What kind of foods should I be eating?
During pregnancy your unborn baby gets all the nutrients to grow and develop from you. So, to ensure that you and your baby stay healthy and strong during this exciting period, it is important that you eat a healthy, 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. Have a look at the table below
- Ask your health care professional about supplements if you are worried you are not eating 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 3 regular meals and 2 to 3 light snacks a day
- Include generous helpings of fruits and vegetables, wholegrain cereals and beans to increase your dietary fibre intake. You should aim for 30 grams of dietary fibre a day
- Drink water regularly - at least 6-8 glasses a day
- Include other drinks in your diet such as low-fat milk, fresh fruit juices and soup
- Use 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 to no more than 3 cups a day
- Limit your intake of sweets, chips, cakes, biscuits, fats, oils, and sugar. These all provide extra calories but not much of the nutritional value that you and your baby need. 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
FOOD GROUPS DURING PREGNANCY
Food and Nutritional Guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women, 2006