Eating five to six small, nutrient-dense meals a day is a sensible idea. Restricting weight gain, which was very popular twenty years ago, was thought to ease a woman's labor. We now know that this is not necessarily so. New guidelines, issued in June 1990 by the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C. recommend increased weight gains for healthy pregnant women. Pregnancy is not the time to diet.
Opinions vary on the amount of protein that is needed during pregnancy.
Pregnant women need seventy to one hundred grams of protein daily, which most people will not get with a normal diet. Sodium is needed to maintain fluid balance and blood volume. For this reason, salt restriction is one common nutritional advisement that does not apply during pregnancy. Restricting sodium and using diuretics, once routine treatments to prevent preclampsia and swelling, are not only unnecessary, but potentially harmful. It is best to use salt to taste.