A healthy pregnancy diet

To help inspire mums to eat well, we’ve teamed up with celebrity chef Lorraine Pascale. Discover some of her healthy pregnancy recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner.

Even if you find you’re hungrier than usual, you don’t need to ‘eat for two’ during your pregnancy. Eating for two is more about eating the right nutrition to support your baby’s development¹ – and their future health once born. Although their progress is often categorised by weeks, months and stages, your baby’s growth and development is a continual process. So just how powerful can a healthy pregnancy diet be?

• Help to shape your baby's taste preferences.²
• Support the development of their immune system.³
• Positively affect your baby's birth weight.⁴
• Positively influence their cognitive development.⁵
• Help to manage your pregnancy weight gain⁴.
• Reduce the risk of gestational diabetes⁴.

While it’s true that some fats carry health risks, others provide an important source of energy and help the body to absorb certain nutrients⁷. They can also provide essential fatty acids that your body can’t make, which are vital for your baby’s development throughout pregnancy⁸.

There are two groups of unsaturated fat – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats – that are essential for your baby’s growth⁷:

• Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil, avocados, nuts, nut oils and nut butters.
• Polyunsaturated fats are found in fish, nuts, seeds, sunflower oil, some margarines and mayonnaise⁸. There are two main types of polyunsaturated fats: Omega-3 and Omega-6.

Omega 3 fats  are a particularly beneficial type of long chain polyunsaturated fats (LCPs)7, which play an important role in your baby’s brain, visual and nervous system development8.

Some types of omega-3 fats cannot be made by the body and are therefore essential in small amounts in the diet.

Omega-3 fats are found in oily fish, such as:

• Kippers 
• Herring 
• Trout 
• Sardines 
• Salmon  
• Mackerel

Omega-6 fats are found in vegetable oils, such as:

• Rapeseed 
• Corn 
• Sunflower  
• Some nuts

While you need to ensure you include an adequate amount of omega-3 fats in your diet during pregnancy, you also need to limit your intake of oily fish to two portions per week¹. Read more about eating fish during pregnancy.

As well as being a good source of energy, unsaturated fats also act as a healthy carrier for the fat-soluble vitamins that are needed for your baby’s development, particularly⁸:

• Vitamin D – regulates calcium and phosphate, which help to keep bones and teeth healthy⁹
• Vitamin E – helps give cells their structure by supporting cell membranes¹⁰
• Vitamin K  – aids blood clotting and also contributes to bone health¹¹

Unsaturated fats are an important part of a well-balanced pregnancy diet, providing all the benefits of fats and less of the risk.

Although your pregnancy diet supports you both, there’s no need to overindulge. In fact, your recommended calorie intake is the same as pre-pregnancy until you reach your third trimester¹².

This is because any additional energy needed for the growth of your baby during the first and second trimester is compensated by the typical reduction in physical activity during this time. Once you reach your third trimester, your needs increase slightly.

From 27 weeks onwards, you should eat an extra 200 calories per day, which is the equivalent to two slices of toast with butter¹².

Eating more food than you need during pregnancy can lead to excessive weight gain. In turn, this can have consequences for your baby’s development and has been linked to complications such as large birth weight and an increased risk of caesarean birth¹².

If you usually follow a special diet, such as vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free, you may need to pay extra attention to get the nutrients needed that could potentially be lacking during your pregnancy¹³.

Your healthcare professional will be able to advise you on the specific adjustments you need to make depending on your individual circumstances. It’s important to find professional support to ensure you get a wide variety of nutrients that supports your baby’s current development and future health.

A vegetarian diet has certain benefits for pregnancy. It is usually high in carbohydrates, the main fuel for your baby. However, due to the absence of meat and fish, it's important to ensure that the protein and nutrients they provide are gained from other sources¹³.

The vitamins and minerals that need extra attention are vitamin B12 and vitamin D , calcium, riboflavin, iron, zinc and Omega-3 or long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs)¹³.

Vitamin B12 is important throughout pregnancy but especially in the first trimester due to its role in helping the body process folic acid¹³. Although Marmite is a good non-animal source¹³, vegans in particular, may need a supplement to ensure they are getting adequate levels of vitamin B12¹³.

If you have coeliac disease you should talk to your healthcare professional about any special advice, they may have on what to eat while you’re pregnant. Research shows that as long as your condition is well managed throughout pregnancy, coeliac disease shouldn’t have any impact on your pregnancy or your baby’s development²⁰.

Discover how what you eat during your pregnancy shapes your baby’s taste preferences when they’re older.