Having a baby can be one of the happiest times for a woman and her partner. Both parents should prepare for pregnancy, and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and balanced diet is key to this preparation.

A wide and varied selection of foods from the 4 key food groups (meat, poultry and fish, dairy products, grains, fruit and vegetables) should be encouraged whilst avoiding rich sources of vitamin A (liver, liver pate), and sources of listeria (soft cheeses such as brie, camembert and blue veined cheeses). In addition, women should take care with other foods such as cooked chilled meats, ready-to-eat poultry and ready meals, and observe normal food hygiene practices. Energy and protein needs of pregnant women are believed to increase by about 10% during pregnancy; a daily increment of about 200 kcalories and 6gms protein has been recommended ¹. The additional needs of pregnant adolescents may be higher ².

Oily fish is an important source of vitamins A and D as well as the long chain polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acids (DHA), which are important for cell membrane synthesis particularly in the brain, retina and other neural tissues. Women should be encouraged to eat oily fish (fresh tuna (but not tinned), salmon, trout, kippers, mackerel, herring, sardines, whitebait, anchovies and pilchards) on at least one occasion, and no more than two occasions, per week.

Achieving a healthy balanced diet prior to conception, will help to ensure that women enter pregnancy in the best nutritional state with adequate stores of most nutrients. Throughout pregnancy, foetal growth and development rely on a steady supply of nutrients provided by mum's diet, and her nutrient stores. The importance of achieving an adequate dietary intake before, during and after pregnancy cannot be overstated, the requirement for some nutrients (folate and vitamin D) cannot be met by diet alone.

A significant population of women of child-bearing age are not meeting their nutritional targets for essential nutrients including riboflavin, iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium and iodine. For others, the increased nutritional requirements of multiple or subsequent pregnancies, sickness, growth (adolescents), routine food avoidance and/or restriction may mean that, despite good intentions, the diet falls short of both parental and foetal needs.

A shortage of critical nutrients at anyone time can have significant consequences on foetal programming, growth and development. The results of poor nutrition on both mother and baby's health will depend on the time at which it occurs, its extent and the nutrients involved.

Vitamin and mineral supplementation remains an important tool in the midwife and obstetrician's portfolio. Supplementing the diet with a broadspectrum pregnancy supplement has distinct advantages over single supplements and can help to normalise dietary intakes of many more micronutrients.

The balance of clinical evidence suggests that supplementation in a woman, who would otherwise have an inadequate intake, can have significant effects on the long term health of her children as well as her own health. This potential impact of supplementation on nutritional health and well-being is greater than at any other life stage. Younger women and those from lower income and ethnic backgrounds appear to be particularly at risk.