Eating, drinking and watching your weight during pregnancy

Key points about eating, drinking and watching your weight during pregnancy

1. Eating a healthy balanced diet when you are pregnant is important for you and your baby.
2. The best fluid to have when you are pregnant is water.
3. It is not recommended you take supplements other than folic acid and iodine.
4. Although it's important to eat a wide variety of foods to get the nutrients you and your baby need during pregnancy, you also need to avoid or limit some foods as they can cause harm to you and your baby.
5. Putting on weight during pregnancy is normal. However, you need to gain the right amount of weight for your body size for a healthy pregnancy, normal birth and healthy baby.
6. Talk to your doctor, midwife or dietitian if you need advice on healthy eating and watching your weight during pregnancy.

How do I keep my diet healthy and balanced while I am pregnant?

During pregnancy your appetite can be affected by pregnancy-related issues such as morning sickness, indigestion or having cravings for unhealthy foods. However, eating a healthy balanced diet is important for you and your baby.

Make sure you eat a variety of foods including:

• plenty of vegetables and fruit
• grain foods, mostly whole grain and those naturally high in fibre
• some milk and milk products, mostly low and reduced fat some
• legumes, nuts, seeds, fish and other seafood, eggs, poultry and/or red meat with the fat removed. 

Other tips to eat healthily during pregnancy include:

• having small, regular healthy meals and snacks and drinking plenty of fluids (water is best)
• avoiding fatty or spicy food if you have nausea or indigestion
• your family or whānau supporting you by preparing meals for you
• distracting yourself from your pregnancy cravings for less healthy foods by chewing sugarless gum or having a hot drink or healthier snacks.​

Do I need to take any supplements during pregnancy?

The only supplements you need to take during pregnancy are:

• a folic acid-only tablet – 800 micrograms per day from 4 weeks before you are pregnant until the 12th week of your pregnancy
• an iodine tablet – 150 micrograms from the start of your pregnancy until you stop breastfeeding.

It is not recommended you take supplements other than folic acid and iodine (such as multivitamins for pregnancy) and you must only take supplements on the advice of your doctor or midwife. Talk to your doctor, midwife or dietitian if you think you may have any nutrient deficiencies. If you are a vegan, your healthcare team may advise you take vitamin B12 supplements.

Read more about avoiding nutrient deficiencies during pregnancy.

Which foods do I need to avoid or limit during pregnancy?

Although it's important to eat a wide variety of foods to get the nutrients you and your baby need during pregnancy, you also need to avoid or limit some foods as they can cause harm to you and your baby. In pregnancy your immunity is lower so you and your unborn baby are more susceptible than usual to food-borne illnesses that affect everyone.

Bacteria such as listeria, salmonella and campylobacter and pathogens such as toxoplasma can cause food-borne illness. When you are pregnant, this can cause infection in you and your baby. In extreme cases, this can cause complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth or premature birth.

Foods to avoid during pregnancy for this reason include:

• chilled ready-to-eat foods such as those bought from a supermarket deli or restaurant buffet unless they are heated until piping hot
• prepared ready-to-eat foods such as store-bought sandwiches where you can’t be certain of product age, storage conditions or the preparer’s food-handling practices
• soft and semi-soft pasteurised cheese, eg, brie, camembert, feta, blue, mozzarella and ricotta
• raw milk (unpasturised), raw milk cheeses and raw milk yoghurts
• cold cooked or smoked chicken
• processed meats such as ham, pâté, salami and luncheon
• prepared salads including rice or pasta salad, coleslaw, roasted vegetable and green salads
• raw or smoked seafood including sushi, smoked salmon, marinated mussels or oysters
• raw eggs, eg, in smoothies, mayonnaise or desserts like mousse
• soft serve ice cream
• cream or custard especially in pre-made cakes or pastries (unless newly opened or homemade and fresh)
• hummus and other dips containing tahini (which has been linked to both salmonella and listeria infection)
• any food prepared and stored in the fridge for more than 12 hours.

Other than avoiding the foods above, you should practice the following when you are pregnant:

• wash your hands with soap and water after being around animals
• protect yourself against exposure to cat litter
• wear gloves while gardening.

Drinks to avoid or limit include:

• drinks that contain caffeine (eg, energy drinks, cola, coffee)
• herbal teas
• fermented drinks
• sugary drinks

You need to limit caffeine intake to below 200mg per day when you are pregnant as it takes longer for caffeine to clear from the blood of a pregnant woman compared with other adults. High caffeine intake can increase the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and having a baby with low birthweight. Energy drinks and energy shots have high caffeine content, so it's best if you don't drink these while pregnant.

The diagram below shows the approximate caffeine content in each drink.

Image: Eating and activity guidelines for New Zealand adults Ministry of Health, NZ 

Some herbal teas may be harmful in pregnancy, such as aloe, buckthorn bark, chamomile, coltsfoot, comfrey, juniper berries, Labrodor tea, lobelia, pennyroyal, sassafras and senna leaves (alpine tea). Therefore, avoid these teas if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Some fermented drinks such as kombucha, kefir or kvass can contain low levels of alcohol. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, it is best to avoid alcohol and any alcohol-containing drinks. Read more about alcohol and pregnancy.

You also need to avoid sugary drinks, because when you are pregnant high amount of hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone can make bacteria grow in your mouth, causing gum inflammation (pregnancy gingivitis). Therefore, good oral health such as brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day is also important.

How much weight gain is appropriate while I am pregnant?

Although women feel hungrier in pregnancy, eating for two is not necessary. Nor is it a time to diet, so let your appetite guide you. If you feel hungry, healthy snacks like yoghurt, fruit, washed vegetable sticks, nuts, wholegrain crackers and cheese, and fruit smoothies are great options.