Now both mother and baby too often become too big, carrying an increased risk of death and of need for cesarean sections. Big babies are harder to deliver and as a result, injury and death more likely. Just proves you can't make something so wrong as the rich Western diet right by simply changing portion size. That's an extra 250 to 300 calories a day during the second and third trimesters. The simple carbohydrate glucose, derived originally from plant sources, is the primary metabolic fuel for the growing embryo, fetus and newborn immediately after delivery.
Pregnant women become hungrier, especially during the last two trimesters of pregnancy.
As a result they eat more food, taking in more calories and more of all the essential nutrients these foods should supply. Calorie intake is estimated to increase from 2200 kcal to 2500 kcal a day. However, in many parts of the world women do not eat more food. Instead, they gain the extra calories by increased body efficiency. Fortunately, their foods are primarily nutrient-dense vegetable foods which will easily provide the raw materials to grow a healthy baby.