Government of India

DIET CHART FOR

PREGNANT
WOMEN
IN SOUTH INDIA
 Early Morning FOLLOWING DIETARY
6:30 am
Milk (200 ml)
PRACTICES
Note: In case of nausea
and vomiting consume Evening Snacks
toast/rusk before milk 04:00 pm
1 Seasonal Fruit (100g)
(Banana/Orange/Guava)
Breakfast and Nuts
08:00 am (Peanuts/Til etc.) (30g)
2 Dosa
(Cereal + Pulses 75g+15g)
or 3 Idli Dinner
(Cereal + Pulses 75g+15g) 08:00 pm
½ Cup Vegetable Chutney 2 Cup Rice (100g)
(100g) or 4 Roti (100g)
*1 Boiled Egg or *1 Omelette ½ Cup Tur Dal or
Green Gram (15g)
Green Leafy
Vegetables (75g) and
¼ Cup Vegetables (50g)
Mid Morning
½ Cup Curd (100ml)
10:30 am
Seasonal Fruit (100g)

Bed Time
Lunch 10:00 pm
01:00 pm Milk (100 ml)
2 Cup Rice (100g)
or 4 Roti (100g)
½ Cup *Chicken or
*Meat (30g)
¼ Cup Green Leafy
Vegetable Curry (50g)
Salad (50g)
½ Cup Curd (100ml)

For Overweight Undernourished

Pregnant Woman Pregnant Woman
During Pregnancy Should Gain
Reduce Minimum 13 kg
Sugar, Refined During Pregnancy
Cereal and Oil Increase
Moderate Pulses,
Consumption of Oil and Nuts
Nuts and Oilseeds

*Non-veg food items are advised ONLY as per regional, religious and cultural acceptance & availability/affordability
 Normal
(BMI 18.5 - 23.0)
pregnant woman
should gain minimum
10 kg by term

Undernourished
(BMI < 18.5)
pregnant woman
should gain minimum
13 kg by term

Overweight
(BMI > 23.0)
pregnant woman
should gain
7-10 kg by term
 Diet Chart for Normal Pregnant Woman and
Malnourished (Undernourished/Overweight)
Pregnant Woman - South India

Meal Timing Food Groups Raw Amount (Serving Size)

Normal Undernourished Overweight
(2260 kcal) (2410 kcal) (2120 kcal)

Morning Milk 200 ml (1 Cup) 200 ml (1 Cup) 200 ml (1 Cup)

(6:30 am)
Sugar 5g (1 Teaspoon) 5g (1 Teaspoon) -

Breakfast Cereals 75g 75g 70g

+ + +
(8:00 am)
Pulses 15g 30g 15g
(2 Dosa or 3 Idli) (3 Dosa or 4 Idli) (2 Dosa or 3 Idli)

Vegetables Vegetable Chutney Vegetable Chutney Vegetable Chutney

100g (½ Cup) 100g (½ Cup) 100g (½ Cup)
*Egg 50g (One) 50g (One) 50g (One)

Snack Seasonal Fruit 100g (One) 100g (One) 100g (One)

(10:30 am)
Lunch Cereals 100g 100g 90g
(2 Katori Rice) (2 Katori Rice) (1¾ Katori Rice)
(1:00 pm)
*Flesh Foods 30g 30g 30g
(½ Katori *Chicken/ *Meat) (½ Katori *Chicken/ *Meat) (½ Katori *Chicken/ *Meat)
Green Leafy Vegetables 100g 100g 100g
+ + +
Vegetables 100g 100g 100g
(½ Katori) (½ Katori) (½ Katori)
Salad 50g (½ Plate ) 50g (½ Plate ) 50g (½ Plate )

Milk/ Curd 100 ml (½ Katori Curd) 100 ml (½ Katori Curd) 100 ml (½ Katori Curd)

Evening Seasonal Fruit 100g 100g 100g

(One Medium) (One Medium) (One Medium)
(4:00 pm)
Nuts 30g 35g 20g
(¼ Cup or 1 Fistful) (¼ Cup or 1 Fistful) (1½ Tablespoon)
Dinner Cereals 100g 100g 90g
(2 Katori Rice/ 4 Roti) (2 Katori Rice/ 4 Roti) (1¾ Katori Rice/ 3 Roti)
(8:00 pm)
Pulses 15g (½ Katori) 30g (1 Katori) 15g (½ Katori)

Green Leafy Vegetables 50g (¼ Katori) 50g (¼ Katori) 50g (¼ Katori)

Vegetables 100g (½ Katori) 100g (½ Katori) 100g (½ Katori)

Milk/Curd 100 ml (½ Katori Curd) 100 ml (½ Katori Curd) 100 ml (½ Katori Curd)

Night Milk 100 ml (½ Cup) 100 ml (½ Cup) 100 ml (½ Cup)

(10:00 pm)
Sugar 5g (1 Teaspoon) 5g (1 Teaspoon) -

#Measures: 1 cup/katori = 200 ml. The quantity of cooked food items specified in terms of katori depends upon the consistency of food.

*Non-veg food items are advised ONLY as per regional, religious and cultural acceptance & availability/affordability
 Recommended Food Groups and Raw Amounts
To Meet Dietary Requirements Of
A Pregnant Woman Per Day

Food groups Normal pregnant Undernourished Overweight

(in grams) woman pregnant woman pregnant woman
CEREAL GRAINS 275 275 250
PULSES & LEGUMES 60 90 60
GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES 150 150 150
ROOTS & TUBERS 100 100 100
OTHER VEGETABLES 200 200 200
NUTS & OIL SEEDS 30 35 20
FRUITS 200 200 200
*EGG 50 50 50
*MEAT & POULTRY 30 30 30
MILK & MILK PRODUCTS 500 500 500
FATS & EDIBLE OILS 30 35 20
SUGAR 10 10 00

Food Options
Breakfast: Khara Bhaath, Kesari Bhaath, Ragi Dosa, Besibele Bhaath, Vangi Bhaath, Khara Pongal, Sweet Pongal, Akki Roti (Rice),
Ragi Roti, Dosa, Sambar, Coconut Chutney, Idli Sambar Chutney, Puttu (Steam Cake) Appam, Upma, Uthappam, Idiyappam,
Puri and Curry, Chapati and Curry, Pongal, *Egg Curry, *Fish Curry, etc.

Snacks: Idli, Upma, Bonda, Murukku, Bhajji (Chilli, Capsicum, Banana), etc.

Lunch & Dinner: Rice, Sambar, Aviyal, Koottucurry (Boiled Vegetables With Coconut Gravy), Mix Veg Curry, Chapati, Kootu,
Jowar Roti, Stuffed Brinjal, Mushroom Curry, Gogurapachadi, Bottle Gourd Curry, Ragi Mudda, *Fish Curry, *Chicken Curry,
*Fish Fry, etc.

Sweets: Payasam, Peanut Chikki, Mysore Pak, Til Seeds Laddu, Rava Kesari, Ragi Sweet Adai, etc.

Green Vegetables: Palak, Fenugreek, Amaranth, Moringa Leaves, Gongura Leaves, Coriander, Mint, etc.

Fruits: Banana, Jack Fruit, Orange, Guava, Apple, Grapes, Mango, etc.

Other Vegetables: Carrot, Beans, Pumpkin, Cabbage, Drumsticks, Bitter Gourd, Beetroot, Potato, Brinjal, Parwal, etc.
Pulses: Moong Dal (Split and Skinned Green Gram), Chawli Dal (Black Eyed Beans), Masoor Dal (Split Red Lentils), Sabut Masoor
(Indian Brown Lentils), Toor Dal (Yellow Pigeon Peas), Hari Matar (Green Peas), White Peas, Bengal Gram, Urad, Soyabean,
Moth Beans, etc.

Nuts: Groundnuts, Dried Coconut, Til, Water Melon Seeds, etc.

*Non-veg food items are advised ONLY as per regional, religious and cultural acceptance & availability/affordability
 Do’s • Vitamin C rich fruits like Gooseberries (Amla), Guava and Orange should be
included in the diet to improve iron absorption of plant foods

• Add green leafy vegetables and other vegetables to your daily diet (eg. Methi roti,
Palak roti, Vegetable idli, Vegetable dosa)

• In case of nausea and vomiting, take small and frequent meals (4-6 times/day)

• Expose yourself to direct sunlight for at least 15 minutes to get sufficient vitamin D

• Avail supplementary nutrition from Anganwadi Centres and micronutrient

supplements as per doctor's advice

• Add variety of food items to your daily diet so that daily requirement of all the
nutrients can be met

• Consume green leafy vegetables, legumes and nuts as they are good sources of
folic acid

Don’ts • Smoke or chew tobacco and consume alcohol

• Consume carbonated beverages
• Eat cooked food made with hydrogenated fat
• Sleep immediately after eating any meal
• Wash vegetables after peeling
• Consume tea, coffee and other caffeinated drinks along with meals or after meals
• Lift heavy objects or do strenuous physical activities

Points to keep in mind for diet of pregnant woman

• Type of recipes, time of consumption and frequency may vary according to the region and cultural preferences
and convenience but amounts provided in the diet chart need to be followed to meet adequate dietary requirements

• Use up to 30g oil (20g of vegetable oil and 10g butter or ghee) per day for Normal Pregnant Woman, 35g oil
(25g of vegetable oil and 10g butter or ghee) for Undernourished Pregnant Woman and 20g oil (15g of vegetable
oil and 5g butter or ghee) for Overweight Pregnant Woman

• Use double fortified salt (Iron + Iodine) during preparation of the meal. Restrict salt usage to < 5g per day

• Cereals may be replaced twice or thrice per week with millets (Nutri-cereals), use whole wheat and less polished
rice and avoid refined wheat flour and highly polished rice

• Vegetarians can substitute *egg/*chicken /*fish/*meat with 30g of pulses/ paneer

• *Non vegetarians can replace pulses with *egg/*chicken/*fish/*meat

• *Flesh foods: Instead of 30g/day, one can consume 60–100g twice or thrice in a week

• BMI (Body Mass Index) calculated using weight in Kg divided by height in meter square

• Normal (BMI 18.5 - 23.0) Pregnant Woman should gain minimum 10kg, Undernourished (BMI < 18.5) Pregnant
Woman should gain minimum 13kg, Overweight (BMI > 23.0) Pregnant Woman should gain 7-10kg by term
*Non-veg food items are advised ONLY as per regional, religious and cultural acceptance & availability/affordability

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