Diet for Pregnant Women

What is the Diet for Pregnant Women

While you are pregnant, your body requires additional nutrition to help support your growing baby. You also have a higher need for some vitamins and minerals, such as folic acid, calcium, iron, and vitamin D.

Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet is very important for your health and your baby’s health. Your need for extra calories varies for the three 3-month segments of your pregnancy (trimesters). For most women, it is recommended to consume:

  • 150 extra calories a day during the first trimester.
  • 300 extra calories a day during the second trimester.
  • 300 extra calories a day during the third trimester.

What are tips for following this plan?

  • Do not try to lose weight or go on a diet during pregnancy.
  • Limit your overall intake of foods that have “empty calories.” These are foods that have little nutritional value, such as sweets, desserts, candies, and sugar-sweetened beverages.
  • Eat a variety of foods (especially fruits and vegetables) to get a full range of vitamins and minerals.
  • Take a prenatal vitamin to help meet your additional vitamin and mineral needs during pregnancy, specifically for folic acid, iron, calcium, and vitamin D.
  • Remember to stay active. Ask your health care provider what types of exercise and activities are safe for you.

Practice good food safety and cleanliness. Wash your hands before you eat and after you prepare raw meat. Wash all fruits and vegetables well before peeling or eating.

Taking these actions can help to prevent food-borne illnesses that can be very dangerous to your baby, such as listeriosis. Ask your health care provider for more information about listeriosis.

What does 150 extra calories look like?

Healthy options that provide 150 extra calories each day could be any of the following:

  • 6–8 oz (170–230 g) of plain low-fat yogurt with ½ cup of berries.
  • 1 apple with 2 teaspoons (11 g) of peanut butter.
  • Cut-up vegetables with ¼ cup (60 g) of hummus.
  • 8 oz (230 mL) or 1 cup of low-fat chocolate milk.
  • 1 stick of string cheese with 1 medium orange.
  • 1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich that is made with one slice of whole-wheat bread and 1 tsp (5 g) of peanut butter.

For 300 extra calories, you could eat two of those healthy options each day.

What is a healthy amount of weight to gain?

The right amount of weight gain for you is based on your BMI before you became pregnant. If your BMI:

  • Was less than 18 (underweight), you should gain 28–40 lb (13–18 kg).
  • Was 18–24.9 (normal), you should gain 25–35 lb (11–16 kg).
  • Was 25–29.9 (overweight), you should gain 15–25 lb (7–11 kg).
  • Was 30 or greater (obese), you should gain 11–20 lb (5–9 kg).

What if I am having twins or multiples?

Generally, if you are carrying twins or multiples:

  • You may need to eat 300–600 extra calories a day.
  • The recommended range for total weight gain is 25–54 lb (11–25 kg), depending on your BMI before pregnancy.
  • Talk with your health care provider to find out about nutritional needs, weight gain, and exercise that is right for you.

What foods can I eat?

Grains

All grains. Choose whole grains, such as whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, or brown rice.

Vegetables

All vegetables. Eat a variety of colors and types of vegetables. Remember to wash your vegetables well before peeling or eating.

Fruits

All fruits. Eat a variety of colors and types of fruit. Remember to wash your fruits well before peeling or eating.

Meats and other protein foods

Lean meats, including chicken, turkey, fish, and lean cuts of beef, veal, or pork. If you eat fish or seafood, choose options that are higher in omega-3 fatty acids and lower in mercury, such as salmon, herring, mussels, trout, sardines, pollock, shrimp, crab, and lobster. Tofu. Tempeh. Beans. Eggs. Peanut butter and other nut butters. Make sure that all meats, poultry, and eggs are cooked to food-safe temperatures or “well-done.”

Two or more servings of fish are recommended each week in order to get the most benefits from omega-3 fatty acids that are found in seafood. Choose fish that are lower in mercury. You can find more information online:

Dairy

Pasteurized milk and milk alternatives (such as almond milk). Pasteurized yogurt and pasteurized cheese. Cottage cheese. Sour cream.

Beverages

Water. Juices that contain 100% fruit juice or vegetable juice. Caffeine-free teas and decaffeinated coffee.

Drinks that contain caffeine are okay to drink, but it is better to avoid caffeine. Keep your total caffeine intake to less than 200 mg each day (which is 12 oz or 355 mL of coffee, tea, or soda) or the limit as told by your health care provider.

Fats and oils

Fats and oils are okay to include in moderation.

Sweets and desserts

Sweets and desserts are okay to include in moderation.

Seasoning and other foods

All pasteurized condiments.

The items listed above may not be a complete list of recommended foods and beverages. Contact your dietitian for more options.

What foods are not recommended?

Vegetables

Raw (unpasteurized) vegetable juices.

Fruits

Unpasteurized fruit juices.

Meats and other protein foods

Lunch meats, bologna, hot dogs, or other deli meats. (If you must eat those meats, reheat them until they are steaming hot.) Refrigerated paté, meat spreads from a meat counter, smoked seafood that is found in the refrigerated section of a store. Raw or undercooked meats, poultry, and eggs. Raw fish, such as sushi or sashimi. Fish that have high mercury content, such as tilefish, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel.

To learn more about mercury in fish, talk with your health care provider or look for online resources, such as:

Dairy

Raw (unpasteurized) milk and any foods that have raw milk in them. Soft cheeses, such as feta, queso blanco, queso fresco, Brie, Camembert cheeses, blue-veined cheeses, and Panela cheese (unless it is made with pasteurized milk, which must be stated on the label).

Beverages

Alcohol. Sugar-sweetened beverages, such as sodas, teas, or energy drinks.

Seasoning and other foods

Homemade fermented foods and drinks, such as pickles, sauerkraut, or kombucha drinks. (Store-bought pasteurized versions of these are okay.)

Salads that are made in a store or deli, such as ham salad, chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad, and seafood salad.

The items listed above may not be a complete list of foods and beverages to avoid. Contact your dietitian for more information.

Where to find more information

To calculate the number of calories you need based on your height, weight, and activity level, you can use an online calculator such as:

To calculate how much weight you should gain during pregnancy, you can use an online pregnancy weight gain calculator such as:

Summary

  • While you are pregnant, your body requires additional nutrition to help support your growing baby.
  • Eat a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables to get a full range of vitamins and minerals.
  • Practice good food safety and cleanliness. Wash your hands before you eat and after you prepare raw meat. Wash all fruits and vegetables well before peeling or eating. Taking these actions can help to prevent food-borne illnesses, such as listeriosis, that can be very dangerous to your baby.
  • Do not eat raw meat or fish. Do not eat fish that have high mercury content, such as tilefish, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel. Do not eat unpasteurized (raw) dairy.
  • Take a prenatal vitamin to help meet your additional vitamin and mineral needs during pregnancy, specifically for folic acid, iron, calcium, and vitamin D.
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