Pregnant Women Need 50,000 Dietary Calories To Carry A Child: Study

Have you ever thought about the amount of energy a pregnant woman needs to carry a child? A recent study has unveiled interesting facts about a pregnant woman’s energy requirements. According to Australian researchers, a pregnant woman requires approximately 50,000 nutritional calories throughout nine months. One of the most crucial parts of having a good pregnancy is eating a balanced diet. From the start of pregnancy, the foetus in the mother’s womb grows swiftly and absorbs nourishment from her. For this, the mother should be given all of the vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, and energy she needs at the start of the pregnancy. As a result, it is important to maintain a well-balanced, balanced diet while keeping the number of calories in mind for the baby the pregnant lady is carrying.

“Australian researchers estimated that a human pregnancy demands almost 50,000 dietary calories for nine months. That’s the equivalent of about 50 pints of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream, and significantly more than the researchers expected,” the report cited the findings of the study.

According to the report, Ben & Jerry’s Garcia ice cream, recognised as Vermont’s best ice cream, contains almost 50 pints of energy, which is more than researchers predicted.

The researchers identified energy expenditure in 81 species. Researchers observed that an animal’s size has a substantial impact on the amount of energy required to reproduce.

For example, microscopic rotifers require less than one-millionth of a calorie to create one progeny. In contrast, a white-tailed deer does need almost 1,12,000 calories to give birth to a fawn.

A species’ metabolism determines its ability to use energy. Warm-blooded mammals consume three times as much energy as reptiles and other cold-blooded animals of the same size.

Evolutionary biologist at Monash University, Dustin Marshall and his students found that the energy saved in a human baby’s tissues accounts for just approximately 4 percent of overall energy expenditure throughout pregnancy. The remaining 96 percent was discovered to be more fuel required by a woman’s own body. This revelation resulted from Dr Marshall’s extensive metabolic study.