What Foods to Eat & What Foods to Avoid in Pregnancy?

When you’re pregnant, everything that you eat directly affects the growth and development of your unborn baby. For this reason, your maternal diet needs to be balanced and nutritious to ensure your baby gets all the essential nutrients in the womb. Generally, a healthy pregnancy diet is a perfect blend of all five food groups:

• Fruit
• Milk, yogurt, and cheese
• Bread and cereals
• Vegetables and legumes
• Meat, poultry, fish, and alternatives

There is no fancy formula for a healthy pregnancy diet, but there are rules for what to eat and what to avoid during pregnancy. Let’s take a look at them!

What to Eat During Pregnancy?

Listed below are some super nutritious foods you should eat during pregnancy:

#Healthy Snacks

Avoid consuming high amounts of sugar and fat snacks, such as chocolate, biscuits, crisps, and sweets, if you feel hungry between meals. Instead, go with the following nutritious options:

• Fresh fruit
• Vegetable and bean soups
• Grilled chicken or mashed tuna
• Salad vegetables, such as cucumber, celery, carrot
• Ready-to-eat prunes, figs, or apricots
• Baked beans on toast or a baked potato
• Unsweetened breakfast cereals, or porridge, with milk
• Low-fat yogurt hummus with vegetable sticks or bread
• Unsweetened fruit juices or milky drinks
• Salmon or sardines and salad
• Pitta bread or sandwiches filled with grated cheese

#Fish liver oil

Fish liver oil is very high in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and vitamin A, essential for fetal brain and eye development. Consume only one serving per day!

#Oats

Consuming oats is a great way to feel fuller longer and keep constipation during pregnancy at bay. A cup of cooked oatmeal contains over 4 grams of fiber and 30% of your daily magnesium. So don’t forget to add them to your diet.

#Berries

Tiny berries hold a good amount of water, vitamin C, healthy carbs, fiber, and antioxidants. Some of the best berries to include in your maternal diet are strawberries, blueberries, acai berries, goji berries, and raspberries.

What to Avoid During Pregnancy?

To stay safe and healthy, consider avoiding these foods and beverages throughout the nine months of your pregnancy:

#Coffee and other caffeine-related drinks

Researches show that consume high amounts of caffeine during pregnancy can slow down your body’s absorption of iron and may lead to various pregnancy complications, such as an underweight baby, anemia, fetal growth retardation, premature birth, and even miscarriage.

However, you don’t need to give up caffeine completely, but you need to limit the intake to less than 200 mg a day. The approximate amounts of caffeine found in drinks and foods are:

• 1 shot of espresso coffee: 100mg
• 250ml can of energy drink: 80mg
• 1 cup of plunger coffee: 80mg
• 1 cup of instant coffee: 60mg
• 375ml can of cola: 49mg
• 1 cup of tea: 30mg
• 100g bar of milk chocolate: 20mg

So better to avoid coffee, soda, cola, tea, and other caffeinated or aerated drinks during pregnancy.

#Alcohol

Alcohol consumption in pregnancy is known to cause Fetal alcohol syndrome, which refers to physical or mental damage in a child due to alcohol exposure in the womb. As no quantity of alcohol is safe to consume, you should avoid all wine, beer, and hard liquor during pregnancy.

Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) might have the following characteristics and behaviors:

• Small head size
• Low body weight
• Hyperactive behavior
• Learning disabilities
• Shorter than average height
• Abnormal facial features
• Vision or hearing problems
• Poor memory
• Difficulty with attention
• Poor coordination
• Problems with the heart, kidney, or bones

#Raw or Undercooked Animal Foods

Foods containing partially cooked or raw meat, eggs, poultry, and seafood put you at a higher risk of catching diseases like Listeriosis, Toxoplasmosis, and Salmonellosis. Foods that commonly contain raw eggs include:

• Hollandaise sauce
• Homemade ice cream
• Poached eggs
• Lightly scrambled eggs
• Homemade mayonnaise
• Homemade cake icings
• Some homemade salad dressings

Avoid these foods not only during pregnancy but also at all times in your life.

#High-mercury, Undercooked or Raw Fish

Despite being rich in minerals, nutrients, proteins, and omega-3 fatty acids, certain kinds of seafood may contain high levels of methyl-mercury that is severely detrimental to your baby’s kidneys, brain, and nervous system. These fish species include king mackerel, shellfish, shark, tilefish, sushi, bigeye tuna, marlin, and swordfish.

Consuming low mercury fish during pregnancy is recommended for the good health of mother and baby. Low mercury fish include:

• Haddock
• Flounder
• Cod
• Salmon
• Anchovies
• Trout (freshwater)
• Tilapia

You can consume them up to three times per week.

Recommended Servings

Most experts recommend the following servings per day for moms-to-be:

• 2 servings of fruit
• 2.5 to 3.5 servings from the milk, cheese, yogurt group
• 3.5 servings from the eggs, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, and legumes/beans group
• 5 servings from the vegetables, legumes group
• 8 to 8.5 servings from the rice, cereals, noodles, pasta, and bread group

Supplements During Pregnancy

Speaking of nutrients, the best foods for pregnancy are those that contain a maximum of these minerals and vitamins:

Iron: Aim for 27 milligrams daily.

Folic acid: Get at least 600 micrograms per day.

Vitamin D: You should get 600 IU daily.

Zinc: You need 12 milligrams per day during pregnancy.

Calcium: Aim for 1,000 milligrams daily

DHA: You need 200 to 300 milligrams per day.

Iodine: You should get 290 micrograms daily.

Fiber: Shoot for 25 to 30 grams per day.

Protein: You should get at least 60 grams of protein a day.

Fats: Approximately 40-90 grams each day.

These minerals and vitamins are also available to consume in the form of supplements. However, you should consult your health care provider before pursuing any supplementation.

Eat Healthily and Flaunt Your Bump in Style

Being pregnant is all about sticking to a healthy maternal diet and staying in utmost comfort at the same time. Apart from eating healthily, you should also consider purchasing fabulous dresses for pregnant women to stay comfortable from day to night throughout the nine months of pregnancy.

You can choose from a wide array of pregnancy wear available online to stay comfortable without sacrificing your sense of style. These include elegant maternity dresses, kaftans, loungewear, nightwear, yoga wear, super stretchable maternity leggings, pants, jeans, and more. All you need to do is shop smartly and pick the right pregnancy clothes according to your comfort level.