Calcium is of course essential for the constitution of the baby’s skeleton, so calcium needs increase dramatically during pregnancy, and especially during the last trimester of pregnancy when the fetus is growing. But how can you be sure that you are satisfying your child’s needs?

Calcium plays an obvious role in building a baby’s skeleton and in ensuring its growth. Calcium needs therefore change throughout pregnancy, as your baby grows to reach its peak in the third trimester when your baby is growing. During these last three months, he is indeed growing at a high speed and multiplying his size by 1,5. It is therefore during this final straight line that the fetus fixes most of the calcium it receives from its mother.

In total, the fetus accumulates nearly 30 g of calcium during its development, including 20 g during the last trimester of pregnancy. During these last three months, the daily needs of the baby represent the equivalent of the quantity of calcium contained in 2 to 3 yogurts, that is to say 200 to 300 mg of calcium per day!

To meet this impressive demand, the maternal organism sets up a series of adaptive mechanisms: from the start of pregnancy, intestinal absorption of calcium increases and bone turnover accelerates. Ultimately, everything happens as if the skeleton of a pregnant woman captures more calcium and then releases it for the benefit of her baby when her calcium needs increase.

In addition to its role in the bone mineralization of the fetus, calcium is also of interest for pregnant women. It makes it possible to prevent high blood pressure during pregnancy because there is an inverse relationship between the consumption of calcium and the risk of high blood pressure during pregnancy, preeclampsia and eclampsia.

In addition, calcium intake during pregnancy determines the calcium content of breast milk: the more calcium the mother’s diet before birth is, the more the mother’s milk will contain.

Finally, calcium would reduce the risk of postpartum depression.

If it is able to store it – in the bones – the body cannot manufacture its own calcium. The only way to meet the increased needs during pregnancy is to provide enough through food.

To meet your calcium needs and those of your baby, a varied and balanced diet is sufficient.

Calcium is mainly found in dairy products such as yoghurts, fromage blanc, faisselles, Swiss cookies and cheeses. To enjoy the nutritional benefits of each, vary the dairy products and alternate the dairy products of goat, sheep and cow.

Beyond dairy products and cheese, calcium is also present in:

• Green leafy vegetables: spinach, watercress, chard, broccoli, cabbage, cardoon etc.
• Mineral waters rich in calcium such as Talians®, Hépar, ® Contrex®, Courmayeur®
• Oleaginous fruits: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.
• Vegetable drinks enriched with calcium: drink of almonds, spelled, oats, rice, etc.

Recommendations: In general, to satisfy your calcium intake, it is recommended to consume three dairy products per day as well as mineral waters rich in calcium in order to obtain an intake of 1000 to 1200 mg of calcium / day.

Among the cheeses richest in calcium, we note:

• Parmesan: 1200 mg of calcium per 100 g of cheese
• Gruyère: 1140 mg of calcium per 100 g of cheese
• Emmental with 970 mg of calcium per 100 g of cheese
• Comté with 910 mg per 100 g of cheese
• La Mimolette: 860 mg per 100 g of cheese
• Tomme des Pyrénées: 790 mg per 100 g of cheese
• Cantal: 760 mg per 100 g of cheese

And this is good because they are cooked pressed cheeses, precisely those that you can consume throughout your pregnancy, even if they are not pasteurized!

Certain other cheeses, although rich in calcium, are on the other hand not recommended during pregnancy, to avoid the risk of listeria, or more precisely listeria monocytogenes which is a food-borne bacterium that causes a disease: listeriosis. . It causes sepsis or infection of the central nervous system and can cause spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, and severe infection of the baby.

Cheeses allowed during pregnancy

• Cooked pressed cheeses, also called hard cheeses: Abondance, Beaufort, Comté, Emmental, Gruyère, Parmesan, Tête de moine, Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Pecorino, Provolone, Manchego, and their smoked version.
• Soft and melted cheeses: fresh cheese, cream cheese with herbs, Feta, goat cheese without bloomy rind, Mascarpone, Mozzarella, cheese spread, squares of cream cheese, Ricotta, Gruyère cream, Cancoillotte, etc.
• Fresh cheeses and faisselles: whether natural products, flavored or with active ferments.

Cheeses to avoid during pregnancy

• Raw milk cheeses: Brie de Meaux, Beaufort, Camembert (raw milk), Chaume, Goat (raw milk), Coulommiers (raw milk), Emmental (raw milk), Pont l’Évêque, crottin de Chavignol, Maroilles, Vacherin Fribourgeois, Mont-Dore.
• Soft and bloomy rind cheeses: certain goat cheeses with bloomy rinds such as Crottin de Chavignol, Coulommiers, etc.
• Blue-veined cheeses: Bleu d’Auvergne, Fourme d’Ambert, Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton, etc.
• Unpasteurized soft cheeses: some goat and sheep cheeses such as Chabichou, Valençay, etc.

Breakfast

• Hot drink: infusion, decaffeinated coffee or decaffeinated tea. (For classic versions of coffee and tea, it is better to take meals away)
• Wholemeal grain bread
• Plant-based drink fortified with calcium
• Fresh fruit juice or whole fruit
• 10 almonds

Lunch

• Zucchini tagliatelle with noix et lemon yogurt sauce
• Herring fillet or sardines
• Gratin chard and potatoes
• Cow, sheep or goat yogurt
• Seasonal fruit
• Drink: water rich in calcium

Dinner

• Mixed salad : spinach leaves, tomatoes, mushrooms, rice, 2 chicken eggs fed on flax seeds, marinated peppers, sundried tomatoes, crushed almonds
• Dressing containing 1 tbsp. at s. of a mixture of olive oil and oil rich in omega-3 (perilla, camellia, nigella, hemp, walnuts, rapeseed, soybean), optional: mustard)
• Cow, sheep or goat yogurt with lemon
• Sorbet (2 scoops) or whole seasonal fruit
• Drink: water rich in calcium

Note: in fat, foods rich in calcium