Balanced, healthy eating.

While you’re pregnant, your baby relies on you to provide everything he or she needs to grow and develop. In addition, the added strain on your own body and its reserves of minerals, vitamins and nutrients makes it doubly important you follow a healthy, varied and balanced diet.

To ensure you get all the nutrients you need to help you and your baby stay healthy, make sure your diet includes food from each of the main 4 food groups every day:

Bread, cereals, grains and potatoes

These carbohydrate group foods provide energy and dietary fibre along with a range of vitamins, minerals and small amounts of protein.

Choosing high fibre or wholegrain varieties such as wholemeal and granary bread, brown rice and wholegrain breakfast cereals will help to keep the digestive system healthy.

Fruit and vegetables

Aim for at least 5 different servings of fruit and/or vegetables each day. They don’t all have to be fresh; frozen, canned and dried fruits and vegetables all count towards your target of 5 servings a day.

Meat and meat alternatives (fish, eggs, beans and pulses, nuts and seeds)

Foods from this group provide protein, essential for growth and repair of cells, plus several important vitamins and minerals.

Try and have at least two servings of them each day. Make sure you choose lean meat and trim away any visible fat before cooking.

Dairy products

Milk, cheese and yoghurt are all important sources of calcium, essential for strong bones and teeth. They also provide protein, vitamin A, phosphorus, vitamin D and vitamin B2.

The normal adult requirement is 3 servings from this group each day, with a single serving being equal to 200mls milk, a small matchbox size (30g) piece of cheese or a small pot (150g) of yoghurt

Foods containing fat and sugar

Eat foods high in fat and/or sugar only in moderation.