Your healthy pregnancy diet

A healthy diet during pregnancy is crucial for you and your unborn baby’s health. Here are some guidelines for what should be on your plate during pregnancy.

What you eat during pregnancy is important, as vitamins and minerals pass from you, through your placenta, and onto your baby. Enjoying a healthy, balanced diet during your pregnancy will ensure your unborn baby gets the nutrients they need to grow healthy and strong. Read on to find out what’s considered ‘healthy’ when it comes to your pregnancy diet.

Making small changes to your daily diet now will benefit both of you. Even if you’ve always eaten healthily, there are some foods you should avoid and others you should eat plenty of, so it’s a good idea to read up on what you should and shouldn’t be eating during your pregnancy.

The eatwell plate

The eatwell plate below can be used as a general guide to healthy eating; it tells you which foods and how much of them you should include. However, during pregnancy, there are some extra considerations to bear in mind.

Tips for healthy eating during pregnancy

• Eating a range of foods from each of the different food groups will give you a good balance of nutrients
• Eat little and often. You should be aiming for 3 main meals a day, with 2-3 light snacks in-between
• Add extra servings of fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals and beans to up your fibre intake
• Drink at least 2 litres of water a day with extra fluids such as low-fat milk, fresh fruit juices and soup on top
• Aim to eat one portion of oily fish and one portion of white fish each week (but avoid shark, swordfish and marlin)
• Vegetable, corn, olive and sunflower oil are healthier alternatives to butter for cooking but use them sparingly
• Processed and preserved foods can contain high levels of salt and additives so avoid them where possible
• Drink no more than 2 mugs of tea or coffee a day
• Sweets, crisps, cakes, biscuits, fats, oils, and sugar provide no real nutritional value – only extra calories – so are best kept for occasional treats or replaced by healthier alternatives.

Resisting them now will make it easier to regain your pre-pregnancy figure afterwards

If you don’t feel as though you’re eating enough of a particular food group and you’re worried about missing out on vitamins, minerals or other nutrients, speak to your doctor who may be able to help or recommend a safe pregnancy supplement.

Our Careline team is here to help too. Call us on 009647723342222 between the hours of 9am and 6pm Saturday to Thursday, or try our one-to-one online messaging service.