Healthy diet for pregnancy

A healthy diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle at any time, but is especially vital if you're pregnant or planning a pregnancy. Eating healthily diets during pregnancy will help your baby to develop andgrow, and will keep you fit and well.

Pregnancy places extra nutritional demands on your body. You need more protein and nutrients, particularly iron, folate, iodine, and zinc.Surprisingly your energy needs increase only slightly during pregnancy so the focus is eating nutrient rich foods and making sure every mouthful counts. Research has shown that the food a mother eats during pregnancy can affect the development of her baby, and may also affect the baby’s health later in life.

It is important that you eat a healthy diet during pregnancy based on a range of foods from the five food groups. 

Experts advise that all pregnant women avoid foods that are most likely to be contaminated by the bacteria, including unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses, such as Brie, blue cheese and feta as well as prepared meats (e.g., hot dogs, bacon and deli meats) unless they are reheated until steaming hot.