Healthy Pregnancy

Prenatal Nutrition

Healthy eating plays a very important role in a healthy pregnancy. You need to eat foods from a variety of sources to make sure you get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients you and your developing baby need. Eating well will also help you feel better, give you more energy and help keep your weight in check. And it will contribute to your baby’s healthy growth and development.

Important Facts

Know what you need. During your second and third trimesters of pregnancy, you need more calories each day to support the growth of your baby. For most women, this means an extra two or three Food Guide servings daily. You can add them in as an additional snack or as part of your usual meals. For example, have a fruit and yogurt as a snack, or have an extra slice of toast at breakfast and an extra glass of milk at supper.

Fruits and vegetables are a must! Pregnant women need fruits and vegetables every day. Brightly coloured vegetables and fruit contain more of the kinds of vitamins you and your baby need. You should eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable each day. Make sure your fruits and vegetables are prepared with little or no added fat, sugar and salt, and choose vegetables and fruit more often than juice.

Grain products are important. You need to include grain products as part of your daily diet. This includes foods like bread, rice and pasta. Try to choose grain products that are lower in fat, sugar and salt, and look for the “whole grain” variety since at least half of your daily grain intake should be whole grain.

Milk and alternatives for strong bones. Milk and alternatives are important for your growing baby. Opt for the low-fat variety, which will give you the high quality protein, calcium and Vitamin D you need but with less of the fat and calories. Have skim, 1% or 2% milk every day and go for a variety of yogurt and cheese! Drink fortified soy beverages if you do not drink milk. Is there anything I shouldn't eat while I'm pregnant?

Include meat and alternatives. Eating meat and alternatives each day will help you and your baby to stay healthy. Choose lean (less fatty) meats and meat alternatives – like dried peas, beans, tofu and lentils – made with little or no added fat or salt. Fish is also important and should be eaten each week. Visit Health Canada’s Website for the most recent information on mercury levels in fish.

Next Steps

Aim for three meals a day with healthy snacks in between.

Check out Canada’s Food Guide to see how many servings of each food group you need each day.

Gaining weight is a natural part of pregnancy. How much weight you should gain depends on your Body Mass Index before you became pregnant.  Check out the Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator to help you determine the recommended weight gain that will promote a healthy pregnancy

Take a multivitamin every day. Make sure it has 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) of folic acid and also contains iron. A health care provider can help you find the multivitamin that is right for you.

For more information

• Common Questions: Prenatal Nutrition
• Canada's Food Guide
• Folic Acid
• BMI Nomogram
• Prenatal Nutrition Guidelines for Health Professionals - Background on Canada's Food Guide
• Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy
  
• Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator
  
• Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey
  
• Mother`s voices  booklet