What to Eat When Pregnant: Essential Foods for Each Trimester Guide

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'What do I eat while pregnant? What foods should I be prioritizing in each trimester?' Two questions that I get asked all the time, and that I also asked when I was pregnant. Unfortunately, there is not much advice that is given by doctors in this area. When I asked mine, he just gave me a list of 'dangerous foods' that I must avoid while pregnant. Nutrition during pregnancy seems to be something that isn't prioritized. This makes no sense to me - we know how important nutrition is in daily life, from things like preventing to disease to impacting growth and development. So wouldn't it be even more important during pregnancy? A time where a woman is literally growing a human? You would think! And so we see this large gap in prenatal care, one that desperately needs to be filled.

Why Prenatal Nutrition Matters

"Pregnancy is a critical period during which maternal nutrition and lifestyle choices are major influences on mother and child health. Inadequate levels of key nutrients during crucial periods of fetal development may lead to reprogramming within fetal tissues, predisposing the infant to chronic conditions in later life” 

    - Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Nutrition during pregnancy is critical - it affects more than you would think! The norm used to be to ‘let go’ during pregnancy, to indulge as much as you want because hey, you are eating for two! You’re pregnant and it’s hard work! You deserve to treat yourself! And don’t get me wrong - it IS hard work and you absolutely deserve to treat yourself. But you also need to ensure that you are providing your body and baby with the essential nutrients they both need to thrive. So instead of focusing on what to avoid, let's focus on what foods to eat more of while pregnant!

Maternal diet has been shown to impact many things, such as:

• birth weight, pre term birth, fetal growth and development

• risk of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, anemia, childbirth complications

• neurocognitive development and childhood outcomes such as language, communication skills, IQ, neurodevelopmental disorders

• childhood health issues such as asthma, eczema, allergies, wheezing

• risk of poor health and disease in adulthood 

As you can see, it is highly important to put an emphasis on a healthy diet during pregnancy. But it can be overwhelming, especially when you are so exhausted and not feeling well. There are certain nutrients that are essential in each trimester, so it can feel a bit less overwhelming to focus on these instead of completely overhauling your diet. So, let's get into which foods to prioritize during each trimester of pregnancy.

The Best Foods to Eat in the First Trimester of Pregnancy

There is so much happening with baby in the first trimester - it is a phase of rapid cell division, which sets the stage for future growth. The spinal cord also starts to develop during this time, as well as the heart.

The nutrients and foods that support these processes that we should prioritize during the first trimester are:

• Folate - found in spinach, asparagus, romaine, broccoli, brussels sprouts, legumes, sunflower seeds, almonds, and peanuts

• Choline - found in liver, eggs, meat, fish, legumes, cauliflower, and broccoli

• Vitamin B12 - beef, organ meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, fermented foods

• Protein (especially amino acids glutamine and arginine) - beef, pork, poultry, milk, yogurt, ricotta and cottage cheese, raw spinach, raw parsley, fish, red meat, whole grains, beans

• Iron - animal proteins, lentils, spinach, pumpkin seeds, quinoa

• Vitamin A - liver, eggs, fish, dairy, leafy greens, orange + yellow vegetables

• Vitamin D - eggs and fish

It can be difficult to get all of these nutrients in when you are feeling nauseous and exhausted. My prenatal nutrition guide covers strategies in depth to make this much easier!

The Second Trimester - Foods to Prioritize

It's the second trimester and (ideally) you are feeling much better and have some more energy. That's great! This is a good time to play a bit of 'catch up' on nutrients that may have been a bit lacking in the first trimester. So focus on more of those foods again, and prioritize iron even more this trimester. We want to build our iron stores as much as we can, and if we are feeling good now then it's an ideal time to work on that.

Iron-rich foods for the second trimester:

• Red meat (hamburgers, spaghetti, steak, tacos, lasagna are some good options)

• Chicken (in a pasta, with veggies, in a sandwich, rice bowls)

• Beef liver (if you enjoy it! If not, you can freeze thin, small pieces and take them like a pill)

• Lentils (make a lentil soup, stew, mix into a salad)

• Spinach (use liberally - in salads, smoothies, omelettes)

• Pumpkin seeds (I snack on these all throughout the day, add to granola, salads, soups)

Try to also focus on creating good habits this trimester, and laying down good foundations for the third trimester and postpartum period.

The Third Trimester - Which Foods Do I Eat?

Baby's brain takes center stage during the third trimester. It is a time of massive growth and development, which is highly reliant on the omega-3 fats DHA and EPA! Our body can't make these fats in high enough amounts, so it's important that we get them from our diet.

Which food has the highest amounts of DHA? Fish! I highly recommend consuming fish at least 2 times a week. Go for low mercury fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, halibut, anchovies, and herring.

Eggs, beef, and chicken also have DHA but not nearly as much as fish. If you don't eat fish, I would recommend an omega-3 supplement.

Calcium and iodine also become important in the third trimester. Incorporate these foods:

• Sesame seeds, cheese, yogurt, sardines, beans/lentils, almonds, spinach, collard greens

• Sea veggies, oysters, table salt, eggs

Iron needs become highest during the third trimester, so focus on those foods we chatted about earlier. Fibre is also an important nutrient in this stage as it can be preventative to preeclampsia. Incorporate more fruits and veggies like apples, raspberries, avocados, carrots, and leafy greens.

What About Hydration During Pregnancy?

Proper hydration is essential during pregnancy. You want to aim for 2.5-3 L of water each day. Electrolytes are also important, so making an electrolyte drink each day (just water, lemon, and sea salt is a good one) can help to meet those hydration needs. I find it helpful to keep a 1 L water bottle with me at all times, and refill twice throughout the day.

It may seem overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of making recipes that are great for pregnancy, it will get much easier. I have an amazing pregnancy recipe collection to help you get started! Just enter your email here and it will be sent right to your inbox: