Vegetables should be abundant in the diet of every prospective
mother. Some of them, however, are digested with difficulty, and on
this account cabbage, cauliflower, corn, egg-plant, cucumbers, and
radishes should be eaten sparingly. Occasionally it will be necessary
to exclude them from the diet altogether. Other vegetables produce
flatulence, and for that reason parsnips and beans may cause
discomfort. The prejudice, however, which exists against onions,
asparagus, and celery should not be heeded; all of them are harmless,
and celery thoroughly cooked with milk is very wholesome. Besides
these, moreover, there are many highly nutritious and easily
digestible vegetables which can be freely recommended, such as both
sweet and white potatoes, rice, peas, lima beans, tomatoes, beets,
carrots, string beans, spinach, Brussels sprouts, and lettuce.

Vegetable food contains all the material necessary to sustain life,
and some persons prefer to adhere strictly to a vegetarian diet. Most
prospective mothers, however, find a mixed diet more agreeable, and
this is sufficient reason for using it. Furthermore, no fair
objection can be raised against the use of animal food, provided the
pregnancy is normal. It is important, nevertheless, to remember that
meat contains protein in concentrated amounts, and that meat once a
day answers every need not only of the mother but also of the growing
fetus.

The ideal animal foods are milk and eggs; they contain every
ingredient necessary to repair old and to form new tissues. But
usually the prospective mother may have any animal food she wishes:
beef, veal, lamb, poultry, game, fish, oysters, and clams. The
relatively large fat-content of pork, goose, and duck renders them