28/10/2025
🍑Eating a nutritional diet 🍗
👉Helps your baby to develop and grow
👉Helps boost your energy and wellbeing
👉Good balance of nutrition
👉Folic acid supplementation is advised during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (and pre-conception)
👉Eating a well-balanced diet and keeping yourself well hydrated may reduce your symptoms of constipation, headaches and nausea.
👉It is a myth to eat for 2! In the final 3 months of pregnancy you’ll need an extra 200 calories per day.
👉Reduce your salt/ sodium content – too much salt can raise your blood pressure causing complications in pregnancy
👉Eat little and often this might reduce dizziness, nausea and sickness
🍓Fruit and vegetables – provide vitamins and minerals as well as fibre (reducing your risk of constipation)
🍞Carbohydrates – source of energy, vitamins and fibre
🥚Protein – Building blocks for your baby to grow
🧀Dairy – Calcium and essential nutrients
🚫Food to avoid:
Some fish:
🚫Shark, swordfish, marlin, raw shellfish, smoked salmon, raw sushi
🚫Avoid more than 2 portions of oily fish as it may contain pollutants (toxins)
🚫No more than 2 tuna steaks or x4 medium cans of tune a week (high levels of mercury)
Egg preparation:
🚫Avoid raw or uncooked eggs (risk of salmonella) – unless the egg is lion stamped as the chickens have been vaccinated against salmonella
Certain dairy products: as they may contain listeria bacteria
🚫Unpasteurised milk, cream and cheese
🚫Mould ripened cheese and soft blue cheese (unless cooked until steaming hot)
Certain Meat: risk of toxoplasmosis
🚫Cold cured meats (unless cooked thoroughly)
🚫Raw or undercooked meats
🚫Liver products/ pate (harmful levels to baby of Vitamin A)
🚫Game meats (goose, partridge or pheasant)
www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/pregnancy/healthy-eating-in-pregnancy/
You may be entitled to help with vitamins, fruits and vegetables if you qualify for healthy start vouchers:
www.healthystart.nhs.uk/how-to-apply/
