MENUS FOR THE PREGNANT WOMAN AND FOR THE NURSING MOTHER
IMPORTANCE OF FOOD DURING PREGNANCY
There is nothing so important, or that wields so much influence over the comfort, the health, and the life of the pregnant woman as her food, and there is nothing, perhaps, to which she gives so little attention.
The diet of the prospective mother, of course, governs her digestion and assimilation of food, and elimination of waste matter from the body. These things control her health almost completely, and inasmuch as all mental conditions are principally governed by health, the intellectual faculties of the child are shaped largely by the condition of the mother’s digestion. It is obvious, therefore, that the health of the mother and the entire future of the child depend more upon her diet during pregnancy than upon any other one thing.
During pregnancy the prospective mother should avoid all such articles of food as she would withhold from her baby after birth. This would eliminate from her diet meat, condiments, sweets, especially pastries and rich desserts; tea, coffee, and all stimulating and intoxicating beverages.
The pregnant woman should balance her diet carefully as to the proportion of proteids, carbohydrates, fats, and mineral salts.
As leading foods containing these nutrients, I would recommend the following:
| PROTEIDS | CARBOHYDRATES | FATS | VEGETABLES RICH IN MINERAL SALTS |
| Milk | Potatoes | Nuts | Lettuce |
| Eggs | Wheat (whole) | Butter | Celery |
| Pine nuts | Corn | Cream | Carrots |
| Peanuts | Rice | Olive-oil | Parsnips |
| Cheese | Oats | Cream cheese | Onions |
| Fish | Dried beans | Beets | |
| Fowl | Dried peas | Fresh beans | |
| Dried beans | Chestnuts | Fresh peas | |
| Dried peas | Honey | Okra | |
| Cream cheese | Sugar | Eggplant | |
| Sirups | Turnips | ||
| Cauliflower |