Do's and Don'ts
The do's and don'ts of nutrition in pregnancy.
It is important to eat a variety of foods during pregnancy to ensure your diet is healthy.
Try to make sure your diet includes:
- Five portions of fruit and vegetables a day (fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or fruit juice formats all count).
- Potatoes, bread and pasta (wholegrain options if possible) to keep energy levels up.
- Lean meat, chicken, white fish, eggs (make sure the eggs are well cooked), beans and lentils for protein.
- Two portions of fish a week, including one of oily fish (e.g. mackerel or salmon) - this is essential for fatty acids such as omega-3, which is important for the baby’s normal development
- Dairy foods such as milk, some types of cheese (such as chedder, parmesan and cottage cheese) and yoghurts - these contain calcium for building bones. Use low fat varieties where possible.
During pregnancy your defences against stomach bugs and food poisoning can be lower than usual so make sure you avoid:
- Cheese that is ripened by moulds, such as Camembert, Brie or chevre (a goat's cheese) and any soft blue cheese or unpasteurised cheese as these may contain the bacteria, listeria that can harm the baby.
- All types of Pâté, including vegetable pate, as this can also contain listeria.
- Raw or partially cooked eggs or any foods based on raw eggs (e.g. ice cream or mayonnaise) to avoid salmonella food poisioning.
- Raw fish, shellfish and raw meat - always make sure food is well cooked.
- Other foods that should be avoided because of their content:
- Liver products because it contains a lot of vitamin A. You do need some vitamin A but too much can harm the baby. Supplements containing vitamin A should also be avoided.
- Deep sea fish such as shark, swordfish or marlin and have no more than two tuna steaks or four cans of tuna a week, as these contain mercury which can harm the baby's nervous system.
- It important that you are consuming enough liquid during your pregnancy aim to drink plenty (approximately one litre) of non-alcoholic, caffeine-free drinks a day.
- Caffeine consumption should be reduced because a high caffeine intake has been linked to an increased risk of low birth weight babies and miscarriage. You should try not to have more than 200mg a day (e.g. two mugs of instant coffee, two mugs of tea, five cans of cola or four bars of plain chocolate).
- Alcohol should be avoided completely in pregnancy. However, if you do choose to drink, you should not have more than one to two units of alcohol, once or twice a week, according to the FSA. This is approximately one glass of wine (around two units) or half a pint of lager (one unit).
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