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Healthy Diet in Pregnancy

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Why is a healthy diet important during pregnancy?Help baby develop and growHelp keep mum healthy and wellImportant to eat a variety everyday to get the right nutrientsNo need to eat for two!

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Other messages• Regular eating – this keeps blood sugar at a steady level and

avoids cravings for quick fixes such as high fat/sugar snacks. Eating at regular intervals during pregnancy can also help to alleviate nausea during the early weeks.

• Keeping a food diary and menu planning. Both of these tools can help clients to monitor what they are eating – and support them in eating healthily. Meal planning – on a weekly basis can help clients to think more creatively about eating healthy meals

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Other messages• Diets – dieting are rarely successful in the long term and usually result

in the person putting the weight lost back on again. This is because they are not adapting sustainable eating habits. We all know we can only go without the foods we like for so long. It is much better to adopt a healthy attitude to what we eat, eat a balance of foods and eat high fat/sugar foods in moderation.

• In pregnancy, the aim is to minimise weight gain and to foster positive eating habits. It is not for clients to lose weight – although some clients do lost some weight if they have long bouts of sickness.

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Other messages• Meals rather than snacks

In order to build good eating habits, it is important to eat healthy meals during the day, with healthy snacks in between. Lots of snacks are not good for us as they are eaten and forgotten quickly, digested more quickly and can leave us still feeling hungry so we are likely to eat more. A balanced meal will take longer to be digested and keep our energy levels at the right place for longer.

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Fruit and VegetablesProvide vitamins and minerals

Provide fibre which helps digestive system work better

Eat vegetables lightly cooked or raw to get the most benefit

Remember to wash them well

Frozen, tinned and dried fruit and vegetables all count

Aim for more than 5 portions a day

Potatoes are NOT a fruit/vegetable

If you have some fruit/veg at every meal, it becomes easy to slot in 5 a day

Remember that some clients may currently eat none at all

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5 a dayWhat is a portion?

For adults, a measure of a portion is 80g. For children, a portion is approximately the size of their clenched fist.

Only one glass of fruit juice per day counts in your 5 a day.

Try not to have too much dried fruit as this has more concentrated sugar in

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Starchy FoodsAlso known as carbohydrates

Important source of vitamins and fibre

These foods should be the main part of every meal because they provide the energy for the activity that we do.

Try and eat wholemeal varieties wherever possible as these contain more fibre to keep the digestive system moving.

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Starchy FoodsDid you know that all of the following are types of carbohydrates?

Bread Rice Crackers Crisps

Cereal Pasta Naan Bread Lentils

Potatoes Popadum Cornmeal Bagels

Yams Couscous Pizza Beans

Oats Tortilla Squash

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Meat, Fish and AlternativesMeat, fish, and alternatives provide us with protein and vitamins and minerals and contribute to a healthy diet. This includes meat (not liver), fish, poultry, eggs, beans, pulses and nuts

Some of these should be eaten every day – and guidance suggests 2 portions of fish a week. For some of your clients it may be a big jump from no fish to at least 2 portions a week.

When choosing meat, try to choose lean cuts or cut the fat and skin off meat before cooking.

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Meat, Fish and AlternativesAll of these are classed are meat, fish or alternatives?Meat (not liver)

Fish – including tinned fish

Chicken and other poultry and eggs

Beans and Pulses – beans, lentils, chickpeas, broad beans

Nuts and seeds – poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds,

You will shortly look at types of meat, fish and nuts to avoid during pregnancy.

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Milk and Dairy FoodsContain calcium and other nutrients

Choose low-fat varieties wherever possible; semi-skimmed/skimmed milk, low-fat yoghurt

Some dairy products can also be high in salt or sugar which should be avoided – for example, ready prepared milkshakes

Cheeses that need to be to avoided during pregnancy will be covered later.

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Fats and Sugary Food

Only eat a small amount of these foods

Sugar contains ‘empty calories’

These foods contribute to weight gain and obesity

Fat is very high in calories, however, some fat is

required in the diet for energy including fat soluble vitamins and EFAs

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Avoid having too much

Fatty foods

Foods high in sugar

Caffeine

Oily fish

Tinned tuna

Alcohol

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Healthy Snacks Sandwiches, pitta breads Salad vegetables Low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais Hummus and bread or vegetable sticks Apricots/figs/prunes Vegetable and bean soups Unsweetened breakfast cereals or porridge and milk Milky drinks or unsweetened fruit juices Fresh fruit Baked beans on toast or baked potato

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Activity 1

Putting the eatwell plate into practice. Consider some examples of common family meals and how these would meet the template of the eat well plate. Plan a week’s worth of meals for your client. Make sure you include snacks and some less healthy options in moderation.

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AlcoholDuring pregnancy, the government advises that you should avoid drinking alcohol.

If you do choose to drink– Don’t have more than 1 or 2 units once or

twice a week, and– Don’t drink so that you feel drunk

Alcohol can affect the development of the baby if taken above these guidelines.

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CaffeineHigh levels of caffeine during pregnancy can result in;

– Babies having a low birth weight– Miscarriage

Caffeine is naturally found in lots of foods such as coffee, tea and chocolate and is added to some soft drinks and energy drinks

Some cold and flu remedies also contain caffeine – talk to a health professional before taking these

Don’t have more than 200mg a day (2 mugs of instant coffee, 5 cans of coke, 2 mugs of tea)

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Foods to Avoid altogetherMould ripened and blue veined cheeses and cheese made

from unpasteurised milkLiver and foods made from liverAll pates including vegetarianUnpasteurised milkFish liver oils and vitamin supplements containing Vitamin ARaw shellfishRaw eggsShark, marlin and swordfishPeanuts and foods containing peanut products (if you have a

history of allergies)

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Foods you don’t need to avoid Shellfish as part of a hot mealLive or bio yoghurtProbiotic drinksFromage frais/crème fraiche/soured creamSpicy foodMayonnaise/ice cream/salad dressing (as long as they have not been made using raw eggs)HoneyMany types of cheese (list in appendix)

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Safe Food Preparation

Always wash your hands Prepare raw and ready to eat food separately Wash utensils used to prepare raw food before

using again Keep cloths, tea towels and hand towels clean

and change them frequently

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Cooking Food Thaw meat and poultry fully before cooking Check food is piping hot all the way through Don’t reheat food more than once

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Chilling Food Put food that needs to be chilled in the fridge

straight away Cool cooked food as quickly as possible and

then put in the fridge Store raw meat and poultry in a sealed container

at the bottom of the fridge Don’t overload the fridge

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Eating in Pregnancy Quiz