By: Jenna T. Braddock MSH, RD, LD/N, CSSD

I don’t think I have made an official announcement on my blog yet so here it goes: I am pregnant. Yep, I have embarked upon my greatest nutritional journey ever. I am 22 weeks and learning so much about pregnancy, nutrition and my baby’s health outcomes.

This morning I came across an interesting article about folic acid and pregnancy. I am currently frustrated by how big of pill pushers OB practices are instead of healthy diet pushers. They scare the living daylights out of you if you are not taking 10 pills a day. I asked my doctor a couple of weeks ago if they ever check food journals on their patients. The answer, as I suspected, was no. They don’t have time and insurance doesn’t cover it. That’s ridiculous! With all the research coming out about the MANY connections between a mother’s diet and her unborn child’s health, we cannot withhold thorough nutrition education from pregnant women. It’s too important! Fortunately, I am beginning to hear more and more that pregnant women should not “eat for two.” Truly, an additional 200-300 calories a day is sufficient and does not take an effort to reach.

Anyways, here is the article I ran into this morning. I have not read the study yet so I don’t know if it’s legit or not. But it’s interesting reading. Ladies, please don’t take more vitamins, “just in case.” Eat healthy food.

http://www.consumerwatch.com/news/2010/01/04/new-study-recommends-less-folic-acid-late-pregnancy.php