The woman's food needs are very little increased during the first months of the growth of the child. Even if the appetite is small and trouble is experienced with nausea, the actual growth of the child is so little as not to be seriously effective at this time, in most cases. During the later months of pregnancy the increase in food needs of the mother are still comparatively small, probably not more than 15 to 20 per cent above normal. This does not mean that the food for the prospective mother is unimportant. It is highly important that she should have an adequate and well-balanced dietary. She needs it to keep her efficiency and to produce an efficient child. It should be her problem to maintain a normally efficient diet, increasing it toward the close of the period.

Foods needed by the prospective mother are: (1) Milk. From a pint to a quart of milk a day should be used to supply lime, efficient protein, and the two growth-essential substances. (2) Cereals made from the whole grain should be used to supply energy, protein, and iron, and to increase the laxative substances in the diet. (3) Fruits and vegetables. To give flavor, needed salts, lime, iron, and laxative substances, fruits and vegetables are essential. Green vegetables are especially valuable for the iron that they supply. (4) Meat or eggs or cheese. Once a day meat, eggs, and cheese may be used, although they are not needed if the mother receives fully a quart of milk. (5) Bread and butter. The dietary may be completed with bread and butter. It is of especial importance that the diet of the prospective mother should be laxative if she has any tendency to constipation.