A healthy pre-pregnancy diet: What does that mean?
If you’re planning to get pregnant, eating a healthy pre-pregnancy diet will help you stay well throughout pregnancy and be good for your baby’s health and development.
What a healthy pre-pregnancy diet looks like in practice
- Choose foods high in fiber (whole-grain bread and pasta, brown rice) instead of processed foods (white bread, rice and pasta)
- Eat more fruit and vegetables
- Eat more pulses (legumes): Beans, chickpeas and lentils
- Avoid saturated ‘bad’ fats, such as fried foods, pastry, biscuits and pies
- Eat more unsaturated ‘good’ fats, such as avocados, nuts, oily fish and seeds
- Avoid sugary foods, such as sweets, biscuits, cakes and fizzy drinks.
Eating well before you conceive can help your future baby have the best possible start in life. Here is how to get some of the essential pre-pregnancy nutrients you need now: Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Iron, Iodine and Zinc.
Key nutrients for a healthy prepregnancy diet
