Eating Healthy During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Women who eat well during pregnancy are more  likely to have a baby born at a healthy weight. Eating  healthy foods gives your baby the nutrients needed  to develop normally. This increases your chances of  having a healthy baby. You don’t need to eat special  foods to breastfeed, but healthy foods will keep you  healthy as a new mother. During pregnancy you will need more calories and  nutrients for your developing baby and for yourself.  Don’t forget that the placenta is growing and your  blood supply is also increasing.

Eating Guidelines

Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide can help you with good eating habits. These habits will help your pregnancy, your  breastfeeding, and the rest of your life.
Remember to:

• enjoy a variety of foods from the four food groups every day.
• eat three meals and two to three snacks every day. 
• eat foods rich in nutrients.
• limit foods and beverages high in calories, fat and sugar or salt (sodium) such as cakes, pastries,doughnuts, potato chips, fruit flavoured drinks, softdrinks, sports drinks and energy drinks.
• limit foods high in trans fat.

Eating for Pregnancy

Vegetables and Fruit

• Eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable each day.
• Choose vegetables and fruit prepared with little or no added fat, sugar or salt.
• Have vegetables and fruit more often than juice.

Grain Products

• Make at least half of your grain products whole grain each day.
• Choose grain products that are lower in fat, sugar or salt.

Milk and Alternatives

• Drink skim, 1% or 2% milk each day.
• Select lower fat milk alternatives.

Meat and Alternatives

• Have meat alternatives such as beans, lentils and tofu often.
• Eat at least two Food Guide servings of fish each week.
• Select lean meat and alternatives prepared with little or no added fat or salt.

 Fish and Mercury Choose fish low in mercury, such as salmon, rainbow trout, Atlantic mackerel, sole or Dover sole. Do not have more than two servings per month of Bigeye (Ahi) tuna, shark, marlin or swordfish.

Take advantage of your pregnancy  to work toward your goals of healthy  eating. The changes you make now  will set the scene for continued healthy  eating for you and your baby as it  grows.


Source: Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide, Health Canada, 2007. Reproduced and adapted with the permission of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2010.