associated with events which have disturbed the mother's mind, it
cannot be other than a simple coincidence.




CHAPTER IV


THE FOOD REQUIREMENTS DURING PREGNANCY

The Food-stuffs: Water; Mineral Material; Protein; Carbohydrate; Fat--
What We Do to Our Food--How Much Food Is Needed During Pregnancy?--
The Importance of Liquid Nourishment--The Choice of Food--Cravings--
The Relation Between the Mother's Diet and the Size of the Child.

There is a gain in weight during pregnancy amounting finally to about
thirty pounds; exceptionally, it is as little as ten or fifteen
pounds, and, at the other extreme, as much as forty or fifty. With
individuals inclined to be stout the increase is greater, and it is
relatively greater in later pregnancies than in the first. During the
early months of pregnancy the weight generally remains stationary or
suffers a slight loss; even in those rare instances in which the
weight begins to increase shortly after conception the gain is less
marked in the earlier months than later. For the last three months
the average monthly gain has been found to be between three and a
half and five and a half pounds.

The weight gained during pregnancy is not, as can be readily
understood, permanently retained. At the time of birth, in