Eat Healthy During Pregnancy: Quick tips.
Making smart food choices can help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. |
Don’t forget breakfast.
- Try fortified ready-to-eat or cooked breakfast cereals with fruit. Fortified cereals have added nutrients, like iron or calcium.
- If you are feeling sick, start with 100% whole-grain toast. Eat more food later in the morning.
Eat foods with fiber.
- Vegetables and fruits, like green peas, spinach, pears, and bananas
- Whole grains, like brown rice and oatmeal
- Beans, like black beans and kidney beans.
Choose healthy snacks.
- Low-fat or fat-free yogurt with fruit
- Whole-grain crackers with fat-free or low-fat cheese
Take a prenatal vitamin with iron and folic acid every day.
Iron keeps your blood healthy. Folic acid helps prevent some birth defects. Talk with your doctor or nurse about a prenatal vitamin that’s right for you.Eat 8 to 12 ounces of seafood each week.
Fish and shellfish have nutrients that are good for your unborn baby. Eat a variety of seafood 2 or 3 times a week. A 3-ounce serving is about the size of a deck of cards.Healthy choices include:
- Salmon
- Sardines
- Shrimp
- Canned light tuna
- White (albacore) tuna – no more than 6 ounces a week
Stay away from soft cheeses and lunch meats.
These foods may have bacteria in them that can hurt your baby. Don’t eat:- Raw (uncooked) fish, like sushi
- Soft cheeses like feta, Brie, and goat cheese
- Raw or rare (undercooked) meats
- Lunch meats and hot dogs, unless they are heated until steaming hot
Limit caffeine and avoid alcohol.
- Drink decaffeinated coffee or tea.
- Drink water or seltzer instead of soda.
- Don’t drink alcohol.
healthfinder.