When you’re pregnant, you don’t actually have to eat for two! In fact it’s only during the last three months of pregnancy that you’ll need to increase your calorie intake. But a healthy, well-balanced and varied diet is important to ensure both you and your growing baby get all the nutrients you need.
Try to have a variety of healthy food and drinks every day, including:
- Plenty of starchy foods including bread, pasta and potatoes – preferably the wholegrain options
- At least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables. These can be fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced
- At least one pint of pasteurised milk. Alternatively, get your daily calcium allowance by increasing your intake of dairy products, such as hard cheese and yoghurt, which also contain calcium
- Foods that are rich in protein, such as lean meat, chicken, fish, well-cooked eggs, or pulses like beans or lentils
- At least two portions of fish per week, keeping oily fish to a maximum of two portions per week
- Foods high in fibre, such as wholegrain bread, pasta, rice, pulses and fruit and vegetables
- Foods rich in iron such as red meat, pulses, wholemeal bread, green vegetables, fortified breakfast cereals and dried fruit. Although liver contains a lot of iron, it should be avoided during pregnancy. When you have iron-rich foods, have some fruit, vegetables or a glass of juice at the same time. The vitamin C in them helps your body absorb iron more effectively
- Plenty of fluids, such as water/fruit juice
- A supplement of 400 µg folic acid each day up until the 12th week of pregnancy. You should also include foods, which contain folate, for example, green leafy vegetables, brown rice and fortified breads and breakfast cereals
- A supplement of 10 µg vitamin D each day, but you can also get some vitamin D from your diet if you eat meat, oily fish and margarine
Foods to avoid
- Some types of cheese, particularly soft cheese such as Camembert and Brie, goats’ cheese (especially chevre) and blue mould-ripened cheeses can contain listeria, a type of bacteria that can be harmful to your baby
- Raw or partially cooked eggs – both the yolk and egg white need to be solid to avoid the risk of salmonella
- Raw or undercooked meat – especially poultry or any products, which are made from minced meat (e.g. sausages, burgers). Make sure these foods are thoroughly cooked and piping hot all the way through. Also make sure meat is not pink in the middle before you eat it
- If storing raw meat in the fridge put it on the bottom shelf, making sure it doesn’t touch or drip onto other food
- It’s also important to wash your hands after touching raw meat to avoid contamination with other foods
- All types of pate including vegetable, as it can contain listeria
- Foods high in vitamin A, like liver, liver pate, or any supplements, which contain vitamin A such as fish liver oils
- Foods that may be contaminated with mercury including shark, swordfish and marlin. Limit fresh tuna to no more than two tuna steaks a week or four medium-sized cans a week
- Foods that might contain contaminants or parasites, such as uncooked oysters or shellfish
- It’s best to cut down on foods high in fat and sugar such as biscuits and cakes – have sandwiches, soups, fruit, and low fat yoghurts instead
- Avoid eating ready meals that are undercooked. Make sure you heat them until they are piping hot all the way through.
Alcohol
Alcohol can be harmful to your baby and should be avoided.
Caffeine
Caffeine can affect your baby in the same way it affects you. It’s best to keep your intake below 200 mg per day
- Mug of instant coffee 100 mg
- Mug of filter coffee 140 mg
- Cup of coffee 75 mg
- Mug of tea 75 mg
- Cup of tea 50 mg
- Can of Cola 40 mg
- 50g bar of chocolate up to 50 mg
- Serving of chocolate/coffee dessert 30 mg
Beneficial fats
- Polyunsaturated fats such as omega-3 and omega-6 are good for the development of your baby’s brain and central nervous system
- Omega-3 can be found in oily fish so it’s good to eat it once a week. But remember you should have no more than two portions per week
- Oily fish include sardines, herring, mackerel and fresh tuna (canned tuna contains no omega-3)
- If you don’t like fish, you can use rapeseed/flaxseed oil in cooking or take an omega-3 supplement (but make sure it is not a fish liver product)
- Plant oils such as sunflower oil and some low fat spreads also contain omega-6
Folic acid
Folic acid helps make the extra blood your body needs during pregnancy
- A lack of folic acid (or folate) during early pregnancy can lead to neural tube defects like spina bifida
- Folate is mainly found in green vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts, green beans, peas
- One serving of a fortified breakfast cereal can provide 1/3 to 1/2 of your recommended daily intake
- Other foods that can provide useful amounts of folate: yeast extract, oranges, milk, yoghurt, bread, and potatoes
