Question

While pregnant, a woman must ______ how much she eats?

1) double
2) triple
3) halve
4) maintain the same

Answer 1

A pregnant woman does not need to double or triple how much she eats. She only needs about 300 extra calories per day on average to support the growing fetus. Doubling or tripling caloric intake can lead to excessive weight gain, which can be harmful to the baby.

Step-by-step explanation:

A pregnant woman does not need to double or triple how much she eats. The reality is that throughout a typical pregnancy, a person only needs about 300 extra calories per day on average to support the growing fetus. Most of these extra calories are needed during the last trimester, when the fetus is growing most rapidly. Doubling or tripling caloric intake can lead to excessive weight gain, which can be harmful to the baby.

During the first trimester, a pregnant person does not need to consume additional calories, but a weight gain of about 0.45 kg (1 lb) per month is common. In the second and third trimesters, an additional 300 calories per day are sufficient to support the growing fetus, and most pregnant people gain about 0.45 kg (1 lb) per week.