BSF Staff Nurse - 2015
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Easy
Nutrition planning for a pregnant woman should include?
Appeared in: BSF Staff Nurse - 2015
Explanation
- Pregnancy is a period of significant growth for the fetus, placenta, and maternal tissues, which necessitates an increase in daily caloric intake.
- The recommended additional energy intake is approximately 340 kcal/day during the second trimester and 452 kcal/day during the third trimester.
- A total daily intake of 1800 to 2200 kcal is a general guideline that reflects this necessary increase for a healthy pregnancy, moving from a non-pregnant baseline to a higher requirement.
- Inadequate caloric intake can lead to the breakdown of protein for energy, depriving the fetus of essential building blocks for growth and development.
Why Other Options Were Wrong
- Option A: Decreasing calories to 1000 kcal/day is a state of near starvation. This severe restriction can lead to maternal malnutrition, ketosis, and serious complications like fetal growth restriction.
- Option B: Protein and fat needs increase during pregnancy, they do not decrease. Protein is essential for building fetal and maternal tissues (recommended intake is ~71 g/day), and healthy fats are crucial for fetal brain and nervous system development.
- Option C: Carbohydrate (CHO) intake should be at least 175 g/day. They are the primary source of energy for the mother and fetus and are essential to prevent ketosis, a state that can be harmful to fetal brain development.
Related Visual
Clinical Relevance
- Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Nutritional requirements during pregnancy as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
- Proper nutritional counseling is a key nursing responsibility to ensure healthy maternal and fetal outcomes and prevent complications like low birth weight, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia.
- Nurses should assess a pregnant woman's dietary habits, provide education on healthy food choices, and explain the importance of prenatal vitamin and mineral supplementation, especially folic acid and iron.
- What if? If the pregnant woman is carrying twins, her caloric and nutrient needs would be even higher. The recommended weight gain is greater (e.g., 37-54 lbs for a woman with a normal BMI), and caloric intake would need to increase by approximately 600 kcal/day over her baseline, not just 340-450 kcal/day.
How to Approach the Question
- First, identify the core of the question: what is the correct nutritional advice for a pregnant woman?
- Recall the basic physiological principle that pregnancy is a state of anabolic growth, requiring more energy and nutrients, not less, to build the fetus, placenta, and maternal tissues.
- Systematically evaluate each option against this principle. Options A, B, and C all suggest a 'decrease' in essential calories or macronutrients, which directly contradicts the physiological demands of pregnancy.
- Recognize that Option D is the only choice that suggests an 'increase' in calories to a healthy range, making it the most logical and correct answer.
Concept Tested & Keywords
- Concept Tested: Nutritional requirements during pregnancy
- Stem keywords: Nutrition planning, pregnant woman
- Lead-in keywords: should include
- Clinical cues: Age/sex group narrows the expected diagnosis, intervention, or normal reference range.
- Negative lead-in flag: false
Question ID
Q_jv_JwwICwMfWKpJTEQ_Z
Reference Book
E6 Obstetrics Williams p. 80-94
E6 Nursing Fundamentals Potter Perry 12e Part 5 p. 186-188
Practise the full BSF Staff Nurse - 2015
Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.
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