Pregnancy Diet: What Foods to Eat & Avoid When Pregnant

Healthy eating during pregnancy is not much different than healthy eating in general. You need the same balance of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients—just in higher amounts. If you’re already eating a balanced diet, a few slight adjustments should be all you need. You can also get more healthy eating tips from our Prenatal Nutrition Guide.

If you haven’t already, now’s the time to get a good prenatal vitamin. It can help fill any nutrition gaps for you and your developing baby. See our Prenatal Vitamins Guide to learn more.

As always, always consult your doctor before making changes to your diet and/or supplement plan.

Common foodborne illness caused by Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli can cause discomfort to you. However, your baby is much more vulnerable to these types of illnesses that can live in raw, undercooked, or processed foods.

To help guard you and your baby’s health, it’s important to limit certain foods when pregnant, such as the following:

High-mercury fish
Limit shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and albacore tuna to 1 serving per week.

Undercooked or raw fish
Avoid raw oysters and sushi that contains raw fish.

Undercooked, raw, and processed meats
All raw meat and poultry should be thoroughly cooked before eating. It's important to cook it until it reaches the recommended safe, minimum internal temperature because meat and poultry may contain E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, or Toxoplasma gondii. Washing hands and cutting boards with soap and water also reduces exposure to bacteria. Limit your consumption of processed meat, such as hot dogs, deli meats, and smoked meats. They are high in sodium and can contain Listeria.

Soft cheeses
Avoid feta, Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, and Mexican-style cheese, like queso fresco, panela, and asadero. They may be unpasteurized.

Raw eggs
Avoid foods made with raw eggs. These include homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, Caesar salad dressing, cookie dough, frostings, and homemade ice cream.

Unpasteurized milk
Avoid unpasteurized dairy products. Look for “pasteurized” on the label, as it means the product has been heated to kill germs.

Honey
Avoid honey while you’re pregnant, and don’t give it to children under 1 year old, as it may contain bacteria that can threaten your and your baby’s health.

The dirty dozen
It’s important to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but some have more pesticide residue than others. Watch out for these “dirty dozen” and choose organic whenever possible: strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes, and sweet bell peppers.

For more information on staying healthy during every stage of your pregnancy, visit our Pregnancy Guides page.

We’ve created a suggested monthly guide of important foods to help you plan breakfasts, lunches, and dinners while pregnant. In general, you’ll need a variety of nutrients, lots of protein, and plenty of water during your pregnancy.

Our guide focuses on foods with nutrients that are particularly important during each month of your baby’s development.

The bottom line is balance
The easiest way to ensure you’re getting a balanced diet is to eat foods from each of these 5 food groups daily:

• Dairy
• Meats, poultry & fish
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Grains & starches

It can be difficult to get all 5 food groups in every meal, but try to include at least 2 or 3. Variety is also important. Mix up your daily diet so you get different vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals. For example, if you eat spinach one day, eat red peppers the next. 

During its first month, your baby is as small as a grain of rice! Even so, you have a larger need for certain nutrients, and a balanced diet is important for getting them. Your body is changing and building organs, like the placenta, that will support baby’s growth and development.

At this stage, you may experience morning sickness. See our Morning Sickness Guide to learn more and get 10 popular remedies for relief.

Leafy vegetables, fortified whole grains
Folate is essential, and there are plenty of places to find it. Getting enough of this B vitamin during your first month of pregnancy can help reduce the risk of birth defects. You’ll find folate in foods like fortified whole-grain bread, beans, spinach, and many fruits and vegetables.

Grains such as pasta and cereals are also fortified with folic acid. If you are following a gluten-free diet, keep in mind you may not be getting as much folate from your food. A prenatal vitamin can help with this, as most prenatal vitamins contain 100% of the recommended daily amount of folate.

Protein from lean meat
The form of iron in meat is the most bioavailable. This means it has the easiest path into your system and can quickly build red blood cells that help transport oxygen throughout your and your baby’s bodies.

Try to get between 7 and 9 ounces of lean meat per day. Each ounce has about 7 g of the protein your body needs to support your baby’s growth.

Avocado, sweet potato, chicken
Any salad can be made tastier and more nutritious by topping it with one of these foods. They’re rich in vitamin B₆. 

If you’re among the 90% of women who have morning sickness in the first trimester, vitamin B₆ could be just what you need! It’s been shown to reduce nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Ask your doctor if you may benefit from vitamin B₆ supplementation.

It’s month 2, and your baby is still very small. They’re about an inch long, with tiny bud-like arms and legs. Their digestive tract, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin are developing. Due to hormonal changes, you may still be experiencing some nausea and fatigue in your second month.

At this point, you may notice that you’ve gained a few pounds. This is due to increased blood volume and the development of the placenta. Your uterus and breast tissue will also become larger to support the pregnancy and development of breast milk.

Salmon, cooked eggs
These foods contain DHA, which is produced from one of the two essential fatty acids our bodies cannot make. Many women don’t get enough DHA, one of the omega-3 fats, during pregnancy; but it’s an important nutrient that helps support your baby’s visual and neural development. To get the ideal amount of DHA, make sure you have 2 servings of fish a week and supplement with 200 mg of omega-3 fatty acids each day.

Sunflower seeds, raw almonds
These nuts are packed with vitamin E. Research suggests that the antioxidant vitamin E, especially when combined with vitamin C, helps protect against miscarriage and preeclampsia—a type of high blood pressure that can occur in some pregnancies. Other good sources of vitamin E are egg yolks and olive oil.

Refer to The Art of Eating guide for additional information about important nutrients during your pregnancy.

Your baby has grown to about 3 inches long and weighs about the same as a pea pod. They also have their own, unique fingerprints! You’re probably feeling a bit better, and any nausea should lessen toward the end of this month.

Fortified milk, orange juice
Sunlight naturally converts a compound in our skin to vitamin D. Therefore, when we don’t get enough sunlight daily or consume vitamin D-rich foods (for example, in wintertime), we need to supplement. Very few foods naturally provide large amounts of vitamin D, so look for fortified foods, like these breakfast beverages, to increase your vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium necessary to form baby’s bones and teeth. Other good sources of vitamin D include egg yolks, canned sardines, and salmon.

Fruits, veggies, beans, whole-grain breads, and cereals
What do all these foods have in common? Fiber. At this stage of your pregnancy, fiber will be your best friend. It keeps everything moving through your intestines and helps fight the common pregnancy symptom, constipation. A diet high in fiber also keeps you feeling full longer and helps delay an “empty tummy” feeling.

You should try to eat 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day, along with drinking plenty of water. Gradually increasing the amount of fiber in your diet may help decrease the likelihood of gas and bloating that can sometimes accompany a large increase in fiber intake. 

Welcome to your second trimester! By month 4, your baby is already 5.5 inches long and weighs about as much as a deck of cards. Their soft skeleton is now hardening into bone, and you might be starting to see your baby bump. During the second trimester, you’ll want to increase your calorie intake by about 300 calories each day. You should also increase your protein intake by about 10 grams (the amount in a glass of milk) per day.

Cooked eggs, free-range meats
Cooked eggs and lean, free-range meats are a great source of iron. It’s important to get enough iron throughout your pregnancy, since it’s needed to support your baby’s developing brain. Adequate iron is also linked to positive cognitive development and growth outcomes.

Thirty percent of women don’t get enough iron in their third trimester, which can lead to anemia. If you aren’t taking a prenatal vitamin, talk to your doctor to see if doing so can help. Learn more about Prenatal Vitamins.

Leafy greens, chickpeas, tofu, beans
For vegetarians (and non-vegetarians), there are plant-based iron options, too. Eat iron-rich plant foods, along with some vitamin C (just a squeeze of lemon). This encourages your body’s absorption of iron from non-animal sources. Other good plant-based sources of iron are tofu, spinach, and beans.

At month 5, you may begin to feel some kicks as your baby exercises growing muscles. Your energy level should also be increasing.

Milk, cheese, yogurt
There are many ways to get calcium-rich dairy into your diet: milk, cheese, and yogurt among them. Your baby needs calcium to build strong bones and teeth, and grow a healthy heart, nerves, and muscles.

One perk of being pregnant is that you’ll absorb calcium better than women who are not pregnant. But this is only if you have enough vitamin D, so try to choose vitamin D-fortified dairy products.

Broccoli, oranges, tomatoes
You’ll need vitamin C throughout pregnancy to help make collagen, which provides structure for cartilage, tendons, bones, and skin. It will also help your body fight infections. Other foods that contain vitamin C are citrus juices and peppers. See The Art of Eating guide for more ideas on nutritious foods during pregnancy.

By month 6, your little one’s lungs have been growing like crazy, but they’re not yet ready to function in the outside world. Around this time, your baby will begin to respond to familiar sounds, such as your voice.

Your appetite might be picking up about now. For guidance on calorie intake and weight gain, see our Pregnancy Weight Gain article.

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains
These fresh foods have lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, along with fiber to keep things moving. Fiber-rich foods are an important part of maintaining digestive health during pregnancy.

The recommended daily amount of fiber women is 28 grams of dietary fiber. Some good sources of fiber are: whole grain breads, tortillas and waffles; cereals made with whole grains and oats; black and lima beans; brown rice, quinoa and lentils; greens including broccoli and peas; various fresh fruits; bran mixed into everything from burgers to yogurt smoothies; whole wheat pasta; baked potato wedges with the skin on.

It’s also recommended that you eat 6 servings of vegetables and 4 servings of fruit a day at this point in your pregnancy. This isn’t as hard as it sounds—a large banana is 2 servings of fruit.

Avocado
Your body’s fluid levels increase when you’re pregnant, so it is important to maintain your electrolyte balance. Potassium and magnesium are found in a healthy, balanced diet and can help with fluid regulation and blood pressure. Avocados are packed with both nutrients! 

You’re now in the home stretch—the third trimester! Your baby is more than 10 inches long and is starting to look more like the baby you’ll soon meet. They can open their eyes just a little and their lashes are beginning to form.

At the same time, your growing uterus may be putting pressure on your stomach and causing some heartburn. For tips on easing heartburn, check out our Managing Digestion page.

Meat, fish, poultry
Getting enough protein during pregnancy is crucial for the growth and development of your baby. Most pregnant women need between 80 and 100 grams daily, and some even more.

Meat, poultry, and fish are the best sources of protein—1 oz is equal to about 7 g of protein. Iron deficiency is also prominent in women in the third trimester. Meat, fish, and poultry will help you get enough iron, too.

Canned light tuna, Brazil nuts, whole-grain breads
These foods are energy and nutrient-dense, making them great snack options.
Just one Brazil nut contains 175% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) for selenium. A few of the mineral RDIs increase during pregnancy, and selenium is one of them. It’s an antioxidant mineral important for a strong immune system. Other sources of selenium include whole-grain breads, turkey, and chicken. 

In month 8, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re eating a healthy diet. You’re providing essential nutrients to your baby and boosting strength and energy for the upcoming birth.

Salmon, shrimp, pollock
The third trimester is a time for rapid growth and development of your baby’s brain. Therefore your diet should include plenty of essential fatty acids. Salmon, shrimp, and pollock are high in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Other good sources include nuts (especially walnuts), ground flaxseeds, and vegetable oils.

Sour cherries
Getting enough rest is important throughout your pregnancy. Sour cherries can help increase your body’s level of melatonin, an important sleep-regulating hormone. To help improve sleep, try drinking a cup of unsweetened cherry juice before bed.

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains
All of these are good sources of fiber. Eating the recommended amount of dietary fiber helps prevent constipation, which is common during pregnancy. Experts say that the type of fiber you eat is not that important—just make sure you get enough. 

For more information, see our content on Managing Digestion.

Your baby is almost ready to make an appearance! Their lungs will still be developing right up until birth, preparing that first breath of air. This is a good time to relax, and focus on you for a moment before baby’s arrival.

Water
Water is so important yet so often taken for granted. It is essential for transporting nutrients throughout your body, eliminating waste, and regulating body temperature. In hotter climates and seasons, you can lose between 2 and 3 quarts of water per day in perspiration. So, drink up and be sure to get at least ten 8-fluid-ounce glasses a day!

Cranberries
Having a healthy microbiome in the lower parts of your digestive tract before birth is important. You can help by drinking enough water each day to flush out toxins in your body and to help prevent a urinary tract infection (UTI). Cranberries are a healthy snack choice right now. They have lots of antioxidants, and studies show that eating these berries is linked to a lower risk of UTIs.

Month-by-Month Pregnancy Diet Plan

Start with a healthy, balanced diet and try adding some of these foods to the mix each month.

Sources

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