Eating Well during Pregnancy
Making healthy food choices every day will help you give your baby what he or she needs to develop .
Eating a variety of nutritious foods during pregnancy help mothers provide what the babies need to develop . But "eating for two" doesn't mean eating twice as much. It is important for pregnant moms to make healthy food choices every day.
Have a quick check of your eating habits and get some ideas to improve your diet.
- Do you include some whole grains choices in your foods?
Smart tips: You can substitute refined grain products with whole-grain products, such as choosing brown rice to replace white rice, or wholemeal bread to replace white bread. This help increases satiety and as well as prevents you from constipation. You may also want to choose breakfast cereal fortified with folate and iron. The food and nutrition labels on foods packages help you make smart choices.
- Are you choosing fruits and vegetables of different colours?
Smart tips: Choose fruits and vegetables of different colours and variety. Dark green vegetables contain more iron, calcium, folate and carotene. Red or dark yellow fruits or vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin or sweet potatoes are rich in carotene too.
- Are you having appropriate amount of meat, fish, eggs and alternatives?
Smart tips: Try to choose meat or poultry with skin and fat trimmed off. Choose soy products that are non-fried and low in sodium. Apart from protein, dried beans are rich in folate, iron and dietary fibre. Avoid choosing preserved or pickled products which are high in sodium.
- Do you drink milk everyday?
Smart tips: During pregnancy you need to have 2 cups of milk a day. Choose low fat or skimmed milk or milk products so that you will not get the extra calories from fat. If you are not having milk, you can have cheese, yogurt, calcium-fortified soy milk as the alternatives. Besides, you need other calcium rich foods, such as beancurd, fish taken with bones, sesame, choy sum, kale or broccoli in your diet.
- Do you eat fish that are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and low in methylmercury more often?
Smart tips: Salmon, sardine, jade perch, eel, yellow croaker, golden thread, Pacific saury and pomfret, etc are rich in DHA. Consuming fish in moderation and eat from a variety can reduce the risk associated with high level of methylmercury. You can visit the website of Centre of Food Safety for more information.
- Do you eat foods rich in iodine frequently?
Smart tips: Iodine is essential for your baby's growth and brain development. Marine fish and seafood (such as prawns, mussels and oyster, etc), egg yolk, milk and milk products are all iodine containing foods. You can consume seaweed or kelp soup in moderation. Adults in Hong Kong do not generally have enough iodine in their diet. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, mothers should consider taking a prenatal multivitamin/multimineral supplement that contains iodine to ensure an adequate iodine intake.
- Do you limit eating foods or drinks with added sugars or high fat foods?
Smart tips: Foods with added sugar and high in fat will give you extra calories. Having too much energy intake would lead to excessive weight gain which in turn may increase the risk of pregnancy-related complications. Limit the foods that are of high calories but low nutritional values. These included soft drinks, sweetened beverages, ice-cream, sweets/lollies, biscuits, puffs, cakes, instant or fast foods like sausages, instant noodles, etc. You can do it by limiting the amount eaten at each occasion or reducing the occasions you eat these foods.
Click here to learn more about suggested daily servings of different food groups throughout different stages of pregnancy.