Best Nutrients and Foods to Eat When Pregnant

A healthy diet is key to living a long and healthy life, but proper nutrition becomes even more important during pregnancy. After all, you’re growing a whole new human being inside of you.

During pregnancy, your body needs an immense amount of energy in order to support the physiological changes and demands your body must endure. In fact, pregnancy requires approximately 50,000 calories over nine months, according to a recent study.

However, rather than simply counting calories to meet your caloric needs, it’s important for pregnant women to focus on consuming healthy, nutrient-dense foods. This way, it’ll help ensure they’re getting enough of the specific vitamins and minerals needed to support their and the baby’s health.

Importance of Proper Nutrition for Pregnancy

Prenatal nutrition plays a crucial role in the health and development of the baby.

“One of the most important things about prenatal nutrition is that it doesn’t really start when you become pregnant. It starts even before you’re pregnant,” says Dr. Sara Jacobs, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Texas Children’s Hospital. “Their nutrition before pregnancy is just as – if not more – important as their nutrition during pregnancy.”

Ideally, women should be in a healthy body mass index range and following a healthy diet before they become pregnant to reduce the risk of pregnancy complications related to obesity, including Miscarriage, Preeclampsia, Gestational diabetes, Hypertension, Venous thromboembolism (blood clots in the veins), Wound infections, Induced labor, C-section, Fetal development issues, Stillbirth, Neonatal death.

Top 11 Nutrients for Pregnancy

A healthy baby starts with a healthy diet from their mother.

While they’re in the womb, babies draw nutrients directly from their mother. When you eat, your stomach digests the foods and breaks them down into nutrients that travel through your bloodstream to the placenta. The umbilical cord, which connects the placenta to the baby, delivers glucose, fats, vitamins, minerals and protein to help the baby grow.

“In pregnancy, the fetus is going to take what it needs from the mom,” Jacobs explains. “If mom is not getting adequate nutrition for herself, the baby is going to take what nutrition she has, which is going to result in nutrition deficiencies for her own health.”

The most important nutrients for pregnant women are Folate and folic acid, Iron, Calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Omega-3 fatty acids, Iodine, Choline.

Prenatal Vitamins

Taking prenatal vitamins and supplements is important for filling any nutritional gaps that are common among pregnant women – such as iron, choline, calcium and folic acid. Experts recommend that low-risk women take prenatal vitamins at least one month before pregnancy, throughout pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

Just remember: Prenatal vitamins are dietary supplements that should not be a replacement for healthy eating.

“Supplements supplement a healthy diet. They don’t replace it,” Mok says. “Our bodies prefer obtaining nutrients from food first because nutrients from food are more readily absorbed by our body.”

Best Foods to Eat When Pregnant

So, what exactly are the best foods to eat while pregnant, according to experts?

Here are the most important foods you should eat during pregnancy to make sure you and your baby are healthy.
1. Fruits and vegetables
2. Whole grains
3. Eggs
4. Beans and legumes
5. Dairy or dairy alternative products
6. Fish
7. Seaweed

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Sara Jacobs, MD
Jacobs is a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

Jamie Mok, MS, RD, RYT
Mok is a registered dietitian nutritionist who specializes in maternal and prenatal nutrition and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is also the owner of a nutrition, yoga and wellness consulting practice in Los Angeles.