NCLEX Question for Diet Teaching with Answer and Rationale

Which statement by a pregnant client would indicate to the nurse that diet teaching has been effective?

a. “The most important time to take my iron pills is during the early weeks when the baby is forming.”

b. “I don’t like milk, but I’ll increase my intake of cheese and yogurt.”

c. “I’ll be very careful about using salt while I’m pregnant.

d. “ Because I’m overweight to begin with, I can continue my weight loss diet.”

b.  To meet increased calcium needs, pregnant women need to increase their intake of dairy products or consider a calcium supplement that provides 600 mg of calcium per day; it is not necessary to drink milk.

The fetus stores iron during the last trimester of pregnancy; because of this, and other increased needs for iron during pregnancy, an additional daily supplement of 30-60 mg of ferrous salts is recommended beginning about 12 weeks gestation.

Because of the extra requirements for sodium storage in the body, sodium intake should not be restricted during pregnancy; rigid sodium restriction has been observed to lead to neonatal hyponatremia.

Although the ideal weight gain for obese pregnant women appears to be less than that recommended for normal-weight women, pregnancy is not the time to diet to lose weight; in weight loss, ketones are formed and these may lead to neurologic damage to the fetus.

Posted in: MCN NCLEX