If you currently are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant, you might have racked up a list of more than a few questions to ask your doctor (or Dr. Google) when it comes to nutrition. I know that a lot of moms are wondering about the importance of nutrition during pregnancy. As a dietitian (and experienced mom) I’m here to give you the REAL answers!

If you are wondering what you should eat, what you should avoid, and how important nutrition is during pregnancy- you’ve come to the right place.

Get ready to uncover the essential nutrients that can transform your pregnancy journey. You’ll learn how simple diet shifts can pave the way for a healthy experience for both you and your baby!

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• Importance of Nutrition During Pregnancy
• How Does Nutrition Impact Weight Gain?
• Important Nutrients for Pregnancy
• The Nauseous Girl’s Guide to Pregnancy
  • What If I’m Sick During Pregnancy?
  • How Can I Still Get Important Micronutrients In?
• Fiber Intake During Pregnancy: Not Just for Constipation Relief
• Importance of Nutrition in the First Trimester
• What If I Can’t Eat Vegetables During Pregnancy?
• What NOT to Eat During Pregnancy?
• Importance of Nutrition in Late Pregnancy
• What Foods Can Help During Late Pregnancy? (Project: Evacuate the womb)
• Does Eating Variety During Pregnancy Prevent Picky Eating?
• Are Spicy Foods Okay During Pregnancy?
• Do Certain Cravings Mean I’m Deficient in Something?

Importance of Nutrition During Pregnancy

Some people think that baby can get what they need regardless of what you eat. But nutrition IS important to focus on during pregnancy.

Good nutrition is one of many things that can help promote healthy pregnancies. It is important for both maternal and fetal health and development. A growing baby is taking nutrients from mom’s nutritional stores, so having a healthy, adequate diet before pregnancy can also help set you up for success. 

How Does Nutrition Impact Weight Gain?

Many people get hung up on a particular weight gain range given to them. I want to tell you that it’s okay if your pregnancy looks different than that. 

What is most important is the following three things:

1. Eat a nourishing and varied diet
2. Move your body in ways that feel good (and are possible for you) throughout your pregnancy
3. Listen to your body and let it do what it needs to do!

Getting caught up in the numbers isn’t helpful. Because your overall nutrition isn’t about counting calories or worrying about the number on the scale.

I’m not saying pregnancy is a time to throw out everything we know about nutrition. But let’s be realistic! If you’ve been pregnant, you probably know that a big old salad didn’t exactly fit the bill in those early, nauseous days. 

There are many factors that impact how much weight you will gain. But if you stay focused on nourishing your body as best as you can, the scale is truly none of your business.

Important Nutrients for Pregnancy: don’t skimp on these!

Obviously, it’s recommended to take a prenatal vitamin to help cover your bases and ensure you have enough of the vital nutrient for pregnancy. It’s most important that your prenatal has folate which helps prevent neural tube defects. 

You can get some folate from dark leafy greens, lentils, asparagus, and a few other veggies. But it’s hard to get enough folate from the diet alone, so that’s why it has to be in your prenatal in adequate amounts. 

Other nutrients that are important to take in during pregnancy include:

• Iron: found in meats, nuts, seeds, spinach, and products like iron-fortified cereals
• Iodine: think iodized table salt, seaweed, fish/shellfish, and dairy products
• Zinc: found in high amounts in oysters, meat, fish, seafood, tofu, lentils, and some seeds
• Choline: which is a brain-boosting nutrient primarily in: eggs, meat, and fish

If you’re not regularly eating those things listed above, we need to find you some substitutes that don’t make you want to gag! Don’t worry. Keep on reading and we will get you covered.

The Nauseous Girl’s Guide to Pregnancy Nutrition

What if I am Sick During Pregnancy?

Some of you might be looking at these lists of foods and wishing you could even dream of cooking or choking down some spinach or grilled chicken or eggs. That is not a reality for many of us, especially early on. 

Many pregnant women worry about not eating a variety of foods because they’re battling constant nausea.

THAT IS OKAY! 

Your baby isn’t in there demanding a real-time buffet line of green veggies and lean protein. I personally couldn’t stomach either of those things for most of the time I was pregnant.

Preconception is a great time to build up your nutrient stores and address any deficiencies. And then once you’re pregnant, if you have to subsist on white toast and crackers in those early weeks, that’s okay. Most people turn a corner at some point in pregnancy and are able to incorporate a little more variety.

In the same breath, it is also true that nutrition does affect birth outcomes. It can have an effect on things like birth weight or the development of gestational diabetes, but it is by no means the only factor at play.

You could gain a lot of weight and have an average or small baby. You can gain less and still have a larger baby. Eating carbohydrates doesn’t mean you’ll get gestational diabetes. And limiting your carb intake doesn’t mean you won’t. There are so many factors at play during pregnancy that have an effect on outcomes, including genetics, placental health, etc. 

My best advice from a nutritional perspective is to focus on the things that you can control. Take your prenatal vitamin. Eat a variety of foods when you can. Move your body as your body allows. Don’t stress about an exact number on the scale. And try to incorporate the foods that contain those important nutrients that support healthy, growing babies. 

How Can I Still Get Important Micronutrients In?

If you’re worried about how to get these micronutrients in your diet, I’ve got some tips. You need iron, but a hunk of meat sounds…awful. Don’t worry! There are other ways to get iron (and all the other micronutrients) in your diet even if you have some serious food aversions.

One of my favorite iron-rich products is Banza pasta. It’s made from chickpeas, so it’s got more iron than pasta made with just wheat flour. It’s a great swap that is still satisfying and easy on the tummy, but has an extra boost of iron (and protein!) that you need during pregnancy. You can also cook with this handy dandy little iron fish (or in a cast iron pan) to boost the iron content of the foods you’re able to eat!

We don’t usually need to worry about iodine deficiency in pregnancy if you’re taking a prenatal vitamin and eating a relatively balanced diet. Most table salt is fortified with iodine. If, for some reason, you never consume table salt and only consume sea salt (which is not fortified with iodine), then it may be wise to make sure you’re keeping an eye on the other dietary sources of iodine like dairy products (I think I just made a case for milkshakes to feature sometimes in your pregnancy diet?).

Zinc can be a tricky one because many of us are not dying to eat oysters and meat during pregnancy. Snacking on a simple trail mix might be the perfect way to make sure you’re meeting those zinc needs, as nuts and seeds (especially cashews) have a good amount of zinc. Plus, nuts and seeds are great sources of fats and have some protein, too!

Meat and eggs are notorious for being the best sources of dietary choline, but if those are a no-go, for you, I have another solution. This prenatal protein powder from Ritual checks a lot of boxes: it’s got choline, protein, and tons of other nutrients in an easy-to-stomach vanilla flavor.

Fiber Intake During Pregnancy: Not just for constipation relief

We have studies that show that diets high in fiber before and during pregnancy may be beneficial for the mother and baby.

Fiber is a non-digestible carbohydrate that plays a lot of important functional roles in the body. Fiber supports a healthy gut, can help prevent constipation, and can help with blood sugar control. 

During pregnancy, high-fiber diets may help prevent the onset of gestational diabetes and promote healthy infant birth weights. It can also help combat one of those unfortunate pregnancy side effects: constipation.

Good sources of fiber in the diet include whole grains, fruits, veggies, legumes, beans, and nuts and seeds. 

How the F do you get fiber in if vegetables make you want to cry?? Here are some foods that are also good sources of fiber but may be more palatable at the moment:

1. Oatmeal
2. Avocado
3. Banana
4. Apples/applesauce
5. Toast (you need whole wheat for fiber, but I like Dave’s Killer Bread White Bread Done Right because it tastes more like white bread but does have some fiber!)
6. Whole wheat pasta
7. Chickpea pasta (like Banza)
8. Watermelon
9. Almond butter
10. Popcorn

Importance of Nutrition in the First Trimester (even if you feel like dung)

I sincerely hope you’re feeling great during the first trimester. 

But if you’re feeling lousy, you’re far from alone. Many women struggle with nausea, low energy/fatigue, food aversions, vomiting, or even the severe form of morning sickness known as hyperemesis gravidarum. 

All of these things can make it pretty hard to prepare and eat foods like you normally might. 

You might find that you only tolerate simple carbs early on. Your usual avocado toast with eggs might be just a plain piece of toast. Just eat what you can stomach! It’s more important to get calories and energy in than to worry about the “what” right now.

If you’re feeling up to it, here are a few of my favorite ways to boost nutrition even when you can only eat plain, simple foods. 

1. Add an egg into a bowl of plain oats for a protein and choline boost. (I know it sounds weird, but trust me, you can’t even tell it’s in there! The recipe is in this post.)
2. Pack some extra nutrients into smoothies! I love this mango ginger smoothie because it’s both nutritious and nausea-fighting with the addition of ginger. 
3. Find a reliable protein bar that you can stomach. I’ve recently been LOVING these. They’re protein-packed and they’re delicious. 
4. If plain noodles are your jam in early pregnancy, you can try one of the pasta products on the market that’s made with chickpeas or lentils for an added protein and fiber boost. I like Banza and Goodles brands especially!
5. Craving ice cream? Time to get the Ninja Creami!! You can make delicious and creamy “ice cream” with milk and protein powder for a protein boost without all the sugar in ice cream.

Read this post to get 4 more tips to survive first trimester morning sickness

What if I Can’t Eat Vegetables During Pregnancy? (Or ever…?)

Veggies can be a tough one when you’re pregnant. Don’t sweat it. Try to eat fruit if you can, since we know that fruit has really similar micronutrient contents as vegetables.

Fruit also has fiber, antioxidants, and other functional nutrients that do tons of good stuff for our bodies- pregnant and not!

Of course we want to be mindful of sugar intake, especially if you are dealing with gestational diabetes. But overall, fruit is a great, nutritious option for pregnancy and can help you get the micronutrients you’d also get from vegetables. 

What NOT to Eat During Pregnancy?

The American Pregnancy Association lists these foods to avoid during pregnancy:

• raw meat
• deli meat
• high-mercury fish
• smoked seafood
• raw eggs
• soft cheeses
• unpasteurized products

The risk that most of these foods carry is that they could be contaminated with listeria. Listeria is a bacterial infection that can be life threatening to the fetus during pregnancy. If you want to know more about the risk of listeria and pregnancy, check out my post on the topic here. 

Importance of Nutrition in Late Pregnancy

Many pregnant people find that the nausea subsides in the second and third trimesters– thank goodness. But a few new issues can crop up! 

Heartburn, gas, and indigestion can become problems as the baby bump gets bigger and leaves less room for your other organs. 

High-fat foods can trigger feelings of indigestion, reflux, and heartburn, so opting for fresh foods when possible can help. Listen, I found myself at the Taco Bell drive-thru more than once in my pregnancies. I’m not saying we have to avoid foods with a high fat content at all costs.

But if you find that fast food, fried foods, or greasy foods are a trigger for your feelings of heartburn and indigestion in late pregnancy, it might be wise to switch it up. Opt for foods that are baked instead of fried or take it easy on the potato chips and cheese until you can enjoy them without the physical consequences (soon!).

Limiting high-fat foods might look like a breakfast of eggs, toast, and avocado instead of a cheesy bacon breakfast burrito. Lunch and dinner could be things like a wrap with some fiber-rich veggies, a hearty soup or salad, a chicken or tuna salad sandwich instead of the cheeseburger. I’m definitely not telling you burgers and burritos are bad by any means, but sometimes the late stages of pregnancy aren’t as conducive to us eating some of the foods we might normally eat from time to time!

You also may want to avoid spicy foods as they can be a culprit in causing heartburn and reflux in mid to late pregnancy as well. 

Many people find that eating smaller portions can ease discomfort. You do need a modest amount more calories as pregnancy progresses, but it’s not a ton. Eating small, frequent meals can help you meet those calorie needs and manage those feelings of indigestion that can accompany your growing belly.

What Foods Can Help During Late Pregnancy? (Project: evacuate the womb)

There are a few things that women, especially in the late stages of pregnancy, are told to consume to help induce labor or make labor shorter. 

One of the most common ones is dates. A girlfriend of mine told me about eating dates for a shorter labor when I was pregnant, and I looked at the research to see whether or not it was evidence-based. There is limited research out there, but what I did find compelled me to at least try! Check out this post for everything you need to know about dates in the third trimester!  

Dates, while delicious, are very sweet. They have a lot of naturally occurring sugar. And while that’s not something I’m particularly worried about, if you have gestational diabetes, they may not be your best option. 

Another late-pregnancy item many women consume is red raspberry leaf tea. This is an excellent compilation of the research available on red raspberry leaf and its effects on the uterine muscle, labor, and birth. It’s another area we need more research on, but what we do know suggests that there could be some potential benefits! 

Does Eating Variety During Pregnancy Prevent Picky Eating?

This is such an interesting question! We know about the importance of nutrition during pregnancy for mom, but what about the importance of nutrition during pregnancy as it relates to your future eater?

I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say it will *prevent* picky eating (nothing really can!), but it potentially can go a long way in helping children like more foods. 

Research shows that flavors from what the mother eats during pregnancy can be transmitted through amniotic fluid and swallowed by the baby in utero. 

Obviously we can’t ask babies, but we can infer from their reactions to food postnatally and what we can test about amniotic fluid that certain flavors do pass into amniotic fluid.

That study also says that, “the findings that early flavor experience impacts on later food enjoyment by infants are consistent with animal model studies.” 

SO WHAT I’M HEARING IS: it’s worth a shot! Exposing flavors to babies as early as in utero can potentially increase their enjoyment of more foods once they’re eating food on the outside!

But if you are just trying to make it through the day without vomming, I wouldn’t worry about eating various globally inspired cuisines daily.

Are Spicy Foods Okay During Pregnancy?

Spicy food isn’t going to hurt your baby. Like I mentioned above, it can contribute to some reflux or heartburn discomfort in later pregnancy, but not necessarily for everyone. I’ve heard from many people that they actually crave really spicy foods during pregnancy and had no negative side effects. So it’s just personal preference here!

Do Certain Cravings Mean That I am Deficient in Something?

Another great question!

Cravings are a common pregnancy phenomenon that don’t necessarily mean one thing or another. They are often related to comfort or emotional satisfaction. That doesn’t mean they CAN’T be related to nutritional needs. We just don’t have good evidence to conclude that is the reason.

Sometimes you crave french fries from that one specific restaurant and nothing else will suffice. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re deficient in some vital nutrient. Pregnancy hormones can impact our smell and taste, so they can be responsible for particular cravings and aversions.

If you’re concerned about a specific deficiency, make sure to address it with your healthcare provider asap.

Importance of Nutrition During Pregnancy: Final Thoughts

We’ve talked a lot about the importance of nutrition during pregnancy- from preconception all the way through third trimester. But nutrition is also just one piece of a bigger puzzle. Nutrition, proper supplementation, prenatal care, exercise, and mental health are all vital pieces of the puzzle that help support healthy pregnancies. 

Pregnancy is not only a nutritionally demanding time of life, but it is also an emotionally, physically, and mentally demanding time, too. Make sure you take care of yourself by looking after not only your body, but also your mind and emotions, too!

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