This week, your baby’s lungs are almost able to function. His/Her lungs will finish branching as they are being prepared to take in oxygen. During your 17th week of pregnancy:

• Little hiccups continue, only now you might feel them.
• A necessary fat called brown fat develops under your baby’s skin. This will help keep her warm after birth. Additional fat layers will develop later in pregnancy.
• Your baby is about 11.5 to 14 cm long, about the length of a large orange.

As you know, eating a balanced diet with colorful, nutritious foods and taking a prenatal multivitamin significantly impact you and your baby’s health.

During your seventeenth week of pregnancy, it’s important to continue with these specific nutrients (be sure to check with your doctor before making any significant dietary changes):

• Protein: lean beef, chicken, turkey, beans, tofu
• Iron: lean red meat, chicken, fish, beans and iron-fortified whole-wheat breads and cereals
• Calcium: Nonfat or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, and soy products that are fortified with calcium
• Folic acid (folate): Leafy green vegetables, broccoli, and breads and cereals that are fortified with folic acid
• Vitamin C: Orange juice, citrus fruits
• Zinc: Meat, seafood, dried beans, chickpeas, and breakfast cereals that are fortified with zinc

You don’t have to obsess about it, but you definitely don’t want to forget about vitamin B12. Vitamin B12: dietary intake is very low in vegetarian diets and absent in vegan diets. B12 is an An essential B vitamin for the formation of all body tissues, red cell formation and normal neurological function and it’s also important for the correct genetic code replication in cells . Required amounts of B12 Vit. are 2.4 g, 2.6 g and 2.8 g respectively for pre-pregnat, pregnant and lactating woman .

Vitamin B12 is only found in foods of animal origin, or fortified foods such as breakfast cereals, so vegetarians should choose foods from sources that are allowable, or from proper supplementation.

Here is a list of common foods that contain vitamin (B12):

milk/dairy products, meat , poultry, fish and eggs.

Women who do not consume meat or dairy foods should discuss with their healthcare professional the need for a supplemental source of vitamin B12 during pregnancy, such as a prenatal vitamin that contains 100% RDA for vitamin B12.