MD is a 30-year old woman who is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds, 7 weeks pregnancy with her first baby. She recorded a food journal over the course of three days, from Thursday, April 27th through Saturday, April 29th. During those three days, she recorded everything from snack to drinks. She carried a journal with her and reported the next day until all three days passed. She shared the journal by taking pictures of it and sending it through cell phone messages. After receiving the messages, a personal interview was conducted to clarify certain aspects of the food recall where inadequate details were provided. For example, MD recorded eating a sandwich for lunch. Further dialog revealed that this was a chicken sandwich was from …show more content…
1800 calories allowance is designed for 1st trimester pregnancy. The three-day average intake for carbohydrates for MD was 173 grams the lowest and 2626 grams was the highest which is acceptable range. The carbohydrate intakes for each of the individual days were also within the recommended range. The recommended intake for protein is 10-35% of kilocalories, or approximately 71 grams per day. MD’s average intake of protein over the three days was 59 grams, which is below the recommended portion. Protein intakes for the individual days were also within range. Recommended fat intake is 10-35% of kilocalories. The three-day average intake for MD fluctuated between 19-35% which is above the suggested. The highest amount of fat was received by eating dairy, such as cheese and butter. Recommended fiber intake is 28 grams per day, MD consumed on average 15 gram which is only …show more content…
Using the three-day average, deficient micronutrients include thiamin (88%), folate (66%), vitamin C (39%), vitamin D (29%), vitamin A (54%), vitamin E (36%), calcium (58%), iron (51%), magnesium (62%), potassium (36%), and zinc (61%), Vitamin K (81%). A few relatively simple dietary changes could be made to address these deficiencies. First, the current diet contains a lot of fruits but very limited on vegetables. The addition of 2-3 vegetables serving a day would improve vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, fiber and potassium intake. Consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables would be ideal for improving intake on a variety of micronutrients. Orange vegetables and dark green, leafy vegetables should be emphasized to improve vitamin A intake. Eating breakfast, perhaps a fortified cereal with 1% milk and oatmeal and adding low fat yogurt would improve intake of folate, iron, calcium, vitamin E, and other nutrients. It is very important for a pregnant woman to receive an adequate nutrition. “Fetus is not a parasite,” fetus will be the last to receive all the nutrient through mother’s placenta. Incorporating supplements into a diet, such as folic acid will reduce a risk of spina bifid in a