[katieHaylor (OP)]

Donald says:

I learned babies are majority water by weight. How much protein, fat and carbs is in an average baby? If a pregnant woman ate just an extra egg a day, is it sufficient to make a baby? I know there is the placenta and enlarged uterus and mammary glands, but is there a ballpark number of extra calories per day that would suffice in pregnancy?

What do you think?

[evan_au]

I think energy demands of a pregnancy start slowly, and gets faster as the baby grows, so a steady 1 egg per day is probably not a good match to the energy demands of a pregnancy.

I have heard it said that a typical (non-pregnant) woman's approximately 15% fat is similar to the energy of the baby at birth.
If a woman has much less fat than this, she may have trouble conceiving.

[Bored chemist]

The mother's food doesn't just provide "building materials" for her baby- she also provides fuel for the process of building.

the guidance here
https://www.eatright.org/health/pregnancy/prenatal-wellness/healthy-weight-during-pregnancy
 says it needs about 450 Calories a day (towards the end of the pregnancy). Other sources give different figures- the lowest I saw was 200 Calories a day.
An egg provides about 160 Calories, so there is not way that an extra egg a day provides  enough energy for a pregnant woman. (except,  in the very early stages).


As always, if you are not sure, ask a doctor.

[evan_au]

While giving birth is a really fast weight-loss program, if you eat excess calories during pregnancy, it is really hard to take off the excess weight later. It also increases the chance of a number of medical risks for both mother & baby, including diabetes.

Maintaining an exercise programme before, during (for as long as possible) and after pregnancy is recommended.