The best way to meet you and your baby’s nutritional needs is to eat a wide variety of nutritious
foods. These should include:
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, and noodles – preferably wholegrain or wholemeal
• Vegetables and legumes
• Fruit
• Milk, yoghurt, hard cheese – preferably low fat
• Meat, fish, poultry, cooked eggs, and nuts
Page Contents
Essential nutrients in pregnancy
There is an increased requirement for many nutrients during pregnancy. Eating a normal balanced
diet should ensure that your baby gets good nutrition.
Folate: Folate, a B vitamin, is important for your baby’s development during early pregnancy because it helps prevent birth abnormalities like spina-bifida. The best way to make sure you get enough folate is to take a daily supplement of at least 400 micrograms one month before becoming pregnant and during the first three months of pregnancy.
Foods naturally rich in folate include green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and salad greens, chick peas, nuts, orange juice, some fruits and dried beans and peas. See the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) website for more information about folate during pregnancy.
Iron: Pregnancy increases your need for iron. Good sources of iron include lean beef, duck (with the skin removed), chicken, fish, green vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and spinach, and cooked legumes such as chick peas, lentils, kidney, and lima beans.
Calcium: Calcium is essential to keep bones healthy and strong. Dairy foods, such as milk, hard cheese, yogurt, and calcium fortified soy milk are excellent sources of calcium.
Omega 3: Omega 3 is important for the development of the central nervous system, brain growth, and eye development in your baby before and after they are born. Good Omega 3 foods include: oily fish like salmon, trout, herring, anchovies, and sardines;; chicken;; eggs;; canned tuna;; and flaxseed oil.
Iodine; Iodine is required for healthy thyroid function in both the mother and unborn baby. Insufficient iodine can lead to brain development and neurological issues in the baby. Read more in the Iodine and Pregnancy article for daily intake guides and food sources.
Zinc: Getting enough zinc is particularly important for the rapid cell growth that occurs during pregnancy.
Zinc can be found in lean meat, wholegrain cereals, milk, seafood, legumes, and nuts.
Vitamin C: The need for vitamin C is increased in pregnancy due to larger blood volume in the mother and the growth of the unborn baby. Excellent dietary sources of vitamin C include fruit and vegetables.
Fibre: Some women experience constipation especially during the later parts of pregnancy. A high fibre
intake combined with plenty of fluid is encouraged to help prevent this. High fibre foods include wholegrain breads and cereal products, legumes, nuts, vegetables, and fruit.
Water: Drink eight glasses of fluid a day – and remember that juice, milk, coffee (caffeinated or decaffeinated), and other drinks count toward your fluid intake, so you don’t need 8 glasses of water on top of everything else you drink – though plain water in the best.
If you think you are not getting enough vitamins or nutrients please contact your health practitioner.
Weight gain in pregnancy
Weight gain during pregnancy varies between women. It’s normal to gain 12-14kg during pregnancy. It is important not to diet or skip meals while you’re pregnant – your baby grows every day and needs you to maintain a balanced, healthy diet.
Foods to take care with in pregnancy
You need to be extra careful with food during pregnancy. Unfortunately, some bacteria in food can
cause illnesses that can harm an unborn baby. That’s why it’s safer to avoid certain foods. These
include:
- Soft and semi-soft cheese
- Cold cooked chicken
- Cold processed meats
- Raw seafood
- Soft serve ice-cream
- Unpasteurised dairy products
- Pate
- Pre-prepared salads
Ideally you should eat only freshly cooked food and well-washed, (freshly prepared) fruit and vegetables. Leftovers can be eaten if they are refrigerated promptly and kept no longer than a day Remember…
The golden rules of food safety:
Keep it cold
- keep the fridge at 5C or below
- put any food that needs to be kept cold in the fridge straight away
- don’t eat food that’s meant to be in the fridge if it’s been left out for 2 hours or more
- defrost and marinate foods – especially meats – in the fridge
- shop with a cooler bag, picnic with an esky
Keep it clean
- wash hands thoroughly before starting to prepare or eat any food, even a snack
- keep benches, kitchen equipment, and tableware clean
- don’t let raw meat juices drip onto other foods
- separate raw and cooked food and use different cutting boards and knives for both
- avoid making food for others if sick with something like diarrhoea
Keep it hot
- cook foods until they’re steaming hot
- reheat foods until they’re steaming hot
- make sure there’s no pink left in cooked meats such as mince or sausages
- look for clear juices before serving chicken or pork
- heat to boiling all marinades containing raw meat juices before serving
Check the label
- don’t eat food past a ‘use by’ date
- note a ‘best before’ date
- follow storage and cooking instructions
- be allergy aware
- ask for information about unpackaged foods
Other food risks in pregnancy
Listeria
Listeria is a type of bacteria found in some foods which causes a serious infection called listeriosis. It can take up to six weeks for the flu-like symptoms to occur and if transmitted to your unborn baby, it can lead to miscarriage, infection of your newborn, and stillbirth. The best way to avoid this is through hygienic preparation, storage, and handling of food. You can find more about listeria and food at the FSANZ website.
Salmonella
Salmonella can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, fever, and headache. It’s advisable to avoid foods that contain raw egg, and cook meat, chicken, and eggs thoroughly.
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis occurs most commonly by touching cat and dog faeces or contaminated soil. It can
also occur if you eat undercooked meats, or unwashed fruit and vegetables (particularly from
gardens with household cats). It is particularly important to avoid during pregnancy because it can
cause brain damage or blindness in your unborn child.
- Don’t eat undercooked or raw meat
- Don’t drink unpasteurised goat’s milk
- Don’t handle cat litter
- Wear gloves when gardening
- Always wash your hands after touching animals
Mercury in fish
Fish are rich in protein and minerals, low in saturated fat, and contain Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are important for the development of the central nervous system in babies, before and after they are born.
Although it’s really important to eat fish during pregnancy and breastfeeding, you need to be careful about which fish you choose. That’s because some fish may contain mercury levels that may harm an unborn baby or young child’s developing system.
Most fish are fine to eat 2-3 serves of per week, unless you eat any of the following:
- 1 serve per fortnight of Shark (Flake) or Billfish (Broadbill, Swordfish and Marlin) – make sure you eat no other fish that fortnight OR
- 1 serve per week of Catfish or Orange Roughy (Deep Sea Perch) – make sure youe eat no other fish that week
Alcohol in pregnancy
It has not been determined exactly whether or not there is any safe amount of alcohol you can drink during pregnancy. That’s why it’s best not to drink at all. The Department of Health advises:
- For women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the safest option is not to drink alcohol.
Smoking when pregnant
The evidence against smoking during pregnancy is overwhelming and giving up is the best thing that you can do for both you and your child.
Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to a number of problems, including increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, developmental problems, asthma and SIDS, as well as an increased risk of a number of other diseases in adult life, such as heart disease and diabetes. For assistance with quitting smoking, call the Quit line on 131 848.
FORUM: Find non-judgement support in the Support for quitting smoking forum section
Medicines in pregnancy
Medications that you take can pass to your unborn baby through the placenta. Be very careful with any remedies that you take – including herbal remedies, over-ˇthe-ˇcounter medications, and vitamin supplements. Check with your pharmacist for non-ˇprescription items or doctor/obstetrician before starting any form of medication.
You can also contact the Medicines Line on 1300 633 424 (1300 MEDICINE). NPS collaborates with healthdirect Australia to deliver Medicines Line, a telephone service providing consumers with information on prescription, over-the-counter, and complementary (herbal/’natural’/vitamin/mineral) medicines.
There is an additional service for residents of NSW called Mothersafe that you can call on (02) 9382 6539 (Sydney) or Tollfree 1800 647 848 (outside Sydney metro and state wide). Mothersafe is a telephone service based at the Royal Hospital for Women that is for pregnant and lactating mothers to call and check on any concerns they have about taking medications during this time (e.g. vitamins, over-ˇthe-ˇcounter medications, use of pesticides, exposure to radiation via mammograms, xrays & dental xrays, medications for other health reasons, prescription drugs from your doctor).
Illicit drugs in pregnancy
It is strongly recommended that you do not take any form of recreational drugs during pregnancy.
NOTE: This information is not intended to replace actual medical advice. If you have any concerns about your health or nutrition during pregnancy, seek advice from your health care practitioner.
– This article was kindly supplied by the NSW Food Authority.
Further Reading:
NSW-Health-Listeriosis-Fact-Sheet
Download the NSW Health Listeriosis Fact Sheet as a PDF file to view or print – by clicking HERE.