Helathy conception
It’s important to eat a healthy and varied diet even before pregnancy. From the very beginning, your baby’s organs start to develop. That’s why it’s essential that your nutrition contains enough building blocks to support this growth.
How do I get enough nutrients?
- Variety: Variety is important, especially when it comes to vegetables and fruit. Be creative with meat, fish, and meat substitutes if you don’t follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. Prefer low-fat dairy products or plant-based alternatives.
- Take folic acid: Take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily from the moment you want to become pregnant until the first 10 weeks of your pregnancy. The amount of folic acid you get through food is usually insufficient.
- Iron: Make sure you get enough iron, for example by eating whole grain bread and meat. Include vitamin C-rich foods — such as vegetables and fruit — with every meal to help your body absorb iron more easily. This helps reduce the risk of iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy.
- Fish: Eat some fish. The fatty acids in fish are important for the development of the brain and vision in unborn babies.
Nutrition during pregnancy
When you’re pregnant, it’s important to eat well and healthily. During pregnancy, your need for energy and nutrients increases slightly. You don’t need to eat more, but you do need to pay close attention to the quality of your diet.
What if I’m a vegetarian?
If you’re pregnant, you can continue eating vegetarian. Just make sure your diet includes enough variety and essential nutrients.
Take extra folic acid and vitamin D.
Folic acid and vitamin D cannot be sufficiently obtained through diet alone. Research shows that women who take extra folic acid have a lower risk of having a baby with spina bifida. It’s best to start taking it as soon as you know you want to become pregnant. Folic acid is needed from four weeks before conception until the first eight weeks of pregnancy. If you didn’t take folic acid before pregnancy, you can start as soon as you know you’re pregnant. You need 0.4 milligrams of folic acid daily.
Your baby’s bones begin to develop between the fourth and sixth week of pregnancy. Vitamin D helps deposit calcium into the bones. It is recommended to take an extra 5 micrograms of vitamin D daily starting from the fourth month of pregnancy.
