not stop growing until 4 years after her period begins.
So, for proper growth for herself and for her baby, the pregnant teen must
eat extra nutrients. However, a lack of money and/or peer pressure to
remain "thin" can make this hard.
When the diet is corrected, growth will improve and the risk of high
blood pressure during pregnancy (toxemia), pre-mature birth, disability
and death is reduced.
During pregnancy, teenage girls need to eat the same kinds of foods as
they needed before pregnancy - just MORE. Eating enough calories is the
key nutritional need of the pregnant teen. Without enough calories in the
diet, protein is used for energy instead of building tissue in the fetus
and mother. As a general rule, teen mothers should eat between 2,400 and
2,700 calories per day. Most of these calories should be from a variety of
foods found in the 4 food groups; milk products (at least 3 servings per
day); meat and alternatives (at least 2 servings per day); grain products
(at least 8 servings per day); vegetables and fruit (at least 6 servings
per day).
All pregnant teens, despite their body type or size, should be urged to
gain enough weight to support the growth of a health baby. Pregnancy is
NOT the time to diet. Dieting can harm the fetus.
Taking vitamins and minerals like iron and folic acid may be needed by pregnant teens - especially those who refuse to eat or cannot eat a balanced diet. See your doctor or midwife before taking anything. Supplements can harm the both mother and baby.
There is no proof that that eating less salt during pregnancy is
helpful. It may do more harm than good.
Since the mother and baby are one, anything that enters the mother
enters the fetus too. Avoid everything from aspirins and laxatives to
stronger drugs unless approved by a doctor. Limit tea, coffee or cola to
Alcohol enters the baby’s blood through the placenta and can cause
serious harm to the baby. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a result of
alcohol use during pregnancy and can lead to a lifelong learning problems
and physical health issues. There is no known safe intake of alcohol for
pregnant women, so teen moms should avoid alcohol during pregnancy.
It is well known that smoking mothers give birth to babies with much
lower birth weight. It poses a double risk for teens since teenage mothers
stand a good chance of having low, birth weight babies. Sadly, the effects
of smoking cannot be offset by eating well.
Pregnant teens, like any pregnant woman, should not smoke and avoid
frequent exposure to "second-hand smoke."
Preparing for childbirth and parenting is a positive learning period.
The event has been shown to improve the health of the teen mother and her
child during pregnancy and childbirth.
The Children’s Services Department offers pre-natal
classes for Teen Moms that offer choices. We cover topics such as
nutrition, lifestyle changes, STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), labour
and delivery, well-baby care, breastfeeding, post-partum changes, safety,
dating, violence, legal issues, returning to school and birth control.
The information is offered through videos, posters, games and active talks. A delicious meal is prepared weekly, bus tickets and milk vouchers are available and prizes. There is also a chance to link directly with a public health nurse for one-on-one home visits and support.
For more information about the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children Program, please contact:
Children's Services Department
160 Exmouth Street
Point Edward, Ontario N7T 7Z6
Phone: 519-383-8331, ext. 519
Toll free: 1-800-667-1839
Related links:
1. Pregnancy and Before Homepage
Healthy Beginnings - Preparing for Pregnancy & Birth
Healthy Weights After Pregnancy
Pregnancy & Exposure to Communicable Diseases
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Pregnancy
and Before