Calcium: The Bone Builder

Calcium is the nutrient that is needed to build your baby's bones and teeth during pregnancy. Throughout your pregnancy, if you do not consume enough calcium, it will be leeched from your bones. It is also important to feed your body calcium to keep your bones and teeth strong, and your body is also storing calcium to use in milk production later. Calcium is also involved in muscle contractions, the clotting of blood, nerve function and the regulation of heart rhythm. These are all very important functions during pregnancy. Therefore, the calcium recommendation for pregnant women is 1,000 milligrams each day.

This can be achieved by consuming 3 to 4 servings of dairy products a day. Do not assume you are meeting your calcium needs by taking your prenatal supplement. Most prenatal supplements only have 170-300 milligrams. (Breastfeeding moms need 1,200 milligrams, while bottlefeeding moms need 1,000.) If you are wondering how to give your bones a boost, check out these food sources high in calcium.

Food sources	Milligrams
Fruit yogurt, 8 ounces	345
Canned sardines with bones, 3 ounces	325
Milk, 1 cup	300
Calcium fortified juice, 1 cup	300
Cheese pizza, 1/4 of a 12 inch	220
Black-eyed peas 1 cup, cooked	211
Cheese, 1 ounce	200
Canned salmon with bones, 3 ounces	180
Blackstrap molasses 1 T	172
Baked beans, 1 cup	154
Pudding, 1/2 cup	150
Tofu, calcium set, 1 cup	130
Taco with cheese, 1 small	109
Frozen yogurt, 1/2 cup	106
Kale, 1 cup	94
Collard greens, cooked, 1/2 cup	90
Ice cream, 1/2 cup	88
Cottage cheese, 1/2 cup	77
Chinese cabbage 1 cup	74
Pancakes made with milk, 2 - 4 inch round	72
Almonds 1 ounce	70
Orange, 1 medium	52
Broccoli, cooked, 1/2 cup	47

Need help boosting calcium?

If you are experiencing a gap in meeting your calcium needs, check out these tips on how to fit calcium into your busy day.

• Top your cereal with creamy fruit yogurt.
• Top a salad with low-fat cottage cheese.
• Slather your bagel or some celery sticks with low-fat cream cheese.
• Cook a vegetable stir-fry and toss in diced tofu.
• Add steamed and minced greens like collards and kale to pastas, casseroles, soups and stews.
• Swap collard greens or kale for lettuce in your salads, burritos and sandwiches.
• Use calcium-fortified non-dairy milk (like soy or rice milk) instead of water in recipes such as pancakes, mashed potatoes, pudding and oatmeal.
• Stir a drizzle of blackstrap molasses into your oatmeal.
• Use almond butter instead of peanut butter.
• Add calcium-rich beans (think chickpeas, pinto beans and black beans) to soups, pasta sauces, salads and burritos.
• Not a fan of milk and dairy? Find out how to meet your calcium requirements without dairy.
• Talk to your health-care provider about taking a calcium chew or other supplement if you're concerned about your calcium intake.

This article was reviewed by Tanya Jolliffe, a BabyFit healthy eating expert.