Nutrition for Special Groups

Nutrition for Special Groups 3(3+0)

Lesson 12 : Pregnancy in Adolescents

Nutritional Care

• Weight gain should be higher among pregnant adolescents than adult women. 15-16 kgs weight gain is recommended for an adolescent who enters pregnancy with a healthy body weight. This will minimize the risk of delivering a low birth weight baby. Lesser weight gain may limit fetal growth.
• A pregnant teenager may require 2500-3000kcals/day. Appropriate weight gain will indicate sufficiency of calories.
• A 20% increase in protein is indicated in well nourished pregnant teenagers, but good quality protein upto 75g/day could be beneficial to those with lower body weight.
• A adolescent girl is also completing her own growth and requires protein for it, besides providing for the fetal needs.
• Calcium- 1500-1600 mgs of calcium are recommended for meeting maternal and fetal needs.
• Iron – for those who are anemic at time of conception, 120-200mg of iron supplement is recommended.