It’s true that during pregnancy the body’s demand for vitamins increases. Just keep in mind that vitamins don’t mean calories!No matter how happy a woman is about being pregnant, there is always stress involved: worries about whether the child will be healthy, whether there will be enough money to pay the bills, whether you’ll have to leave your job, and so on. And these stresses take their toll on mother and fetus.The body responds to stress by producing more adrenal hormones. These provide the extra energy that’s necessary when action is called for. But if there’s no physical outlet for the energy, it’s redirected to the digestive or nervous system or to some other organ system. In many instances, this is what’s responsible for pregnancy fatigue, headaches, insomnia, and morning sickness. But, more important, this accelerated adrenal hormone production revs up the metabolism to such a degree that stores of valuable calcium are depleted, along with protein, phosphorus, and potassium, which are rapidly excreted just when the growing fetus needs them most.*5/137/5*
