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The fetus’s preferred energy source is glucose. To accommodate the fetal demand for glucose, the mother burns more of her fat for her energy needs, especially in late-pregnancy.

When choosing a multivitamin supplement, women who are pregnant or hope to become pregnant should choose a supplement with at least 10,000 I.U. of vitamin A per pill.

Pregnant women should eat up to 12 ounces of fish weekly. To minimize exposure to methylmercury, dioxin, PCBs, and other toxins, each of the following fish should be avoided except one. Specifically, which one of the following fish is safe to eat during pregnancy?

Authoritarian parents abide by the “division of responsibility” when feeding their children. In other words, an authoritarian parenting style is the most healthful approach when raising children.

The nutritional needs of the fetus are satisfied by the secretions of the endometrial lining of the fallopian tubes and uterus and by its yolk sac.

Adequate choline intake during pregnancy is associated with the development of the fetal brain and a reduction in birth defects. Eggs are an excellent food source of choline.

“Fetal programming” or the “Barker Hypothesis” refers to the conditions during gestation (ranging from hormone secretion to placental delivery of nutrients) that shape the health of the fetus as an adult. For example, a link has been established between low birth weight in babies and coronary heart disease and hypertension in adulthood.

Pregnant women should avoid which sugar substitute? This non-nutritive sweetener crosses the placenta and accumulates in fetal tissues.

The most critical times for a pregnant woman to consume adequate amounts of folate to reduce the risk of neural tube defects are several months before conception and during the first month of pregnancy. The recommended amount of folate (or folic acid) prior to pregnancy is 400 micrograms per day.

Iron is particularly important during the final weeks of pregnancy. During the final weeks, greater amounts of iron are passed through the placenta to the fetus for storage. This stored iron will be used to support red blood cell production, nerve production and other iron-dependent functions during the newborn’s initial 6 months of life when iron-poor breast milk should be the sole source of nutrition.