During pregnancy some uncooked food should be eaten every day. Ripe fruit answers the purpose admirably. At all seasons of the year fruit of one variety or another, such as apples, peaches, apricots, pears, oranges, figs, cherries, pineapples, grapes, plums, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries may be obtained and should have a place in the diet. In making a choice personal taste alone need be consulted.
Fruit contains a large proportion of water as compared with other articles of diet; and, therefore, is especially capable of quenching thirst. Fruit also lessens the desire for sweets, acts as a laxative, and furnishes mineral material which the body needs. Its laxative effect is most pronounced when it is eaten alone, as, for example, in the morning before breakfast or at night upon going to bed; cooked fruit taken with the meals acts much less effectively. Fruit and vegetable salads are wholesome, but cannot be recommended indiscriminately during pregnancy, for not infrequently the dressing used with them causes discomfort. Under these circumstances it is obvious that one should do without salads.
The cereals wheat, corn, rye, oats, and barley are the most prominent source of starch in an ordinary diet. Breakfast foods manufactured from grain are not only nutritious in themselves, but their value is increased by the milk or cream used with them. Bread is the staple starch-containing food in this country, and starch is our main source of energy, but it is necessary to eat only a small quantity of bread, if the diet includes a relatively large amount of vegetables. It is advantageous to use bread made from unbolted flour (Graham bread) or from corn meal, because the coarse undigested residue which they leave stimulates the movements of the intestine and assists in overcoming the constipation which is generally associated with pregnancy. Pastry must be avoided by those who suffer from indigestion; and every prospective mother should eat pastry only occasionally, and not very much of it at any time. The best desserts are raw and freshly cooked fruit, preserves, gelatin, custard, ice cream, and light puddings, such as rice and tapioca.
Vegetables should be abundant in the diet of every prospective mother. Some of them, however, are digested with difficulty, and on this account cabbage, cauliflower, corn, egg-plant, cucumbers, and radishes should be eaten sparingly. Occasionally it will be necessary to exclude them from the diet altogether. Other vegetables produce flatulence, and for that reason parsnips and beans may cause discomfort. The prejudice, however, which exists against onions, asparagus, and celery should not be heeded; all of them are harmless, and celery thoroughly cooked with milk is very wholesome. Besides these, moreover, there are many highly nutritious and easily digestible vegetables which can be freely recommended, such as both sweet and white potatoes, rice, peas, lima beans, tomatoes, beets, carrots, string beans, spinach, Brussels sprouts, and lettuce.
Vegetable food contains all the material necessary to sustain life, and some persons prefer to adhere strictly to a vegetarian diet. Most prospective mothers, however, find a mixed diet more agreeable, and this is sufficient reason for using it. Furthermore, no fair objection can be raised against the use of animal food, provided the pregnancy is normal. It is important, nevertheless, to remember that meat contains protein in concentrated amounts, and that meat once a day answers every need not only of the mother but also of the growing fetus.
The ideal animal foods are milk and eggs; they contain every ingredient necessary to repair old and to form new tissues. But usually the prospective mother may have any animal food she wishes: beef, veal, lamb, poultry, game, fish, oysters, and clams. The relatively large fat-content of pork, goose, and duck renders them indigestible for some persons, who, of course, should not eat them.
From what we have learned about foods in general and their relation to pregnancy it is clear that the question so often asked by prospective mothers, "Are there any special directions regarding my diet?" may be briefly answered as follows: Under no circumstances is the need of food increased in the first half of pregnancy. During the last two or three months, while the most notable growth of the fetus is in progress, there is a perceptible increase in the amount of energy expended by the mother, and this may be readily supplied by a glass of milk or some equally simple nourishment between meals. Furthermore, throughout pregnancy, most women are made most comfortable by frequent small meals; they will almost certainly suffer discomfort if heavy meals are eaten three times a day.
The most nearly ideal diet consists of very little meat and a comparatively rich allowance of vegetables and fruit. The food should be chosen with regard to individual appetite and should be varied frequently. Thorough mastication always increases the efficiency of a diet. Thus the food will be most perfectly mixed with saliva and broken into fragments which can be readily attacked by the digestive juices of the stomach and the intestines.
CRAVINGS.—There is a well-known tradition that women who are pregnant are subject to longings for one article of diet or another, and that unless the desire be promptly gratified the child will be "marked." In the light of what has already been said regarding maternal impressions, this evidently is nonsense. A prospective mother, like anyone else, does frequently desire one article of food more than another. So long as the object of her wish is not obviously harmful, it should be granted; but if it is not granted no harm will come to the child.
Remarkable instances in which disgusting substances have been craved and eaten are often talked about and have even found their way into popular novels. The unfortunate victims of these unnatural cravings are not of sound mind. With reference to them a physician of unusually broad experience wrote fifty years ago, "I have never met with any example of this sort; which leads me to infer that these longings are more frequent in books than in the practice of our art." This conclusion is even more fully justified to-day than when originally expressed.