Blog BY Staff | 2 September 2019
Milk and Pregnancy
Dairy consumption, including milk is highly important during pregnancy to help maintain healthy levels of certain nutrients for mum and bub. Milk provides calcium, phosphorus and a range of vitamins which help mum stay strong and healthy and provide baby with the nutrients needed to grow throughout pregnancy.
Milk not only provides calcium but a handful of vitamins which include, vitamin A, D and B group vitamins. These vitamins help support mum’s body and provide baby with the needed nutrients to grow and develop.
B vitamins help with brain and nerve functioning, while vitamin D helps make sure calcium is absorbed correctly into the bones. Vitamin D may be added to milk to help make sure adequate absorption is available. Calcium in milk helps build and maintain strong healthy bones and again allows for the needed nutrients to help baby grow and develop while in the womb. Vitamin A helps the baby’s embryonic growth which includes the growth of the heart, lungs, eyes, circulatory, central nervous and respiratory system.
Recommended calcium intake during pregnancy:
Recommended milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives for pregnant and breastfeeding women is 2.5 serves per day or 1 cup of milk equals 1 serve.
When it comes to milk and the fetus, the calcium helps the fetus grow bones, teeth and also helps grow a healthy heart, nerves and muscles. Along with providing support in a normal heart rhythm and blood clotting abilities. Milk will also provide protein and this nutrient is extremely important to allow the fetus to grow at a rapid rate and is considered a complete protein which means it provides all the amino acids.
Along with maintaining a healthy balanced diet during pregnancy we sometimes forget about why we need certain foods in our diet on a day to day basis. Pregnancy is a vital stage of life where everything we put into our bodies will be ingested by baby as well. So, remembering some key points with nutrition can make the difference in not only baby’s health but also mum’s health during and after pregnancy.