you must eat double because you are not only eating for yourself but for the baby in your womb as well is an old saying for pregnant women pregnancy is a time when there is an increased need for nutrition to support the growing foetus and changes occurring in the pregnant womans body but does pregnancy really involve eating for two people and how can working women who are always short of time follow healthy eating plans today jyoti arora hod of nutrition dietetics at artemis health institute gurgaon gives us valuable insight on nutrition tips for pregnant working women importance of healthy eating for pregnant working women motherstobe require an additional 300 kcalday of nutrition each day especially working pregnant women need to be extra careful about their diet because as the pregnancy advances the calorie requirement increases while on the move they should always carry some snacks like a sandwich chocolate bars dry fruits tetra packs of milk shakes and juices in their bag it is also advisable to replan their long working hours and take small breaks to rest dont work till late hours in the night a sound 89 hours of sleep is recommended to maintain good health some important dos for working pregnant women the diet of pregnant women should have basic five food groups grain vegetables fruits milk and meat fish snack on healthy items often and take small frequent meals drink plenty of fluids as this will also help in avoiding and controlling nausea must take the prescribed supplements daily take plenty of milk and milk products paneer is a good substitute for milk increase protein intake in diet good sources of protein are non veg all pulses egg milk and milk products soya bean have 23 fruits daily include coloured and citrus fruits like oranges banana mango plums etc include green leafy and all coloured vegetables in your diet some important donts for working pregnant women avoid eating raw or partially cooked eggs vegetables meats unpasteurized milk soft mouldripened cheese as they carry the risk of giving salmonella and listeria infections avoid alcohol and drugs avoid caffeine as much as possible dont take more than 300mg of caffeine in a day avoid active and passive smoking avoid alcohol and drugs avoid eating canned food as it has preservatives which can harm the baby avoid eating pappaya as it contains enzymes papain research has shown that they act like prostaglandin and oxytocin induces labour or strengthens labour contractions check with the doctor before taking vitamins and herbal products as some of these can be harmful eat foods that are rich in folic acid as it is required from the stage of conception to full pregnancy folic acid supplements are also recommended folic acid increases foetus weight and reduces congenital abnormalities some rich sources of folic acid are green leafy vegetables legumes and nuts do eat food items which are rich in iron content iron deficiency leads to anemia iron is required