Eating well during pregnancy, having healthy eating habits and making nutritious food choices can help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.  

When pregnant, eat a variety of healthy foods each day including fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods and protein foods. At snack time and mealtime, make half your plate vegetables and fruit.  Choose foods that have little to no added sodium, sugars or saturated fat. Eat twice as healthy, not twice a much. 

Eat dark green vegetables every day, such as broccoli, peas, green beans and leafy greens. Eat orange vegetables a few times a week, such as carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, red and orange peppers and squash. Fresh, frozen or canned vegetables and fruits are all great options.

Enjoy a variety of whole grain foods every day, such as whole grain breads and pasta, oatmeal, brown rice, wild rice and quinoa. Choose whole grain most often because they have more fibre.

Enjoy a variety of protein foods, such as eggs, lean meat and poultry, nuts and seeds, fish and shellfish, lower fat dairy products, beans, peas and lentils, fortified soy beverages, tofu, soybeans and other soy products. Try to choose protein foods that come from plants every day. Plant-based protein foods can provide more fibre and less saturated fat than other types of protein foods.

During the second and third trimesters you may need slightly more food to support the growth of you baby, and to produce breast milk. This means just a little more food each day, like an extra snack or small meal.  If you are not able to eat a variety of foods due to nausea or vomiting or other health concerns (e.g. allergies, intolerances, etc), speak to your health care provider.

Choose foods with healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids. You need more healthy fats when you are pregnant to support healthy brain and tissue development Some examples are nuts, seeds, fatty fish and vegetable oils with omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3 acids are important during pregnancy as it supports the growth of baby’s brain and tissue. When eating fish, choose fish low in mercury. 

Make water your drink of choice. Other healthy drink options include unsweetened lower fat milk and unsweetened fortified plant-based drinks.

Be mindful of your caffeine intake, limiting it to below 300 mg/day (about two 8-oz/237ml cup of coffee). Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea (black, oolong, white, green), caffeinated soft drinks, energy drinks, chocolate and some herbal teas.  Some herbal teas are not safe during pregnancy.

Take a prenatal multivitamin every day. Make sure it has 0.4mg of folic acid (English / Francais) and 16 to 20mg of iron. Talk to your health care provider about the right multivitamin for you.

Be mindful of your eating habits – take time to eat and limit distractions, plan meals and snack, include taste preference, culture and tradition. Healthy eating is more than just the food you eat. 
Gaining weight is a normal part of a healthy pregnancy. By eating well and staying (or becoming) active during your pregnancy you are more likely to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Review:

Eating Well During Pregnancy (PDF 2.6 MB download) English / Francais

Safe Food Handling for Pregnant Women (PDF 354 KB) English / Francais

Visit:

Your Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy: Prenatal Nutrition, Folic Acid English / Francais

Pregnancy Info English / Francais

Canada’s Food Guide: Healthy eating when pregnant and breastfeeding. English / Francais