Milk and cheese, fruit juices, papaya, broccoli, carrots, spinach, orange juice, strawberries, red peppers, salmon, yogurt, orange juice, lean meat and peanut butter are the best foods that help in strong bone development in the womb.

Who doesn’t want their babies to be strong and healthy? Did you know what you eat can have a direct effect of the development of bones of your baby right in the womb? Read on to know more about the top 10 foods that you should eat for your baby to have strong bones.

Your doctor will advise you to keep your bones strong during your pregnancy and after to ensure that your fetus also has strong bones. For this, it’s important that you eat a diet rich in calcium and other bone-healthy foods right through your pregnancy, and later when you breastfeed. Perhaps, at this juncture, you aren’t aware of bone-rich foods that you can incorporate into your diet during your pregnancy.

Here are 10 top foods that will give you and your baby strong bones:

Read More: 10 Pregnancy Foods to get a Fair Baby

Pregnancy Foods for Strong Bone Development in the Womb

1. Milk and cheese

For your baby to have strong bones, he needs to have enough calcium in his system. This is easily found in calcium-rich foods like milk, cheese, green leafy vegetables like broccoli, collard greens, turnips, bok choy and dandelion greens; and tofu fortified with calcium. About three to four servings of these foods per day would go a long way to give your baby strong bones. When you snack, make sure it contains calcium. Speak to your doctor about having enough calcium in your diet. He may suggest a calcium supplement too.

Read More: Can I give cheese to my Infant?

2. Fruit juices and other beverages

Fruit juices and beverages are rich in Vitamin D which helps keep yours and your baby’s bones strong. During pregnancy, it’s good for you to have 600 IU of Vitamin D per day. Later, when you breastfeed, you can have six cups of juice, soy drinks or fruit juice, fortified with Vitamin D every day.

3. Papaya, broccoli, carrots and spinach

All these foods are rich in Vitamin A, which you need for your baby’s bone and organ development. Don’t have this excessively as too much of it can cause certain birth defects and toxicity of the liver. During pregnancy, it’s good for you to have a baked sweet potato, a chopped carrot and some spinach per day.

4. Orange juice, strawberries and red peppers

What’s common to these foods is that they are all rich in Vitamin C, which most pregnant women get inevitably from their diet. You must have 80 mg of this vitamin if you’re pregnant and 18 years of age or younger, and 85 mg if you’re 19 and above. If you can’t get the benefits of this vitamin from your daily diet, go in for a supplement, but only on your doctor’s advice. This vitamin isn’t just great for strong bone development of your baby but also his tendons, cartilage, skin and collagen.

5. Salmon, yoghurt and cereals

The goodness of Vitamin D can be found in these foods. If you’re pregnant, don’t forget to include 600 IU of these foods per day. They help build your baby’s teeth and bones.

6. Orange juice

Orange juice isn’t just pure Vitamin C, but it also enjoys the goodness of potassium and folate. Together, they prevent your baby from having birth defects early in your pregnancy and ensure you have a healthy pregnancy. During your pregnancy, you should ensure you have an intake of 600 mcg of orange juice per day so that you gift your baby strong bones and teeth.

7. Yogurt

Not many people know that yogurt has more calcium than milk. This means you can get better bone-building nutrients like B vitamins, proteins and zinc. While calcium promotes healthy teeth and bones, if you fall short of the required amount of this mineral, your baby will draw what he needs from your bones, thus putting you at great risk for osteoporosis in later life. Grab a tub of Greek yogurt and top it up with fresh fruit for extra protein and fibre.

8. Amaranth

During your pregnancy, you should be consuming about 1300 mg of calcium which will prevent bone-related diseases in later life and your baby’s bone development. Not only will it give your baby strong and healthy bones in infancy but lifelong too.

9. Lean meat and peanut butter

Your growing baby needs proteins like lean meat and peanut butter for cell growth, while their amino acid content helps increase bone and muscle development, leading to healthy blood cells. In the absence of this, pregnant women can suffer poor joint and muscle development, bone deformities and a high risk of birth defects. They should therefore ensure that they take 70 gm of proteins per day.

10. Lentils, mushrooms and cashew nuts

These copper-rich foods prevent the development of osteoporosis, infection, deficient growth and impaired neurological function. If copper is not properly metabolized in babies, it causes Menkes disease, resulting in neuro-developmental delays in six to eight weeks old babies. Infants with this disease die before three years of age. Copper-rich foods also prevent brain tissue damage, immune function, low bone mineral density and collagen production.

Read More: 11 Amazing Pregnancy Picnic Food Ideas

Conclusion

Your pregnancy is a very crucial period for you during which you need to ensure you eat, drink and do everything that will give you a physically and mentally healthy baby.

Resources:

https://www.babycenter.com/0_pregnancy-nutrients-you-need-to-help-your-baby-grow_4540.bc?page=1

https://www.thebump.com/a/10-pregnancy-foods-to-eat-for-baby