Article Summary:
- Maintain a balanced diet for pregnancy – A nutritious, well-rounded diet, including fresh produce, lean proteins, and minimal processed foods, is essential to support mother and baby's health.
- Ensure you recieve essential nutrients – Folate, iron, iodine, vitamin D, omega-3s, and choline are vital for pregnancy, aiding in fetal development, neural health, and reducing birth complications.
- Take live bacteria for Mum and Baby – Live bacteria support a healthy microbiome for mother and baby, potentially reducing infant allergy risks and supporting immune health.
- Consider Vegan & Vegetarian options – Plant-based diets require careful planning; vegan supplements with omega-3, iron, and B12 can help maintain essential nutrient levels.
- Plan ahead – Taking a prenatal multinutrient while trying to conceive can support a healthy pregnancy, and a balanced diet and lifestyle give babies a strong start in life.
Bump to Baby: A healthy pregnancy diet
Being pregnant is an exciting time with nine months of planning your future life as a mother and the expansion of your family. During those special months, Your body goes through significant anatomical and physiological changes in order to grow and nurture your baby. Your nutrition not only influences your own health, but it also has a significant effect on the short and long-term health of your baby, so which vitamins you use for pregnancy will be important.
However, making sense of all the conflicting information can be stressful and yet another chore on your long pregnancy to-do list. In this article, we will be taking you through the various changes that pregnancy entails and how best to support your body and baby.
What to eat during pregnancy
Is there any such thing as a pregnancy diet? Contrary to popular belief, pregnant women do not need to ‘eat for two’. Energy requirements do not change in the first six months of pregnancy, and the calorie requirements only increase by 200 calories a day in the last trimester, which is only equivalent to about two apples. 1
You may be wondering what you should eat in pregnancy, you need to increase your intake of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to meet the requirements of both mother and baby. The best way to achieve this for a healthy pregnancy is by eating a diet rich in fresh vegetables and fruit, complex carbohydrates, nuts and seeds, and good protein sources like eggs, grass-fed and organic meat, and a conservative amount of wild oily fish. If there is one time where eating organic is particularly important, it is during pregnancy. If cost is a concern, use the ‘Clean Fifteen, Dirty Dozen’ list by the Pesticide Action Network to buy organic in an affordable way.
It is essential to be aware that diets high in refined sugar and processed foods can lead to excess weight gain, which can increase the risk of developing gestational diabetes, hypertension, and can lead to complications during labour and delivery.
Nutritional Requirements For You and Your Baby
Vitamin B9 – also known as folic acid or folate – is of particular importance. Folate plays a key role during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, when the brain and spinal cord are rapidly developing. Supplementing with folate can prevent up to 70% cases of neural tube defects, notably spina bifida2, and may be protective against Down’s syndrome3, cleft lip and palate,4,5 and autism.6
Methylfolate is a more bioavailable form of folate and is more effective than folic acid at improving your folate status.7–9ii Methyfolate also supports a vital biochemical process called methylation, which is crucial for the creation of new cells and foetal development as well as the health of mum (e.g. mood, immunity) Compromised methylation is associated with infertility, neural tube defects, recurrent miscarriage,10,11 and preeclampsia.
Include plenty of folate-rich foods in your daily meals: green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, kale, spinach, cavolo nero, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, peas, chickpeas. Raw or lightly steamed since folate is a water-soluble nutrient which is easily lost in cooking water and denatured by high cooking temperatures.
During pregnancy, blood volume expands by 35%-50%, with additional iron required for the development of the baby’s organs and formation of red blood cells. Iron deficiency is very common during this time, usually due to inadequate intake from food (especially if following a vegan or vegetarian diet) and low iron stores at the onset of pregnancy (e.g. if a woman previously had heavy periods). So make sure you eat plenty of iron-rich foods and choose a multinutrient with good iron levels.
Iron sources include: lamb, beef, beans, lentils, nuts, and green leafy vegetables. When consuming plant based (non-heme) sources of iron, combine them with foods high in vitamin C to improve iron absorption, such as broccoli, red peppers, and citrus.
Iodine regulates the function of the thyroid gland, which is important for the neurological development of the baby, before and after birth.12 Iodine deficiency in pregnant women is associated with lower IQ scores and cognitive deficits in their children.13,
Iodine sources include: seaweed, eggs, and dairy products.
Looking after your vitamin D status for a healthy pregnancy is also crucial. Maternal vitamin D status is associated with the development of allergic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases in their offspring.14 An intake of up to 4000iu daily of Vitamin D increases your chance of reaching full term pregnancy and reduces the likelihood of pre-eclampsia and neonatal hypocalcemia.15 A study analysed levels of vitamin D of 1,200 women before and during pregnancy and found that sufficient levels of vitamin D before conception was associated with a reduced risk of miscarriage.16
It is a good idea to test your vitamin D before you plan a pregnancy, through your GP or private laboratories. A Nutritional Therapist will be able to guide you on the right dosage to get you at an optimal level. If not possible, 1000iu is a helpful therapeutic maintenance dose.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) play a vital role in your baby’s brain development. There are two types of EFA – omega-3 and -6. While omega-6 is widespread in the Western diet (e.g. in grains, vegetable oils), omega-3 is often depleted in many individuals’ diets as it is found in nuts and seeds, such as flaxseeds and walnuts as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and in oily fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which are less commonly consumed.
EPA and DHA support neural,17 psychomotor,18 and retinal development,19 and visual acuity20 in the foetus. They also reduce the risk of miscarriages related to poor uterine blood flow.21
However, while the omega-3 in fish oils are hugely beneficial, eating lots of oily fish is not advised during pregnancy. Farmed oily fish contain mercury and PCBs, which can have detrimental effects on your baby’s nervous system.22iii Therefore, it is a good idea to take a high quality, purified fish oil supplement instead alongside a conservative dietary intake of fish.
During foetal development, large amounts of choline are needed to support the rapid cell division, growth, and development of the brain. Choline can reduce the risk of neural tube defects.23
Animal products are rich sources of choline, including beef, eggs, chicken, and fish. Nuts, legumes, and cruciferous vegetables are relatively good sources as well, and those on a vegan/vegetarian diet should particularly make sure to consume a multinutrient containing choline.
During vaginal birth, your baby is exposed to your bacteria, which will later influence their growth and development. This is especially pertinent when training their developing immune system, so having a good balance of friendly bacteria during pregnancy is essential to give your baby a healthy start. Even if you don’t have a vaginal birth there is some research that shows bacteria is present in the fetal gut prior to birth meaning there may be some transmission of microbes from mother to baby in the womb prior to birth.24
Support your microbiome through a diet rich in fresh vegetables and fruit, complex carbohydrates, nuts and seeds, and good protein sources, try to eat the rainbow when choosing fruits and vegetables. You can also include probiotic foods like live natural yogurt and kefir and/or include a live bacteria supplement suitable for pregnancy at least for the third trimester. Use of live bacteria supplements in pregnancy have also been shown to reduce risk of atopic allergies and eczema in infants.25
Pregnancy Nutrition for Vegetarians & Vegans
If you are vegan or vegetarian, you can supplement with an algae-based omega-3 oil to ensure you get enough EPA and DHA. Choose a vegan multinutrient with sufficient levels of iron, vitamin B12, and choline to help prevent deficiencies and ensure you have a healthy and balanced plant-based diet (seek the advice of a private Registered Nutritional Therapist for tailored advice).
Being pregnant is a special time, but it brings a set of challenges too. By adopting a healthy lifestyle and taking a pregnancy multinutrient while trying to conceive, you can give your baby the best start in life. If you would like to find out more on which vitamins are best for pregnancy and what to eat for pregnancy then please go ahead and download our free Pregnancy Guide for further information.
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References
1. Recommendations | Weight management before, during and after pregnancy | Guidance | NICE.
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8. Lamers Y, Prinz-Langenohl R, Brämswig S, Pietrzik K. Red blood cell folate concentrations increase more after supplementation with [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate than with folic acid in women of childbearing age. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84(1):156-161. doi:10.1093/AJCN/84.1.156
9. Prinz-Langenohl R, Brämswig S, Tobolski O, et al. [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate increases plasma folate more effectively than folic acid in women with the homozygous or wild-type 677C-->T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. Br J Pharmacol. 2009;158(8):2014-2021. doi:10.1111/J.1476-5381.2009.00492.X
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October 16, 2024
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