Proper dieting is essential for pregnant women for the sake of both themselves and the fetus they are carrying. Sufficient nutrients at the proper time are necessary for the development of the child into a healthy one. However, because of the many physiological and hormonal changes in the mother during pregnancy, the inclination to eat improperly rises. Therefore, mothers should be encouraged to consider the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), which is a food guideline that has been developed to recommend nutrient intakes for various populations (Koenig, 2017) . DRIs help a mother to plan and assess her nutrient intake so that they can eat healthily and profitably.
With the DRIs, a pregnant mother can know the average daily nutrient intake that is necessary for her as well as the maximum daily intake that she should not surpass. Three aspects are considered to determine sufficient intake and tolerable upper intake levels of a pregnant woman: what the fetus need during the pregnancy and as far as lactation is concerned; adjustment to high nutrient demand like heightened absorption and greater conservation of nutrients in the body; and overall nutrients loss because of physiological changes, irrespective of intake. These factors determine both the preference of the mother to some foods and the types and amounts of diets that should be recommended to her.
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Micronutrients such as vitamin D and iron are important for the growth and development of the fetus. Vitamin D boosts immune function as well as promotes the bone health of the fetus while the iron is critical for metabolic processes such as transportation of oxygen as well as regulation of cell growth and differentiation in the fetus (Koenig, 2017) . This article first established that women that are in a habit of taking a diet with insufficient nutrients experience premature cervical remodeling midway their pregnancy period. Therefore, it is critical for women to take foods rich in calcium, zinc and vitamin E before and during pregnancy to evade cervical remodeling.
Another significant component that was found important is prenatal and postnatal vitamin D supplementation on pregnant or lactating mothers as well as their breastfed infants. Infants whose mothers took high levels of vitamin D when pregnant had importantly higher vitamin D at birth (Koenig, 2017) . Therefore, low intake of vitamin D by mothers would lead to a deficiency of vitamin D among breastfed infants (Chong, Chia, Colega, Mya, Aris, Chong, & Yap, 2015) . Women should be exposed to both prenatal to postpartum vitamin D3 supplementation to increase their optimal vitamin D status and subsequently in their newborns, particularly those that are entirely breastfed. Lastly, they determined that maternal hepcidin is crucial in regulating iron metabolism in the body of a pregnant woman. Women with high-risk pregnancies may need close checking and screening for deficient iron in the third semester so that it can be addressed accordingly.
Despite the fact that the pregnant body has the potential to recover for nutrient deficiencies or excesses, a woman is obligated to take sufficient nutrients for her fetus also. The fetus may not gain significant nutrients from the mother who lacks them herself, and DRI values are key. Women should also be cautious of excess energy-nutrient intake. Going beyond the optimal intake will amount to obesity in pregnant women. Women that possess an increased pre-pregnancy BMI are vulnerable to acute perinatal outcomes (Crume, Brinton, Shapiro, Kaar, Glueck, Siega-Riz, & Dabelea, 2016) . They are exposed to gestational diabetes, hypertension and sometimes it may be required that they deliver through the cesarean section unwillingly. The adverse effects of higher BMI among pregnant women may include birth flaws, stillbirths or abnormal fetal development (Mandal, Godfrey, McDonald, Treuren, Bjørnholt, Midtvedt, & Peddada, 2016) . Therefore, pregnant women should be careful of gestation weight gain, which must be monitored by checking the BMI at the initial prenatal visit. Gestational diabetes is caused by glucose intolerance. Pregnant women must monitor their diet intake and be exposed to mild exercises that can enhance their prenatal as well as postpartum weight reduction as well as in the fetus.
References
Chong, M. F. F., Chia, A. R., Colega, M., Mya, T. T., Aris, I. M., Chong, Y. S., & Yap, F. K. P. (2015). Maternal protein intake during pregnancy is not associated with offspring birth weight in a multiethnic Asian population.
Crume, T. L., Brinton, J. T., Shapiro, A., Kaar, J., Glueck, D. H., Siega-Riz, A. M., & Dabelea, D. (2016). Maternal dietary intake during pregnancy and offspring body composition: The Healthy Start Study. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology , 215 (5), 609-e1.
Koenig, M. D. (2017). Nutrient Intake During Pregnancy. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing , 46 (1), 120-122.
Mandal, S., Godfrey, K. M., McDonald, D., Treuren, W. V., Bjørnholt, J. V., Midtvedt, T., & Peddada, S. D. (2016). Fat and vitamin intakes during pregnancy have stronger relations with a pro-inflammatory maternal microbiota than does carbohydrate intake. Microbiome , 4 (1), 55.
