If you are currently pregnant, congratulations on your upcoming journey! Pregnancy is an exciting time that comes with many changes to your body. But have you researched best foods for pregnancy? Or which pregnancy diet is best for your needs?
Nutrition plays an important role in achieving and supporting healthy pregnancy. Once you are pregnant, you’ll need to make a few modifications to your eating patterns to help support your and your baby’s growth.
This article will discuss the best foods for pregnancy, nutrients that are important in each stage of pregnancy, and tips for keeping foods safe for mom and baby. It will also include general pregnancy diet recommendations along with nutrition recommendations for specific pregnancy-related health conditions such as hyperemesis gravidarum, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes.
It is important to show yourself kindness and self-compassion as you navigate your pregnancy and birthing journey.
During your pregnancy, you may work with a Registered Dietitian (RD) who can counsel and support you as you navigate this new chapter.
As an RD myself, I take pride in providing evidence-based information on pregnancy nutrition for many platforms like YouAligned. Fellow Registered Dietitian and Lactation Counselor, Natalie Carroll specializes in women’s health nutrition and shares valuable insights in this article as well.
Let’s get into some basic facts about pregnancy nutrition.
Pregnancy Nutrition Basics: It All Starts Here
When you’re pregnant, your nutrient needs go up to support the health of you AND your growing little one. The pregnancy diet recommendation is an additional 340 calories per day during the second trimester and in the third trimester it goes up to 450 calories per day more than when not pregnant.
Be sure to get those extra calories by adding these nutrient-dense foods to your pregnancy diet: fruits, vegetables, lean meats, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
You’ll also need to be a bit more diligent about some of the foods you consume while pregnant. While there isn’t a one size fits all approach to nutrition in pregnancy, there are some foods to avoid as a safety precaution because they increase the risk for food-borne illnesses and/or developmental harm to the fetus.
These foods to avoid during pregnancy include:
- Raw and undercooked seafood (such as sushi), eggs, and meat
- Fish with a high mercury content (swordfish, king mackerel, tuna, marlin, and orange roughy)
- Hot dogs and lunch meats (unless heated until steaming hot before serving)
- Unpasteurized milk and foods made with unpasteurized milk, such as soft cheeses
- Store-bought prepared salads and/or raw sprouts like alfalfa
- Unwashed fruits and vegetables
- Refrigerated pate, meat spreads, and smoked seafood
- Alcohol
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that caffeine be limited to no more than 200 mg/day during pregnancy.
Pregnancy Nutrition: 7 Crucial Nutrients to Support Mom and Baby
There are several nutrients that are important for supporting a healthy pregnancy, and should be included in your pregnancy diet.
1. Folate/Folic Acid
Folate, a B vitamin, and its synthetic form folic acid, play an important role in reducing fetal neural tube defects. It is recommended to have 400-800 micrograms (mcg) of folate/folic acid per day during pregnancy.
Carroll explains that you can obtain folate/folic acid through prenatal supplementation (folic acid is found in multivitamins), but that there are food sources of both folate and folic acid. Fortified grains and cereals contain folic acid (Carroll recommends looking for unsweetened, whole grain, and high fiber choices of these), while folate can be found in vegetables like spinach and asparagus.
Phytochemicals: A Guide to Eating the Rainbow With Plant-Based Nutrients
2. Calcium
Calcium is important for the formation of the growing baby’s teeth and bones, particularly in the third trimester. The recommendation is at least 1000 mg of calcium per day. Calcium is found in prenatal vitamins as well as food sources like yogurt, cottage cheese, canned salmon, and spinach.
Low intake of calcium is also linked to an increased risk for pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by increased blood pressure. This is why calcium is important to include in your pregnancy diet.
3. Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and is essential for healthy bones. It is recommended to have 600 IU/15 mcg of Vitamin D each day, and can be obtained from foods like salmon, fortified milk and plant-based milks, and eggs.
“It is important to have adequate Vitamin D levels in pregnancy and postpartum.” – Natalie Carroll, RD
Carroll shares that, “It is important to have adequate Vitamin D levels in pregnancy and postpartum. It may be beneficial to have your levels tested once you are aware you are pregnant and discuss an adequate supplement amount to address your individual levels.”
4. Choline
Choline is a B vitamin that is important for the fetus’s brain development. Like folate, choline may prevent some common birth defects.
The recommended daily amount for choline is 450 mg. According to Carroll, choline may be found in some prenatal vitamins, but not all and not typically in the recommended amount, so it is beneficial to consume foods rich in choline such as eggs, chicken, beef, milk, and soy.
5. Iron
Iron is a mineral that is essential for providing oxygen to the blood. It is found in foods like beef, fortified cereal, spinach, canned beans, lentils, and poultry.
In a typical pregnancy, the blood plasma volume increases by more than 40%, which necessitates the need for more iron intake.
According to Carroll, “In pregnancy you need double the amount of iron due to mom’s increased blood volume and its need to supply oxygen to the baby. It can be very common to become iron deficient and have iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy – so making sure you get rich sources of iron in your diet can be helpful!”
The official recommendation is 27 mg of iron/day for pregnant women.
6. Protein
Similar to overall calorie needs, your protein needs to increase during pregnancy. You’ll want to consume between 5 and 7 ounces of protein foods per day to ensure you are getting enough. “We are building a separate human being and protein is the building blocks for your baby’s cells!” Carroll explains.
“We are building a separate human being and protein is the building blocks for your baby’s cells!” – Natalie Carroll, RD
Both animal and plant-based proteins are healthy choices in pregnancy and contribute to a balanced eating pattern. Examples of protein foods include lean meats, eggs, dairy, lentils, beans, peas, tofu, and nut butters.
7. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3s are essential fatty acids that are critical for the growing baby’s brain and nervous system development. The National Institute of Health recommends that pregnant teens and women consume 1.4 grams of omega-3s per day.
Plant-based sources of omega-3s include walnuts, chia seeds, and flax seeds while animal sources include salmon, shrimp, and fish oil.
A 2021 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that sufficient consumption of omega-3s during pregnancy was linked to improved child brain development in the long term.
Want to learn more about Omega-3s? Learn their wide range of health benefits here
Potential Nutrition Challenges in Pregnancy
It is common for expecting moms to experience symptoms like nausea during pregnancy (commonly known as “morning sickness”), as well as cravings for and aversions to certain foods. However, there are some conditions during pregnancy that go beyond the standard morning sickness and can present notable challenges to pregnancy nutrition.
Suffering from morning sickness? Read: 5 Prenatal Yoga Poses to Relieve Morning Sickness
Even if you have prioritized a balanced eating pattern while pregnant and don’t have any pre-existing health conditions, you may experience some health complications in pregnancy that affect nutrition. Here are a few examples:
Pre-eclampsia
Pre-eclampsia is a complication of pregnancy that is characterized by new-onset hypertension (high blood pressure) and often proteinuria (protein in the urine). It is typically diagnosed after 20 weeks gestation and can lead to serious problems like dysfunction of multiple organs like the liver, kidney, and brain.
Anyone with conditions like chronic kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, and/or a family history of pre-eclampsia are at increased risk for pre-eclampsia. However, there is some research to suggest that certain dietary factors reduce the risk of developing pre-eclampsia.
A 2023 Cochrane Review found that diets rich in fruits, vegetables, calcium, and dietary fiber (25-30 grams/day) demonstrated protection against the development of pre-eclampsia, while diets with higher intakes of fat, added sugar, and salt were linked with increased risk.
Carroll states that it is important to understand that pre-eclampsia will often need
to be monitored and treated medically during the pregnancy. Currently, delivery of the baby is the only definitive treatment for pre-eclampsia.
Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) occurs when you have extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting during your pregnancy. It typically presents within the first 6 weeks of pregnancy and can lead to dehydration, electrolyte deficiencies, and hospitalization.
If you have HG, Carroll recommends doing trials of eating smaller, more frequent meals that consist of foods that you tolerate well (meaning that you consume them without any GI symptoms) and avoiding any trigger foods that make nausea worse, such as fried or fatty foods.
During hospitalization for hyperemesis gravidarum, your doctor may need to administer medication and IV fluids to help prevent dehydration and minimize symptoms. Carroll stresses that, “This is a temporary solution during your pregnancy and not indicative of your ability as a mother – often these conditions are out of your control and based on hormonal fluctuations.”
Gestational Diabetes
During pregnancy, the body produces larger amounts of hormones which affect the placenta and sustain the pregnancy. However, sometimes the increase in these hormones make the body resistant to insulin, the hormone which regulates blood sugars. Gestational diabetes occurs when blood sugars are elevated and the body cannot produce the insulin it needs during pregnancy.
Treating gestational diabetes can involve addressing food choices, such as keeping carbohydrate-containing foods to specific amounts at each meal/snack and pairing them with other nutrients like protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
However, Carroll explains that, “At times the increase in placental hormones is so impactful that blood sugar levels are not adequately addressed with diet and lifestyle factors alone – and subsequent medical interventions like insulin will be needed. That is okay, and not mom’s fault!”
Moms-to-be who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes (which typically develops between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy) may benefit from working with a prenatal dietitian or Certified Diabetes Educator to ensure adequate intake of nutrient-dense carbohydrates that are necessary for mom and baby’s growth during this time.
If you are diagnosed with any of the above conditions, it is important not to blame yourself. Pregnancy can be stressful and scary, and the last thing you need is to put on additional stress or shame. Working with your OB-GYN and pre-natal dietitian will help you get the best possible outcomes for your specific pregnancy needs.
Moms: Prenatal Yoga and Pilates Can Support a Healthy Pregnancy
Here are some prenatal yoga and Pilates classes you can take to support you in every stage of your pregnancy, and also post-natal too!
Pregnancy Nutrition Tips for Expecting Moms: The Takeaway
There are many changes that come with pregnancy, and that includes your day-to-day nutrition. Overall, you’ll need additional calories during the second and third trimesters and will need to avoid certain foods and beverages that put mom and baby at risk of food-borne illnesses.
Maintaining an optimal pregnancy diet is important for expecting moms by getting enough folate/folic acid, calcium, Vitamin D, choline, iron, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy to support the baby’s growth and development. There are many delicious food sources of these nutrients, and many can also be found in prenatal vitamins.
There is no one way to eat to have a healthy pregnancy, it will look different for every mom-to-be, and that’s ok!
Some moms-to-be will experience conditions like pre-eclampsia, hyperemesis gravidarum, and/or gestational diabetes that will impact their nutrition. While these diagnoses are challenging and will often require medical supervision and intervention, it is important to show yourself kindness and self-compassion as you navigate your pregnancy and birthing journey.
This article shared some of the best foods for pregnancy, but there is no one way to eat to have a healthy pregnancy, it will look different for every mom-to-be, and that’s ok! Your OB-GYN and prenatal dietitian will be great resources with any questions and concerns you have during your pregnancy.
Special thanks to Natalie Carroll, MS, RDN, CDN, CLC for her contributions to this article.
All included information is not intended to treat or diagnose. Always consult your healthcare provider for medical questions and before beginning or changing any dietary, supplementation, and exercise regimen.
