Basics of a healthy pregnancy diet:
- Try to eat a variety of foods (especially if you’re having morning sickness, intense cravings, or not feeling hungry). This will help ensure you’re getting the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals you need
Basics of a healthy pregnancy diet:
- Try to eat a variety of foods (especially if you’re having morning sickness, intense cravings, or not feeling hungry). This will help ensure you’re getting the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals you need.
- You’ll need to increase calorie consumption during pregnancy (more detail below). These calories are to help with the growth and development of your baby and for the numerous changes in your own body needed to promote a healthy pregnancy.
- During pregnancy, expecting mothers having higher RDAs for most nutrients. Food labels show the Recommended Daily Allowance of nutrients you need every day.
Some key nutrients you should consume and the amount of each are seen below:
- Calcium (1,000mg)- can get from milk, cheese, yogurt, sardines
- Iron (27mg)- lean red meats, dried beans and peas, iron-fortified cereals
- Vitamin A (770micrograms)- carrots, dark leafy greens, sweet potatoes
- Vitamin C (85mg)- citrus fruits, broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries
- Vitamin B6- beef, liver, pork, whole-grain cereals, bananas
- Vitamin B12 (2.6micrograms)- liver, meat, fish, poultry (found only in animal foods; vegetarians who do not eat any animal foods should take a supplement)
- Folate* (600micrograms)- green leafy vegetables, liver, OJ, legumes, nuts
*Pregnant women need extra iron and folic acid. These levels are normally met through a prescribed pill/supplements, like a prenatal vitamin. Ask your doctor or nurse how you should meet these increased needs or before taking any vitamins, herbs, or other supplements that are not prescribed for you.
- Healthy eating during pregnancy also means avoiding potentially harmful substances; including alcohol, illegal drugs, cigarettes, fish with high levels of mercury, and caffeine.
- During at least the last 6 months of pregnancy, you need to eat or drink about 100 more calories per day than you did before you were pregnant.
Weight gain during pregnancy
- There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to pregnancy weight gain and exactly how much you gain is dependent on your weight before pregnancy. A general rule of thumb for healthy weight gain is between 25 and 35 pounds. However, if you are overweight it’s recommended to gain less, or if you are underweight its recommended to