Step Three

Healthy Eating During Pregnancy

Eating well during pregnancy helps to support healthy weight gain and will help to ensure you have good energy levels throughout your pregnancy. 

Pregnancy is not a time for 'eating for two', it is a time for eating foods that are twice as healthy. Eating well during pregnancy involves making small and easily maintainable changes - lots of small changes eventually equate to big changes. Although the suggestions below seem simple, if maintained, they are highly effective.

T I P S   T O   M A N A G E   P R E G N A N C Y   W E I G H T   G A I N 

• In the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, you should eat the same amount of food as you usually would.
• After the 12th week, and if you are a healthy weight, the extra food you need each day is about the same as a wholegrain cheese and tomato sandwich, or a wholegrain peanut butter sandwich and a banana. If you are overweight or obese, the extra food you need is about the same as 1 slice of wholegrain bread or 2 apples.
• Drink water rather than sweetened drinks or fizzy drinks.
• Drink low-fat [trim (green top) or calcium-extra (yellow top)] or light blue milk instead of full-fat (blue or silver top) milk.
• Choose wholegrain bread instead of white bread.
• Eat a healthy breakfast every day, such as wheat biscuits or porridge with low-fat milk, or 2 slices of wholegrain toast.
• Have at least 4 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit every day.
• Prepare and eat meals at home. Have takeaways no more than once a week.
• Choose healthy snacks such as unsweetened/low-sugar and low-fat yoghurt, fruit, cheese and wholegrain crackers, home-made popcorn, a glass of trim milk, a few unsalted nuts (6 or 7 almonds) or a small wholegrain sandwich.

Examples of a vegetable or fruit serving:

• half a cup of peas, broccoli or carrots
• 1 medium-sized potato, banana, orange or apple
• 1 large kiwifruit.

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