Babies need a lot of calcium to help them develop, and your doctor may recommend you increase the amount of calcium in your diet.

Here are some guidelines that our doctors pass on to their patients.

Calcium Guidelines

Pregnant or lactating women require 1200 – 1500 mg of calcium every day.  Most dietary calcium comes from dairy products, but other foods are excellent sources as well.

Below is a list of some of the foods that contain calcium.  If you find you are not getting enough calcium from the foods that you are eating or drinking; you can take an over the counter supplement such as Tums, Caltrate, Citracal or Viactiv.

Don’t take calcium and iron tablets at the same time, wait at least 2 hours.

Serving Size          Food

• 12 oz of       decaf cafe latte, 410 mg of calcium
• 1 oz              parmesan cheese, 390 mg
• 1 cup            collard greens, 355 mg
• 8 medium      sardines (canned in oil), 350 mg
• 1 cup            rhubarb, cooked, 345 mg
• 8 oz              yogurt, low fat, fruit, 345 mg
• 1 oz              Gruyere cheese, 300 mg
• 1 cup            milk, 300 mg
• 1 cup            calcium-fortified orange juice, 300 mg
• 1 cup            calcium-fortified soy milk, 250-300 mg
• 2 tbsp.          blackstrap molasses, 270 mg
• 1 oz              Swiss cheese, 270 mg
• 10 figs           figs, dried, 270 mg
• ½ cup           tofu (processed with calcium sulfate), 260 mg
• 1 cup            spinach, cooked, 245 mg
• 1 oz              cheddar cheese, 210 mg
• 1 cup            cottage cheese, 210 mg
• 1 med spear   broccoli, cooked, 205 mg
• 1 oz slice       American cheese, processed, 195 mg
• 3 oz              salmon, canned, 165 mg
• ½ cup           turnip greens, cooked, 100 mg
• 1 tbsp.          non-fat dry milk powder, 95 mg