What is safe to eat during pregnancy

Eat Healthy During Pregnancy: Quick tips - MyHealthfinder

Pregnancy

When you are pregnant, you need more of certain nutrients like protein, iron, folic acid, and iodine. It’s also important to get enough calcium.

Making smart food choices can help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Here are some ideas to help you eat healthy during pregnancy.

Follow a healthy eating pattern.

Eating healthy means following a healthy eating pattern that includes a variety of nutritious foods and drinks.

Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, and protein foods.
Choose foods and drinks with less added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium (salt).
Limit refined grains and starches, which are in foods like cookies, white bread, and some snack foods.
If you are feeling sick, try eating a piece of whole-grain toast or whole-grain crackers.

Learn more about eating healthy.

Get the right amount of calories for you.

Being pregnant doesn't mean you need to eat twice as much food.

First trimester (first 12 weeks) – Most women don’t need any extra calories.
Second trimester (13 to 26 weeks) – Most women need about 340 extra calories a day.
Last trimester (after 26 weeks) – Most women need about 450 extra calories a day.

Ask your doctor or midwife how many calories you need during pregnancy.

Create a personalized Daily Food Plan.

Make healthy snack choices.
Examples of healthy snacks include:

Low-fat or fat-free yogurt with fruit (look for options with no added sugar)
Whole-grain crackers with fat-free or low-fat cheese
Carrots with hummus

Take a prenatal vitamin with folic acid, iron, and iodine every day.

Folic acid helps prevent some birth defects of the brain and spine.
Iron and iodine help keep you and your baby healthy.

Talk with your doctor or nurse about a prenatal vitamin that’s right for you.

Eat 8 to 12 ounces of seafood each week.

Fish and shellfish have healthy fats that are good for you and your baby. But some fish is high in mercury, a metal that can hurt your baby’s development. It’s a good idea to eat seafood that is high in healthy fats but lower in mercury.

Best choices

These choices are lower in mercury, so you can eat 8 to 12 ounces a week.

Canned light tuna
Catfish
Cod
Herring
Oysters
Salmon
Shad
Shrimp
Tilapia
Trout

Good choices

You can eat 4 ounces of these fish a week if you don’t eat any other seafood that week.

Canned or fresh white (albacore) tuna
Chilean sea bass or striped bass
Grouper
Halibut
Mahi-mahi
Snapper
Yellowfin tuna

Fish to avoid

Don’t eat bigeye tuna, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, or tilefish. They are high in mercury.

Learn more about choosing fish that is healthy and safe to eat [PDF - 308 KB].

Don’t eat certain foods.

These foods may have bacteria in them that can hurt your baby. Stay away from:

Raw (uncooked) or rare (undercooked) fish or shellfish, like sushi or raw oysters
Soft cheeses (like feta, Brie, and goat cheese), unless they are pasteurized
Raw or rare meats, poultry, or eggs
Unpasteurized juices or milk
Lunch or deli meats, smoked seafood, and hot dogs – unless they are heated until steaming hot
Prepared salads like ham salad, chicken salad, or seafood salad
Raw sprouts, including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts

Learn more about foods to avoid during pregnancy.

Limit drinks with caffeine and added sugars.

If you drink coffee or tea, choose decaf. Pick unsweetened options and don’t add sugar.
Drink water or seltzer instead of drinks with added sugars like soda, fruit drinks, and energy or sports drinks.

Don’t drink alcohol.

No amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy.

Content last updated June 1, 2022

Reviewer Information

This information on healthy eating during pregnancy was adapted from materials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Office on Women’s Health, and the National Institutes of Health Weight-control Information Network (WIN).

Reviewed by:
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidance Review Committee

May 2018

For more information on healthy eating during pregnancy, visit:

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/moms-pregnancy-breastfeeding
https://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/staying-healthy-and-safe

Can eating healthy before pregnancy prevent birth defects?

The foods you eat provide nutrients that are important to
help you be healthy before and during pregnancy. Nutrients are parts of food,
like vitamins and minerals that help your body stay healthy.

Before you get pregnant, it’s a good idea to have a preconception checkup. It helps your health care provider make sure you’re healthy and that your body is ready for pregnancy. Your health care provider also will talk to you about what you should eat to help you have a healthy pregnancy.

How much folic acid do you need before getting pregnant?

Folic acid is a vitamin that every cell in your body needs for healthy growth and development. If you take folic acid before pregnancy and during early pregnancy, it can help protect your baby from birth defects of the brain and spine called neural tube defects (NTDs) and birth defects of the mouth called cleft lip and palate.

To help prevent birth defects, take a vitamin supplement
with 400 mcg of folic acid in it every day at least 1 month before pregnancy
through the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. If you’re at high risk for having a
baby with an NTD, talk to your provider about taking extra folic acid. Your
provider may recommend you to take 4,000 mcg of folic acid each day 3 months
before you get pregnant through 12 weeks of pregnancy.

You also can get folic acid in food.
When folic acid is naturally in food, it’s called folate. Foods that are good
sources of folate are:

Beans, like lentils,
pinto beans, and black beans
Leafy green
vegetables, like spinach and Romaine lettuce
Asparagus
Broccoli
Peanuts
Citrus fruits, like
oranges and grapefruit
Berries
Orange juice (100%
juice is best)

Folic acid is the manmade form of folate that is in fortified and enriched foods
and vitamin supplements. Fortified and enriched means a food has added
nutrients, like folic acid. Look for the word “fortified” or “enriched” on
labels on foods like:

Bread
Breakfast cereal
Cornmeal
Flour
Pasta
Some products made
from a kind of flour called corn masa, like tortillas, tortilla chips, taco
shells, tamales and pupusas
White rice

What other nutrients are important before pregnancy?

It is important to eat nutrient-dense foods that contain a
variety of vitamins and minerals to help prevent birth defects, including:

Choline. Choline will help your baby’s
brain and spinal cord develop correctly. It’s recommended that women get 425
milligrams a day before getting pregnant. Without enough choline, your baby may
develop NTDs or cognitive issues. Sources of choline include egg yolks, lean
red meat, fish, milk, poultry, pork, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, broccoli,
Brussels sprouts, beans, and nuts.
Iodine. Iodine is a nutrient that your
body needs during pregnancy to make thyroid hormones that help your baby’s
bones and nerves develop. It is recommended that women get 150 micrograms of
iodine a day before getting pregnant. Without enough iodine, your baby may have
brain issues. Sources of iodine include table salt (with iodine added to it),
seaweed, saltwater fish, seafood, some dairy products, and fortified cereal and
bread.
Vitamin D. Vitamin D will help your
baby’s bones and teeth grow. All women, including pregnant women, need 600
international units (IU) of vitamin D a day. Good sources are fatty fish like
salmon and milk and cereal that has vitamin D added to it. Your body also makes
vitamin D when your skin is in the sunlight.
Zinc. Zinc will help your baby grow and
develop properly. Not enough zinc has been linked to preterm birth and a higher
rate of infection. It is recommended that women get 8 milligrams while trying
to conceive. Good sources of zinc include oysters, beef, crab, lobster, pork,
baked beans, fortified breakfast cereal, dark meat chicken, and pumpkin seeds.

Most of the nutrients you need should come from foods. But
taking a vitamin supplement can help you get the nutrients you need to be ready
for pregnancy. You can start taking prenatal vitamins or a vitamin supplement before
you get pregnant. Talk to your provider about what vitamin supplement is good
for you. And, ask about what foods to eat to help you have a healthy
pregnancy—and a healthy baby.

What to eat during pregnancy and what not to eat - advice on proper nutrition

Table of contents:

First trimester nutrition
Second trimester diet
Diet in the third trimester
Is it possible to prevent allergies in a child
Foods not to eat during pregnancy

During pregnancy, it is very important to eat right: a balanced diet of the expectant mother is one of the sources of the necessary components for the proper development of the baby.

For a pregnant woman, “eating for two” should not mean “eating twice as much”, but “eating twice as good”. Proper nutrition during pregnancy is important not only in terms of the health of the unborn child. This will help you feel better, be less tired, prevent you from gaining extra pounds, and help you quickly get in shape after giving birth. Here are some helpful tips ¹ :

Eat small, frequent meals.
Drink plenty of fluids.
Eat a varied diet, eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, cereals, soups, fruits, vegetables, grains.
If you are experiencing nausea, you can try to satisfy your hunger with dry salted crackers and biscuits.
Avoid fatty foods, fried, spicy, smoked and sweet.

It is also important to know that changes occur in the body of a pregnant woman in each trimester, so the diet at different times will be different. What foods do you and your baby need?

Nutrition in the first trimester

Usually there is little to no weight gain in the first and second months of pregnancy, while in the third month one or two kilograms are added to the weight. During this period, you need to eat nutritious foods, and the more varied your diet, the better. First of all, these are vegetables rich in folic acid: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, asparagus, avocados, lentils, red beans. There is a lot of it in flax and sunflower seeds and nuts: almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts. Folic acid is especially important in early pregnancy as it helps build the baby's major organs such as the heart and brain ² .

At this stage, it is important to eat fish and meat - sources of iron, which support the formation of the brain and contribute to the development of intelligence. It is important to remember that these products must necessarily undergo heat treatment: eating them raw can lead to toxoplasmosis, helminthiasis ³ .

Many women in the first trimester of pregnancy suffer from nausea. One way to alleviate the situation is to eat little and often throughout the day, avoiding large meals.

Reduce your intake of saturated fats such as butter and cream as early as the first trimester to avoid gaining extra pounds.

Try to replace sweets with fruits. They contain vitamins and minerals that both you and your baby need. And they are rich in fiber, which helps the normal functioning of the intestines.

Diet in the second trimester

In the second trimester, a woman begins to gain weight, on average adding about five kilograms in three months. During this period, the bones of the unborn baby begin to form. That is why it is so important to eat foods rich in calcium. First of all, it is dairy - yogurts, cheeses, cottage cheese, kefir and so on. When choosing yogurt, give preference to natural ones - they do not contain dyes and sugar. Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium better, so try to get out in the sun more often ⁴ .

The need for folic acid is still high in the second trimester. So stick with the green vegetables and other foods on your first trimester list.

The baby gets bigger and presses on the intestines of the expectant mother - this is how constipation occurs. Therefore, doctors advise drinking plenty of non-carbonated water and eating more fiber, which improves digestion. In particular, oatmeal or wheat bran will help with constipation.

Another common problem in pregnant women is heartburn. Avoid fatty and spicy foods (this also applies to pregnant women who do not suffer from heartburn), eat often, but little by little, chew thoroughly and do not go to bed immediately after eating.

Iodine ensures the functioning of the thyroid gland and the normal development of the baby's brain ⁵ . The easiest source is iodized salt. In addition, a lot of iodine is found in seafood.

Diet in the third trimester

During the third trimester, a pregnant woman gains about six kilograms, so by the end of pregnancy, the weight increases by an average of 12 kg.

Compared to the previous trimester, the diet should not change dramatically, but an additional 200 kcal per day should be added to the previous diet.

As the child grows and develops, the body needs more vitamin C and even more fibre.

Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron from foods. The main source of vitamin C is fruits. An orange or half a grapefruit for breakfast, a couple of kiwis for an afternoon snack, apples, pears, grapes, watermelon - and you have received a daily dose of ⁶.

With the approach of childbirth, it is worth increasing the intake of iron, vitamins and antioxidants in the body, which will help you get in shape after the birth of your baby.

Below is the table of minerals necessary for proper development:

Vitamins and minerals	where they contain
Folic acid	Broccoli, spinach, green salad, AVOKADO, NUSHICS 9009	Calcium	Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese), mineral water rich in calcium0097
Iron	meat, fish
iodine	Eggs, fish, crustaceans, dairy products, iodized salt

Mom's diet during pregnancy during pregnancy, a truly important factor affecting the health of the little man. However, in Russia, 70-80% of women suffer from a lack of vitamins, regardless of the season of the year ⁷ . Vitamin-mineral complexes will help to fill the lack of vitamins and minerals in the mother's diet.

Is it possible to prevent allergies in a child

So far, scientists have not figured out how to prevent food allergies in a child during pregnancy. Just because you don't eat peanuts during your entire pregnancy, for example, doesn't mean your baby won't develop a peanut allergy later on. The mechanism of its development is still not sufficiently studied. Therefore, doctors do not advise pregnant women to refuse any product for fear of future allergies, because in this way you will deprive yourself of important nutrients.

Foods not to eat during pregnancy

Not recommended

Soy contains phytoestrogens, which can affect the hormonal system of mother and baby. Therefore, just in case, doctors recommend not to abuse soy-based products.

Drinking too much coffee and tea. Too much tea interferes with the absorption of iron from other foods. Drinks from lemon balm, or ginger, or rose hips do not cause complaints from doctors, but on the condition that you drink no more than two or three cups a day.

Avoid raw foods, all meat and egg dishes require heat treatment.

Nutrition of a pregnant woman

So, your plans and decisions to have a baby have come true - you are pregnant! But this news causes you a double feeling: - on the one hand, a feeling of joy, and on the other hand, a feeling of certain fear and even fear of unknown trials for your life and the fate of the unborn baby. What will he be like? - healthy, beautiful, happy?...

And this largely depends on the woman herself, on what lifestyle she will lead during pregnancy and, most importantly, how she will eat.

Nutrition of a woman in different periods of pregnancy

The main thing in the menu of a future mother is variety. She should consume foods from all food groups: meat, fish, vegetables and fruits, dairy products, bread and cereals.

A woman's nutrition during pregnancy can be roughly divided into three periods (trimesters).

If before pregnancy a woman ate normally, felt comfortable, did not experience allergies to any products, then it is not worth changing her diet at an early stage of the first trimester of pregnancy.

During this period, all organs and systems in the child's body are formed, tissues are formed. The body needs complete proteins and vitamins: lean meat (rabbit, chicken, turkey), fish and seafood, dairy products. Be sure to eat rice, fresh or frozen vegetables, seasonal fruits. In the first trimester, many expectant mothers are still working. No matter how difficult it is to control your diet in the workplace, you need to do it - find time for a full breakfast and lunch.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, there is an active restructuring of the body and adaptation to a new state. During this period, it is recommended to switch to a low-calorie diet, which includes more fruits, juices, decoctions of dried fruits, including rose hips. At the very beginning of pregnancy, especially if toxicosis torments, more frequent, but less plentiful meals are recommended.

Always keep a hematogen, a bag of nuts or dried fruit in your pocket to have a snack on the street. If your condition does not allow you to eat regular food, you should pay attention to baby food. Baby products literally save expectant mothers suffering from severe toxicosis. These are boxed cereals, children's curds, cookies and fruit purees.

In the first trimester, special attention must be paid to the quality of products. Gradually abandon sauces, semi-finished products and canned food containing harmful chemical additives. Do not forget that the placenta freely accumulates and passes chemistry. The importance of products containing folic acid is great, without it intensive metabolism is impossible, its deficiency can cause developmental abnormalities. Folic acid is found in greens, nuts, white cabbage and broccoli, beets, legumes, and eggs.

According to nutritionists, the diet of pregnant women should be 300 kcal / day higher than that of non-pregnant women, but in the first trimester there is no need to increase the energy value of the diet at all; in the second trimester, an additional 340 kcal / day is required; in the third trimester - 452 kcal / day. Pregnant women generally get enough calories, and more than 80% of women achieve and even exceed the required weight gain. These extra calories benefit the fetus. An underweight woman should gain 16–20 kg during her entire pregnancy, an overweight woman about 7 kg, and a normal body weight of 11–12 kg.

In the second trimester there are active jumps in the height and weight of the baby and uterus, so the caloric content of the diet needs to be increased. It is desirable to eat more and better. At this time, the need for trace elements increases: iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium, calcium, potassium. The child creates his own "reserve" of trace elements using the mother's resource, which means that the mother should have enough of them for two.

Very often in pregnant women in the second trimester hemoglobin drops, this is a normal physiological phenomenon, if it is not threatening to health. You can increase hemoglobin by eating red meat, chicken, fish, dried fruits, pomegranates, green vegetables and fresh herbs, buckwheat, citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits, pomelo, lemons), rosehip and berry infusions.

In the second trimester, a pregnant woman should limit the intake of smoked and fried foods, as well as salt in her diet. In no case should you limit the liquid. Pure water is the best drink for a pregnant woman, and water should be consumed up to 2-2.5 liters per day. Water is a natural drink for the body, it does not cause complications and has no contraindications. Edema is caused not by water, but by salt, which we not only add in its pure form, but also consume with canned food, mayonnaise, cheese, and sausage. The absence of salt is not harmful, it is naturally found in many products: vegetables, bread, so the diet will not remain completely without it. Excess salt disrupts metabolism.

During this period, you can increase the calorie content of food. Childbirth must be approached physically strong. It is better to eat meat and fish in the morning, for breakfast and lunch, and for dinner, prepare dairy and vegetable dishes: cheesecakes, stewed vegetables, cottage cheese and vegetable casseroles. It is necessary to minimize the intake of canned food, smoked meats, pickles and marinades, hot spices and fatty foods. Frequent walks in the air, physical activity are recommended.

In the third trimester, it is necessary to reduce the calorie content of foods at the expense of confectionery and flour products, eat less fatty meat, as well as cheese and sour cream.

By the end of this period, many experts advise pregnant women to give up meat altogether in order to increase tissue elasticity and prevent ruptures.

During the entire period of pregnancy, special attention should be paid to the combination of products. If you combine foods wisely, you can ensure more efficient absorption of food. If the food is digested poorly, then this can lead to rotting and fermentation of products and the formation of substances harmful to the body of the mother and child. In addition, the fermentation process is accompanied by gas formation, which can lead to flatulence (bloating) and discomfort. This is especially harmful in the last stages of pregnancy.

Try not to take the first, second and third course at the same time; this overflows the stomach and presses on the fetus, the food is poorly digested and poorly absorbed. Eat little and often. It is not recommended to eat immediately before starting work, a long walk, before charging and immediately after it; it is advisable to rest for 10 minutes before eating.

Eat only when you are hungry, try not to snack on the go. Follow the diet, eat at about the same time.

Proper preparation of food will help to maximize the useful substances contained in the products. Do not overcook food, try not to reheat the same dish several times, it is better to set aside only the portion that will be used. Cook in the most gentle way: baking, steaming, stewing. Avoid frying, boiling in large amounts of water, with this method of processing products, many useful substances are lost. If possible, do not cook for several days at once. Do not use aluminum cookware when cooking. Remember that for a pregnant woman, it is not calories that are important, but the quality of food, its naturalness, primarily a “living cell” (whole cereals, raw vegetables and fruits, fresh meat and dairy products).

What can harm the pregnant woman and the fetus

Smoking and alcohol – quit smoking from the first days of pregnancy, if you have smoked before, avoid "passive" smoking, and do not consume alcoholic beverages in any doses.

Lack of vitamins and microelements in the body - their absence or deficiency can lead to irreparable consequences. So, for example, iodine deficiency can lead to mental retardation of a child, folic acid deficiency - to severe fetal deformities, calcium deficiency - to a violation of the formation of the child's skeleton, iron deficiency - to anemia and a delay in the physical and neuropsychic development of the child. It is necessary to consult a doctor, perhaps he will recommend switching to iodized salt, as well as supplementing your diet with a vitamin-mineral complex and folic acid.

Excess weight is the risk of having a large child, which means the risk of complications during childbirth and the child's tendency to become obese at an older age.

The use of food additives (sauces, seasonings such as vegeta, bouillon cubes), exotic fruits, semi-finished products, carbonated drinks - the risk of allergies and anomalies in a child, unfortunately, increases.

Recommended for pregnant women: