What kind of foods should I be eating?
During pregnancy your growing baby gets all the nutrients to grow and develop from you. So, to help ensure that your baby stays healthy and strong as they grow during this exciting period, it is important that you eat a nutritionally balanced diet.
Top tips for a healthy diet
- Choose a variety of foods from each of the different food groups to make sure you're getting a good balance for your baby. Have a look at the table below
- Ask your health care professional about supplements if you are worried you are not getting what your baby needs from a particular food group
- Your health care professional will also recommend to take folic acid, if you are not already, for at least the first 12 weeks after conception
- Have three regular meals and two to three light snacks a day
- Include generous helpings of fruits and vegetables, wholegrain cereals and legumes to increase your dietary fibre intake. About 30 grams of dietary fibre a day is best
- Drink lots of water - at least six to eight glasses a day
- Include other drinks / liquids in your diet such as low-fat milk, fresh fruit juices and healthy soups
- Use healthier vegetable oils such as canola, olive and sunflower oil in your cooking
- Limit your intake of processed and preserved foods as they usually contain high levels of salt
- Reduce your caffeine intake – this means no more than three cups of coffee or tea a day
- Limit your intake of sweets, chips, cakes and biscuits as they contain lots of fats, oils, and sugar. These all provide extra calories but not much of the nutritional value that your baby needs. Also, over-indulging now means it will be harder to regain your pre-pregnancy figure afterwards, so try to resist dipping into the biscuit tin too often!
- Avoid alcohol totally. Your baby's growth certainly will not be helped by alcohol, so don't even go there!
Food and Nutritional Guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women, 2006