SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton: Pregnancy Diet Tips

Press release from SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton:

July 13, 2021

Eating a healthy diet during pregnancy provides the calories and nutrients you need to deliver a baby with a healthy weight. Babies born at a proper weight have lower risks of health complications at birth, and for the rest of their lives. A wholesome diet may keep you from gaining too much weight and help you avoid health issues during your pregnancy and delivery.

Foods to Avoid

Alcohol: Alcohol can increase your risk of miscarriage. It can also affect the health of your baby at birth, and cause learning problems as your child grows.

Caffeine: Limit your intake of caffeine to avoid health complications. Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea, cola, sports and energy drinks, and chocolate.

Foods that contain mercury: Mercury is found in almost all types of fish and shellfish. Limit your fish consumption to 12 ounces per week of fish with low mercury levels, such as shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish. Albacore (white) tuna has higher concentrations of mercury than regular tuna. Limit albacore to 6 ounces per week. Do not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish.

Raw and undercooked foods: You should never eat undercooked or raw meat, poultry, eggs, fish or shellfish. Cook leftover foods, hot dogs, ready-to-eat foods, and deli meats until they are steaming hot. Do not eat raw sprouts of any kind.

Unpasteurized food: These are foods that have not gone through the heating (pasteurization) process that destroys bacteria. Do not drink unpasteurized milk or juice. Do not eat unpasteurized cheese, such as Brie, feta, Camembert, blue and Mexican cheeses.

Foods to Include in your Healthy Diet

Proteins: Beef, pork, poultry, venison, game birds, liverwurst, bratwurst, eggs and fish (in moderation) are super sources of protein and help support muscles, bones, nerves and blood. Peanut butter, other nuts and seeds, beans and peas, and tofu are fair sources of protein.

Foods rich in Vitamin C: Vitamin C helps prevent infections, promotes healing, and encourages iron absorption. Citrus juices, fortified juices (all juices outlined in the WIC program), tomatoes, strawberries, melons, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, greens (mustard and collard), and green peppers are good sources of Vitamin C.

Calcium-rich foods: Calcium helps in the development of your baby's bones. Each day, eat or drink four servings of dairy, such as milk, cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese. Other sources of calcium include greens, bok choy, kale, watercress, broccoli, cauliflower, tofu that is calcium-set, corn tortillas made with lime, and calcium-fortified orange juice.

Breads and cereals: These foods give you energy with B vitamins and iron. Choose cereals that offer 45% or more of the USDA for iron and cereals outlined in the WIC program. Other sources include enriched and whole wheat bread and enriched pasta and rice.

Folic acid: Taking folic acid, a B vitamin, before and during early pregnancy reduces the chance of your baby being born with a neural tube or other defect.

Iron-rich foods: Iron delivers oxygen to your body and your baby. To avoid anemia, eat foods rich in iron, such as beef, enriched bread, carob flour-based baked goods, enriched cereals, cream of wheat, dark molasses, chickpeas, split peas and other beans and peas, dried fruit (raisins, apricots, prunes and currents), Jerusalem artichokes, liver and other organ meats, pumpkin seeds, sardines, soybeans and soy products (tofu, miso soup) and spinach.

Fruits and vegetables: Good sources for vitamins, minerals and fiber, these include potatoes and sweet potatoes, bananas, strawberry (eat with peanut butter to help absorb iron), watermelon, raisins and dried fruits, prunes and prune juice, winter squash, broccoli, spinach and greens.

Eating a healthy diet and taking your prenatal vitamins is the key to your well-being during pregnancy and to bringing a healthy, new baby into the world.

This press release was produced by SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton. The views expressed here are the author’s own.